Saddle blanket

Unknown artist

674-4\nStriped wearing blanket; l. 120.5 cm., w. 92 cm.; wool; ca. 1870-1880.\nTraditionally the Zunis made blankets from the skins of rabbits and lynxes, and from buffalo hides they obtained in trade from tribes further east. In prehistoric times the Hopis supplied their southern neighbors with cotton garments, although some cotton growing and weaving took place at Zuni. Spanish and Mexican woolen blankets replaced these traditional specimens, and the Zunis began copying these textiles in a loose weave, producing a variety of plain and striped wearing blankets (Kent 1983:44,49; Fane 1991:132-133). However, blanket weaving remained limited at Zuni, not in the least because of the mushrooming Navajo supply. On his first expedition in 1879 Colonel James Stevenson (1883:373-374) collected 25 blankets in Zuni, almost all of Navajo manufacture. In 1881 he acquired not a single textile at Zuni, but several looms, loom parts, and weaving implements (Stevenson 1884:580-581). \Of this specimen Marian Rodee's (1992) noted: \'weft of handspun natural white, dark brown, indigo blue and indigo/rabbitbrush yellow green; red re-carded raveled single ply material; two edge cords of two-ply Z-S spun re-carded raveled red; edge tassels unusual in that two are orange and two purple red; a good example of the more loosely tied tassels used by Pueblo weavers; the stripes outlined with another color look more Zuni than Hopi; the young twigs and flowers of the rabbit brush which blooms in late summer and early fall produces a good dye and when over-dyed with blue it produces a good green.\Zuni weaving Zuni Pueblo is exceptional in that in historic times women rather than men sat at the loom, although the latter were not excluded from weaving. The major textile made at Zuni was the woman's blanket or shawl with embroidered borders, woven from native cotton. Men's dance kilts follow the same pattern. Wool was used for a great variety of daily, festive and ceremonial dress items. Traditional dyes for yarn included a yellow from thistles (Circium sp.) or rabbit-weed (Bigelovia), a brownish red from tickseed (Coreopsis) flowers, and black from the bark of sumac (Rhus). For mordant alum was locally available.\Many black blankets were woven for men and worn wile participating in and observing ceremonies. Used as shrouds for people to be buried in, they disappeared in the 1880s. Striped blankets, often with a white foundation, were the other main type. These tend to be less elongated and a bit more square that those of other Pueblos, as well as a bit more coarse, thick, and fuzzy (Douglas 1940). Zuni textiles are a subject deserving more scholarly attention.（Hovens, Rodee and Vogelsang-Eastwood 2008-09） Pueblo textiles. Textile weaving has a long pre-history in the Southwest. The weaving of textiles has a long history in the Southwest. The threads spun from it were woven by hand (finger-weave). Around 800 AD, the vertical loom was adopted, after which larger pieces of textile could be produced. Since 1100 fabrics were provided with embroidery. In the sixteenth century, Pueblo weavers and Zuni weavers produced cotton shirts, shawls, loincloths, kilts and belts. The cotton garments were often dyed in a bath of mineral or vegetable dye. Embellishments were also applied by embroidery.‖ In the seventeenth century, the Spanish introduced sheep, wool spinning, western looms, and new natural dyes, including indigo and cochineal. Blankets and Òser-apesÓ (shawls) were new products brought by the whites and served as examples for Indian weavers to emulate. Among the Pueblos, it was the men who worked at the loom, with the exception of the Zunis where the women did so. Both cotton and wool textiles were woven.‖ Sheep farming, wool spinning, and blanket weaving by Navajos date back to the seventeenth century and were learned both through intertribal trade contacts and through the incorporation of Pueblo slaves and refugees. By the eighteenth century, the distinction between Navajo and Pueblo weaving was blurred. In addition to blankets, serapes (shouldered cloaks based on the Spanish model) and mantas (traditional wide shawls or shrugs), shirts, loincloths and belts were also woven.With the introduction of Western trade goods, the Pueblo weaving tradition fell into decline. Production was limited to a few pieces of ceremonial clothing and accessories. The Hopis continued to weave on a modest scale, trading their products with their Pueblo neighbors to the east and south.\Some of the distinctive Pueblo textiles are:\Òthe plain manta; this is a rectangular dark-colored cloth worn as a shawl or shawl, but sewn together also serves as outerwear and undergarments (shirt and skirt); other mantas were predominantly white and featured a red, dark blue, or black border at the top and bottom;Ó the bridal manta; also a rectangular but white shawl offered by the groom to the bride, wrapped in a reed mat; later, the top and bottom edges were embroidered;‖ serapes or blankets, usually provided with colored bands, a Spanish introduction, and used as clothing and bedding;‖ kilts; sashes; their characteristic is that they are woven on such a surface as to make the surface appear embroidered; in fact, this is a weaving technique called "Hopi brocade"; the pattern predominating therein is possibly a stylized Breedge-face kachina in which the two diamonds represent the eyes and the row of toothed figures below the mouth the teeth; these were usually worn by the men suspended from a belt along the right hip; sometimes they were worn across the upper body as a sash; in other cases as a hipcloth;‖ girdles worn around the hip or around the knees. \Navajo textiles. After the Pueblo Indians rebelled against the Spanish rulers in 1680, many joined the Navajos for fear of reprisal, leading to further adoption of cultural elements. Sheep farming, wool spinning, and blanket weaving by Navajos date back to the seventeenth century and were learned both through intertribal trade contacts and through the absorption of Pueblo slaves and refugees. Over a period of three and a half centuries, the Navajo wove blankets. Art historians distinguish a number of style periods that were largely determined by historical events: the Classical period (Classic: 1650-1865), the Transitional period (Transitional: 1865-1895), and the Rug period (Rug: 1895-present).As the Navajos were originally hunters, gatherers, and warriors, weaving was considered a household task and assigned to the women. Among the Pueblos, it was the men who were behind the loom while among the Zunis, both sexes did this work. According to Navajo legend, Spider Man had shown them how to make a loom and Spider Woman had taught the women how to use it.At first, only one's own needs determined the production of blankets. The intertribal and interethnic trade of the Navajos expanded in the eighteenth century and blankets became increasingly important as a commodity. Their quality, expressed in aesthetics and durability, often even waterproofing of the fabric, was recognized by others. Pueblos, Utes, Apaches, and Comanches acquired blankets through barter, and Spaniards and Mexicans also purchased blankets with money or Western trade goods.In the eighteenth century, the distinction between Navajo and Pueblo weavings blurred. In addition to blankets, serapes (long shouldered cloaks of the Spanish model) and mantas (traditional wide shawls or shrugs), shirts, loincloths and girdles were woven. In addition, many saddle blankets were woven which are of a somewhat smaller size and are sometimes referred to as "children's blankets". Besides natural dyes the indi-go, introduced by the Spaniards, was used. The terrace-pattern of triangles and diamonds was one of the stylistic characteristics of blankets from the Classic Period. Many blankets displayed a simpler striped pattern. Such a blanket with an added block, bar or diamond pattern but of extremely high quality was the "chief blanket", so called because of its quality and value and because its possession contributed to the status of the wearer. In time, the beam shapes evolved into lozenges and the stripe pattern was pushed into the background.‖ Spanish people sometimes captured Navajos during punitive expeditions and they were employed as slaves in Spanish households in the settlements along the Rio Grande. The Navajos who turned to weaving mixed Spanish and Navajo elements in their blankets referred to as "slave blankets." During the period of Mexican Intermediate Administration that lasted from 1821 to 1848, colors and shapes of Navajo blankets were influenced by weavings from Mexico that were more multicolored and displayed more com-plex motifs.During the Spanish era, Santa Fe was the hub of trade in the Southwest and goods, including Navajo blankets, were transported overland to Mexico from here. After the pacification of the Utes and Comanches by the Spaniards in the first decade of the nineteenth century, trade traffic in the Southwest was able to expand and intensify. Navajo blankets were spread over an increasingly large area through intertribal trade, even reaching the central Plains. When the Americans reached Santa Fe from the east across the Plains in 1821 and took control in 1848, the city experienced a new boom through trade and became the outlet for Native Americans. The sudden influx of new settlers led to Indian resistance and the Navajos attacked settlements in the Rio Grande Valley. In 1863, Colonel Kit Carson undertook a punitive expedition against the tribe, rounding up 8,000 people and deporting them to Bosque Redondo near Fort Sumner in central New Mexico. At the beginning of this transition period, the Indians were introduced to industrially produced woollen and cotton yarns that were gradually replacing their own spun yarns. The new yarns also offered a wider range of colors than the spun wool treated with natural dyes. The aniline dyes were also used to colour the own hand-spun yarns. New patterns were adopted, including crosses, zigzag lines, etc. The "Moki" blankets, done in colored narrow stripes, gained popularity, as did the Mexican-inspired "Saltillo" pattern, which was characterized by serrated checks and borders. When this serrated and repetitive pattern was done in bright colors, the eye had difficulty grasping the pattern and people spoke of "eye-dazzlers" because of the optical effect.‖ The traditional Navajo clothing was gradually replaced by Western-made clothing and blankets but Indian wool blankets continued to be worn. In 1868, the Navajos were allowed to return to their homeland on the Colorado Plateau where a reservation had been designated for them.‖ The weaving of blankets also underwent new influences on the reservation. Blankets that had been woven up to that point showed almost only geometric patterns. Now, natu-ral elements such as flowers, animals and human figures also appeared. Because the Santa Fe Railroad made a big impression on the Indians, trains were also included as a motif. This category of blankets is called "pictorial rugs". After 1890 traders motivated the Navajos to adapt patterns, colors and sizes of blankets to the tastes and needs of whites to increase their sales. Especially Lorenzo Hubbell in Ganado and J.B. Moore in Crystal took initiatives in that area. This led to the weaving of rugs, floor, wall and tablecloths, and the adoption of motifs seen on rugs with Oriental patterns. Vertical compositions of patterns and borders were also adopted. In the area of the Two Gray Hills trading post, such rugs were woven in neutral colors from home-spun wool. From the late 1980s, the trading posts supplied yarns made in Germantown, Pennsylvania, because their quality was the best. Aniline dyes with a wider range of colors, including pastels, were also offered. Regional styles began to develop based on material, patterns, and colors. Differences in quality were determined by the target group for the blankets. Mass-produced blankets for the army and tourists were less demanding than those made for personal use. The highest quality requirements were set for blankets that served to underline one's status and pieces destined for collectors and museums.‖ From 1910 onward, Navajo gods, so-called yeis, were also depicted on pictorial rugs, despite the taboo on them. The designs were derived from sand paintings made by medi-cine men during ceremonies. Whites considered these yei blankets authentic and the demand for them continued to increase over the years. It was mainly in the Shiprock area that these blankets were first woven.After 1919, a renaissance of the traditional craft took place and it is referred to as a period of revival. The impetus for the use of hand-spun wool, traditional patterns and natural dyes came from Cozy McSparron, owner of the Chinle trading post, and Mary Cabot Wheel-wright, a wealthy philanthropist who founded a museum in Santa Fe. Over the years, more and more Navajos began to produce their blankets in the traditional manner. The demand from white tourists and collectors changed in the same period. On the Navajo reservation, in hogans and off, there are still many looms on which women work. The making of home carpets is inspired by cultural traditions that have changed over the centuries but still remain alive today. Production for the whites, whether quality rugs for the art market and collectors or simple rugs for the tourist industry, is motivated by economic interest, since few opportunities for work and income exist on the woeful Colorado Plateau.