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The importance of sheep and their wool is evident by the Diné Creation narrative:
…the Deities arranged the world and planned the pattern of the stars in the sky, they first laid out the glittering objects out of sheepskins. The Sun, the father of the war Gods, possessed a flock of sheep in four colors. The Sun gifted many animals and when the sheep were presented, they were embellished with faces made out of dawn, their eyes were configured with rock crystals, their ears were to be foliage, and the wool anointed to be white fog.
Diné Chiefs’ blankets the most recognizable of all Diné weavings were eagerly sought more than a century and a half ago by other Native Americans and since then by collectors, tourists and travelers. Second Phase Navajo Chiefs’ blankets are a transition in Diné aesthetics from the earlier First Phase adding boxes, rectangles or diamonds to the simple striping of the First Phase blanket design.
Exhibition History"Art of the American Indian: The Thaw Collection," The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, March 2, 2010 - May 30, 2010; Minneapolis Museum of Art, Minneapolis, MN, October 24, 2010 - January 9, 2011; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX, April 24, 2011 - September 23, 2011; Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN, December 4, 2011 - February 12, 2012.
ProvenanceGerald Peters, Santa Fe, New Mexico
BibliographyVincent, Gilbert T. Masterpieces of American Indian Art. New York: Harry Abrams, 1995, p.58.
Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.236.
Fognell, Eva and Alexander Brier Marr, eds. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection at the Fenimore Art Museum, 2nd ed. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2016, p. 255.
Culture
Dine (Navajo)
Blanket
Date1865-1875
DimensionsOverall: 49 × 82 in. (124.5 × 208.3 cm)
Object numberT0123
Credit LineGift of Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw
Photograph by John Bigelow Taylor, NYC
Label TextDiné girls learn to weave by observing older women at work. The laborious process involves raising and shearing sheep, then cleaning and carding the wool. Natural and commercial dues are used to color the wool after spinning. The last step, weaving a blanket or a rug, takes place on an upright, fixed loom. Weaving’s cultural value is reinforced by the stories of Spider Woman and Spider Man. She taught Diné women to weave, while he gave Diné men instructions on building looms. Accordingly, men build the looms for their family members, and the women are traditionally the weavers.The importance of sheep and their wool is evident by the Diné Creation narrative:
…the Deities arranged the world and planned the pattern of the stars in the sky, they first laid out the glittering objects out of sheepskins. The Sun, the father of the war Gods, possessed a flock of sheep in four colors. The Sun gifted many animals and when the sheep were presented, they were embellished with faces made out of dawn, their eyes were configured with rock crystals, their ears were to be foliage, and the wool anointed to be white fog.
Diné Chiefs’ blankets the most recognizable of all Diné weavings were eagerly sought more than a century and a half ago by other Native Americans and since then by collectors, tourists and travelers. Second Phase Navajo Chiefs’ blankets are a transition in Diné aesthetics from the earlier First Phase adding boxes, rectangles or diamonds to the simple striping of the First Phase blanket design.
Exhibition History"Art of the American Indian: The Thaw Collection," The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, March 2, 2010 - May 30, 2010; Minneapolis Museum of Art, Minneapolis, MN, October 24, 2010 - January 9, 2011; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX, April 24, 2011 - September 23, 2011; Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN, December 4, 2011 - February 12, 2012.
ProvenanceGerald Peters, Santa Fe, New Mexico
BibliographyVincent, Gilbert T. Masterpieces of American Indian Art. New York: Harry Abrams, 1995, p.58.
Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.236.
Fognell, Eva and Alexander Brier Marr, eds. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection at the Fenimore Art Museum, 2nd ed. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2016, p. 255.
On View
On view
