Crystal Trading Post Alphabetical Pictorial Textile [R]

Traders on the Navajo Reservation in the late 1800s and early 1900s wrote, in their memoirs, how Navajo would come to the trading post, sit down and lean against the wall, never speaking a word, then several hours later, might point to a can of tomatoes, make the purchase, and walk out without further ado.  Not able to read the English words on the canned or packaged products, they would study the labels and make their selection from the pictures on the packaging.

It is from the words they saw on commercial products that rugs of this nature came about.  The letters were nothing more than symbols and a weaver would select a letter or letters she liked and repeat them on her textiles.  This rug has a border composed of nothing but capital letters E, L, A, C, and I, some in the correct arrangement and some backwards. These were designs and their orientation was her decision.

This rug is a variation of Plate XXX in the J. B. Moore catalog and was made during the 1915-1920 period, shortly after Moore left the trading post in 1911.  His patterns continued for a number of years with variations being made by the weavers.  This textile was woven from all natural wool without the inclusion of commercial dyes.  The white is from white sheep, dark brown from brown sheep, lighter brown in the border achieved by carding white and brown wool, and the pecan-shell color in the interior design dyed with a vegetal dye from a plant. The beautiful shiny wool is from churro sheep.

Condition: recently cleaned and repaired and ready for use

Recommended Reading: J. B. Moore – United States Licensed Indian Trader -  Collection of Catalogs Published at Crystal Trading Post 1903-1911, Avanyu Publishing, Albuquerque,1987.

Provenance: unknown