J. B. Moore Plate XXVII Variant Rug, c. 1915 [R]

J. B. Moore offered his mail order clients options of purchasing a rug with color or black and white only, the choice being the décor in which it was going to be used.  It could be the same pattern rug, as in this variant of Plate XXVII which, in the catalog, is shown in brown, black, red and white.  The one pictured in the catalog has a whirling log symbol in the center of the rug and that element was omitted in this rug.  Other variations to the pattern were made as well.

It is likely that this rug was made around 1915, a few years after Moore departed the post and his assistant took over managing it.  Variations to the catalog examples became more and more prevalent over time.

This is an overly large room-size rug and could have been a special order by a client.  The black elements in the border have been referred to as barbed wire but I doubt that was the inspiration for their use as there would not have been barbed wire on the reservation in 1915.

Condition: very good condition, having just been cleaned and repaired.

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