Navajo Second Phase Chief Blanket [SOLD]

Second Phase Chief Blankets were only created during a 30-year time period-from 1840 to 1870. The earlier ones are referred to as Classic and the later ones as Late Classic-the division point being somewhere around 1860.

This one would be considered on the cusp of the Classic and Late Classic periods, and dates to the early 1860s-shortly before the Navajo were interred at Bosque Redondo in 1863 to 1868. It was woven from Churro wool, the finest wool the Navajo ever used. It has the feeling of a soft blanket rather than the stiffness of later rugs. At that time, the Navajo owned more than 200,000 Churro sheep. After Bosque Redondo, they had less than one thousand.

Navajo First Phase Chief Blankets were alternating bands of brown wool and white wool, each band measuring around 3 to 4 inches wide. Weavers then took the concept of the First Phase and added rows of red and indigo at the shoulder, hem, and mid-point, overlaying these on the white and brown rows. In doing so they retained the First Phase history and transitioned to a new aesthetic.

Most blankets woven on home-made Navajo looms were woven in longer than wide rotation, but Chief Blankets were always woven in wider than long rotation. They were worn as coats during the day and used as blankets by night. As coats, they were worn over one shoulder and under the arm of the other shoulder. They were so prized by Plains Indians that the wealthiest of them would trade horses or other items to obtain one from a Navajo weaver.

When the weavers began adding red to the blanket, their sources were bayeta cloth (sometimes known as American flannel) that was first made in England and later some came from Spain and Mexico. The bayeta was dyed from the cochineal beetle which later became known as cochineal dye. The beetle was plentiful in numbers on cactus plants. It came in rich shades of rose to a dark burgundy color. Another source of red, Lac dye, was obtained from the powdered extracts of the Asian Lac insect.

This blanket was woven from Churro wool, with the white and brown bands being undyed natural wool, the dark blue being dyed with indigo, and the red dyed with two sources: cochineal and possibly lac - one darker than the other. Its design is classic and beautiful. Weavers chose to add different colors to break up the continuity of sameness; an artistic choice of each weaver, and a successful one in this piece.

Next to its design, its condition is its most remarkable asset. Repair work is very minimal, mostly around the sides where wear patterns naturally occur. Incredibly, it still has lanolin in the wool, and indication that it has not been washed extensively. Lanolin helps keep the wool clean and soft. A Second Phase Chief Blanket in such excellent condition as this is an incredibly rare find.

This Navajo Second Phase Chief Blanket is a truly remarkable work of art-highly collectible, historically significant, and most importantly, beautiful. The Navajo people were looked down on by the government and many white Americans, but were a peaceful, artistic people with a rich culture. This is one of the finest artifacts of that rich culture.

Condition: very good condition with minimum repairs
Provenance: from the collection of a gentleman from Santa Fe
Reference and Recommended Reading: The Navajo Weaving Tradition: 1650 to the Present by Alice Kaufman and Chris Selser