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This rug was woven by an unknown Diné (Navajo) woman who lived in Navajo Nation, specifically the area surrounding Crystal, New Mexico, at the western entrance to the Narbona Pass. She used hand spun, undyed wool warps (visible in the off-white fringe at the top and bottom). The dynamic geometric pattern of three serrated white and red diamonds in center with black and white inner border of paired triangles and outer red and black border were made from the tightly packed wool wefts, which were also hand spun. While the black, white, and gray threads show the natural color of the churro sheep fleeces from which they were spun, the variegated red threads were most likely dyed with cochineal. Floor rugs like these made from a combination of undyed wool and wool dyed with vegetal dyes in abstract geometric patterns were made for sale to non-Indigenous visitors to the region, starting around the turn of turn of the century. J. B. Moore Crystal Trading Post, established in 1896 by John Bradford Moore (1855-1926), sold a large number of rugs through its mail order catalog between 1903-1911. This important example was not made for sale in the catalog but instead was purchased by the donor’s father when he lived in New Mexico in the 1920s and 30s, most likely while visiting the Crystal Trading Post.
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Rug
Native American, Diné [Navajo]
1910–1915
Object Place: Area surrounding Crystal, NM
Medium/Technique
Wool tapestry
Dimensions
Height x width: 157.5 × 113 cm (62 × 44 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Charles J. Hitchcock and Josephine E. H.Benson
Accession Number2023.440
NOT ON VIEW
ClassificationsTextiles
This rug was woven by an unknown Diné (Navajo) woman who lived in Navajo Nation, specifically the area surrounding Crystal, New Mexico, at the western entrance to the Narbona Pass. She used hand spun, undyed wool warps (visible in the off-white fringe at the top and bottom). The dynamic geometric pattern of three serrated white and red diamonds in center with black and white inner border of paired triangles and outer red and black border were made from the tightly packed wool wefts, which were also hand spun. While the black, white, and gray threads show the natural color of the churro sheep fleeces from which they were spun, the variegated red threads were most likely dyed with cochineal. Floor rugs like these made from a combination of undyed wool and wool dyed with vegetal dyes in abstract geometric patterns were made for sale to non-Indigenous visitors to the region, starting around the turn of turn of the century. J. B. Moore Crystal Trading Post, established in 1896 by John Bradford Moore (1855-1926), sold a large number of rugs through its mail order catalog between 1903-1911. This important example was not made for sale in the catalog but instead was purchased by the donor’s father when he lived in New Mexico in the 1920s and 30s, most likely while visiting the Crystal Trading Post.
Marks
No marks or tags
ProvenanceAbout 1910/1915, made for sale through J. B. Moore Crystal Trading Post, Crystal, NM. About 1920s/1930s, purchased in New Mexico by Lawrence Sill Hitchcock (b. 1898 – d. 1983), Los Alamos and Otowi, NM; 1983, by inheritance to his son, Charles Hitchcock, Watertown, MA, and his daughter, Joshephine E. H. Benson; 2023, gift of Charles Hitchcock and Josephine E. H. Benson to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 21, 2023)