A Guide To Navajo Rugs

Describes and depicts the seventeen most common Navajo rug styles, and includes quotes by some of the finest weavers crafting rugs today. Photos of rugs from Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site by George H. H. Huey.

Navajo blankets, rugs, and tapestries are the best-known, most-admired, and most-collected textiles in North America. There are scores of books about Navajo weaving, but no other book like this one. For the first time, master Navajo weavers themselves share the deep, inside story of how these textiles are created, and how their creation resonates in Navajo culture. Want to weave a high-quality, Navajo-style rug? This book has detailed how-to instructions, meticulously illustrated by a Navajo artist, from warping the loom to important finishing touches. Want to understand the deeper meaning? You'll learn why the fixed parts of the loom are male, and the working parts are female. You'll learn how weaving relates to the earth, the sky, and the sacred directions. You'll learn how the Navajo people were given their weaving tradition (and it wasn't borrowed from the Pueblos!), and how important a weaver's attitude and spirit are to creating successful rugs. You'll learn what it means to live in hózhó, the Beauty Way. Family stories from seven generations of weavers lend charm and special insights. Characteristic Native American humor is not in short supply. Their contribution to cultural understanding and the preservation of their craft is priceless.

A guide to identifying and dating rugs by means of weaving materials, providing historical background on the great Navajo weavers and traders.

Describes Navajo patterns, styles, and weaving materials as an aid to identification, and recounts how Navajo weavers have adapted to the times

Kent McManis and Robert Jeffries provide the definitive introduction to one of the most popular American Indian arts -- Navajo rug weaving. Drawing on decades of study of this tradition, the authors cover its development from the seventeenth century. They include everything from classic Chief's blankets, to the famous Two Grey Hills designs, to the latest in pictorial rugs. Of great help is a list of standards for judging the quality of a rug, along with advice on proper care. Illustrated in color with over fifty rug types available today.

Profiles a West Bengali caste specializing in producing painted narrative scrolls and performing songs to accompany their unrolling.