Late Classic Navajo Banded Blanket, circa 1875

Navajo

Wool | Item 2340

This is a soft, late classic, Navajo blanket woven of churro wool. I found this to be an unusual example with the deep indigo green adjacent to each band of indigo blue. It’s rare to find this much green in a banded blanket. It is purely banded, with 6 groups consisting of three bands of indigo blue and green all set onto a synthetic red background. At each end is a similar banding system with only two sets of indigo blue and green. All these bands are set against a creamy, golden white background. One can easily see on the far side a group of dark warps lasting 6″ into the blanket. The rest of the warps are all white. The blanket is all there, but there are thinned areas, a few small holes and edge wear as seen in the photos. Leaving this wear feels appropriate, as fixing it to a mint condition would remove the soulfulness sensed from all the present wear over time. This blanket was loved, and will continue to be so.