An Early Rio Grande Blanket With A Saltillo Center

Item: 1628

Origins: Spanish Colonial New Mexican
Date:  1st half 19th Century

Media: Wool

Dimensions: 84″ by 45.5″

Description: This is a beautiful and rare Rio Grande blanket.  The soft, honey colored white wool is the classic, early churro wool brought over by the Spanish to North America in the 16th century onwards.   The weft has been woven with a very gentle spin, giving the blanket a light and supple feel. The quality of the wool and the spin is exceptional, creating a highly smoothed out surface rarely seen in Rio Grande blankets.

The placement of a saltillo center in brown and indigo blue is not a rare thing, but having it so small is.  The white field is covered with small points of light, indigo blue yarn on a regular basis.  This creates a much stronger presence to the background field.   There are bundled wraps along the sides and in the center.  This tells us that the whole blanket was woven at once on a narrow loom with the warps doubling up with a layer below the top layer.  The grouped warps in the center allow for  the turn that the wefts must make to complete the entire width.  This is an ingenious way to weave a blanket as a whole piece without a center seam.

Condition:  Condition is excellent with minor restoration.

Provenance: A private collection in Santa Fe, NM

Price: On request