Woven in Tradition: Navajo Textiles

A detailed image of a woven wool textile in red and white.
Black and white image of a woman sitting in a room. She wears a dress with strips of fringe and a headband. She is surrounded by baskets and woven textiles hang on the wall behind her.
Navajo textiles in George Hunt’s Store in Old Town, Maine. 1926-1927

Among the Hudson Museum’s holdings are examples of Navajo textiles dating from the late-Nineteenth Century to the present. These textiles came to Maine as souvenirs of visits to the Southwest, as décor for homes or rustic camps or acquisitions made by those who collect Navajo textiles. These works by Navajo (Diné) weavers reflect deeply rooted textile traditions that celebrate harmony and beauty as well as outside influences on their art by traders, Southwestern Art patrons, and buyer preferences.

This exhibit included several textiles collected by Mabel Weeks, who visited family in Thoreau, New Mexico in 1906, another was sent back to Maine in 1904 by the donor’s grandparents, while others were collected by individuals who admire the beauty of these pieces.

A small woven textile in maroon, black, gray, and blue.

Coal Mine Mesa Raised Outline

c. 1992

This style of weaving dates to the revival of weaving at Coal Mine Mesa in the 1960s. Like all Navajo textiles the pieces is tapestry woven, but rather than weave over each warp thread the weft floats over two warps rather than one.

Museum Purchase
HM9710

Small woven textiles in cream, red, brown, black, and gray. Patterns in horizontal stripes.

Single Saddle Blanket

c. 1950

Anonymous Lender

Small, narrow woven tapestry. Two stacked figures with black hair and shirts and red skirts on a cream background.

Figural Table Runner

c. 1930

Martha J. Stevens Collection
HM2658

Woven textile in cream, tan, and brown. Interlinked patterns of angular lines and boxes.

Meander Pattern Rug

c. 1920

This textile was acquired by an individual who worked for the Transcontinental Railroad which ran from St. Louis to San Francisco.

Donated by John Pickering
HM6899

A large woven rug in dark brown, gray, and cream. Large, crossing lines with pointed, serrated margins.

Serrated Diamonds

c. 1900

Ex. Portland Museum of Natural History
HM938

A large woven rug in red, gray, black, and cream. An array of diamonds in the center with framed by an angular line creating squares and a stepped outline.

Klagetoh Style Navajo Rug

c. 1900

Ex. Portland Museum of Natural History
HM937

A small woven textile depicting the American flag with 12 stripes and the 50 stars woven point-down.

American Flag Motif Textile

c. 1980s

Donated by Jack Wiggins
HM6243

Small woven textiles in cream, red, brown, black, and gray. Patterns in horizontal stripes.

Single Saddle Blanket

c. 1990

Anonymous Lender

Woven rug in Chocolate, brown, tan, cream, and red. Intricate design with central element and four figures, one in each quarter.

Two Grey Hills Rug

c. 1970

Thomas V. Daley Collection
HM6748

Small woven textile, square, with vertical stripes of tan, yellow, and rusty orange with corn stalks in each wide stripe of rusty orange.

Pillowtop

By Cheryle White
c. 1960-1980

Martha J. Stevens Collection
HM2926

Finely-woven textile in red, green, black, orange, cream, and gray. Patterns with stepped or serrated margins.

Germantown Rug

c. 1900

This textile was acquired by Cleveland Kennedy in 1914 from a weaver in the desert of the Hogback Ridge, near Gallup, New Mexico. He sent this textile and another by American Express to his parents, John and Mary Kennedy in Bucksport.

Donated by the family of Cleveland and Charlene Kennedy, Jr.
HM9670

Woven textile with a base of variable red interrupted by colorful stripes of brown, white, orange, and green.

Saddle Blanket or Child’s Wearing Blanket

c. 1880-1890

This textile incorporates both homespun and Germantown yarns.

Brian Robinson Collection
HM9268

Small woven textile in red, black, and cream with a diamond-shaped central motif with serrated edges.

Germantown Pillowtop

c. 1900

Between 1870-1910, commercially spun and dyed 3- and 4- ply yarns manufactured in Germantown, Pennsylvania were used by some Navajo weavers. Because of the yarn’s expense, traders supplied it to only the best weavers in their area. They hoped that by providing weavers with ready-to-use yarns, their weavers would be able to produce more textiles. Although Germantown pieces were later frowned upon because of their “eyedazzling” use of color, today they are valued for their technical excellence.

Ex. Portland Society of Natural History
HM5096

Grayscale image of a woman in the process of weaving a small tapestry. She sits cross-legged on the ground in front of a loom suspended from two trees. A small child peeks out from her lap. The tapestry has the whirling logs motif.

Image taken by Mabel Weeks of a Navajo Woman, Mrs. Ben Hudson, weaving a pillowtop

Ex. Portland Society of Natural History
HM7566

A detail image of the textile being woven in the photograph above, providing a zoomed-in view of the whirling logs motif. This motif is very similar visually to a swastika.

The Whirling Logs design symbolizes a Navajo
legend, in which the Yei (supernatural beings)
communicate knowledge to Nayenezgani, a
culture hero. The legend recounts
Nayenezgani’s journey down the San Juan
River in a dugout canoe. During the trip when
he reaches the point where the San Juan River
and the Colorado River meet, he encounters a
whirlpool. In the whirlpool, he finds a whirling
cross with two Yei figures seated on each end
of the cross, creating the Whirling Logs
symbol.

A partially-finished woven tapestry with both top and bottom still attached to sticks. Tapestry is done in black, orangish-red, and cream.

Germantown Sampler on a Loom

c. 1900

Traditionally weavers did not leave textiles unfinished, but these works were popular with visitors to the Southwest.

Martha J. Stevens Collection
HM2891

Three small wooden tools, including a drop spindle, a comb, and a simple batten used to straighten a row of weaving.

Miniature Weaving Tools

c. 1990

Anonymous Lender

A large woven textile in gray, black, maroon, and cream. Motifs are geometric.

Tuba City Textile

c. 2000

Spinner Collection
HM8482

A woven textile in cream, black, gray, red, brown, and gold with motifs organized in stripes.

Gallup Throw

c. 1930-1950

These textiles were woven on a loom using Native yarns woven on cotton warp. When finished the warp at the top of the textile was cut and knotted. These textiles were popular and inexpensive souvenirs for visitors to the Southwest.

Spinner Collection
HM8484

A large textile in black, cream, tan, and gray. A double-diamond motif within a multi-layered frame of patterns. Designs are intricate.

Two Grey Hills Rug

c. 1960

Two Grey Hills textiles are woven from undyed natural wool colors – black, gray, beige, brown, and cream. They are finely woven and often incorporate diamond designs.

Donated by Richard and Arlene McCrum
HM6434

A large woven textile in shades of cream and gold with star and stripe motifs.

Chinle Revival Banded Textile

c. 1920-1930

This textile shows the influences of Mary Cabot Wheelwright, a summer resident of Mt. Desert Island. Wheelwright was an enthusiastic patron of Native American Art and founded the Wheelwright Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Assisted by her niece Lucy Cabot, a dye expert, she sought to encourage a return to vegetal dyes and simple striped patterns. The borderless rugs that she promoted at Chinle became quire popular in eastern circles. The muted gold and brown banded textiles served as reminders of the Southwestern landscape and complemented interior decorating trends of the 1920s and 30s.

Anonymous Lender