CLASSIC RARE “CHIEF’S SECOND PHASE” NAVAJO MAN’S WEARING BLANKET.

Revised: 3/10/2007

CLASSIC RARE “CHIEF’S SECOND PHASE” NAVAJO MAN’S WEARING BLANKET. Tightly and finely woven, handspun and ravelled wool, in natural ivory, variegated brown, indigo blue, and three shades of lac or cochineal-dyed red, in the “Second Phase” chief’s pattern. Indigo blue chevrons are incorporated into the design of each of 12 rectangles. Circa third quarter of the 19th century. One of the most widely recognized blanket types to emerge during the Classic Period was the so-called chief style, a very specific type of man’s wearing blanket. The word chief is misleading, however, for the Navajos did not have tribal chiefs. Rather, these blankets were rare and valuable trade goods carried to adjacent and distant tribes over lengthy trade routes. Their purchase and use would have been restricted to persons of some wealth and achievement, hence the misnomer. The Navajo chief blanket was woven broader than long with wide horizontal stripe elements dominating the design. Over the course of the nineteenth century the design of this type of blanket evolved in very rigid and easily identifiable patterning phases. Navajo textile scholars have named and numbered these phases sequentially as first, second, third, and (sometimes) fourth. The first phase is categorized by a simple combination of broad white, brown, red, and blue horizontal stripes and was woven during the first half of the nineteenth century. By 1850 innovations in this style were being seen as the weaver interrupted and expanded the center and end stripes by adding elongated rectangles in a twelve-position layout across the blanket. The broad white and brown bands then served as a background for the pattern bands of this second phase. Within a decade the third phase in the development of the chief-style blanket was signaled by a shift from squares and rectangles to a nine-position layout of a central diamond, half diamonds along the four edges, and quarter diamonds in the corners. The same broad white and brown stripes were retained. Information from: Bloomberg, Nancy, Navajo Textiles, University of Arizona Press, 1988. The rare blanket at this auction exhibits the classic twelve-spot rectangular design of the very desirable second phase blankets. SIZE: 54” x 73”. CONDITION: Overall very good. Brown stripes show slight old wear. 4-30245 JJK4 (65,000-85,000)

Auction: Firearms - Spring 2007

Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

Image	Lot	Price	Description
	349	$69,000.00	Revised: 3/10/2007 CLASSIC RARE “CHIEF’S SECOND PHASE” NAVAJO MAN’S WEARING BLANKET. Tightly and finely woven, handspun and ravelled wool, in natural ivory, variegated brown, indigo blue, and three shades of lac or cochineal-dyed red, in the “Second Phase” chief’s pattern. Indigo blue chevrons are incorporated into the design of each of 12 rectangles. Circa third quarter of the 19th century. One of the most widely recognized blanket types to emerge during the Classic Period was the so-called chief style, a very specific type of man’s wearing blanket. The word chief is misleading, however, for the Navajos did not have tribal chiefs. Rather, these blankets were rare and valuable trade goods carried to adjacent and distant tribes over lengthy trade routes. Their purchase and use would have been restricted to persons of some wealth and achievement, hence the misnomer. The Navajo chief blanket was woven broader than long with wide horizontal stripe elements dominating the design. Over the course of the nineteenth century the design of this type of blanket evolved in very rigid and easily identifiable patterning phases. Navajo textile scholars have named and numbered these phases sequentially as first, second, third, and (sometimes) fourth. The first phase is categorized by a simple combination of broad white, brown, red, and blue horizontal stripes and was woven during the first half of the nineteenth century. By 1850 innovations in this style were being seen as the weaver interrupted and expanded the center and end stripes by adding elongated rectangles in a twelve-position layout across the blanket. The broad white and brown bands then served as a background for the pattern bands of this second phase. Within a decade the third phase in the development of the chief-style blanket was signaled by a shift from squares and rectangles to a nine-position layout of a central diamond, half diamonds along the four edges, and quarter diamonds in the corners. The same broad white and brown stripes were retained. Information from: Bloomberg, Nancy, Navajo Textiles, University of Arizona Press, 1988. The rare blanket at this auction exhibits the classic twelve-spot rectangular design of the very desirable second phase blankets. SIZE: 54” x 73”. CONDITION: Overall very good. Brown stripes show slight old wear. 4-30245 JJK4 (65,000-85,000) Auction: Firearms - Spring 2007 Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

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