Navajo (Dine) Germantown blanket
Navajo (Dine) Germantown blanket
20 1/2” wide x 36” long
woven out of commercial 4-ply wools (also known as Germantown wools) in red, purple, indigo blue, lighter blue, and white
excellent condition (one side has a few areas of moth grazing and a small spot that could be removed with cleaning. the other side is in excellent condition)
$1250.
(mc2231)
The wools that we refer to as “Germantown” were commercially manufactured in Germantown and Manyunk, Pennsylvania. They are notable for their vibrant colors and fine quality. The US government made these wools available to the Navajo when they were incarcerated at Bosque Redondo in the 1860s and they were later brought to the better weavers by traders when they were allowed to return home. The Germantown wools were very vibrant and the Navajo responded by adapting their traditional designs to take advantage of these colors, leading to their creation of "eyedazzlers”.
This blanket has traditional design elements divided into thirds, united by “lightening” designs made up of traditional stepped elements.