I-8-496 Navajo Yei rug.
The Navajo are an Athabaskan speaking people belonging to the Nadene linguistic family and who also refer to themselves as the “Dene” which means the people. Like their close relations, the Apache, they migrated in ancient times from the far northern Canadian interior into what is now the southwestern United States. They have the largest reservation in the country, which is also their traditional homeland, encompassing parts of southeast Utah, northeast Arizona and northwest New Mexico. The Navajo first learned to weave from the Pueblo peoples and most likely got most of their sheep in raids on Spanish settlements. There are three basic periods to Navajo weaving, the classic blanket period (1800-1870), the transitional period (1870-1895) and the rug period (1895- present). This is a somewhat different interpretation of a Yei rug which usually depicts the Navajo gods or Yei. In this case there are bird Yei images done on a white ground in grey, brown, red and orange including the very rare choice of blue (both dark and light blue) colors.
It is well woven and in quite fine condition measuring approximately 58"long by 38"wide. Circa 1935. $2,400.00