Melissa Benally, Chief Blanket, Pictorial, Chief Manuelito, Navajo Rug, 50” x 29”

Melissa Benally, Chief Blanket, Pictorial, Chief Manuelito, Navajo Rug, 50” x 29”Traders like JB Moore would be the first to introduce the art of the Navajo to collectors back east, but it was rugs (not silver) that first captured the imaginations collectors and decorators. Following Moore's suit, other traders would begin to market Navajo weaving, even influencing many of the well known styles. Today styles are not defined by regions, but perfected by dedicated weavers from all parts of the Navajo Nations. We have put together a

Traders like JB Moore would be the first to introduce the art of the Navajo to collectors back east, but it was rugs (not silver) that first captured the imaginations collectors and decorators. Following Moore's suit, other traders would begin to market Navajo weaving, even influencing many of the well-known styles. Today styles are not defined by regions, but perfected by dedicated weavers from all parts of the Navajo Nations. We have put together a large collection of rugs on our online Trading Post and hope you take time to look through them all. Hopefully, you will find the perfect rug.

The Navajo would have a trade system set up with surrounding communities and distant communities that included tribes from the Plains. That is where most scholars feel they were introduced to the Chief Blanket, since the Navajo do not have Chiefs. The blanket is identified by phases and the contemporary weavings borrow from all of those, plus the addition of freelance designs. We have a large collection of Chief Blankets on the online Trading Post so make sure you check them all out.