Bequest of Miss Ella de Hart.

Museum Purchase: Indian Collection Subscription Fund, Rasmussen Collection of Northwest Coast Indian Art.

Gift of Mrs. Ferdinand C. Smith and Mr. L. Hawley Hoffman.

Gift of Miss Mary Forbush Failing.

This wearing blanket has an all over diamond pattern common to the late nineteenth century. Also typical is the fact it has no border, which weavings intended for rug use often have thus it is probably a wearing blanket.Condition: good. In 1880-1881 the Santa Fe Railroad came through Navajo territory bringing new materials and the potential for new customers for Navajo weavings. As soon as the Germantown 4 ply yarns and commercial aniline dyes became available, Navajo weavers employed them to their full potential. Designs changed from simple stripes and conservative diamond patterns to an explosion of innovation in weaving using new colors not available with natural dyes, such as yellow, orange, green and purple. On this wearing blanket a new wedge- weave development created shimmering effects with a complex exchange of background and foregrounds that uses yellow and red synthetic dyes, a white natural yarn, and indigo dyed homespun yarn. For a decade this break away styling was very popular with non-Native clients and such weavings became known as Eye Dazzlers.

Frank Sherman Benson Fund

Twined cylindrical basket with false embroidery tightly woven into a fret and arrow design in red and ivory . Examined by Deborah Head, a Tlingit/Haida basket maker on 6/17/09, who mentioned that this basket has a different type of border and is important for that reason. She also said that the medium is spruce root. Condition: good.

Three cut fragments of a ceremonial wrap skirt made of silk, with purple and red dyes. Two of the fragments are ends (b,c) with a thick red border along one edge; the larger fragment is from the centre. The design is a weft ikat resist technique (known as endek).

Wedding sarong (tapis). Two panels of hand spun, natural dyed cotton are stitched together with a long centre seam. The edge at one end has a folded hem, the other edge is finished with a basting stitch. Hand loomed cloth has stripes of red, brown and yellow with mirror work and embroidery embellishment.

Ceremonial women's wrap skirt. The two panels of hand dyed purple silk, hand-loomed with a discontinuous warp, are stitched together at a horizontal seam that runs across the middle of the skirt. The continuous and discontinuous supplementary weft of silver thread creates a band of triangular temple-like motifs along the bottom and one side edge of the skirt and several lines of silver stars within the body of the fabric.