Chief Blanket

Artist Diné (Navajo)

Datec. 1880-1890

Mediumnatural handspun wool; red aniline dye and indigo

Dimensions49 × 63 3/4 inches (124.5 × 161.9 cm)
Velcro: 63 3/4 inches (161.9 cm)

Credit LineBequest of H.J. Lutcher Stark, 1965

Object number82.900.111

ClassificationsTextiles

DescriptionYarn colors are navy, brown, white and red. Red is aniline dye; blue is indigo.

Label TextThe Diné (Navajo) blanket of simple stripes of natural colors became known as a chief blanket. The Diné (Navajo) traded this type of blanket with other tribes. The owner would likely be a person of status, although not necessarily a chief. This beautiful weaving is characteristic of a second-phase chief blanket. The second phase has wide stripes of natural colors with narrow stripes and rectangular blocks of colors at the ends and the center.

ProvenanceGeorge A. Cuneo Collection; purchased by Kohlberg's Antiques and Indian Art, Denver Colorado; H.J. Lutcher Stark [1887-1965]; bequeathed September 2, 1965 to the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation; accessioned to the Stark Museum of Art

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