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Diné (Navajo) Native North American

Man's wearing blanket (Chief blanket, phase III), ca. 1865 - ca. 1880

Description

Maker

  • Unknown

Culture

Diné (Navajo)

Title

Man's wearing blanket (Chief blanket, phase III)

Year

ca. 1865 - ca. 1880

Medium

Wool; tapestry weave

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • wool

Techniques

  • interlocking,
  • interlocked,
  • tapestry weave

Dimensions

Length: 180.3 cm (71 inches)

Type

  • Textiles

Credit

Gift of Mrs. John Sloan

Object Number

42.088

Projects & Publications

Publications

A Handbook of the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Blankets and Baskets

July 2 - October 10, 2004

This style of Navajo blanket is referred to as “third phase” because of its pattern of stripes embellished with diamond-shaped lozenges and its date, somewhat later than the blanket to the left but still within the Bosque Redondo period (1864-68). The donor’s husband, John Sloan (1871-1951), was one among many American artists, such as Robert Henri and George Bellows, who frequented the artist’s colony at Santa Fe in the 1920s and 30s, painted the New Mexican landscape, and became interested in Indian artifacts. The donor, Mrs. Sloan, owned a shop in New York that sold American Indian objects during the 1920s. In 1931, John Sloan collaborated with Rhode-Island-born writer Oliver LaFarge (1901-63) on the traveling exhibition An Exposition of Indian Tribal Arts (1931-33). Mrs. Sloan gave their collection of Navajo blankets to the Museum in 1942.
Gift of Mrs. John Sloan 42.088

Form, Pattern, and Function

December 4, 1992 - January 24, 1993

The style of Navajo blanket known as the "chief's" blanket went through three distinct phases of design. The first phase blankets are made with contrasting stripes of white and brown/black, with blue and/or red stripes. This design is similar to the Pueblo-style manta which influenced the early Navajo weavers. As the Navajo became more adept weavers they began to incorporate their own patterns based on basketry designs. First blocks of color were introduced into the ends and centers of the stripes. As the second phase style developed the blocks got larger and eventually were replaced by stepped triangles, characteristic of the third phase chief blanket.

The first textiles woven by the Navajo were used primarily as wearing, sleeping or saddle blankets. The "Chief's" blanket was worn over the shoulders, with the two ends meeting at the front. The characteristic half triangles at each end to the blanket would then meet at the center front, envelopping the wearing in a symmetrical pattern both front and back.

Textile Treasures from the Permanent Collection

January 16 - March 1, 1987

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April 23 - June 30, 1970

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Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Man's wearing blanket (Chief blanket, phase III) with the accession number of 42.088. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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