Help ID This...Navajo Blanket? Native American?

[TheHobbyist]

Friends, I do a lot of estate sales, junking, garage sales, and just enjoy learning about history, design, and anything I find interesting. My favorite part of the whole process is learning. Anyways...

I recently found this at an estate sale and think I paid $ 3.00 for it. I think it's cool. It's definitely a heavy material, not yarn, very thick and coarse, appears some of the black and red dye has discolored or stained other areas.

Does anyone know what this is?

My thought is it may be Native American and because the size is relatively small, was most likely a souvenir from the 1930s-1950s???

Appreciate any help, stories, or tall tales.

 

[Inusuit]

I am certainly no expert so just my opinion. What is the size and material? Wool is a good thing, although that does not rule out the possibility this is Mexican in origin. Thick and coarse leads me to doubt NA origin.

I don't recognize the pattern as Navajo. Usually, traditional rugs of NA origin will have a small flaw, like a warp or weft thread that extends to the edge of the piece - to allow departure of the spirit of the blanket and to demonstrate the weaver's humility by avoiding attempts at perfection.

Regardless of provenance, you got a bargain at $3.00. An authentic very early Navajo blanket recently sold for $1.5 million. Google highest price for Navajo blanket for details.

If you have a museum in your area with Native American artifacts, there maybe a curator there who can give you additional information about this piece.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

I have only owned one genuine Navajo, and it’s just plain butt ugly!
I traded for it, my Daughter has it now.
I have seen a number of Genuine Navajos that I liked a lot, but apparently not enough to count out the Benjamins.
So in another trade deal, I got my hands on some Mexican clones.
Here’s the one I kept.

 

[Marshwheeling]

My first reaction, without seeing it in person, would be somewhere in Central Asia. It is not refined enough to be Persian, more likely tribal from somewhere in one of the Stans. My one reservation is that the pattern does not necessarily suggest the Islamic world. The simplicity of the pattern suggests someplace not too sophisticated.

Of course, I know just enough to be dangerous, and am probably full of ****.

 

[Lt JL]

I think it's a prayer rug. Possibly Egyptian. Defitely not persian or from one of the Istans.

 

[Ματθιας]

Looking at the fringes, I'm going to guess that it's not Navajo.

What are the dimensions? What is it made of? Is it wool?

It might be a horse blanket or a rug.

 

[crazyphil]

I bought this one up in Navajo land, in northern Arizona, from a Navajo
so many years ago that I could afford it. I think it's authentic Navajo.
Other than that, I couldn't give you any more help than what's already
been given.

 

[Marshwheeling]

I think it's a prayer rug. Possibly Egyptian. Defitely not persian or from one of the Istans.

The size suggests prayer rug to me as well, but the symmetrical pattern has me puzzled.

 

[TheHobbyist]

It is small, you can see my Apple laptop to the right of it in the photo. The person that owned it was a WW2 Vet and travelled a decent amount.

I keep wondering if sometime after he got back or before the war, he went out West and some local tribe/Nation had it for sale as a tourist thing or maybe it had a completely different use that what I can think of. I think I will call a museum that specializes in Native American items and see if they can shed any light on it.

One poster mentioned Mexican and if it weren't for the design I could see that as a possibility. The design to me really strikes me as Native American, but I am not expert.

 

[TheHobbyist]

Think I found it...it is a native American 'wall hanging', vintage. Worth around $ 100.00. VINTAGE NATIVE AMERICAN Wool Carpet Wall hanging - $75.00 | PicClick

Now for the speculative part: My guess only is that if people/tourists could not afford a large blanket years ago, they might buy something like this.

 

[Benchrest1]

I have about a dozen real Navajo rugs and not one of them have any fringes. So I would say its something else.

 

[pawngal]

Wall Hanging or table runner

Snap Vintage Native American Table Runner / Wall Tapestry / Area photos on Pinterest

 

[ExRanger714]

IIRC Navajo rugs from the "Germantown" (late 1800s) period may or may not have been fringed.

But the fringe was added to the last row of the rug and looped and knotted on. The fringe was not really part of the rug--just tied on.