What is a first phase Navajo blanket?
Until about the 1820s, the Navajo made simple striped blankets identical to the Pueblo. Then Navajo weavers began making what cultural historians call the “first-phase chief’s blankets.” The design for these is the simplest of all the Navajo 19th-century blankets, consisting of brown, blue, and white bands and stripes.
How are Navajo blankets made?
Early Navajo blankets look similar to Pueblo blankets with banded horizontal stripes. The color palette is primarily composed of natural shades from sheep and native, natural dyes like indigo and ravelled yarn. These are often spun together in a mix of brown, tan, white, black, indigo and the occasional red.
Do Navajo still create woven blankets?
Commercial production of handwoven blankets and rugs has been an important element of the Navajo economy. As one expert expresses it, “Classic Navajo serapes at their finest equal the delicacy and sophistication of any pre-mechanical loom-woven textile in the world.”
What happened to the Navajo first phase blanket Antiques Roadshow?
According to an Arizona Public Media follow up from 2016, Kuntz didn’t feel like he could preserve the blanket properly, given the realization that it was worth more than what most astronauts make in a decade. He wound up selling the piece to an anonymous buyer who had it placed in the Detroit Institute of Arts.
What is my Navajo blanket worth?
The value of a Navajo rug will depend on a few factors, such as how large it is, how old it is, how tight the weaving is, the style, what dyes were used, and what condition it is in. Navajo rugs can range anywhere from $100 for a small one, to several thousand dollars for a large and old one.
How much is a Navajo first phase chief blanket worth?
Kuntz had no way of knowing that the textile he was bringing to the Tucson, Arizona showroom was actually a Navajo Ute First Phase chief’s blanket, dating back to the 1800s and estimated at the time to be worth between $350,000 and $500,000. PBS viewers across the country cried into their tote bags as a gentleman’s life was forever changed.
What kind of blankets did the Navajo people use?
The First Phase Navajo Chief’s Blanket is simple with indigo blue stripes and white and brown natural churro wool. Navajo First Phase Chief’s Blanket. With probably less than 100 First Phase Navajo Blankets in existence today, these are the most valuable and rarest of the Navajo Blankets.
How much does a Navajo blanket cost on Antiques Roadshow?
A few decades of refinement later, and Navajo blankets had become the gold standard in their field: by the 1860s, they sold for between $100 and $150, or around half the price of a house. Adding to its rarity, the Antiques Roadshow piece was what’s called a “first phase” blanket.
How many first phase blankets are there in the world?
First phase blankets, as displayed on the show, are recognizable by their blue, brown, and white striped patterns, and only around fifty of them exist today. The Kuntz family’s story doesn’t represent every occurrence of blanket-based rags to riches in recent years.