Antique 19th Century Navajo Germantown Eye Dazzler Woven Wool Textile

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Description

Antique Germantown Eye Dazzler Navajo Woven Wool Blanket 19th C.

Dimensions
64 1/4" x 43 3/4" x 1/4"

With its … Read more Antique Germantown Eye Dazzler Navajo Woven Wool Blanket 19th C.

Dimensions
64 1/4" x 43 3/4" x 1/4"

With its incredible detail and texture, this handwoven vintage Navajo rug is a captivating vision of woven beauty. The striking Eye Dazzler pattern and lively colorway woven into this Navajo rug work together creating a truly unique look. Rich in symbolism and cultural beliefs, this Navajo blanket rug will take on a curated lived-in look that feels timeless while imparting a sense of warmth and welcomed informality.

Germantown blankets were Navajo textiles woven from 1864 to 1910, with the bulk of the weavings made from 1885-90. The name of these blankets comes from the yarn used - commercially-made yarn that came from wool mills in the region of Germantown, Pennsylvania. This yarn was shipped to the Navajo reservation, where the weavers would buy or barter for it at their closest trading post. Having access to these yarns sparked a creative outburst in the Navajo weaving community of the period and resulted in gorgeous textiles that are highly prized by modern audiences. Note that Germantown blankets preceded the making of Navajo rugs and were woven almost exclusively for the tourist trade. These vintage Navajo blankets are too delicate to put on the floor; instead, these textiles were draped on beds, worn, or hung on walls. Early Germantown weavings were frequently woven with a cotton warp, adding to their fragility (though this practice was soon discouraged by traders, who encouraged weavers to use wool warps for added strength).

A Navajo Eye Dazzler (sometimes written as one word, “eyedazzler”) is a unique type of Navajo weaving made between 1880 and 1910. These weavings are characterized by vibrant, complex designs woven in many colors. These weavings are masterful examples of the weavers’ creativity, sparked by access to the Germantown yarns in an array of brilliant colors. There are a couple of caveats if you are looking at a vibrant, Navajo weaving and wondering if it is an eye dazzler. An eyedazzler does not have to be woven of Germantown yarn. A few weavers of the era dyed their homespun yarn with aniline dyes and recreated the look of Germantown eyedazzlers with their own hand-spun yarn. Germantown blankets (and therefore Germantown eyedazzlers) were only woven during a brief period, largely ending at the turn of the last century. After this period, Navajo weavers wove rugs exclusively - even those that are “eye-dazzling” to look at are not considered to be true eye dazzlers.

Acquired from Winfield Auction Gallery in 2024. See less