This is a true vintage Hand-Woven Native American Navajo rug that was made in the 40s. The design came from the Chinel area of the Navajo reservation in Arizona. The word Chinel in Navajo means “flowing out” and the center pattern dates back to 1845. My grandfather was the doctor on the Navajo reservation in the 40s to the early 50s. The Navajo Indiana’s gave the rug to my grandfather for some of his services, along with about 10 other rugs of various sizes. its exact age is unknown however I remember seeing the rugs and playing on then at my grandparent’s home in the 50s. This is a true 1940’s hand-woven Navajo rug with the true earth tone. It is in very good condition for its age. This rug has no holes or tears. If you look at the close up photos, you can see the inconsistently of the woven patter. Today’s machine woven Navajo rugs, the pattern will be consistent everything the same height and size.
Some guild lines for buying Navajo rugs:
- Checking the weave, a quality Navajo rug will be tightly woven and it will be difficult to separate the weft (horizontal) threads enough to see the warp (vertical) threads.
- Check for uniformity of corners, width, and stripes or patterns.
- Remember that a rug is handmade and unique, and that it should not be 100% perfect.
- Natural wools will show some shading variations in color.
- Look for uniformity in dyed colors-this shows that the weaver dyed enough yarn to continue the same dye lot throughout the rug.
