Red Mesa Outline Late Transitional Period Navajo Rug [SOLD]

This rich and colorful rug came from the loom of a Diné weaver in the area of Red Mesa Trading Post at Teec Nos Pos AZ, on the border of Arizona and New Mexico.  Red Mesa textiles are distinctive among Navajo textiles in their technique of “outlining” the designs—each color in the textile is separated from the adjoining color by an outline of another color.  This rug is strong in the colors of red, orange, black and gray and the outline colors used were white and black.  The grey is natural native wool in its natural state, the red and orange are natural native wool dyed with aniline dyes, and the black is from native black sheep, which may be in the natural state or overdyed for darker strength.

The rug is borderless in the style of true Navajo blankets of the nineteenth and earlier centuries.  It is defined as a transitional period textile, meaning it was made during the transition from blankets to rugs.  It dates to the late eighteen hundreds, probably 1890s.  These dynamic and visually aggressive styles are carry-overs from nineteenth century blanket styles that proliferated after 1864-68.  The Red Mesa rug styles were created around the turn of the last century, with photographically documented examples at the Shiprock trading fairs from 1909-1915.  [Rodee 1995:152, Figure 43]

Weavers there are known as some of the best on the Navajo reservation.  The designs used were influenced by surrounding weaving areas—use of multiple colors from Teec Nos Pos, and outlining from earlier eyedazzler textiles.  It was the artistic talent of the weavers of Red Mesa to combine these borrowed design ideas into the beautiful result of a Red Mesa Outline rug, the distinctive style associated with the region.

Condition: very good condition

Provenance: this Red Mesa Outline Late Transitional Period Navajo Rug is from the collection of a gentleman from California

Reference: Rodee, Marian E., One Hundred Years of Navajo Rugs