Classic Period Man's Serape, Navaho Slave Blanket, the style and technical characteristics of this blanket date it to the early 1860s, 78 x 48 in., (wool loss). The overall design concept of large radiating concentric diamonds is very different from the usual Navaho aesthetic that, no matter how complex, was always based on horizontal bands. This, plus the somewhat narrower/longer format and very exaggerated terracing, implies a different type of weaving environment and lead to the belief it is a Navaho Slave Blanket. So does the presence of non-native yarns, even more so since imported yarn is the only material present -- the entire blanket, even the warp, 3-ply or raveled from it. This is know in only two other blankets -- the Chief White Antelope and another serape collected by O.H. Browning. Both have mid-1860's acquisition dates and, in common with the present example, are woven with a rare type of imported 3-ply Merino wool, know as Zephyr. This is a very important distinction because Zephyr has been identified only in these three blankets and not in any of the hundreds of others included in Dr. Joe Ben Wheat's lifetime survey. A quote from Wheat's recently published "Blanket Weaving in the Southwest": "Another Merino yarn, identified by Harry Mera (1948:3, 18) as Zephyr yarn, found very limited use during the 1860's. During the present study, it was recorded in only two blankets, the Chief White Antelope blanket (pl. 120) of 1864 and a blanket collected by O.H. Browning about 1865 (pl. 119)." Ben Wheat then adds "According to Fairchild's Dictionary of Textiles, Zephyr yarn is a variety of soft worsted yarn characterized by a low twist and spun from wool which is as fine, or finer, in average diameter than the U.S. Standard 64 grade tops...Sometimes silk...fibers are blended in the yarn (Wingate 1967:661). (Silk fibers appear in the White Antelope blanket, but in separate yarns.) Because the yarn differs considerably from contemporaneous Saxony yarns, the term Zephyr should be retained for this historic yarn." There is not doubt the yarn here is very different and not regular Saxony -- the exceptional smooth and slippery handle are unique and unmistakable. The distinctive pastel colors in this blanket, the Antelope and Browning are as unique as the Zephyr yarn they are made from and all of them here have been tested and verified as natural and non-synthetic by David Wenger, the acknowledged expert. Additional microscopic analysis revealed the worsted vs. woolen question inherent in the Zephyr identification. It also identified the unusual warp spin, as well as locating areas of raveled* yearn, particularly in the lighter chocolate brown color. Technical Analysis: Warp: 11 per inch; 3 ply; Red Zephyr: 60 per inch; cochineal; 3 ply; White Zephyr: 60 per inch; 3 ply; Khaki Zephyr: 60 per inch; 3 ply; Brown Zephyr: 60 per inch; 3 ply; Peach Zephyr: 60 per inch; 3 ply *Where raveled weft has been identified it is over 90 per inch Original Navaho-style upper warp selvage; most of the original Navaho-style weft selvage remains; no original lower warp selvedge. Literature: Blanket Weavers of the Southwest, Dr. Joe Ben Wheat, edited by Ann Lane Hedlund, Univ. of Arizona Press, 2003.
Classic Period Man's Serape, Navaho Slave Blanket, the style and technical characteristics of this blanket date it to the early 1860s, 78 x 48 in., (wool loss). The overall design concept of large radiating concentric diamonds is very different from the usual Navaho aesthetic that, no matter how complex, was always based on horizontal bands. This, plus the somewhat narrower/longer format and very exaggerated terracing, implies a different type of weaving environment and lead to the belief it is a Navaho Slave Blanket. So does the presence of non-native yarns, even more so since imported yarn is the only material present -- the entire blanket, even the warp, 3-ply or raveled from it. This is know in only two other blankets -- the Chief White Antelope and another serape collected by O.H. Browning. Both have mid-1860's acquisition dates and, in common with the present example, are woven with a rare type of imported 3-ply Merino wool, know as Zephyr. This is a very important distinction because Zephyr has been identified only in these three blankets and not in any of the hundreds of others included in Dr. Joe Ben Wheat's lifetime survey. A quote from Wheat's recently published "Blanket Weaving in the Southwest": "Another Merino yarn, identified by Harry Mera (1948:3, 18) as Zephyr yarn, found very limited use during the 1860's. During the present study, it was recorded in only two blankets, the Chief White Antelope blanket (pl. 120) of 1864 and a blanket collected by O.H. Browning about 1865 (pl. 119)." Ben Wheat then adds "According to Fairchild's Dictionary of Textiles, Zephyr yarn is a variety of soft worsted yarn characterized by a low twist and spun from wool which is as fine, or finer, in average diameter than the U.S. Standard 64 grade tops...Sometimes silk...fibers are blended in the yarn (Wingate 1967:661). (Silk fibers appear in the White Antelope blanket, but in separate yarns.) Because the yarn differs considerably from contemporaneous Saxony yarns, the term Zephyr should be retained for this historic yarn." There is not doubt the yarn here is very different and not regular Saxony -- the exceptional smooth and slippery handle are unique and unmistakable. The distinctive pastel colors in this blanket, the Antelope and Browning are as unique as the Zephyr yarn they are made from and all of them here have been tested and verified as natural and non-synthetic by David Wenger, the acknowledged expert. Additional microscopic analysis revealed the worsted vs. woolen question inherent in the Zephyr identification. It also identified the unusual warp spin, as well as locating areas of raveled* yearn, particularly in the lighter chocolate brown color. Technical Analysis: Warp: 11 per inch; 3 ply; Red Zephyr: 60 per inch; cochineal; 3 ply; White Zephyr: 60 per inch; 3 ply; Khaki Zephyr: 60 per inch; 3 ply; Brown Zephyr: 60 per inch; 3 ply; Peach Zephyr: 60 per inch; 3 ply *Where raveled weft has been identified it is over 90 per inch Original Navaho-style upper warp selvage; most of the original Navaho-style weft selvage remains; no original lower warp selvedge. Literature: Blanket Weavers of the Southwest, Dr. Joe Ben Wheat, edited by Ann Lane Hedlund, Univ. of Arizona Press, 2003.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
