The Art Of A
Navajo Child’s Blanket

By Rebekah Powers | April 2024

Among the very finest examples of Navajo weaving from the Classic Period, these small wearing blankets are highly valued by collectors, prized for their fine design and weave. They are rare treasures from the 19th century that beguiled even the cavalry officers who invested the equivalent of a year’s salary to buy just one small blanket that they could fold and carry home easily.

Chimayo Trading is offering a very precious example of the classic period child’s wearing blanket. This fine classic weaving is a child sized chief’s blanket with blue indigo from the 1860’s. Woven with a mix of homespun and bayetta cochineal yarn, the intricate design is balanced with strong zig zag anchoring bands on each end. Unusual stepped hat forms are in green indigo, with contrasting white zig zags in homespun natural wool.

Classic Period Navajo Child’s Blanket, ca. 1860, 46.5” x 29.5”

To understand why these early Classic weavings are so valued, it helps to know some of the basic terms. Indigo dye is made from the flowering plant Indigofera Tinctoria that originates from Mexico, Central and South America. Mexico processed the plants into a dye powder that creates a deep rich blue color. A popular export, the Old Spanish Trail, sometimes called the Indigo Trail extended from Mexico City all the way to Taos, New Mexico. In the 1700s, traders moved up and down the trail, bringing natural Indigo to Navajo weavers, who still use it today.

Cochineal dye is another dye with a fascinating history. It starts with a tiny insect named Cochineal that lives on the Prickly Pear Cactus. The insects are brushed from the cactus, sun dried and ground into a dye powder which creates deep scarlet, red and purple hues. During the Aztec Empire, Cochineal became Mexico’s most valuable export, second only to silver. Once the Spanish began to export the Cochineal dye to Europe, it was highly prized, and at one point became more valuable than gold.

Most Navajo weavings with red is made with Cochineal dyed Spanish Bayetta that was imported by Navajo weavers who were so enamored of the red color, they would painstakingly unravel the wool and incorporate it into their weavings.

The enduring appeal of a child size chief’s blanket can be seen with your own eyes, and the softness of the fluffy Churro wool can be felt with your own hands. To own such a piece of history is an honor and a privilege. Visit our extensive collection of Navajo weavings and ask for a special viewing of this small masterpiece. In addition to this small woven treasure, Chimayo Trading also has two extremely valuable Navajo weavings available for the right collector.

Late Classic Period Moki Navajo Blanket, ca. 1875, 77” x 54”

Late Classic Man’s First Phase Variant Navajo Chief’s Blanket, ca. 1875, 62” x 51”

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