Awards given for art, including Navajo weavings, are always subjective. While a Blue Ribbon at the Gallup Ceremonial, the Heard Museum, or Indian Market may be interpreted to mean that the chosen piece was the “best” weaving, there are always people who will disagree.
Having been a judge at many shows, I can say there are often disagreements among the judges, and sometimes, the decision has to be made by a vote. That’s the main reason there are usually three judges in every category.
Recently, a collector brought us a weaving that four judges selected as the most outstanding Navajo rug. The judging took place at the Navajo Community College. The piece was woven in 1964, but the competition at the college was held in 1969, 66 years ago.
No one knows who initiated the competition, but it was certified in a letter by Ruth Roessel, the Director of Navajo Studies and Navajo Arts and Crafts at the college. The requirement was that entries had to have won two or more First Prize awards in major exhibitions. That’s a pretty steep hill to climb. Over 200 weavings met the criteria!
The letter from Ruth Roessel, who was also a judge, is below.
Another letter is from the president of the college, Dr. Ned Hatathli, who was also the nephew of the weaver, Mary Hatathli, appraising the rug in 1972 for Dr. Robert A Roessel Jr., who was the Chancellor of the school. You will note that he has the same last name as Ruth, who wrote the first letter.
Hatathli ran the Navajo Arts and Craft Guild in the early 1950s and was a judge of weaving at many exhibitions. He said the rug “is the most unusual and unique rug I have ever seen. There is literally nothing like it anywhere.”
He also claimed that the director of the Museum of the American Indian had tried to buy the weaving before it was finished, which I think is likely true.
So, what makes this weaving so amazing? It combines a two-face (different on each side) and a diamond twill weave. That is rare but not unusual. It is also much larger than most twill or two-face weavings, measuring 56” x 108”. The size is highly unusual.
I think this weaving is so remarkable because it is a blanket. It is woven with hand-spun wool using natural wool color, but it is soft and supple. Almost all twill weavings are packed tightly and are thick. For this reason, they were highly prized as saddle blankets or for use on the floor. Not this piece.
When I see an unusual weaving, one of the questions that comes to mind is, “Why did this woman weave this rug?” It’s too big to wrap around one’s shoulders, and it certainly was not woven for a floor rug. The weaver took great care to ensure it was an even and carefully crafted pattern, and her work to spin the yarn using natural wool and wool colors was intentional.
It came to me, and I’ll bet I’m right, when I looked at a Ralph Lauren catalog that came to our mailbox. It featured clothing and fabric designed by Navajo weaver Naomi Glass. One of the coats she created looked like a Pendleton blanket I used as a bedspread. Bingo, I realized this weaving was intended as a blanket or a bedspread for a twin bed.
I have a twin bed in a spare bedroom, so I took the piece home, and it was perfect.So, there you go. I have no idea how this weaving left the Navajo Community College, but it was eventually purchased and given to us to sell by a collector from New England. Like Dr. Hatathli, I’ve never seen another weaving like it.
