Help w/Identifying Crazy Navajo Blanket

hi everyone. i found this piece today at the local antique faire. it measures 74" x 47.5" approximately. it appears to be an authentic Navajo weaving. i'm guessing this is a Germantown Navajo blanket. as you can see the colors are crazy. in the past i've had much smaller pieces with similar colors(although not as many). what i'm wondering is, how old is this piece? i'm guessing all of these colors would tend to make this an earlier Germantown weaving. is that a reasonable guess? also, how would you describe this art? is there a specific name for it? is there a specific group within the Navajo Nation that likely made this? really any help anyone out there might be able to offer would be greatly appreciated...thanks

 

I don't think that's Navajo. The designs are not traditional, nor anything I've ever seen. The colors, as you note, are also not at all traditional. And of course, the fringe on the ends is an indication that it's not Dine. Some of the 'fringe' is damage, but still.

Germantown weavings, typically 19th century, do sometimes have fringe, but it's sewn on, and not technically part of the weaving or the weaving process.

 

i don't think that's fringe. i think it's wear. this is a worn piece. i should also say, i'm not sure what this is. the weaving does seem to be traditional Navajo. note the side edges and the vertical transitions in the designs and colors. i know there's a small group in the southern portion of the Navajo nation. i can't remember their name. that's who i'm thinking might have done this.

 

Kinda like this ...
https://www.amazon.com/Handmade-Vintage-Oriental-Anatolian-Turkish/dp/B01CD0E5EG

 

It's my opinion that this is a kilim of some sort, not all that old, and is likely woven from cotton, not wool. Perhaps I'm wrong.

I'll wait for others here to offer their opinions.

 

here's a close up of the edge that appears to be intact. there are a couple of spots where it's intact. it wasn't originally a fringe originally.

 

i can say, this weaving isn't the same as a kilim. i'm familiar with kilim weaving and this is different. also, the colored yarns are definitely wool. i'm not sure what it is, but it's not like any kilim weavings i've ever seen.

 

that's what i understand to be a kilim weave. this piece is not woven that way. there are similarities in the design, but the weaving is different.

 

Not Navajo.

The side edges are made using multiple warps as reinforcement - you can see the double ridges indicating multiple warps -


This is not a Navajo technique. Navajo weavers strengthen the edges with a separate pair of selvage cords twined around the edge.

The undamaged edge area that you indicate shows the warps were originally knotted together in bundles to secure the ends of the rug. Navajo weaving leaves no warps loose at the ends as fringe or knots (except the selvage cords knotted at the corners).

You are correct that your rug is not a typical kilim style of weaving. In kilims, the different colors of yarn loop around adjacent warps, leaving vertical slits where the colors change. Both your rug and Navajo weavings use variations of tapestry weave, where different colored wefts either loop alternately around the same warp, or loop around each other between warps.

https://statemuseum.arizona.edu/online-exhibit/19-century-navajo-weaving-asm/navajo-weaving-methods

https://www.kilim.com/kilim-wiki/we...-muXx7Mze8aei-J78V0_srTibCSIDcFvRpLH1EHkCNbN_

 

It's interesting that most sellers do not know what this rug is..! ....

but yes, that ' is ' a fringe , disturbed by wear...
and no, it is not any kind of Navajo woven item..!