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Various Sizes - Matted Prints
Traditionally, according to the Navajo way, a man would move into his wife’s family home after marriage. In addition, there is a traditional belief that a man should not lay eyes on his mother-in-law. This taboo led to the traditional Navajo “mother-in-law” saddle blanket. It was worn on the horse with the vibrant yarn showing from a distance of the mother-in-law's impending arrival, thereby warning her son-in-law and avoiding any unwanted contact.
Other oral traditions say that "mother-in-law" Navajo blankets often refer to smaller, frequently gifted textiles, sometimes woven from colorful Germantown yarn, that were exchanged as tokens of appreciation, friendship, or for charitable acts. These pieces, distinct from large, valuable "Chief's blankets," were often smaller mats or saddle blankets with vibrant designs.
Still other stories contend that the mother-in-law blankets were small functional art pieces and were handed down as family heirlooms rather then purchased as investments.
Which ever is the truth, this unusual Two Grey Hills saddle blanket with the colorful Germantown yarn trim is a striking backdrop to the elderly Navajo woman, perhaps someone’s mother-in-law, dressed in traditional velvet shirt and prairie skirt, spinning wool for her next magnificent weaving.
Click on Photo to view Full Image
Various Sizes - Matted Prints
Traditionally, according to the Navajo way, a man would move into his wife’s family home after marriage. In addition, there is a traditional belief that a man should not lay eyes on his mother-in-law. This taboo led to the traditional Navajo “mother-in-law” saddle blanket. It was worn on the horse with the vibrant yarn showing from a distance of the mother-in-law's impending arrival, thereby warning her son-in-law and avoiding any unwanted contact.
Other oral traditions say that "mother-in-law" Navajo blankets often refer to smaller, frequently gifted textiles, sometimes woven from colorful Germantown yarn, that were exchanged as tokens of appreciation, friendship, or for charitable acts. These pieces, distinct from large, valuable "Chief's blankets," were often smaller mats or saddle blankets with vibrant designs.
Still other stories contend that the mother-in-law blankets were small functional art pieces and were handed down as family heirlooms rather then purchased as investments.
Which ever is the truth, this unusual Two Grey Hills saddle blanket with the colorful Germantown yarn trim is a striking backdrop to the elderly Navajo woman, perhaps someone’s mother-in-law, dressed in traditional velvet shirt and prairie skirt, spinning wool for her next magnificent weaving.
Click on Photo to view Full Image