Wearing Blanket (late 1800s): Art, History and Details

Wearing Blanket (late 1800s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Diné (Navajo) artists wove geometric designs that reference the natural environment as well as embody spiritual insights and meanings. Specific patterns were inherited but also evolved over time. This blanket was created during the late 1800s, when weavers in the Southwest began to shift from making garments for Indigenous use, including trade, to additionally create items for non-Native collectors. In this new market, traditional wearing blankets, which were worn around the shoulders, were purchased as rugs.

Object facts

• Title: Wearing Blanket
• Date: late 1800s
• Culture: Native North American, Southwest, Navajo (Diné), woman artist
• Type: Textile
• Technique: Wool (handspun): tapestry weave
• Dimensions: Overall: 181 x 134.6 cm (71 1/4 x 53 in.)
• Collection: T - Native North American
• Department: Textiles
• Accession number: 1921.948

Collection credit

Gift of Mrs. Harriet E. McBride

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.