19th C. > Chief's-style Blankets > This is the first blanket | Next Blanket

Chief’s-style blanket, first phase
Date:	Circa 1800-1850

“First phase blankets are the earliest and rarest version of the Navajo chief’s style. The smooth, shiny wool is handspun from the Churro sheep, a breed first introduced by the Spanish in 1598. Blue indigo dye from Mexico was used with natural white and brown-black wools.” —Ann Hedlund

“The Navajos don’t have chiefs, but other tribes do. Plains Indians were considered rich if the chief wore a Diné blanket. That’s why these are called chief’s blankets.” —Barbara Ornelas

“I see a rebelliousness to this—avoiding the usual color contrasts. People claim that we wove for purely economic reasons, but if that were true, then weavers would have cranked blankets out instead of making these aesthetic choices—by placing the black next to blue, a choice is implied. They wanted to make art and they did care about what they were making. Knowing this makes the objects seem much more human to me.” —Sierra Ornelas

“Weaving a first phase is much harder than weaving a second or third, because you have to make the lines really even. It’s real hard to do, because some of the wool is finer, some heavier.” —Barbara Ornelas

“Also, these are the hardest things to weave because it is difficult to control your sides. Your sides will pull in. The pattern keeps the fabric solid, so it’s harder for the sides to go in. If you do stripes, you have to pay close attention to how you weave.” — Michael Ornelas

“I bet that’s why there are a lot of ‘lazy lines’ (diagonal joins across solid colors) back then, to keep the sides straight, like expansion joints in a bridge.” —Sierra Ornelas

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Weft-faced plain weave.

1.91 x 1.61 m; Tassels 0.080 m
63.386 x 75.197 in.; Tassels 3.150 in.

Catalog No. E-1200

Gift of Mary Cabot Wheelwright, 1942.

Function	Fiber	Type	Ply-Spin-Twist			Color	Dye	Count *
Warp	Wool	Handspun	--	Z	--	White	None	11
Weft	Wool	Handspun	--	Z	--	White	None	71
Weft	Wool	Handspun	--	Z	--	Med Blue	Indigo	71
Weft	Wool	Handspun	--	Z	--	White	None	71
Weft	Wool	Handspun	--	Z	--	Dk Brown	None	71
Ecord	Wool	Commercial	2(4	z	S)Z	Med-Lt Blue	Indigo?	2
* threads/inch