Textiles  of the North American Southwest
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Curio loom with unfinished weavings, Navajo. Probably made by the Navajo weaver Juanita in New Mexico and brought from Fort Defiance with the Navajo delegation of 1874. Donated to the Smithsonian by W.F.M. Arny in January, 1875. Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, cat. no. E016494, acc. no. 00003675.

Dimensions: 35.5 in. (warp including wooden rods) x 17.75 in. (weft).

Technique: Tapestry weave.

Thread count: Warp = 14/in.; Weft = 24/in.

Fibers: Warp = 3-ply commercial wool yarn, natural white, light green, gold, and red, S-twist, Z-spin. Weft = 3-ply commercial wool yarn, natural white, light green, gold, red, blue, and black, S-twist, Z-spin. Selvages, warp and weft = 3-ply commercial wool yarn, gold, Z-twist, S-spin.

Design: The upper weaving represents a flag with 13 red and whites stripes with 1 blue and 3 white crosses (stylized stars) floating on the red stripes. One corner is blue with 35 crosses (or stylized stars). The lower weaving has 7 red and white stripes along the bottom half and on top, a pattern of zigzags in black, gold, blue, white, light green, and red.

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