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Chief's Blanket

Arts of the Americas

The Navajo wove waterproof, striped wool blankets that became known as Chief Blankets and traded them to other tribes. In 1863 the U.S. Army forcibly removed the Navajo from Arizona to Bosque Redondo detention camp in New Mexico and killed the tribe’s churro sheep. Ingenious weavers combined commercial wool with unraveled army blankets to create new designs with colorful details, as seen here. During captivity, weavings became the primary source of income.

In 1868 the Navajo returned to their homelands, and weaving flourished with the advent of the railroad and the establishment of trading posts.
CULTURE Navajo
MEDIUM Wool, dye
DATES 1875–1880
DIMENSIONS 43 x 56in. (109.2 x 142.2cm)  (show scale)
COLLECTIONS Arts of the Americas
ACCESSION NUMBER 50.67.45
CREDIT LINE Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund
PROVENANCE Prior to 1848, provenance not yet documented; by 1848, acquired by Nathan Sturges Jarvis; 1848, gift of Nathan Sturges Jarvis to the New-York Historical Society, New York, NY; 1937, loaned by the New-York Historical Society to the Brooklyn Museum; 1950, purchased from the New-York Historical Society by the Brooklyn Museum.
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MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
CAPTION Navajo. Chief's Blanket, 1875–1880. Wool, dye, 43 x 56in. (109.2 x 142.2cm). Brooklyn Museum, Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund, 50.67.45. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 50.67.45_PS5.jpg)
IMAGE overall, 50.67.45_PS5.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2013
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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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Navajo. <em>Chief's Blanket</em>, 1875–1880. Wool, dye, 43 x 56in. (109.2 x 142.2cm). Brooklyn Museum, Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund, 50.67.45. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 50.67.45_PS5.jpg)