Navajo rugs, blankets and weavings
I1005 Indian Navajo Rug Replica

Indian rug - Navajo rug replica, 31" x 66", $149

This Indian rug resembles the classic Crystal or Chinle Navajo rug. Crystal initially emerged as a regional style and center during the Rug Period 1890-1920. The typical contemporary Crystal is banded not bordered, featuring vegetal-dyed yarns in warm golds, browns, greens, and a touch of black. The Chinle rug style appeared during the Revival Period 1920-1940, and is distinctively reminiscent of the old borderless Navajo blankets. The Chinle weaver combines subtle vegetal dyes with a few chemical dyes, and some darker color in the patterns. Chinle rugs are banded, and usually woven in browns and golds, along with natural wools in whites and grays. The traditional Chinle style is a simplified version of stripes and bands enhanced with a serrated diamond motif.

Due to the steady increase in demand and value, in recent years, of Navajo rugs; Nepal weavers, indigenous to India and Tibet, began successfully replicating Navajo textiles; and produce a high quality reproduction, but at a much lower price than a truly authentic Navajo rug or blanket. The Tibetan-Nepalese weavers also have an old tradition of textile manufacture. The first written evidence of weaving in Nepal, is in the Indian sources of the Asoka period, in the second century AD. The rug weaving industry spread around Nepal in 1959, when 15,000 Tibetan refugees settled in Nepal, especially inside the Kathmandu Valley. Master weavers from Gyantse, the best carpet making area of central Tibet, who settled in Nepal eventually taught their skills to others, resulting in an increase in production of high quality hand-woven rugs. By mid 1970, the rug weaving business was firmly established and continues to grow today.