Nizhoni Ranch Gallery

1st Phase Chief Blankets are characterized by simple horizontal stripes. Woven like a Classic Chief Blanket it has the handle of a true blanket weave. Just three colors, indigo blue, ivory and a variegated brown, with a slight line of cochineal.

3rd Phase Navajo Chief Blanket is done in a Red Mesa/ Teec Nos Pos Pictorial Style. The colors in this piece are brown, black, white, red, and indigo/purple.

This particular piece is just spectacular. Woven in a contemporary Bistie style, with a central element which was changed to showcase Sandpainting images. Woven with hand dyed Churro wool. Master weaver Marian Nez's talent for weaving is evident in this weaving, notice how perfect the circles are in the center of the sandpainting design. Circles are one of the most difficult design elements to weave.

This very special, tightly woven Burntwater is woven with all natural hand dyed Churro wool with the exception of the black which is aniline hand dyed Churro wool. Master Weaver Irene Bia has won many awards at the Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial.

This pristine Hero Twin Pictorial is vibrant and unusual. To make this even more special Chee Dodge's name is typed on the certificate, along with Crystal New Mexico. Chee Dodge had a trading post during this time frame. Attached with a lead seal is the original certificate of authenticity. Hand carded, hand spun and hand dyed with Rambouillet wool.

The corner "L" shapes join the central diamond with intertwined, lightning bars. Four whirling log shapes fill the space between the corner and the diamond. The diamond is unusual because of all of the action outside and inside. Outside the diamond is lined with mostly red "flags". Inside the diamond, the black hook with cream border, the red hook with tan border, and then another diamond and more shapes. each goes deeper and deeper and deeper.

Woven in the 1920s, this Crystal JB Moore Plate XXIII weaving in MINT condition! The Master weaver of this piece modified the original plate and added beautiful interwoven X's in each of the corner. Each plate was used as a guide and the artist would add elements to make it their own.

Beautiful antique Navajo weaving was woven with Lincoln wool using aniline dyes, featuring red, orange, brown and grey floating diamond motif, making a very dramatic statement. Possibly from the Teec Nos Pos area.

Moki weavings are very distinctive in the Hubbell Trading Post/Chinle area. This weaving is very likely to be one of a pair which was hung over an entry to a Hogan which Hubbell specialized in. Outstanding design and very well woven.

A lovely panel made in the 1880s, and woven with Germantown yarn. Germantown yarns were 3-4 ply and of bright bold colors. This piece is in excellent condition and was woven very tightly - so to repel the weather. The weaver incorporated many "lazy lines" or sectional lines which would provide for comfort and fluid movement.

This gorgeous Klagetoh is tightly woven with hand dyed Churro wool. The wool colors are nicely variegated. Master weaver Helen Bia from Three Turkey Ruins has won many awards. This weaving took 2nd place at the Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial.

In this beautiful Child's Blanket, Kathy Marianito carried on the tradition of using a Spider Woman Hole in the center of the piece. It was woven from Churro wool, using all natural dyes. The judges at the Gallup Ceremonial approved and in 2013 awarded this piece 1st place!

The textile pictures four Rain Gods with round male masks, carrying in their right hand a wicker water bottle and in the other hand a gourd rattle. Messenger birds are perched upon the Rain Gods heads. This design is an adaptation of a classic Sandpainting weaving by Glayds Manuelito (Mrs. Sam) in the 1930's. This weaving is nice and tight with almost a stiff quality. The wool source would have been from a local trading post.

Optical Navajo Rug, Lincoln wool with over dyed grey and natural wool color. Until the 1930's, crystal rugs were bordered with a central design woven in natural colors along with some use of red. Hand-carded, hand-spun, hand-dyed wool. Likely was woven in the Bistie Area due to the over dyed grey which was a common practice in the area.

Juanita Tsosie of the Rough Rock area is the creative mind behind this great piece. She was the preeminent Navajo Folk Artist / Weaver of the 80s and 90s and her creations are highly sought, many are with prominent collections and institutions.

Red Mesa Style rugs can be identified by the contrasting light and dark colors, vertical chevrons and radiating diamonds. The Red Mesa Trading Post was only 15 miles from the Teec Nos Pos Trading post, and over time the the style was influenced by the very intricate styling of the Teec Nos Pos style.

Big bold confident red squares anchor each corner, with central red tipped arrows. The field of cream seems to be funneling the energy of the piece north and south. All of this rests on a field of natural variegated beautiful brown/gray Merino wool.

This beauty is an early example of a Teec Nos Pos rug. It's easy to see the oriental rug influence in this 1930s piece. The central stars and unusual "wrench" border designs are unique in this piece.

This beautiful Two Grey Hill has an appearance of a stain glass window. In fact the Master Weaver Elsie Bia was inspired by a Clara Sherman design. Hand dyed Churro wool.

This is a very early Yei Be Chei weaving, depicting the Male & Female (Males round head, females square) Yei Be Chei Dancers with feathers, Rainbow Bars and the unusual stylized 1939 date woven in at the bottom. The date 1939 would indicate this was a piece commissioned for a special occasion and since the World's Fair was in 1939 we are attributing it to just that. Also, to back up this assumption there was a contest for weaving at the San Francisco World's Fair (held simultaneously to the NY Worlds Fair). All hand-carded, hand-spun, and hand-dyed native wool.