Minneapolis Institute of Art

Blanket

Diné (Navajo) artist

Date

c. 1875

Medium

Wool

Culture

Navajo

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

A Navajo woman made this serape around 1865 during the Late Classic period (1860-1875), when Navajo artists wove some of the most spectacular textiles in their history. The pattern of this textile is emblematic of hozho, a fundamental philosophical concept for the Navajo that emphasizes the connection between beauty, symmetry, balance, order, and grace. This textile contains a “Spider Woman opening, ” a visible and intentional thin vertical white slit at the center of the weaving, thought to be a way to pay tribute to Spider Woman, who brought weaving to Navajo people and who helped spin the world into existence. United States, Americas

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