Museum Expedition 1903, Museum Collection Fund

Museum Expedition 1903, Museum Collection Fund

This belt is a fine example of what is known as the Navajo style of weaving. It had probably been passed down through several generations before it was collected. The belt would have been wrapped around the waist, the woman drawing it tightly, fastening it on the left side with a tuck in, allowing the fringe to hang. Photogrpah number two shows the belt wrapped around dress 04.197.5315.

This back strap loom has a hole-and-slot heddle, a European invention that was used by Pueblo weavers around the turn of the 20th century but was discarded later in favor of the indigenous shed rod and string hoop heddle. The haft rope on one end would have been attached to a stationary object, while the woven red garter on the other end would have gone around the weaver's waist. On the loom, the Hopi style belt, with a red, green, and black warps and a black weft, is in progress.

An undyed, coarsely woven cotton blouse with embroidered shoulders, chest panel, back panel, long sleeves, and cuffs. The embroidered designs consist of leaves, flowers, lines, and criss-cross designs. The design on the shoulders consists of multi-coloured leaves, and flowers created with blue lines and light purple hatching. The embroidery on the chest consists of one blue and one multi-coloured flower with multi-coloured leaves that have been bordered with red hatching (outside) and blue hatching (inside). The embroidery on the back consists of two blue flowers with multi-coloured leaves that have been bordered with red hatching (outside) and blue hatching (inside). The back also contains a sewn blue line that runs from the back embroidery to the neck opening above. The sleeves display a multi-coloured leaf and flower motif that is bordered with green hatching. The cuffs of the blouse are closed with black buttons and braided blue yarn fasteners. The embroidered design on the cuffs depict multi-coloured leaves and dark blue flowers edged with dark pink ribbon, light pink hatching, and an orange-red line. The separate strap (b) consists of purple-pink acrylic ribbon, and the ends have been sewn together with green thread that forms a loop. Looped into this green strap is a smaller braid of green and pink-purple that has been tied to form a second loop.

Two skirt panels, vertical orientation. The panels are blue silk with a pattern of flowers and vines. The centre portion is tightly pleated. The bottom left half is embroidered with birds, flowers, leaves, and a butterfly. An elaborate embroidered border accompanies the scene. The tops of the panels are made of light coloured cotton, with fabric clothing attachments. The rear left third of each panel is lined with a darker blue silk. Part ‘a’ has a partial black stamp in the front top left corner. The panels are almost identical in construction and embroidery. Colours are light blue, light yellow-white, green, pink, yellow, purple, light brown, blue and black.

Small, heavily embroidered blouse or shirt. The two square sleeve panels are joined at the shoulders, with interwoven hand stitches, to the rectangular body panel with a squared head hole in the centre . Colourful floral designs in red, green, pink, purple, orange, blue and brown yarns completely cover a cream coloured undercloth. Possibly unfinished; sides and sleeves are not sewn together.

The belt consists of a light blue base with figures and animals woven in black on the upper section and dark blue on the lower section. There is a twisted fringe on both ends. The aforementioned images have been woven across the entire belt with a vertical composition. Each set of images is divided by three lines. The imagery is as follows, from top to bottom: two human figures, two human figures carrying an object (coffin ?) on their heads beside a tree, two roosters, a horse tied to a tree, two birds, a hut with a tree, and llama with a human figure, a geometric star/sun, a geometric pattern, a male figure holding a staff beside a bull, two lions, and a human figure with a dog.

The outer edges of the belt consist of the light yellow-white base colour with a repeating black, eye-like pattern. This horizontal pattern is bordered with one thin red line along the outside and one thick stripe of red, dark yellow, and light brown-green on the inside. The central horizontal band of the belt consists of a dark orange zigzag pattern with a light brown-green horizontal stripe running through the middle. There is also a floral-like motif in the spaces between and under the dark orange zigzags. There is a fringe on one end that consists of seven braids, with a braided green and red rope attached to the end of the fringe, which does not appear to be part of the original belt. There is one partial braid on the other end of the belt, suggesting that both ends may have been finished with a fringe at one time.

The belt has a light yellow-white base, and this colour can be seen on the top and bottom edges. The top edge of the belt is red and the bottom edge is orange. A horizontal stripe of pink, dark red-purple, blue, light purple, blue, dark red-purple and pink cotton yarn runs down the middle of the belt, on top of the base layer. There are also small woven depictions of a human, a bird, a lizard, and a geometric pattern set within rectangles upon the base light yellow-white layer. There is a fringe on one end of the belt.