This headdress would have been worn by a man on the back of the head. The long wooden pin would secure it to a hairnet. It is part of a dance outfit see 06.331.8027,a,b,c,e.

Brooklyn Museum Collection

Brooklyn Museum Collection

Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund

By exchange

By exchange

Woven, beaded strip with wool yarn tassels on the ends. Possibly for a bandolier bag.

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.

Design is fret designs in indigo, red, black and white. Good condition. In 1880-1881 the Santa Fe Railroad was extended through Navajo territory, bringing new materials and new customers for Navajo weavings. As soon as commercial four-ply yarns and aniline (chemical) dyes became available, Navajo weavers employed them to their full potential. Designs changed from simple stripes and conservative diamond patterns to an explosion of innovation in weaving, with new colors not available with natural dyes such as yellow, orange, green, and purple.

Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund