I need some advice, please


If anyone knows a reputable site for ID on older Native rugs, I’d really appreciate some help. One is tagged Mae Begay, but these are not in my area of knowledge. I know that she has disappeared and likely suffered a terrible fate. These were bought in the 1960’s “out west”. Would Perry Null be a source of info? Maybe Jason could comment.

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Could you take a photo of the entire rugs? That would help with ID.

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This is the best I can do right now. The Yei rug has the Navajo tag.





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Wow, that’s a lot of rugs. The ones with fringe completely across the bottom I assume are Mexican. From what I can see, the rest appear to be Navajo. You could also try calling Garland’s Navajo Rugs in Sedona, AZ. I can’t see them completely, but they look legit, however there appears to be some wear, so that would bring down the value.

Here’s a link…

I am not a rug expert by any means, but from the little bits I can see at least one looks to be a Yei rug, another possibly Storm Pattern, and another maybe a Two Grey Hills (not sure at all on that one, but just wondering). But I can’t see enough of them to say for sure. Does the tag have a store name on the back of it?

Edit: I just reread and saw that you know you have a Yei rug, and that the tag is on that. It was asking, because sometimes rugs sold in certain areas of the rez will give you a clue as to what type of rug it is.

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I’m not saying there’s no value when they have wear; my mom had a nice Yei rug that she had on the floor for literally decades. Not only did it have wear from that, but our German Shepherd chewed up one of the ends :flushed:. We still sold it at auction here in IN (where you wouldn’t get as good of a price, people here aren’t very familiar with them) for several hundred dollars.

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Thank you! I’ll check out the Garlands site.

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The green rug is interesting, can you unfold the entire rug and take a picture? What information are you looking for? Like Ziacat mentioned you do have some what appear to be Mexican weavings. But the others look authentic and you have the two classics, Ganado Red and Two Grey Hills.

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Thanks for looking at the rugs. A friend who knows I like Southwestern things, showed me the rugs and the big concho belt I showed in another post. She inherited them from her father. Her father was apparently buying heavy in the 1960’s but she was just a child and only remembers that the things came from “out west”. She asked if I could help identify these things. She mentioned insuring them, but they seem pretty dirty. I’m guessing she’ll want to sell them because there’s a lot of debt. They have a musty smell. I can get whatever photos you need a little later in the week. I really appreciate your input.

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It is about 3’ x5’ roughly. It is somewhat faded on one side like it was on display for a long time. There are some small damages. Does the fringe mean it’s Mexican? Thanks so much for your help.

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Love the colors of that rug. Yes, generally fringe on the bottom like that means it’s Mexican. There are rugs from parts of South America that have fringe, but this looks like what is typically on Mexican rugs. The design also does not look Native American.

Look at the corners of your Navajo rugs, they usually look like this…

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I believe the top rug here is the Ganado Red, and the other is the Two Grey Hills.


I’m wondering if this one with the gold, is a Storm Pattern. But I can’t tell from just seeing part of it. We have a Two Grey Hills and two Storm Patterns (plus some others).

I see a tag on this one? Something Begay?

And I almost forgot, DO NOT have them dry cleaned. They need to be cleaned by someone who knows how to do it.
https://www.indianterritory.com/pages/proper_care_and_cleaning_of_navajo_rugs.htm

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Thank you. I would NEVER send vintage textiles to a dry cleaner.

Sorry, I didn’t mean to insult you, just trying to help since you mentioned that they are dirty.

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I wasn’t insulted. Not everyone would know that. No worries.

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There’s no store name on the back. Just the size hand written.



This is the rug with a tag that says made by Mae Begay. I can’t guarantee that the tag wasn’t added. It looks old. I know there’s a sad story attached to her.

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@SherriD That’s a beautiful rug! Ganado rugs are my favorite.

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Beautiful rug! This one looks to be in pretty good shape, I don’t see a lot of wear. Value would depend on a lot of things such as who made it, how big it is (this one looks to be pretty good sized), and how tight the weave is. One of the things they say is to lay the rug out and see if it lies flat and if the ends are even and straight. This one appears good that way.

Would you mind showing us a picture of the Two Grey Hills, and also the gold one? I’d like to see if that looks like a Storm Pattern. I love all the rug designs; my personal favorite of what we have is a Pictorial rug. We’ve got 7 Navajo rugs and 2 Navajo saddle blankets. I’d like to buy more, but my husband says we have absolutely no place to put them anymore :laughing:

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