Hello forum!
I recently found this rug at a thrift store and I wanted to confirm if it is a Chimayo style, or if it is in fact a Native American rug, or possibly even a Mexican rug?
The dimensions are almost exactly 4 x 6 feet. From the weight of it it could almost be a blanket but it would be very uncomfortable to wear as such!
The quality is exceptional and feels very similar to some of the higher end Chimayo textiles I’ve seen in the Southwest, but the design does not seem totally consistent with what I’ve seen from Chimayo rugs. Based on the fringed ends, I would not think it to be Navajo though.
It also seems like it could be older because there is a seam connecting two panels lengthwise which leads me to believe these were loomed on older, smaller looms. It’s a pretty tight weave.
There is an inconsistency in the most detailed part of the center motif that I’ve taken a close up of, which is that the space on one side is filled in with a darker yarn, and on the mirrored other half, it’s only filled in partly with the darker yarn, and I don’t know if that is significant.
Most likely I will be selling this piece, as it’s a bit large for my space.
Looking forward to any help identifying the age and style. Thank you in advance for your collective knowledge.
I had found another rug post on this forum which is what landed me here, but yes, you may be right.
Just thought I would post here in the off-chance that someone here may also be a specialist in textiles too, as many jewelry spots in the Southwest have both.
Welcome to the forum. We don’t see a bunch of these but I believe it is a Chimayo blanket. It is not Navajo. You should be able to google Chimayo blanket and find a company in Northern New Mexico that could give you more details.
I think it’s very pretty, but to my eye more probably a vintage Mexican saltillo than likely Chimayo/Rio Grande NM. The use of vertical and horizontal bordering within the field is alien to normal Chimayo production (I think?), which is all about edge-to-edge weaving–but borders are for sure characteristic within Mexican textiles.
Here’s a Pinterest pin of a vintage Mexican rug (regardless that it says Chimayo–some sales use that just to attract the eye) with the same repeating S-shape in the border, though obviously different in design and missing the central diamond.
The diamond central design of your piece is thoroughly typical of saltillo weavings, Mexican and NM. But it’s those internal borders that hang me up, lol. (That said, the finest weavers in Chimayo working now, the Trujillos, do use interior borders sometimes–but that’s an exception.)
No worries on my end. I enjoyed seeing your rug. I wish we had sub-forums for different NA art forms, but we would need an expert in each category, which would be hard to assemble. Jason and others have their hands full with just the jewelry. Thanks for stopping by!
