Navajo Saddle Blankets: Textiles to Ride in the American Southwest
Utilitarian items are frequently overlooked by collectors, but  they often have a beauty of their own. So it is with Navajo  saddle blankets, used until they wore out by Native Americans,  cowboys, ranchers, and Mexican vaqueros, then shipped east for  back-to-nature decor as throw rugs. The Museum of Indian Arts  and Culture in New Mexico, which has an extensive collection of  these saddle blankets, has drawn together not only illustrations  of their holdings but also many essays on the history of rug  weaving and trading posts dealing in blankets, cowboy life,  weaving methods, and more. Since the essays are written by a  variety of contributors, including curators, Navajo weavers, and historians, there is some overlap, but mostly this is fresh and  interesting information. The brief description of the Navajo  loom and weaving setup is the best since books from the 1930s,  and the vibrant illustrations (85 color, 30 black-and-white)  show the development and change in weaving styles from the pre-Bosque Redondo period to the present. Simple and humble, yet  complex in conception and execution, these worn and respected  blankets obviously did a lot more than comfort and protect a  horse's hide. A good buy for most larger collections.-Gay Neale,  formerly with Southside Virginia Community Coll. Lib., Alberta Nickerson, Jackie. Farm.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.