Posted 4 years ago
ChristianT…
(1 item)
I found this old wool blanket in the house we bought 30 years ago. Been folded in a cabinet since. Started looking around online and wondering if this could be an old saddle blanket or chiefs blanket first level??? Any thoughts?
from the size and the hair, to me its a saddle blanket
The remnants of a rayon or nylon label as seen in the 3rd image would exclude it from being a native American blanket and would likely point to a newer saddle blanket.
Just some additional points. Chief blankets are woven differently than standard Navajo textiles, with the warp threads running along the shorter measurement rather than the longer measurement. so the alignment is horizontal instead of vertical.
And saddle blankets come in two versions, single (square, roughly 30-34") or double (rectangular, roughly 30-34" by 60-66", designed to be used folded in half.) Any weaving considerably outside those measurements isn't a saddle blanket.
In addition, this looks like it was woven in two parts, stitched together, with eliminates the possibility of it being a saddle blanket, chief's blanket, or Native American. This may have been intended as a buggy or carriage lap robe.