How Much Does a Navajo Rug Cost?

So how much do Navajo Rugs Cost?    This Navajo Rug cost and pricing guide is designed to help you develop an initial budget and understanding of Navajo Rugs.   
There are several things to consider when purchasing quality Navajo Rugs...

•  Size
•  When was it woven – is it Historic/Antique or Contemporary
•  Tightness of weave
•  Style (complexity of design)
•  Dyes used
•  Condition

Historic Textile Exhibit Santa Fe, New Mexico

Navajo Rugs – Size

There are some standard sizes in Navajo Rugs because of the way it is woven, by hand on a Navajo Loom. Common sizes are 4x6, 5x8, 6x9…. (of course there are more sizes available, larger and smaller). You get the idea, rugs are usually woven in a rectangular configuration. The price will vary greatly by the size you need. Some large Navajo Rugs may take 1, 2, or 3 years to make and are harder to find, so they are in a higher price range. Smaller Navajo Rugs start at $100 and they go up from there.

Navajo Rugs – Historic/Antique – (pre-1950)

Antique Navajo rugs, depending on size can range from around $1,000 up to many thousands. Provenance can also add value to historic Navajo rugs, for example, previous collection history, or prior publication, etc. 

Navajo Rugs – Contemporary – (1950 to present)

Contemporary Navajo rugs, again depending on size, can range from UNDER $500 up to many thousands. The number of Navajo weavers working today is dwindling. Many of the young weavers are not learning this sacred Navajo weaving tradition, as it is a very time consuming and disciplined art form. When considering whether to purchase a Navajo Rug or not, know this is a way to encourage young Navajos to learn to weave and keep the traditional Navajo Rug weaving alive. 

2001 Textile Exhibit Desert Caballeros Western Museum, Wickenburg AZ

Navajo Rugs – Navajo Churro Collection

The Navajo Churro Collection Rugs are contemporary Navajo rugs that we commission from the best Navajo Master Weavers working today. The native Churro sheep wool, the hand dying process and the dyes themselves (natural and aniline) add value to the weaving. Also, each weaving is accompanied by provenance – a Churro Certificate with a photo of the weaver and detailed information about the Navajo rug. You can read more in depth information about The Navajo Churro Collection here.

Navajo Rugs – Style/Complexity/Tightness

There are 28 Styles of Navajo Rugs. Some Styles are more difficult to weave than others. Intricacy and tightness of the weave affect the value. Generally speaking, the tighter and finer the weave, the more valuable the piece. 

Navajo Rugs – Condition

The condition of a Navajo Rug will of course affect the value as well.  Weigh the condition issues (is it clean, straight, damaged, color run, fading, etc.)  against your attraction to the weaving and decide.  Sometime issues can be fixed - but that is another blog about Care & Repair.

Navajo Rugs – Prices on our site 

On our website, we have pricing for most Navajo rugs posted.  If a price is not visible, it is either part of our exclusive Navajo Churro Collection, or is one of our more important and valuable Antique or Contemporary Navajo Rugs. We are happy to provide pricing for any these pieces. 

Hope we answered most of your questions about How Much Do Navajo Rugs Cost.

Happy Trails,

Gail and Steve Getzwiller

Please contact us with any questions at:

Phone: 520-455- 5020
Email: steve@navajorug.com

A Special Video Invitation

 Steve and Gail are back from Santa Fe Indian Market.
They have hung up their hats for a while.

AND 

This is a wonderful time to visit us at Nizhoni Ranch Gallery!

Check out the Great New Video of the Gallery!!

  If you are planning to visit you might want to check out this great B&B in Patagonia AZ, They're very popular so book early.
The Duquesne House

2017 WINNERS ARE

2017 Gallup Inter-Tribal Ceremonial has been good to our weavers once again!!   We are proud to announce the  winners:

Master Weaver Helene Nez won the coveted title of 
Best of Weavings 
with her Bistie Navajo Rug
Churro 1520
         

Master Weaver Helene Nez won the coveted title of 
Best of Weavings 
with her Bistie Navajo Rug 
Churro 1520

1ST PLACE  - BEST OF CATEGORY--LARGE WEAVINGS
CHURRO 516 -- JALUCIE MARIANITO
 
***********************************************************************************

1ST PLACE  - BEST OF CATEGORY--WEARABLE ART
CHURRO 1535 -- LUCIE MARIANITO

***************************************************************************************************

CARA GORMAN'S  CHURRO 1524--  JB MOORE RUG WOVEN WITH ALPACA WON A SPECIAL AWARD AND A ROSETTE RIBBON

*************************************************************************************************

***1ST PLACE RIBBONS - CHURRO Navajo RUGS***

Churro 1499              Churro 1513   

 Churro 1526                         Churro 1527     

Churro 1496                           Churro  1523      

***2ND PLACE AWARDS- Churro Navajo Rugs***

Churro 1529      Churro 1528           Churro 1512         Churro 1531   

Churro 1503       Churro 1504         Churro 1518         Churro 1525

1st place:  
3292             3294                3295           3204

2nd place:
3303    3293

Off to Santa Fe!

Hello Everyone, 
Getting ready for Santa Fe -  
We will be bringing a selection of Historic Textiles with us.  Let us know if you have any favorites you want to see in person..  We have heard from a few folks and don't want you to miss a chance to see any of the Antique Rugs in person.

****************************************
Gallup Inter-Tribal Ceremonial Winners will also be available for 
viewing August 14th thru the 21st 
in Santa Fe, at the Bishops Lodge Road House

The latest Silk Shawl - Sure to be a Show Stopper

Be sure to call to make your appointment with Steve to see the winners. 
Call the Gallery - 520-455-5020 or call Steve direct - 520-241-5581.

Look forward to seeing you soon.  
Happy Trails,

Between Show Limbo

Preparing for a show can be some hard work!

A spotlight on Zia Potter Ruby Panana

Ruby Panana has been a creating stunning pottery since 1983. Her pottery began winning awards from the very first time it was exhibited. Ruby's work encompasses many forms from jars, bowls, vases, wedding vases and even canteens. She produces some of the largest Zia pottery pieces.  Her works of art are painted with natural materials - clay, rocks, sand, and she creates black from wild spinach.  Her brushes are created traditionally by chewing yucca to create the perfect tool. 

Ruby's gorgeous works are on exhibit in noted Southwest galleries: The Indian Craft Shop, the Museum of Northern Arizona, and the US Department of the Interior in Washington DC.  You can find her pottery in major collections, including the Wright Museum at Harvard. 

Steve and I wanted to share with you the beautiful works of the Zia Potter, Ruby Panana.  We are prompted by the latest edition of the Native American Art Magazine, which is featuring POTTERY.   Ruby is a wonderful person and works very hard to bring to life the clay she coils.  We hope you will enjoy the selection below and possibly find one or two, that will fit into your collection.

We are always just an email or phone call away.
Always happy to answer questions.


E steve@navajorug.com  
P 520-455-5020

Hogans - The Center of the Navajo World

The ancient hogan, known as the "forked stick hogan" was a conical hut constructed of three forked poles covered with logs, brush and mud.  Called the "male" hogan by the Navajos, examples of this swelling can still occasionally be found in the western part of the reservation.  More common today is the "female" hogan, a circular or 6 sided dwelling constructed of logs or stone, with a doorway facing east and a smoke hole in the center of the roof.

The dome-shaped roof is formed of cribbed logs covered with dirt. The fire  is placed on the hard-packed floor beneath the smoke hole and a flap or hinged door covers the doorway.  Traditionally the hogan lacked windows and was ventilated by the smoke hole in the roof and the east-facing doorway.  Nowadays not only do the hogans have windows but they may also contain stoves, chimneys, beds, and refrigerators and TVs,

Today white prototype houses and even mobile homes are common on the reservation, but families that live in such dwellings also construct a hogan nearby.  Many of the People have retained their native religion and Navajo ceremonies can be conducted only in a hogan.

Most Navajo families own 2, 3, or several hogans and more than one permanent establishment if they own sheep.  A family that owns several hundred sheep and other livestock might have as many as 5 or 6 separate clusters of buildings scattered over a large area as the animals must be moved from place to place at various seasons of the year.  

Variations in the weather and the water supply may require that a family live in one place during the summer and another during the winter.  Usually though, each family has one location which is their main residence at which there are more or less permanent corrals, storage dugouts, several hogans and temporary shades or bush hogans for summer use.

The Navajo hogan is more than just a place to eat and sleep and the concept of it as a "home" bears little resemblance to a white person's attitude toward his dwelling place.  The hogan is a gift of the gods and as such it occupies a place in the sacred world.  The first hogans were built by the Holy People of turquoise, white shell, jet, and abalone shell.  The round hogan is symbolic of the sun and its door faces east so that the first thing that a Navajo family sees in the morning is the rising sun, Father Sun, one of the most revered of the Navajo deities.  The construction of a new hogan is almost always a community affair.  Once completed, the new hogan is consecrated with a Blessing Way ceremony whereby the Holy People are asked to "let this place be happy."

Also nearby, but out of sight, will be at least one sweat hogan.  The sweat hogan is small scale replica of the old-style forked stick hogan but without the smoke hole.  It is constructed of three sticks with forked ends which are fasten together in a tripod.  Two straight sticks are leaned against the apes from the east to make the sides of the door.  It is heated by placing hot rocks within, the door being closed with several blankets.  The sweat hogan provides excellent bathing and purifying facilities for the Navajos in their land of scarce water.  As in virtually everything a Navajo does, there are prescribed rituals that must be followed in taking a sweat bath.  Four verses of the Sweat Bath Song must be sung before a Navajo can leave the sweat hogan, which the Navajo call the Son of the She Dark, to plunge into cold water or dry himself in the sand.

The bather then reenters the sweat hogan and sings four more verses of the song.  He repeats the ritual until the entire song has been sung.   - Raymond Friday Locke

Traditional structured hogans are also considered pioneers of energy efficient homes. Using packed mud against the entire wood structure, the home was kept cool by natural air ventilation and water sprinkled on the dirt ground inside. During the winter, the fireplace kept the inside warm for a long period of time and well into the night.

The evolution of the Navajo Hogan, Left to right. The very old hogan. A later style, a few of which are still in use. The hogan of today, with log walls and dirt roof. Many Navajos live in modern log and stone houses, similar to the one pictured above.  -- Southern Navajo Agency, 1933

----------------------

Weavings which depict hogans and everyday life give us a timeless image of this traditional culture.

Take a look at some of the Pictorial weavings that we have available. Click here. 

Treasure at the End of the Rainbow! 

"The end of the rainbow for Navajo rugs"
★★★★★ Reviewed by X-NYr on TripAdvisor.com

We visited Nizhoni today and were overwhelmed by the breadth of the Navajo rug collections, displayed in a fantastic ranch home, gorgeous setting, with fabulous Mission furniture and a knowledgeable and an enthusiastic couple who have amassed this extraordinary array of quality and creativity.

If you are looking for the very best of the best of Navajo weavings, this is the place. It's by appointment only, and it's in Sonoita about an hour south of Tucson. A friend recommended this gallery to us, and we are so delighted that we were able to visit.

The prices are high but commensurate with the quality, value and exceptional designs; both modern rugs and antiques. There were many innovative designs, based on classic patterns, that we have never seen anywhere else, including at the trading posts on the Navajo reservation.

They have many rugs that have won best in show at the Inter-tribal Ceremonial in Gallup. They have many smaller rugs but they seem to specialize in large size rugs.

If you are a serious collector - or want to start at the top - this is The place. The collection tops the Heard Museum and far exceeds what's displayed at the Indian Museum in Washington, DC. Yes, I sound carried away, but this was just the most amazing collection we've ever seen.

Reviews like this make our hearts soar! Thank you!



ps.  We'd love to show you around the gallery.
Call us at 520-455-5020 if you would like to schedule an appointment.

If you've visited our little place in the desert, we'd be honored if you would take a moment to share your experience with others on TripAdvisor.  Just click the TripAdvisor owl to get started.

Native American Art Article: Modernist Weavings

Modernist Weavings

The Native American Art Magazine published a great article about our new exhibition, Navajo Textiles as Modern Art - Then and Now

You can read the full article and see photos and accompanying video here.  Please do so, and enjoy!  It's worth the read!

The Thrill of Twill

Twill weaving is one of the most difficult styles to master.  Those who do create works of art. It's a dying art form. 

While fewer and fewer artists are able to execute the twill weave, it’s important to remember that even the ones made long ago are still standing the test of time because of their strength and unique weaving technique. Unlike other patterns and weaving styles, the twill uses a four harness loom by replacing the standard pull shed and stick shed with a stick shed and three pull sheds, a weaving technique adapted from the Pueblos. 

Take a look at some of the thrilling Twill beauties we have available:

Do you like surprises of the good kind?  If so, that's exactly what this weaving is.  It sure doesn't look like much in the overall photo, does it?  BUT when you look at the detailed photos, you see the great surprise!  

Look at the Diamond twill pattern of weaving.  This style of weaving was passed to the Navajo via the manta designs of the Pueblo Indians.  The work in this piece is just stunning and could only have been accomplished by the finest of artisans. And the quality is appreciated even more when you consider it was woven in the 1880s on an outdoors loom.

Woven entirely using the twill technique, this is an extremely rare masterpiece!

The skilled artisan used hand-carded, hand-spun, hand-dyed Merino wool, and used vegetal dye to obtain some of the coloring.

It's hard to believe that this woven art was brought to life on loom outside where the artist sat daily and played it's music to paint this incredible joyfully colored piece.  It just sings to your soul, doesn't it?  

This piece was created to be used as a double saddle blanket. The loom artist used a beautiful diamond twill design which gives beautiful depth and movement to the piece. Do you see the lighter bands?  Those were made by taking red American flannel bolt of material and unraveling it.  Then the long pieces of thread would be carded together to form thicker pieces of yarn.  A feat of creative artistry in itself. 
Do you have any Twill weavings?  What is your favorite thing about them?   

Elsie Bia - This Woman - These Hands

Blessed by Spiderwoman to Create Art

Elsie Bia is an incredibly gifted Master Weaver.  When we open a new exhibit at the ranch she will pack up her loom from the reservation, reassemble it here, and give the most fascinating weaving demonstrations for all who come to the Open House on March 11th for the Navajo Textiles as Modern Art exhibit.

It was mesmerizing we watched her complete this incredible piece. It's one of the most difficult parts of weaving and we were honored that she chose to share it with our guests. Each piece of art that she weaves is of the highest quality. Elsie LOVES to weave, and it's clearly evident.  Learn more about this weaver gifted by Spiderwoman and shop her weavings.  Click here. 

There are four short videos of Elsie with this piece that you can watch on our Facebook page. We also have videos where Steve talks about individual weavings from this exhibit.  

Daylight Saving Time

Fun trivia fact:  Arizona, Hawaii, and our overseas territories do NOT observe Daylight Saving Time.  

However, the Navajo DO observe Daylight Saving Time on tribal lands!

Come! Be our Guest ...

We had a full gallery as folks came for the Navajo Textiles as Modern Art exhibit opening and more than 60 weavings spanning a period of over 130 years were on display.

If you couldn't make it, contact us for a personal tour! The exhibit runs until June 30th. 
Phone:  520-455-5020 
Email: steve@navajorug.com

Navajo Textiles as Modern Art Opens Mar 11

From weaving a blanket or rug for practical and personal need to creating weavings for the trade market and as a source of income, the perception of Modern Art Design in Navajo textiles has evolved over time.  

Navajo Textiles Modern Art is an exhibition of over 60 Navajo Textiles spanning 137 years from the 1880s to the present. This exhibit will be on view at Nizhoni Ranch Gallery from March 11 - June 30th.

These special textiles, rugs, and weavings will demonstrate how Modern Art in the eye of the weaver has changed over the years. 

"Our inspiration for this show is really to share important Navajo Art with the public. Today Modern Art is all over the map - we want to share these designs with those who may not have ever been exposed to them before." 

As always, our gallery is open for you. Contact us to schedule an appointment. We look forward to sharing this delightful exhibit with you.

Navajo Textiles as Modern Art

This exhibit opens March 11 and will run through June 30, 2017 and is hosted at Nizhoni Ranch Gallery.

Reservations are required to attend the opening in person.
Call 520-455-5020 or email steve@navajorug.com for reservations.

• 11am - 4pm 
We're excited to have Master Weaver Elsie Bia with us once again to demonstrate the art of Navajo weaving.

Elsie's weavings have won 3 Best of Category Awards; 6- 1st Place Ribbons; 2 – Artist Awards and many smaller awards. 

Learn more about this renowned and gifted weaver - click here. 

• 1:00 pm 
Steve will host a walk through the exhibit, discussing many of the pieces in detail.

• 1:00 pm
The exhibit walk will be streamed LIVE on Facebook for those unable to attend in person.