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John Bradford Moore
JB Moore was a trader who established a trading post at Crystal, New Mexico at the western end of the Narbona Pass. His mission was to buy anything and everything the Navajo had to sell and to sell the Navajo everything they needed.
Around the turn of the century there was great demand for oriental rugs. Moore understood what the market in the eastern United States would value. During the winter months, Moore employed Navajo weavers to make rugs. He ensured that the wool and the weaving was good quality and created his own designs with oriental elements. He quickly gaining a reputation as a source of good quality rugs.
Moore's business flourished, and in 1903 and in 1911 he published mail-order catalogs, drawing business from across the United States. In his 1903 catalog, Moore made much of the authenticity of his products. The catalog included photographs of the interior and exterior of the trading post and the land around it, and of Navajo people, outdoor looms and hogans. He said: "While this booklet makes no claim of being a pioneer in its field, I think it may claim to be the first of its kind published and distributed from the very center of the Navajo Indian Reservation, by an Indian trader living among and dealing directly with the Indians who makes the goods which it illustrates and describes."
JB Moore and More...

Navajo rug: Antique JB Moore : 4'11" x 7'8": GHT 2234
$ 15,000.00
This JB Moore Crystal weaving was created using hand carded, hand spun Native wool with aniline dyes. The main body of the rug is a salt and pepper grey. This was created by carding grey wool with black wool. Very beautiful. Numerous plates from the JB Moore catalog (IX, XIII, XXVII) the weaver created a storm pattern design with hero twins an...

Two Grey Hills Navajo Rug Weaving : Historic : PC 24 : 53" x 72"
$ 15,000.00
Two Grey Hill/Storm Pattern based on JB Moore Plate XVII that incorporates intentional landscape and cow heads. All natural wool color except for the aniline red. The weaving was part of the Tubac Center of the Arts Woven Nation exhibition. This weaving was part of the 2016 /2017 Painting with Wool : Navajo Pictorial Weavings exhibit at Ni...

SOLD JB Moore Navajo Rug : Antique Weaving : GHT 414 : 57" x 96"
This Antique JB Moore Navajo rug has all the bells and whistles! Based on JB Moore Plate XXVII, the weaver included checker board patterns with Hero Twin and 4 directional imagery. It is interesting only a decade after JB Moore's encouragement Navajo weavings had become intricate and tightly woven. This is a fine example. Tightly woven with m...