78723 Antique Crystal Navajo Rug, 02'06 x 05'05.
Woven in the shadow of the Chuska Mountains and steeped in the quiet power of the sacred Four Corners, this handwoven wool antique Crystal Navajo rug carries the voice of a weaver whose vision dances between tradition and transformation. Created in the early 20th century, during a period when Navajo artistry flowed into new forms influenced by both trading post aesthetics and enduring spiritual symbolism, the rug pulses with a restrained intensity. Earth-toned diamonds and cruciform steps unfold in a lattice of rhythm and resolve, each edged with crimson accents that recall the fire of lightning or the sacred blush of desert rock under first light.
At the heart of each cruciform diamond lies a central lozenge—the symbolic "eye" of inner knowing—flanked by finely rendered feather motifs that evoke prayer, offering, and ascension. These stylized feathers are not decorative alone: they honor the breath of spirit, the sacred songs of the sky, and the communication between the physical world and the unseen. Together, lozenge and feather form a woven glyph of presence and petition, a ceremonial cartouche that repeats like a mantra across the textile’s body. The stepped outlines suggest mountains or lightning paths, evoking both emergence and protection, grounding the piece in Diné cosmology.
Encircling the field, a strong directional border composed of angular arrows points inward with quiet insistence. These arrows, bold in black, suggest the Four Sacred Mountains, the cardinal directions, or the notion of movement toward balance and purpose. They create both a protective frame and a field of vision—guiding the eye, anchoring the soul, and echoing the geometry of a land shaped by elemental forces. Their repetition offers both containment and momentum, wrapping the rug in a ceremonial logic that honors movement, prayer, and place.
This antique Crystal rug is more than a composition of wool and dye—it is a woven invocation. It carries in its threads the voice of a weaver in communion with earth, sky, and spirit. In every feathered form and every stepped contour, it speaks of resilience, reverence, and renewal. Though it may have been traded far from its birthplace, it remains rooted in the high desert winds and sacred stories of Dinetah. To walk beside it is to walk within a living geometry of memory and meaning—a textile as map, as chant, as home.
- Rendered in variegated shades of beige, coffee, red, taupe, and black with other accent colors.
- Abrash.
- Handwoven wool.
- Made in America.
- Measures: 02'06 x 05'05.
- Date: 1920's. Early 20th Century.
