Navajo
Moki Serape

49″ x 63″
ca. 1860’s

An earlier late classic band and stripe Moki sarape with exceptionally lustrous churro hand spun yarns that include light & dark natural, indigo, indigo based green, vegetal yellow and bits of recarded bayeta/white, overlying rich bands of cochineal dyed raveled bayeta.

This blanket has interesting military collection provenance, having belonged to colonel Peter T Swaine who had been assigned to Fort Wingate in 1876, and later in 1879 to Fort Lewis near present day Durango, Colorado, both directly associated with the Navajo Nation. With the exception of the Civil War, Swaine’s entire career was attached to frontier posts in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Montana.