Swept Under the Rug: A Hidden History of Navajo Weaving (University of Arizona Southwest Centre) - Hardcover

M'Closkey, Kathy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0826328318 ISBN 13: 9780826328311

Publisher: University of New Mexico Press, 2002

Synopsis

Collected and highly valued all over the world, Navajo weaving has been the subject of many aesthetic and historic studies. Grounded in archival research and cultural and economic approaches, this new book situates Navajo weavers within the economic history of the Southwest and debunks the romantic stereotypes of weavers and traders that have dominated the literature. Beginning with an analysis of trader archives revealing that nearly all Navajo textiles were wholesaled by weight until the 1960s, the author scrutinises the complex interactions among artists, dealers, collectors, and museum curators that have facilitated the explosion in value of those old weavings. She also examines the production of Mexican copies of Navajo-style rugs, which in recent years has combined with the market for pre-1950 textiles to diminish the demand for contemporary Navajo weavings. Navajo patterns, she points out, remain unprotected by copyright because traditional designs have been in the public domain for decades.

About this title

About the Author

A weaver for twenty years and a curator for more than a decade, Kathy M'Closkey is adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

From the Inside Flap

Debunks the romanticist stereotyping of Navajo weavers and Reservation traders and situates weavers within the economic history of the southwest.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0826328318
• ISBN 13: 9780826328311
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320