The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 20, 2025

Rectangular blanket with a coral pink base color patterned with diamond and triangular geometric shapes in greys and creams and tufts of tassels on each corner except one, where they have broken away. The lines composing the patterns are zig-zag with rows of two stacked diamond shapes in the center and alternating cream and gray jagged-lined triangles pointing in on either side, interspersed among smaller pointed shapes throughout.

Wearing Blanket

c. 1875–80

Native North American, Southwest, Diné , female artist

(Navajo)
Wool (handspun, Germantown, and bayeta); tapestry weave
Overall: 208 x 120 cm (81 7/8 x 47 1/4 in.)
Gift of J. H. Wade 1921.560
Location: 231 Native North American

Description

This blanket was created during the late 1800s, when weavers in the Southwest began to shift from making garments for Indigenous use, including trade, to additionally create items for non-Native collectors. In this new market, traditional wearing blankets, which were worn around the shoulders, were marketed as rugs.
  • Native North American Textiles. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 14, 2024-December 14, 2025).
  • {{cite web|title=Wearing Blanket|url=false|author=|year=c. 1875–80|access-date=20 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1921.560