c. 1910's JB Moore Catalog Plate variant
by Unknown
This early Toadlena/Two Grey Hills rug measures 50" x 78", hand-spun, natural wool, c. 1910's, artist unknown, very good condition.
This rug is a wonderful example of the early trajectory of early Toadlena/Two Grey Hills rugs, indeed all early Regional rugs. It is a variation on JB Moore's Catalog Plate XXVIII, the classic Storm pattern. The variations come in the border and the two half diamonds appearing one either side of the inner frame. The use of opposing half diamonds is derived from Classic blankets. When worn, one opposing half meets the other and form a full diamond.
The weaver is expressing multiple, contemporary forces in the 1910's. Under the encouragement of Davies and Newcomb, Traders at the Toadlena and Two Grey Hills Trading Posts, she is expanding the artistic palette of the day, i.e. JB Moore's Catalog Plates. She is also drawing on the known vocabulary of Navajo design, opposing half diamonds. Indeed, she or certainly her Mother would have woven such blankets. Forty years later she incorporates the traditional designs into a new art form: the regional Navajo rug. Thus she is expanding the design range regional rugs and staying true to her Navajo roots.