Navajo Yeibichai Rug, ca. 1930
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GUEST:
I got this rug in 1973 at an estate auction in Western Pennsylvania. I didn't know anything about it at the time. It just appealed to me. My understanding is that it's either a Navajo or a Hopi.
APPRAISER:
It is a Navajo rug. It's all hand-spun wool from living sheep, so it has that beautiful texture to it. The dyes used, it's natural and aniline dyed, so there's some chemical dyes used to achieve these colors. It probably speaks of the 1920s and '30s, when it was made. These rugs are most commonly made in the northeastern Arizona area of the reservation. After they were held on reservation, the trading posts were established, and so then it was a tourist trade thing. This is one of the most favorable compositions for the tourist trade. But the background on it is that the figures are yei figures. They are benevolent deities, supernatural gods, who are involved with healing ceremonies. The rug is called a yeibichai because they're Navajo dancers, they're Navajo people costumed like the yei gods. So they refer to them as yeibichai rugs. You'll notice that the dancers have blue masks, and the lead figure is the yellow-shirted gentleman. He's the lead dancer.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And they refer to him as "the talking god." And it was something that... derivative of a healing ceremony they used with colored sand, originally, but there are deviations to it. They're not going to show you their ceremonial life. There's always something hidden. There's always something withheld.
GUEST:
Uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
So you were just attracted to it for its visual appeal?
GUEST:
My mother had spent some time in New Mexico in college and was a fan of Native American art and collectibles. It caught both our eyes, and I was a 14-year-old kid and she said, "If you want it, go for it." And so I was the one that was actually doing the bidding.
APPRAISER:
And so how much did you pay?
GUEST:
I believe I paid $100 for it. It started off, I think, around $25 or $30 and it bid up to $100.
APPRAISER:
Did it actually come out of your allowance?
GUEST:
Part of it did, yes.
APPRAISER:
There you go. Because of the richness of the colors and the... it's just gutsy. It has a really good feel to it. It's... there's a lot of them out there, but this one really has it all going on. This rug at auction would bring around $3,000 to $3,500.
GUEST:
Wow, very nice.
APPRAISER:
So did you have to pay her back?
GUEST:
I think I'm going to now.
Appraisal Details
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