Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 5

Navajo Picture Writing On Muslin, Two Humpback Yeis with Two Bat Guardians

$2,150
£1,631.82
€1,880.80
CA$3,013.06
A$3,362.84
CHF 1,769.24
MX$40,849.18
NOK 22,429.20
SEK 20,990.92
DKK 14,037.10

About the Item

Unknown Navajo Medicine Man Navajo picture writing on muslin Two Humpback Yeis With Two Bat Guardians Muslin, mineral pigments, sand Navajo Medicine Man active 1947 - 1970 To aid in recalling all the different paintings, a medicine man will refer to pre-painted drawings on muslin, as the above example. The drawings are called picture writing by the Navajo. They are always incomplete, but incorporate the symbols and images that appear in the sand paintings and are painted with the same earthen pigments that are used for sand paintings.
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 22 in (55.88 cm)Width: 29 in (73.66 cm)Depth: 0.07 in (1.78 mm)
  • Style:
    Native American (In the Style Of)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    1947-1970
  • Condition:
    Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses. Minor fading.
  • Seller Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU5902226522132

More From This Seller

View All
Navajo Picture Writing on Muslin, Six Weasel People with Two Lizard Guardians
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Unknown Navajo picture writing on muslin Six Yeis With Two Water Creature Guardians Muslin, mineral pigments, sand. Navajo Medicine Man active 1947 - 1...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Native American Native American Objects

Materials

Other

Navajo Picture Writing on Muslin, Four Corn Maidens with Four Lizard Guardians
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Unknown Navajo picture writing on muslin Four corn maidens with four lizard guardians Muslin, mineral pigments, sand. Navajo Medicine Man active 1947 -...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Native American Native American Objects

Materials

Other

Hopi Tasaf Katsina, c. 1940s
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Tasaf Katsina Hopi 1940s 10 inches H. x 4.50 inches W. x 3.75 inches D. Cottonwood root, mineral pigments, dyed horsehair, feathers. Very good original condition overall. An wonderful example of the Hopi Tasaf Katsina circa early to mid 1940s. Katsina dolls...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Native American Native American Objects

Materials

Other

Raspberry Alabaster Feather Bundled Bear Fetish with Heart Line
By Amos Pino
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Raspberry Alabaster feather bundled bear Fetish with distinct heart line Amos Pino 1998 Ramah Navajo Band, Navajo Reservation, El Morro, New Mexico M...
Category

Late 20th Century American Navajo Native American Objects

Materials

Coral, Lapis Lazuli, Alabaster

Amazonian Feather Storage Basket
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Feather storage basket Rikbaktsa Tribe, Jurene River, Mato Grosso, Brazil 1990 Plaited fiber, wood, feathers, twined natural fiber, and cotton. 5 inche...
Category

Late 20th Century Brazilian Native American Native American Objects

Materials

Other

Navajo Hand-Woven Vintage Ganado Textile Floor Pillow, circa 1940s
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Terrific Navajo floor pillow hand-crafted from a vintage 1940s Navajo Ganado Rug with a deep red background, black and white serrated diamonds and zig zag designs. In very good orig...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Native American Pillows and Throws

Materials

Wool

You May Also Like

Yei Navajo Figural Double-Sided Flat Weave Wall Hanging, 1930 Round Heads
Located in Basingstoke, Hampshire
A Yei Navajo Figural double-sided flat woven wall hanging - circa 1930. Displaying five standing figures on an deep speckled grey ground, framed by a red border. The Yei iconography is related to Navajo religious sandpaintings. Navajo religion has a reverence for nature and is based on maintaining a balance in the universe. It was believed that there was a sense of harmony needed to maintain a healthy life. Should an individual do something to upset this balance, then it was believed that an illness might befall them. Much like in the modern-day, a medicine man was hired to help regain this harmony. The remedy involved a combination of chanting, herbal medicines and a sandpainting ritual. Various coloured sands were sprinkled on the ground until they formed a specific Yei (holy person), based on the god he was trying to summon. When the sandpainting was completed, it was sanctified by spreading corn pollen over it. Once the sacred sandpainting had served its purpose, it was erased. To save it or reproduce its imagery was dangerous and could bring serious grief to anyone who retained the image. During the 1890s, the Navajos phased out blanket weaving in favour of rugs. There was strong demand from the vast migration of settlers, building homes by the thousands, who needed something to cover their floors. The first Navajo rug depicting holy people...
Category

Early 20th Century American Tapestries

Materials

Fabric

Handmade Antique Native American Navajo Yei Rug 2.1' x 3.4', 1910s - 2B66
Located in Bordeaux, FR
Dive into the cultural heritage of Native American art with this antique Yei wool rug, handmade in the 1910s. Measuring 2.1 ft x 3.4 ft (64 cm x 104 cm), this captivating piece featu...
Category

Vintage 1910s Persian Rugs

Materials

Wool

Vintage Navajo Yei Handwoven Wool Rug, American Southwest, 20th Century
By Navajo
Located in Morristown, NJ
Navajo Yei Handwoven Wool Rug, American Southwest, 20th Century Description: A vibrant and finely handwoven Navajo Yei rug, originating from the American Southwest, likely mid-20th ...
Category

Vintage 1940s American Native American Native American Objects

Materials

Wool, Cotton

1930s Navajo Yei Pictorial Floor or Wall Weaving
Located in Coeur d'Alene, ID
Seven figure pictorial Yei weaving. Bright colors, hand dyed yarns over natural cream background. Very little if any wear. Beautiful weaving! Great for floor or wall. Origin: Navajo...
Category

Vintage 1930s American Native American Indian Rugs

Materials

Wool

Antique Navajo Rug Yei Navajo Rare Human Geometric Handmade Wool Ivory, 1940
Located in New York, NY
Navajo rug flat woven rug tapestry beige Measures: 4' x6' (3'11" x 5'7") 119cm x 170cm Circa 1920 "The woolen rug has a white background color on which are three stylized figures on each side of a center cornstalk. All are surrounded on three sides by a "guardian "figure - one side is the head and the body - the other side are the legs. The rug is a Navajo Yei rug. All the figures are holding prayer sticks; there are feathers attached to the elbows of the figures in a vertical line. The colors of the rug are white, red, maroon, blue, tan, brown, grey, orange, rust and gold. The most common type of Navajo Yei rug are those with a white background color. Navajo Yei rugs were made at Lukachukai or in the Shiprock area or even Ganado. It is a fact that a Navajo Yei rug with many Yei figures and many colors will garner the highest value. While Yei rugs are technically woven for the floor, they were often placed on couches, or hung on the wall like paintings, few actually touched the ground. The Yei figure is a frequently used pattern in Navajo rugs. Male Yei figures are generally pictured with round heads, and female Yei figures with square heads. Modern Yei rugs are more often pictorial compositions, showing a row of front-facing stylized stick figures with a Rainbow Guardian which protects the figures on three sides, indicating the sand painting roots of this particular style. The Yei rug portrays ceremonies on a desire for healing, not only physical health, but also mental, spiritual, and even material well-being. The "Holy People...
Category

Vintage 1940s North American Navajo North and South American Rugs

Materials

Wool

Handmade Antique Native American Navajo Rug 3.7' x 7.5' 1910s - 2B69
Located in Bordeaux, FR
A truly unique and compelling piece of American folk art, this handmade Navajo rug is a collectible treasure. Woven from rich, hand-spun wool, it showcases a striking pictorial desig...
Category

Vintage 1910s French Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool