American North and South American Rugs

A folk vintage square room size American Rag rug handmade during the mid-20th century. Measures: 13' 3" x 13' 4" North American rugs & carpets: North American has never developed a unified handmade rug tradition, but rather it is the unassimilated confluence of several. From Mexico comes the Saltillo serape wearing blanket, and this stimulates the Navajo and Rio Grande (Colorado) weavers, first as blankets, then as rugs. The thrifty habits of rural America gave rise to the New England (and Western Canadian) hooked rug types, while the farmers of the Midwest recycled their disused garments into braided and rag rugs. The closest to a real ongoing tradition are the Southwestern (New Mexican) Navajo rugs. By the 1860s the native tribes were weaving wearing blankets with wool from the Spanish churro sheep. These were in stripe design, with combinations of undyed wool with cochineal reds and indigo blues. The multi-phase “Chief’s Blankets” from the 1870s-80s are a natural outgrowth of these. Machine spun red wool from Germantown in Pennsylvania appeared in the 1870s with a bright red hitherto unobtainable. The weavers loved it and blankets appeared with bright reds, generally aniline, in “eye dazzler” patterns. Anglo traders established posts beginning in the 1890s. Navajo weavings were perfect accompaniments not only for Western-themed decors, but for East Coast apartments, only they needed to be thicker and more rug like to be truly accepted. The traders brought Caucasian and Turkish village rugs to copy, borders were introduced and central medallions devised. The weavers continued to create on vertical looms, with a shared warp (dovetailing) weft structure to avoid slits. The warps were cotton string. Sizes were generally scatters, but occasionally a special order came in, hence antique room size Navajos are very rare and very pricey. Distinct village/pueblo styles developed. Among the best are: Two Grey Hills (considered the tightest, closest of all Navajo weaving), Crystal Springs, and Ganado. Certain new patterns such as the “Storm pattern” with jagged lightning bolts emanating from a dark cloud developed. The Yei rug with dancing Kachina doll figures became popular. The palette has been expanded beyond the classic grey, tan, dark brown, and cream natural wool combination to again include reds, blues, and greens. Navajo pictorials include American flags, trains, and automobiles, domestic and local scenes and scenery. Individual artist weavers now command gallery shows and correspondingly elevated prices. There are several levels of Navajo work, and antique and vintage scatters with simple flat designs, medium weaves, and tritonal palettes, and in good floor worthy condition are still available reasonably. The Native American weaving tradition extends into Colorado with two-piece scatters with sharp sawtooth medallions and striped end borders, with wool tapestry weave on cotton warps. These descend from the Saltillo blankets...

A vintage American Braided large oval carpet handmade during the mid-20th century. Measures: 12' 2" x 16' 6".

Beautiful antique rustic America Rag rug. Country of origin: America, date circa early 20th century. Size: 12 ft. 9 in x 17 ft. 4 in (3.89 m x 5.28 m) The stitching on this antique American Rag rug creates the distinct appearance of old Americana quilting...

Beautiful and early antique American Hooked rug, Country of Origin: American, circa early 20th century – Size: 8 ft 7 in x 12 ft 6 in (2.62 m x 3.81 m) Ingenious in its style, col...

Beautiful Large Room Size Antique American Rag Rug, Country of Origin: America, Circa date: 1900 – Size: 11 ft 6 in x 14 ft 8 in (3.51 m x 4.47 m) This casual and relaxed antique ru...

Beautiful large oversize antique American Rag Rug, Country of origin: America, date circa 1900 – This breathtaking casual large oversized antique American Rag Rug exhibits an overall...

Breathtaking colorful antique square American hooked rug, country of origin / rug type: American rug, date circa 1880 Among the textile floor coverings produced in the United Sta...

Handmade vintage American hooked rug in original condition. This magnificent rug was made in 1950-1960 in a modern style on that time. The pattern on the rug is geometric in different variety of colors and Labrador dogs...

Bamboo Blossoms rug from Emma Gardner design. Finely knotted carpet of silk and wool with a Hollywood Regency flair almost forms a perfect nine foot square. Emma has been creating st...

This beautiful antique American hooked rug from the mid-20th Century features an all-over checkered pattern of children motifs, including lanterns, boats, spinning wheels, roosters, ...

Beautiful antique American Rag Rug, country of origin: America, circa date: early 20th century. This beautiful antique rag rug from America is established in a traditional way and th...

Beautiful Antique American Large Rag Rug, Country of Origin: America, Circa Date: Early 20th Century – The Rag Rug has long been a staple in traditional American interior design. Muc...