American Empire North and South American Rugs

Monumental 19th American hooked rug mounted as a wall hanging.

A vintage American Braid round/circular accent rug handmade during the mid-20th century. Measures: 7' 1" x 7' 1".

A Saltillo serape is a type of Mexican blanket that originated in Saltillo, a city in the northern state of Coahuila. It is typically made of wool and features vibrant colors and intricate designs, often incorporating geometric shapes and floral motifs. The Saltillo serape is a popular item in Mexican culture...

An antique American Hook Rug handmade during the Early 20th century. Measures: 2' 11" x 4' 10"

An antique American Hook Rug handmade during the Early 20th century. Measures: 3' 4" x 4' 7"

A vintage American Braided oval room size carpet handmade during the mid-20th century. Measures: 9' 5" x 12' 3" 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 1860’s 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 1870’s-80’s are a natural outgrowth of these. Machine spun red wool from Germantown in Pennsylvania appeared in the 1870’s 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 1890’s. 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, blue 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...

American Hooked Rug, Early 20th Century Additional Information: Dimensions: 3'2" L x 2'3" W

Hooked and shirred hearth rug, New England, circa 1850s in wool, cotton and linen. This dramatic folk art piece is in excellent condition. Depicting a recu...

Oval shape American Hooked rug with large flower design, rug S12-1206, country of origin / type: United States / Hooked, circa 1950 This colorful American Hooked rug depicts a var...

A vintage American folk Hook rug in a small room size format handmade during the mid-20th century. Measures: 7' 10" x 9' 10".

A vintage American Penny carpet from the second quarter of the 20th century. American Penny rugs are often used as decorative coverings for beds, tables, dre...

A vintage American braid carpet from the mid-20th century. The braided cloth strips may go across the entire width or only part way, but blue tones, from cyan to navy, definitely pre...