About the Artwork
This blanket was purchased from a Navajo woman by Captain Harrison Samuel Weeks in 1876 while he was stationed at Fort Union, New Mexico. It was meant to be worn around the shoulders with the large central panel falling vertically down the back. During the nineteenth century, the introduction of new commercial dyes and yarns and the growth of a tourist market spurred by the opening of trading posts sparked creative experimentation with color and complex designs.
Wearing Blanket
ca. 1870
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Native american
Navajo
Wool, commercial and homespun yarns
Overall: 76 × 52 1/2 inches (193 × 133.4 cm)
Textiles
Indigenous Americas
Gift of the Descendents of Helen Weeks Winchester and Captain Harrison Samuel Weeks
1987.93
Copyright not assessed, please contact [email protected].
Markings
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Inscribed, dated in ink, upper corner: Cpt. HS Weeks | USA 1876 Body of the design, on white: WEEKS
Provenance
1876, collected by Harrison Samuel Weeks, Captain, U.S. Army while stationed at (Fort Union, New Mexico, USA)
his widow, Julia Shoemaker Weeks
inherited by their daughter, Helen Weeks Winchester [died 1943] (Allegan, Michigan, USA)
c. 1943, in the possession of her brother, Dr. Edward G. Weeks (Saginaw and Hubbard Lake, Michigan, USA)
inherited by his daughter, June Weeks Hughes (died 1987)
1987, inherited by the families of Helen Weeks Winchester and June Weeks Hughes, although in the possession of Henry T. Winchester, Jr. (Allegan, Michigan, USA, and Naples, Florida, USA)
1987-present, gift to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:
Provenance pageExhibition History
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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.
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Suggest FeedbackPublished References
Miro, Marsha. "DIA blanket hailed as gem of Navajo art." Detroit Free Press, January 28, 1988, sec A, p. 3 (ill).
Parker, Rosemary. "Family's gift was more generous than they thought." Kalamazoo Gazette, February 14, 1988, (ill.).
Bulletin of the DIA 64, nos. 2/3 (1988): 8, fig. 5, (ill.).
Penney, David W. and George C. Longfish. Native American Art. Southport, CT, 1994, p. 159.
Penney, David W. Native American Art Masterpieces. Southport, CT, 1996, pp. 64-65.
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Credit Line for Reproduction
Navajo, Native American, Wearing Blanket, ca. 1870, wool, commercial and homespun yarns. Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of the Descendents of Helen Weeks Winchester and Captain Harrison Samuel Weeks, 1987.93.
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