Swept Under the Rug: A Hidden History of Navajo Weaving - Hardcover

." . . the book exposes economic practices that have exploited Navajo weavers and the Navajo community for over a century. . . . It makes a substantial contribution to scholarly literature on Navajo weaving and should be acquired by all libraries with a serious commitment to research of Southwestern American Indian culture." ""Swept Under the Rug" provides a much-needed and fresh cultural history of Navajo weaving." "It breaks new ground. . . "Swept Under the Rug" is a thought -provoking examination of a complex and challenging subject made even more interesting because of this book."

Collected and highly valued all over the world, Navajo weaving has been the subject of many aesthetic and historic studies. Grounded in archival research and cultural and economic approaches, this new book situates Navajo weavers within the economic history of the Southwest and debunks the romantic stereotypes of weavers and traders that have dominated the literature. Beginning with an analysis of trader archives revealing that nearly all Navajo textiles were wholesaled by weight until the 1960s, the author scrutinises the complex interactions among artists, dealers, collectors, and museum curators that have facilitated the explosion in value of those old weavings. She also examines the production of Mexican copies of Navajo-style rugs, which in recent years has combined with the market for pre-1950 textiles to diminish the demand for contemporary Navajo weavings. Navajo patterns, she points out, remain unprotected by copyright because traditional designs have been in the public domain for decades.