2024 Navajo Rug Sale
Event Details
Canyon
A Navajo rug by artist Katheryn Ann Begay that overlays traditional Yei figures on a geometric design and border of a Teec Nos Pos area weaving.
Presented by Toh-Atin Gallery of Durango, Colorado, NHMU will be hosting a sale of Navajo rugs of all sizes and design styles, handwoven by artists in the Four Corners region. More than 100 rugs will be available for sale at great prices up to 40 percent off retail.
- 10 a.m.–5 p.m. — The rug sale is underway also featuring a special trunk show of Native American jewelry.
- 12 p.m. — Jackson Clark, owner of the Toh-Atin Gallery in Durango, will give a talk at noon on Saturday about the evolution of the trading posts and the influence that some of these traders had on the art of Navajo weaving.*
- 10 a.m.–12 p.m. — Guests are invited to bring their own rugs to the Museum for evaluation and restoration advice from Jackson Clark II, a third generation trader and owner of Toh-Atin Gallery.
* At the turn of the 20th century, Navajo weaving remained a thriving household practice, but was being economically undercut as a trade good for sale by weavers to Native and non-Native buyers by the influx of Pendleton blankets and factory produced clothing. In the early 20th century, traders established economic relationships with the Navajo women and their families and created regionally-specific designs and new markets their weaving. It’s a story of mutual respect and partnership that is unique in the history of the Southwest.
Museum admission is not required to attend the Navajo Rug Sale
About the Toh-Atin Gallery
H. Jackson Clark II is the owner of Toh-Atin Gallery in Durango, Colorado, one of the most respected Native American art galleries in the country. Clark’s family has a long history of working with American Indian artisans.
He spent time with his father, traveling the Navajo reservation, visiting trading posts and weavers, and developed a admiration and respect for the people and their artwork. Clark’s mother was raised at a trading post and he and his sister spent much of their summers at the post.
Today, after four decades in the business, Clark is an expert on Navajo weaving and regularly gives presentations on Native American art at conferences, museum gatherings and gallery showings.
