Recent Navajo bracelets.
A Navajo vegetal-dye rug, hand woven from hand-spun, home-grown wool. It is representative of the Chinle style.
A Navajo wife weaving a rug in her front yard at their home near Standing Cow Ruin.
A Navajo girl and her dogs guard the family sheep near Big Cave.
By 1881 they had completely mastered the art, and began to use turquoise in their jewelry. Commercialization of their silver-work began in 1899, when the Fred Harvey Company first placed large orders for pieces to sell to tourists.
Perhaps more than anything else, the colorful rugs and silver and turquoise jewelry produced by these people have made the name “Navajo” a household word. The two crafts did not develop simultaneously, for weaving is almost two centuries older than silversmithing. The Navajo mastery of both skills is exceptional, however, and both lend themselves readily to Navajo designs.