Rug Of The Week - Dazzler by Jean Nez

by John Aldrich

This rug is an eye catcher. And that's exactly what eye dazzler rugs are supposed to do. Through tightly woven geometric patterns and color changes the viewer's eye is pulled into a dizzying world of design. This is quite a popular style among weavers, and this is an excellent example.

Jean Nez is offering this rug for $1500. It measures 36" x 46". The size partly accounts for the price, but it's also a very finely woven rug with an intricate design which adds considerably to the time it took to make. The catalog listing is 5407.

Jean is another of our Big Mountain elders. She has always supported herself through her weaving and remains very active at the loom. This is particularly impressive when you consider that she has advanced diabetes and is on dialysis. Jean lives at Hard Rock which is many miles from the nearest medical facility.

Here Jean is holding a rug which she is donating to the Program during a food run to Big Mountain.

Before her health made long trips impossible, Jean was a regular at the annual rug show. She was always part of the demonstrations for the school children showing how traditional Navajos tie up their hair in a bun. Her niece Mary would let her hair down before tieing it back up again. This would usually result in a few gasps from the children when they saw how long her hair was.

Traditional Navajos don't cut their hair, so long tresses are common.

At the spring food run to Big Mountain in 2008, Linda had a little "contest" to see who had the longest hair, and Jean was the winner.


See this 2010 post for more information about the rug catalog.

Notes: Every effort has been made to photograph and present the rugs with as accurate rendition of color as possible. It's not possible, however, to be certain that your computer won't show some variance. Where two prices are listed in the catalog, the higher represents what the weaver hopes to receive and the lower, the minimum she will accept. As has always been the case at ANE all the proceeds of every rug sale go entirely to the weaver. Prices are set by the weaver, and since there is no "middleman" they are typically very reasonable.