Rugs Of The Week - From The Benale Family

by John Aldrich

The Pinon food run is hosted by the Benale family. It's one of the smaller runs, and it's also an outdoor event. These are among the reasons that this tends to be a favorite among volunteers. It's part of the sequence of food runs based out of Chinle.

Pinon is quite a drive from Chinle, in one of the more remote areas of the reservation. And the Benales' homeland is actually even further, located in an area known as Forest Lake. They live on the edge of the Hopi Reservation on the flank of Black Mesa.

The recent additions to the rug catalog include a few from this family of very skilled weavers.

The first rug is called Butterflies and was woven by Jane Benale.

This evocative pattern in bold colors measures 19" x 24" and is priced at $135. The catalog listing is 7401.

Here is a photo of Jane taken at the May 2011 food run when she was honored with one of our ANE Limited Edition Pendleton blankets.

The other two featured rugs were woven by nieces of Jane. First is a Four Corner rug by Susie Benale.

This rug measures 25" x 36" and is priced at $600. Catalog listing is 7409.

This photo of Susie was also taken at the May 2011 food run.

The final rug is by Elsie Benale.

She calls it a Personal Design, but the inspiration seems derived from the traditional Ganado style of weaving. This rug is 6893 in the catalog. It measures 32" x 57" and sells for $1500.

The Benale family attends the rug show every November, and this photo of Elsie shows her explaining some of the rugs to an audience at a weavers' demonstration during the show.

All three of these rugs exhibit tasteful combinations of striking and unusual colors. The Benales are weavers of consummate skill, and you have a wide range of prices and sizes to choose from here.

To see more rugs, new and old, visit the Rug Catalog.

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.

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