FEBRUARY 6, 2012 They Wove for Horses: Diné Saddle Blankets
opens at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture on March 25, 2012
and runs through August 8, 2013. The exhibition highlights both
the textile-weaving proficiency of Diné weavers who produced
complex saddle blankets for all occasions and the design skills
of Diné silversmiths who created dazzling headstalls of silver
and turquoise. The saddle blankets on exhibit date from 1860 to
2002 and are arranged by weaving methods: tapestry weave; two-
faced double weave; and twill weaves of diagonal, diamond, and
herringbone patterns. By using a variety of warp and weft
yarns—natural wool, cotton, angora mohair, unraveled bayeta, and
Germantown—weavers added individuality to the everyday and
fanciful tapestries they created for horses. Horse trappings on
exhibit reveal the great pride that Diné horsemen took in their
horses and how they adorned them for ceremonial and social
events. The Diné first learned how to manufacture saddles and
bridles from neighboring cu