Navajo rug weaving in Eyedazzler style with Whirling Log design - pre 1940s, authentic Native American, handwoven (GM352)

DETAILS:Artist: unknown, NavajoSize: 48" wide x 95 1/2" long - extra-large runner shape Materials: WoolCondition: from a private collection, good condition for age. Corners and edges are fraying a bit and there are some snags/holes in the center (see pictures)GM352This Navajo weaving is considered an Eyedazzler, one of the earliest styles of rugs which was influenced by the serape blankets worn in New Mexico. The design is a solid border with a repeating, serrated diamond pattern made from the 4 natural colors of the sheep - black, brown, grey and white. This particular rug features the whirling log design in the four corners. In Navajo myth, this design represents the legend of the whirling log. The tale is of a man, cast out from his tribe, who rolls down river in a hollowed-out log. With the help of sacred deities, he finds a place of friendship and abundance. By the late 1800s, the Navajos were using the symbol extensively in rugs, sometimes mirroring their sand paintings. How Hitler came to adopt this design is unclear, but in 1940, in response to Hitler's regime, the Navajo, Papago, Apache and Hopi people signed a whirling log proclamation. It read, "Because the above ornament, which has been a symbol of friendship among our forefathers for many centuries, has been desecrated recently by another nation of peoples, therefore it is resolved that henceforth from this date on and forever more, our tribes renounce the use of the emblem commonly known today as the swastika . . . on our blankets, baskets, art objects, sand paintings and clothing."Art objects with this design that we find today on Navajo rugs, such as these, are antiques, typically produced before the 1930s.