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Germantown Red Rug

A red rug with linear and geometric decorations in a deep ochre or brown color. These motifs include stacked triangles and arrows creating a border, with a central motif made up of five crosses with small “flags” at four of their corners.

A red rug with linear and geometric decorations in a deep ochre or brown color. These motifs include stacked triangles and arrows creating a border, with a central motif made up of five crosses with small “flags” at four of their corners.

Culture Diné (Navajo)
Title Germantown Red Rug
Date 1880–1900
Medium Wool and dye
Dimensions Object: 98 1/8 × 58 3/4 in. (249.2 × 149.2 cm)
Overall: 98 1/8 × 58 3/4 in. (249.2 × 149.2 cm)
Credit Line Gift in Memory of Lyle Gifford Boyd, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University
Accession Number 2015.136

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About this Work

This Germantown rug uses several common motifs with stacked triangles and arrows creating a border. The central motif is made up of five crosses with small “flags” at four of their corners, known as Spider Woman Crosses. This motif is extremely old and can be found in some of the earliest known Navajo weavings and traced directly to a motif found in Navajo basketry.


Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

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"Germantown Red Rug | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2024. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=2015.136