Collecting the Weaver's Art: The William Claflin Collection of Southwestern Textiles

This is the first publication on a remarkable collection of sixty-six outstanding Pueblo and Navajo textiles donated to the Peabody Museum in the 1980s by William Claflin, Jr., a prominent Boston businessman, avocational anthropologist, and patron of Southwestern archaeology. Claflin bequeathed to the museum not only these beautiful textiles, but also his detailed accounts of their collection histories—a rare record of the individuals who had owned or traded these weavings before they found a home in his private museum. Textile scholar Laurie Webster tells the stories of the weavings as they left their native Southwest and traveled eastward, passing through the hands of such owners and traders as a Ute Indian chief, a New England schoolteacher, a renowned artist, and various military officers and Indian agents. Her concise overview of Navajo and Pueblo weaving traditions is enhanced by the reflections of noted artist and Navajo textile expert Tony Berlant in his foreword to the text.

Textile consultant Webster (U. of Arizona) provides an introduction to the history of Navajo and Pueblo weaving. She interprets items in the William Claflin collection (housed at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology in Cambridge, Massachusetts) within the broader context of Southwestern culture contact and the history of weaving in the region. Outstanding examples are described in detail and illustrated with 25 color plates. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Rhonda Cooper - KLIATT

Focusing on a group of 66 Pueblo and Navajo textiles in the collection of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University, this informative volume holds many pleasing surprises for readers interested in the art of weaving. Twenty-five of the textiles are depicted in full-color plates with accompanying notes that specify the provenance of each piece, including such intriguing historical notes as "hung on the wall of Hubbell Trading Post" and "collected on the Shoshone Reservation in Utah in the mid-1870s," as well as identifying the materials, techniques, and motifs used to create these vibrant works of art. In his foreword, artist Tony Berlant points out the strong visual correlation between Navajo blankets and abstract contemporary painting and discusses why many 20th-century American artists were intrigued by such weavings. Collectors and anthropologists will be especially interested in the section of the book that tells about the acquisition of the collection and the collector's skills in cataloguing and documenting it. Also of interest are photographs from the late 19th century showing Navajo and Zuni women weaving and wearing similar textiles. A glossary of "Southwestern Weaving Terms," a suggested bibliography, and detailed notes add to the educational and scholarly value of this book, which will appeal to students interested in art, archaeology, Native American studies, and museum studies. KLIATT Codes: SA—Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2003, Harvard Univ. Press, 145p. illus. notes. bibliog. index., Ages 15 to adult.

Laurie D. Webster is an independent scholar and textile consultant, and Visiting Scholar in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Arizona.

Tony Berlant is an artist and author, and collector, curator, and expert on Navajo textiles.