Items from the Navajo Textile Collection of the American Museum of Natural History

This section features the first online catalogue of approximately 250 items from the collection of historic Diné/Navajo textiles at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), New York. Search the collection or explore each entry by clicking on the object image to find corresponding information from the AMNH’s collections database (catalogue number, object title/name, accession date, locale, material, dimensions, period, technique, donor, and/or collector). 

For detailed information and collector bios, please read the illustrated essay by the late Ira Jacknis. Published here for the first time, it explores the historical significance of this collection and provides a larger institutional context for understanding its formation and display.

Curatorial note:
This selection from the AMNH collection was made by the curator, Hadley Jensen, in consultation with Ira Jacknis; Mary Lou Murillo, senior museum specialist, textiles, American Museum of Natural History; and Peter M. Whiteley, curator of North American ethnology, American Museum of Natural History. The online catalogue includes Diné/Navajo textiles that are viewed as complete (textile fragments, items originating in burial contexts, and other culturally sensitive items are not included).
Disclaimer:
All information is presented as documented in the AMNH’s collections database. In some cases, we have added supplementary archival information and edited data fields for cleaner and more consistent entries and search terms. Please note that there may be culturally sensitive or offensive language transcribed from historical records found in the “subject” field; view at your own discretion.

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