[NATIVE AMERICAN] 1950s Navajo Weaving with Stylized Cornstalk Design

A Navajo (Diné) Weaving with Stylized Cornstalk Design. Southwest, circa 1950s.

A boldly patterned weaving with repeated red and gray cornstalk devices arranged across a cream-white field, enclosed by a broad black border. Slender connecting stems unite the angular, leaflike forms into vertical sequences, while a central column of detached red motifs introduces a variation within the repeated design. The alternating colors and opposing orientation of adjacent forms establish a lively rhythm across the otherwise spacious ground.

The design approaches its botanical subject through a distinctly geometric treatment. Pointed leaves and narrow stems become interlocking silhouettes, with the pale intervals between them contributing as much to the composition as the colored yarns. The plain black perimeter provides a firm enclosure for this sustained repetition, its density setting off the openness of the central field.

Corn occupies a central place in Diné life as a source of nourishment and as a sacred plant. Corn pollen is used in prayer and blessing, and the plant figures prominently in accounts of creation. Corn imagery also appears in documented Navajo weavings of the mid-twentieth century, ranging from simplified plant forms to more elaborate pictorial compositions. 

The example offered here is especially effective in its economy of color and the assured repetition of its principal motif. Small variations in the woven contours animate the pattern without disturbing its overall balance.