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| CLASSIC NAVAJO FIRST PHASE CHIEF'S BLANKET, circa 1850 |
 During the first half of the 19-century, the Navajo traded extensively with other Native American tribes. Demand for Navajo blankets was especially strong among the Plains tribes, notably among the Arapaho, the Cheyenne and the Sioux. At that time, the Plains tribes were settled east of the Rocky Mountains and west of the Mississippi and Missouri valleys, in villages and encampments surrounded by landscapes of rolling hills, flat horizons and endless skies.
The first phase chief's blanket, characterized by its composition of horizontal, parallel stripes, was a familiar trade item among the Plains people. First phase chief's blankets were expensive, commanding a barter price of fifty horses; one hundred buffalo hides, ten rifles or three ounces of gold. The term "chief's blanket" came into the vernacular because only the highest ranking members of the Plains tribes?the chiefs?could afford to trade into such a valuable garment. To this day, the first phase chief's blanket remains among the most desirable of all American Indian works of art. - Joshua Baer |
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