Antique Navajo Two Grey Hills Rug/Blanket.Brass Trading Post Tag.1920-30s.56x44"

Description

We bought this in the early 70s from an antique store in St Petersburg, FL.  At that time, St Pete was a great place to collect American Indian art because Northeasterners retired there and brought with them some of the prizes they had bought as tourists in the early part of the century, and then they ended up in estate sales.  There was not much of a demand for Native American things in the Southeast.
This is a wonderful rug. We have had it hanging on the wall since we bought it (2 houses).  56x44". Fine, uniform, tight weave.
The brass tag is interesting.  In the early 20th century, traders started marking "Indian goods" - stamps such as "IHMS" (Indian Hand Made Silver) began to be used, and some trading posts started doing the same sort of thing on rugs.  Some were metal tags, some paper, and some like this were two brass coin-sized disks riveted to the rug in a corner with letters stamped into the brass.  I don't know what the letters mean.  Some serious student will have an opinion.  But this is one of the clues to an early date, and a rug that the trader was proud to offer.
The Two Grey Hills type rugs (named for a place and a trading post) are known for their quality and the fact that the shades come from blending the wool of black and white sheep, rather than dyeing.  As you see from the pictures where one side is folded over the other, there is no fading.
The weavers dealing with the various early trading posts developed 'regional styles' such as the Two Gray Hills style, but weavers from all parts of Navajoland now weave in whatever style they want.  With early rugs, though, an experienced collector can be pretty confident.  Two Gray Hills is or was the last of the old trading  posts to stay at its original location.
This is a fine tapestry weave of all natural hand spun wool.  A true collector's item.
I include one picture of the frame I had it hanging on, made of wooden carpet edge strips.  Some people will tell you not to do this, but it holds the rug at hundreds of points, preventing stress, sagging, etc. and it works.  Don't try substituting the metal kind.