The Swastika Motif: Its Use In Navajo And Oriental Weaving, By Dennis J. Aigner
Item History & Price
Reference Number: Avaluer:49817199 | Tribal Affiliation: None |
Origin: DAI Press, 2018 | Country/Region of Manufacture: United States |
Handmade: No |
This is the definitive reference book for collectors of Navajo weavings that incorporate the swastika motif. The swastika's use as a design motif in Oriental textiles and its religious significance in Buddhism and Hinduism, among other things, explains its widespread popularity in Anglo America by the late 1800s, when trad...ers on the Navajo Reservation sought to commercialize Navajo textiles and urged their weavers to incorporate the swastika. Through trade and by other means, the motif became common on the beadwork, basketry, ceramics and jewelry of many Southwestern, Northwestern, and Plains Indian tribes at the turn of the 20th century, a practice that continued until its appropriation by the Nazis in the 1930s.
The book first traces the early history and geographical dispersion of the swastika symbol in various cultures, where it had spiritual significance or indicated solar motion. The symbol's literal meaning, from the ancient Sanskrit language, is "well-being". It also explains the difference between the swastika motif and the so-called "whirling log" of Navajo mythology.
The book is lavishly illustrated with 45 drawings and 132 color plates. It also contains an appendix on Navajo border designs, an index, and an extensive bibliography. It is a coffee table size book, 12" x 9'. Second printing, 2019.