Navajo Bird pictorial rugs
or Tree of Life rugs are a popular design today. These pictorials,
because of the rounded heads and bodies of the birds, are difficult
to weave on a traditional Navajo loom and require an expert manipulation
of the weft to produce a quality rug.
The Navajo tree of life rug
was undoubtedly influenced by the Oriental rug design of the
same name. The history of the cross-cultural progression of this
design is fascinating, tracing the tree’s roots to early
Armenian culture and belief of the bird harbouring the spirits
of the deceased, the tree and birds then progressing during the
Christian era to a symbol of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection,
and finally the adaptation by the Navajo who saw the limbs of
the tree as obvious representation of the sacred corn stalk.
Today the Navajo Tree of Life
rug is rendered as a sacred corn plant growing from a Navajo
ceremonial basket and surrounded by birds in an explosion of
colour and movement.