Navajo Rag Dolls

Navajo dolls - rag dolls from the 1940s

        Navajo Dolls describe a style of clothing that Navajo women copied from east coast American society in the 1860s. Women of that era wore full dresses made out of satin. President Lincoln's wife and friends wore full dresses made of satin. Navajo women copied the patterns but substituted velvet for the satin and made buttons out of nickels and dimes. These stylish skirts are still fashionable today, for Navajos and non-Navajos alike.

       The dolls shown right, also wear simpler copies of Navajo jewelry. Their silver colored belts mimic their native silversmithing.  

       Atsidi Sani is considered to be the first Navajo silversmith. He learned silversmithing from a Mexican man called Nakai Tsosi, "Thin Mexican", around 1878 and began teaching other Navajos how to work with silver. By 1880, Navajo silversmiths were creating handmade jewelry including bracelets, tobacco flasks, necklaces and bracers. Later, they added silver earrings, buckles, bolos, hair ornaments, pins and squash blossom necklaces for tribal use, and to sell to tourists as a way to supplement their income.

       Tiny seed beed necklaces in turquoise colors mimic "squash blossom' jewelry. This necklace first appeared in the 1880s. The term "squash blossom" was apparently attached to the name of the Navajo necklace at an early date, although its bud-shaped beads are thought to derive from Spanish-Mexican pomegranate designs. 

• Navajo Dolls Owned by Sandra James
• Sample Navajo Rag Doll at J. Compton Gallery
• A Vintage Pair of Navajo Dolls in Traditional Dress

  Return to the Doll Guide Index Page