Isabel M John, Rug, Crystal Design, Navajo, 27" x 50"

High in the Chuska Mountains, in a grassy meadow near Narbona Pass, sat J.B. Moore’s Crystal Trading Post, birthplace of one of the most innovative Navajo rug styles. From 1897 through 1911, J.B. Moore collaborated with the talented weavers of the Crystal area to produce rugs of excellent quality and unique design. Moore is considered one of the most influential Navajo traders for his introduction of mail order catalogs, superior methods of rug production and promotion of individual weavers. He is also credited with bringing Oriental rug patterns to the Crystal weaving community and beyond.

Moore’s distinctive Crystal style features a bordered rug with strong central elements such as diamonds or crosses, with additional motifs of frets, latch hooks, water bugs, arrows and swastikas. The colors are muted grey, deep red and black. Although J.B. Moore left the Reservation in 1911, his influence and Crystal style continued until the 1940s.