DECORATIVE VALVE OF AMERICAN INDIAN ART 



305 



that is far more artistic than the hard 

 solid cokir applied to so much of our 

 modern fabrics. The effect is much 

 more like block printing, although there 

 is no evidence that the Indians were 

 familiar with that process. The black 

 is a peculiarly attractive tone, "rusty" 

 describing it as nearly as w^ords can. It 

 has a much softer effect than our com- 

 mercial black and is well worth copying. 

 The white is a dull gray white which is 

 beautiful to look at but most difficult to 

 duplicate. The preponderance of these 

 two colors harmonizes the variety of 

 bright colors used in Indian designs. 



The patterns shown in the Indian 

 weaving, whatever the material, are 

 wonderfully suggestive to the designer 

 of textiles. There is not the variety of 

 motive found in the Persian and Italian 

 textiles but there are strength, simplicity, 

 and fine proportion. The texture of the 

 fabric itself, especially the best of the 

 Navajo blankets, makes a humiliating 

 contrast with the flimsv weaves of our 



riiis design ol l)lack spikes upon a bright yellow 

 ground was obtained from a Pawnee skin coat, deco- 

 rated with quill bands on the shoulders and down 

 the front 



modern looms. Some of the coarser 

 weaves shown in the bags of the Wood- 

 land tribes, would be well adapted to 

 materials for bungalow furnishings. The 

 woven bead bands give many suggestions 



The design represented on the cup and saucer was taken from a beaded bag of the Plains-Cree. Indian art 

 is full of suggestions for the modern craftsman, whether he be a needleworker, worker in leather, in metal, in kera- 

 mics or pottery, or a designer of textiles 



