This page describes each data field displayed in the search results. See the Notes on Content and Format page for more about the database’s scope.
| Field Name | Description |
| Textile ID No.: | The textile’s unique reference number in this database. |
| Culture: | The main cultural, tribal, ethnic or national group associated with the production of a textile. |
| Object: | The basic descriptor for a textile, such as Blanket, Rug or Dress. |
| Date Made: | The date or range of dates when the textile is understood to have been made. Some dates are established on solid documentation and others are attributed based on comparisons with other textiles with known dates. Generally these were assigned by Joe Ben Wheat at time of analysis or shortly thereafter. Some dates have subsequently been reconciled with analytical data and were revised by Ann Hedlund. When dates were revised they are shown in curly brackets, e.g. {1875}. An asterisk following the dates indicates those dates are documented in some manner. |
| Culture Details: | The culture(s) associated with the production, use and/or collection of a textile. |
| Style/Design Style: | A more specific descriptor for a group of textiles, often referring to a particular visual pattern, special construction technique, or specific function of the textiles. |
| Period/Stylistic Period: | The time period used by researchers and collectors to classify a textile. For Navajo textiles, this includes stylistic periods such as Classic, Transitional, and Early Modern; for other cultures, a century designation is generally used. See the Time Periods page for more information. |
| Early Year/Late Year: | In the Advanced Search form, the range of dates used for searching and sorting records in chronological order. This range is based on Wheat’s original dating with subsequent revisions by Hedlund. |
| JBW Type: | The original way in which Joe Ben Wheat described this object. |
| JBW Description: | An in-depth description, generally written by Joe Ben Wheat at the time of analysis, of the textile’s design, motifs, and colors, that may include information that wouldn’t fit in other places. |
| Maker: | The name or identity of the person who created the textile. (If not known, this field is not visible.) |
| Collection History: | |
| Collector: | The earliest known person or institution that owned the textile prior to institutional acquisition. Note that this is not necessarily the person who originally acquired the textile from its maker. Although this would be the ideal situation the original collector is not always known. Further details of what is known may be found under Collection History, Remarks and Comments. |
| Collection Date: | The date when the textile was acquired by the collector. |
| Remarks: | Details about how the textile was acquired by its owning institution; this may include information on previous owners and other collecting histories. |
| Structure: | The primary structure(s) used to create a textile, such as Tapestry weave, Braided or Twined. Sometimes this will include further structural details, such as the type of joins in tapestry weave: Tapestry weave (dovetailed; diagonal). |
| Lazy Lines: | A yes or no, plus commentary, indicates the existence or absence of “lazy lines,” a diagonal join within single-color areas, common in Navajo blankets and early rugs and absent in most Pueblo and Spanish American textiles. |
| Materials: | A summary of the material sources from which a textile is fabricated. Fiber is assumed to be wool unless otherwise noted. See also the Yarn Analysis chart for each textile. |
| Dimensions: | The length (warp-wise) and width (weft-wise) of the textile in inches and centimeters. Sometimes tassel or fringe length is also indicated. |
| Warp Count: | The average number or range of warp yarns per inch. |
| Weft Count: | The average number or range of weft yarns per inch. |
| Warp Selvage: | A description of how each Warp Selvage along the textile’s ends, are configured and treated. In most Navajo and Pueblo blankets and rugs and in many textiles from Latin and South America, the warps are uncut loops, that are engaged with two or three plied cords twined in place before the weaving begins. Spanish American and Mexican blanket ends usually have cut warps with a variety of knotted and/or fringed finishes. |
| Weft Selvage: | A description of how each Weft Selvage along the textile’s sides are configured and treated. In most Navajo and Pueblo blankets and rugs and in many textiles from Latin and South America, the wefts turn at the selvage and engage with two or three plied cords that are twined around the returning wefts as weaving progresses. Spanish American and Mexican weft selvages usually have multiple warps or a heavier warp at each side, without any twining. |
| Corners: | A description of how the corners of the textile were treated by the weaver, usually indicating how the selvage cords (if present) are knotted and whether tassels are present. |
| Comments: | Additional analytical or descriptive details about the construction of the textile. |
| Credits: | A formal description of the owning institution, relevant catalog numbers, photographers’ names, and other information required by the owner. |
| Dye tested? | In Advanced Search, choose Y(es) to view only those textiles that have dyes tested. The results appear in the yarn table. |
| Documented? | In Advanced Search, choose Y(es) to view only those textiles whose origins and history are, in any way, vouched for by archival, oral history, or other documentary records. |
| Original Form? | In Advanced Search, choose Y(es) to view only those textiles for which a copy of the original analysis form is available. |
| Original | In the Detail view, click the Original button to view a PDF of the orignal handwritten analysis form, usually completed by Joe Ben Wheat. |
| Recorder: | The name of the person who recorded the original data. |
| Analysis Date: | The date when the original analysis took place. |
| Owner: | The initials of the institution that currently owns the textile. To view the full name of the institution, see the credit line beneath the textile’s enlarged image in the Detail view. |
| Catalog No: | The textile’s unique reference number assigned by the owning institution. |
| Publications: | The citation of any published reference to a particular textile. |
| Plate Nos.: | For those textiles published in Joe Ben Wheat’s Blanket Weaving in the Southwest (2003, University of Arizona Press), the number of the color plate in which the textile appears. |
| Yarn Analysis | The makeup of yarns used in the textile, listed by their Function (Warp, Weft, etc.), Type, Fiber, Ply, Spin, Twist, Color, and Dye. Most Dye entries were made using visual and ethnographic comparisons and represent logical attributions rather than chemical or other analytical tests. Those that have been lab tested, usually via spectrophotometry, are noted with the word, “tested.” |