Peterson First Phase Blanket

A Classic First Phase Chief’s Blanket with Twelve Blue Bands,
Ute Style, Navajo, circa 1840, also known as the Peterson First Phase.

A Classic First Phase Chief’s Blanket with Twelve Blue Bands, Ute Style, Navajo, circa 1840, also known as the Peterson First Phase.

The first phase measures 60 inches long by 76 inches wide, as woven.

The Peterson First Phase is on exhibit at the Scottsdale Museum of the West. The first phase is displayed with the Rhodes Second Phase and the Wuerpel Third Phase. The three chief’s blankets offer visitors the rare opportunity to see a classic first phase, a classic second phase, and a classic third phase on the wall in a museum.

The Peterson First Phase and the Wuerpel Third Phase are illustrated on Page 104
in Landowski, Courage and Crossroads, Selections from the Peterson Collection, 2014,
the museum exhibition catalog.

The Peterson First Phase and the Wuerpel Third Phase are illustrated on Page 104 in Landowski, Courage and Crossroads, Selections from the Peterson Collection, 2014, the museum exhibition catalog.

The Peterson First Phase is ex- David Cook, of Denver. In 2012, Edgar Smith, of
New York, purchased the first phase from Cook. In 2014, Zaplin-Lampert Gallery
and Joshua Baer & Company, both of Santa Fe, purchased the first phase from Smith.
In December, 2014, Tim Peterson, of Boston, purchased the first phase from
Zaplin-Lampert Gallery and Joshua Baer & Company.

The Peterson First Phase is ex- David Cook, of Denver. In 2012, Edgar Smith, of New York, purchased the first phase from Cook. In 2014, Zaplin-Lampert Gallery and Joshua Baer & Company, both of Santa Fe, purchased the first phase from Smith. In December, 2014, Tim Peterson, of Boston, purchased the first phase from Zaplin-Lampert Gallery and Joshua Baer & Company.

A Detail of the Center of the Peterson First Phase, Navajo, circa 1840.

Two different shades of blue handspun yarn appear in the Peterson First Phase. Both of the blue yarns are handspun Churro fleece dyed in the yarn with indigo. The brown yarns are un-dyed handspun Churro fleece carded and spun from two different brown fleeces. The white yarns are un-dyed handspun Churro fleece.

The first phase is the only classic first phase, either Bayeta or Ute Style, with twelve wide bands of blue handspun yarns. With the exception of the Lecky First Phase, all
of the other classic first phase chief’s blankets in museum and private collections have eight stripes of blue handspun yarns. The Lecky First Phase has twelve thin stripes of blue handspun yarns.

The first phase is the only classic first phase, either Bayeta or Ute Style, with twelve wide bands of blue handspun yarns. With the exception of the Lecky First Phase, all of the other classic first phase chief’s blankets in museum and private collections have eight stripes of blue handspun yarns. The Lecky First Phase has twelve thin stripes of blue handspun yarns.

The Peterson First Phase is in excellent condition with less than 1% restoration. Corner tassels, side selvages, and top and bottom edge cords are 99% original. The first phase shows no signs of wear. It is one of four classic Ute Style first phases in museum and private collections that have survived in original condition.

In terms of collection history, condition, design, and yarns, the Peterson First Phase is one of the finest known example of a classic Ute Style first phase.

Above: The Peterson First Phase, Navajo, circa 1840.

The first phase measures 60 inches long by 76 inches wide, as woven.

Below: A Classic First Phase Chief’s Blanket with Twelve Blue Stripes, Navajo,
circa 1800-1840, also known as the Lecky First Phase. The first phase is
ex- Lieutenant Colonel David Allen Lecky (1822-1907), of Morgantown, Pennsylvania.

Below: A Classic First Phase Chief’s Blanket with Twelve Blue Stripes, Navajo, circa 1800-1840, also known as the Lecky First Phase. The first phase is ex- Lieutenant Colonel David Allen Lecky (1822-1907), of Morgantown, Pennsylvania.

The first phase measures 54 inches long by 63 inches wide, as woven.

A Classic Second Phase Chief’s Blanket, Ute Style, Navajo,
circa 1850, also known as the Rhodes Second Phase.

A Classic Second Phase Chief’s Blanket, Ute Style, Navajo, circa 1850, also known as the Rhodes Second Phase.

The second phase measures 53 inches long by 63 inches long, as woven.

The Rhodes Second Phase is the only classic second phase with solid blue and solid brown stripes running horizontally across the centers of its upper and lower panels. The red rectangular designs “missing” from the centers of its upper and lower panels make the Rhodes Second Phase a unique example of the second phase style.

The Rhodes Second Phase is ex- Fred Harvey Company, Albuquerque. A Fred Harvey Company collection tag is attached to the lower edge of the second phase. The second phase is ex- Margaret Fleming, of Pasadena. Fleming purchased the second phase from the Fred Harvey Company, in 1933. The second phase is ex- Kenneth Rhodes, also of Pasadena. Kenneth Rhodes was Margaret Fleming’s son.

In 2011, the second phase was purchased from the estate of Kenneth Rhodes by
a private collector in Scottsdale. In 2012, the second phase was purchased from the Scottsdale private collector by Zaplin-Lampert Gallery and Joshua Baer & Company, both of Santa Fe. In 2013, the second phase was purchased by the Donald Ellis Gallery, of New York, from Joshua Baer & Company. In 2016, Joshua Baer & Company purchased the second phase from the Donald Ellis Gallery, on behalf of Tim Peterson.

In 2011, the second phase was purchased from the estate of Kenneth Rhodes by a private collector in Scottsdale. In 2012, the second phase was purchased from the Scottsdale private collector by Zaplin-Lampert Gallery and Joshua Baer & Company, both of Santa Fe. In 2013, the second phase was purchased by the Donald Ellis Gallery, of New York, from Joshua Baer & Company. In 2016, Joshua Baer & Company purchased the second phase from the Donald Ellis Gallery, on behalf of Tim Peterson.

A Detail of the Center of the Rhodes Second Phase, Navajo, circa 1850.

In the Rhodes Second Phase, four of the red yarns are raveled bayeta piece-dyed
with cochineal. Three of the red yarns are four-ply European machine-spun knitting yarns, also known as Saxony yarns, dyed in the skein with cochineal. One quarter of the warps in the second phase are red four-ply Saxony yarns dyed in the skein with cochineal.

In the Rhodes Second Phase, four of the red yarns are raveled bayeta piece-dyed with cochineal. Three of the red yarns are four-ply European machine-spun knitting yarns, also known as Saxony yarns, dyed in the skein with cochineal. One quarter of the warps in the second phase are red four-ply Saxony yarns dyed in the skein with cochineal.

The blue yarns are handspun Churro fleece dyed with indigo. The brown yarns
are un-dyed handspun Churro fleece. The white yarns are un-dyed handspun
Churro fleece.

The blue yarns are handspun Churro fleece dyed with indigo. The brown yarns are un-dyed handspun Churro fleece. The white yarns are un-dyed handspun Churro fleece.

Since 2017, the second phase has been on exhibit at the Scottsdale Museum of the West, with the Peterson First Phase and the Wuerpel Third Phase.

The Rhodes Second Phase is one of the finest known classic second phases in either
a museum or private collection.

The Rhodes Second Phase is one of the finest known classic second phases in either a museum or private collection.

An Early Classic Third Phase Chief’s Blanket, Navajo, circa 1850,
also known as the Wuerpel Third Phase.

An Early Classic Third Phase Chief’s Blanket, Navajo, circa 1850, also known as the Wuerpel Third Phase.

The third phase measures 67 inches wide by 57 inches long, as woven.

The Wuerpel Third Phase was purchased on May 13, 1903, by J. F. Huckel (1864-1936). Between 1901 and 1936, Huckel was Director of the Fred Harvey Company’s Indian Department in Albuquerque. Huckel was Fred Harvey’s son-in-law, by marriage to Harvey’s daughter, Minnie Harvey Huckel.

In 1903, Huckel purchased the third phase for $35 from Pedro Muniz, a Mexican trader. Between 1901 and 1908, Muniz was one of the Harvey Company’s sources of classic Navajo blankets.

In 1908, the third phase was sold for $65 by the Harvey Company to Mini Clay Wuerpel of Saint Louis. Mini Wuerpel was the wife of the American Tonalist painter Edmund Wuerpel (1866-1958), also known as Ted “Purple” Wuerpel. The third phase remained in the Wuerpel family’s collection until January of 2011.

On January 15, 2011, the Wuerpel Third Phase was sold as Lot #566 by Skinner, in Boston, for $213,300, buyer’s premium included. The third phase was sold by Skinner in damaged condition. The buyer was Zaplin-Lampert Gallery, of Santa Fe. Between February and July of 2011, the third phase was cleaned and restored by Robert Mann Oriental Rugs, of Denver.

A Detail of the Center of the Wuerpel Third Phase, Navajo, circa 1850.

In August of 2011, the Wuerpel Third Phase was purchased from Joshua Baer & Company by a private collector in Lake Forest, Illinois. In August, 2014, the third phase was purchased from the Lake Forest private collector by Zaplin-Lampert Gallery and Joshua Baer & Company, on behalf of Tim Peterson.

Since 2017, the third phase has been on display at the Scottsdale Museum of the West, with the Peterson First Phase and the Rhodes Second Phase.

There are three varieties of red yarn in the Wuerpel Third Phase. 50% of the red yarns are a dark red raveled bayeta piece-dyed with cochineal. 25% of the red yarns are a medium red raveled bayeta piece-dyed with cochineal. 25% of the red yarns are a European machine-spun three-ply knitting yarn, also known as Saxony yarn, dyed in the skein with cochineal.

The green yarns are handspun Churro fleece dyed in the yarn with combinations of indigo and vegetal dyes, probably chamisa. The blue yarns are handspun Churro fleece dyed in the yarn with indigo. The brown yarns and the white yarns are un-dyed handspun Churro fleece.

The Wuerpel Third Phase qualifies as a candidate for the finest known classic third phase in either a museum or private collection.

The Peterson First Phase, the Rhodes Second Phase, and the Wuerpel Third Phase are on exhibit at the Scottsdale Museum of the West.