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When buying a Navajo rug or blanket it is important that you do a little analysis prior to making your final selection. Real Navajo rugs and blankets are handmade artistic endeavors that are produced according to standard cultural customs. Lots of the rugs being sold as Navajo rugs are truly mass produced copies which do not have the beauty or the durability of the real deal. It is important to look out for frauds when purchasing a Navajo rug or blanket. Your best chance is to buy from a dealer with a reputation for truth and quality.

You can find Navajo rugs and blankets at a variety of different places including thrift stores, antique stores, swap meets, and garage sales. There’s also usually a variety of them for sale from online auction sites. There are several things you must look for when choosing a Navajo rug or blanket so you know you are purchasing the real thing.

Almost all authentic Navajo blankets won’t have fringes. If the rug you are interested in has a fringe probabilities are it is not authentic, except in some terribly rare circumstances. Navajo rugs will usually also not have ridges at the ends. Occasionally these ridges are the results of a seller attempting to take away the fringe to make the rug look more authentic. Most of the time you may find a selvage rope on a Navajo rug. These are often utilized by a Navajo weaver to help them keep a straight edge.

Sometimes people love the look of a Navajo rug or blanket but aren’t ready to pay the pricetag for authentic pieces. There are many top quality reproductions being produced in Mexico nowadays that will cost you much less than you can expect to pay for an authentic Navajo rug or blanket. There are also some good reproductions made in Romania, Russia, Pakistan, and India. Be advised that items made in many of these countries are often produced using child labor.