Featured in this lot is this Navajo Germantown Dazzler sampler rug circa 1880's. The rug features a wonderfully and professionally crafted wool construction that shows triangular bands that shows stepped design with beautiful patterns with coloration of red, pink, green, blue, and off white. The rug is fastened to its loom that shows a two stick frame with runners at the bottom. Germantown rugs were Navajo textiles woven from 1864 to 1910, with the bulk of the weavings made from 1885-90. The name of these rugs comes from the yarn used - commercially-made yarn that came from wool mills in the region of Germantown, Pennsylvania. This yarn was shipped to the Navajo reservation, where the weavers would buy or barter for it at their closest trading post. Germantown yarns gave the weavers a magnificent array of colors to use that they hadn’t had before: bright pinks and greens, dark greens, reds, yellows, and purples. Having access to these yarns sparked a creative outburst in the Navajo weaving community of the period and resulted in gorgeous textiles that are highly prized by modern audiences. Note that Germantown blankets preceded the making of Navajo rugs and were woven almost exclusively for the tourist trade. These vintage Navajo blankets are too delicate to put on the floor; instead, these textiles were draped on beds, worn, or hung on walls. Early Germantown weavings were frequently woven with a cotton warp, adding to their fragility (though this practice was soon discouraged by traders, who encouraged weavers to use wool warps for added strength). The condition of this Navajo Germantown rug is well preserved with no obvious signs of damage but is half finished and still on the loom otherwise showing well preserved condition. The measurements of this rug is 17 1/4" x 19 1/4". The thread count of this rug is 220 threads per square inch.