Posted 3 years ago
aaoshorty
(9 items)
Found this in a thrift store years ago and it called to me and ended up buying for whatever reason . Fascinated and blessed to discover the deeper meaning behind it .
Navajo sand mandala | ||
| Native American Antiques138 of 1959 |  |  |
It's a Navajo sandpainting made for sale. This type of tourist oriented art first came on the market in the 1960s, and is still popular today.
Actual sandpaintings are a part of the Navajo culture/religion, made on the ground during healing ceremonies, and destroyed as part of the ritual. They follow strict rules about who can make them, how each is to be made, each ceremony depicted, and can never be reproduced or made for sale, due to their religious nature.
In the 1960s, a few Navajo artists began making "sandpaintings" on particle board, for the tourist trade, at first making designs similar to, but not accurately depicting, those traditional ones. As the demand increased, others started making their own designs and using their creative instincts to depict what they thought would sell. Today you can find these "sandpaintings" showing everything from iconic Navajo folk art scenes to Disney characters.
This probably represents the "Four Corners," and "Yei" figures, with elements of Navajo folk art and culture, but there is likely no "deeper meaning" behind it, than the hope it will sell.