ART on View 106 and precision that defines the Navajo aesthetic (fig. 8a). In the 1860s, just prior to the Bosque Redondo internment, the third phase appeared: Small terraced triangles replaced the block motifs of the second-phase blankets. Displaying the highest degree of variation and innovation in the chief-blanket genre, third-phase blankets are characterized by triangle and terraced-diamond motifs, key patterns adopted from the Classic serape, which was being developed simultaneously. By 1870, these large stepped-diamond patterns had migrated from the lines of the design to occupy the central fields of chief blankets, and the edges and corners were bordered by half diamonds and quarter diamonds. While the earliest chief blankets are revered by experts and collectors for their purity of design and exceptional quality, the Classic serape is celebrated for its vitality and artistic innovation. Woven with a vertical orientation, the FIG. 11: Bear effigy. Haida, C. 1870. Wood, paint. L: 113 cm. Gift of the Thomas W. Weisel Family to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 2013.76.126. zontal plane, wider than long, and were worn wrapped around the body (fig. 8b). The title “chief blanket” is a misnomer since the Navajo had no chiefs. The term derives from the status of those in other Native American tribes, most notably the Plains Indians, such as the Ute and the Sioux, who wore this important trade object, skillfully woven from the finest materials, as a symbol of power and influence. Reflecting these trade relations, the earliest versions of the chief blanket are referred to as first-phase Ute style and are characterized by alternating bands of subtly shifting colors (fig. 7). This simple banded pattern evolved with the secondphase chief blanket, which first appeared around 1850 and features designs distinguished by a block pattern punctuating the striped ground. The Weisel example displays the most classic variant: twelve divided blocks contained within indigo stripes that create a sense of balance
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