Navajo Storm

An Afghan Navajo Storm Pattern rug, knotted by hand with hand-spun, vegetable-dyed wool, woven by master weavers in northern Afghanistan.

Inspired by the celebrated Storm Pattern of Navajo weaving, this design emerged around the turn of the twentieth century and was popularized through the trading-post market of the American Southwest. Its central form, linked by stepped lines to four corner elements, has traditionally been associated with the Navajo homeland, the four sacred mountains, lightning, rain, and the life-giving power of storms, although interpretations of individual symbols vary among weavers and sources. The design also reflects an unusual historical exchange: around 1900, Navajo weavers themselves incorporated selected motifs and compositional ideas from Oriental carpets introduced through traders, while today Afghan weavers are translating famous Navajo designs back into the hand-knotted pile-rug tradition for Western homes.