1990s Yei-be-chai

Fine Navajo Yei-be-chai weaving by Sarah Paul Begay, woven in the 1990s with a procession of ceremonial dancers across a soft gray field. This is an especially unique example for the way Begay creates lifelike movement within the figures, using curved lines, varied postures, and subtle shifts in color to give the dancers a fluid, animated presence rarely achieved in woven form. The figures are framed by a wide geometric border in natural brown, gray, black, and cream tones. Yei-be-chai weavings depict dancers associated with the Navajo Nightway, a winter healing ceremony performed to restore balance, health, and harmony.

47” (3' 11") Width, 24” (2') Length