• Moki    A design style having blue, brown striped background.  Spanish word for Hopi.  Used by Navajos to refer to the Hopis.
  
• Provenance    The history of ownership or origin.   If an item was owned (or even touched) by a famous person, then often the value is increase.  For instance, if a Navajo blanket was known to have been owned by Kit Carson, then it could be of greater value then one of unknown provenance.  Because of this fame/value factor, one should be wary of sellers puffing up the value of their merchandise with optimistic stories..

• Picker    A person that searches yard sales, flea markets and auctions for merchandise to sell to retail dealers.  The picker is motivated by the dream of finding treasure amongst trash.  Usually only the latter turns up.
  

If you have any suggestions for our Navajo rug glossary, please e-mail us.