More than 100 Navajo weavings, contemporary and antique, will be sold on Thursday, Nov. 8, at the 22nd Annual Benefit Silent Auction for the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History.
This year's auction will be held at the Nighthorse Campbell Native Health Building at the Anschutz Medical Campus, 13055 E. 17th Ave. in Aurora. Buyers may begin placing bids at noon and the auction closes at 7 p.m.
Weavings, including pieces from Two Grey Hills, Crystal, Shiprock, Ganado, the Burnham area and more, ranging in value from $100 to $10,000, will be available for sale.
At noon and 5 p.m., Jackson Clark, a Navajo weaving expert from the Toh-Atin Gallery in Durango, will discuss the history of Navajo weaving and answer questions about the pieces in the auction. He also will offer free evaluations of Navajo weavings from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Damaged Navajo weavings can be brought to the auction for a free estimate of repair and/or cleaning by Ben Leroux of Southwest Textile Restorations.
The money raised by the auction will support the care and preservation of the Joe Ben Wheat textile collection at the CU Museum of Natural History.
"The collection assembled by Dr. Wheat is, without question, one of the finest in the world," said Associate Professor Steve Lekson, curator of anthropology at the museum. "Joe Ben Wheat was a curator at the museum and is recognized as one of the leading authorities on Navajo and Southwestern weaving."
For more information call the CU Museum of Natural History at (303) 492-6892.