Textile Expert at Nevada State Museum in conjunction with the Old Spanish Trail Exhibit
Mark Winter on the Old Spanish Trail
Sunday January 26 at 2:00 – 3:00 PM
Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas
Take a journey on the Old Spanish Trail with Mark Winter, scholar and collector, who will discuss trade textiles and material cultural that traversed between New Mexico and California.
In this presentation, Mark will conduct a show & tell, utilizing examples of Hispanic, Mexican, Pueblo, and Navajo artifacts from the 19th century. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about textiles and trade on the trail.
Please join us for conversation and refreshments
This lecture is free and open to the public. Space is limited and available first come, first serve.
About the Speaker
Mark Winter has been a collector for over 50 years. For nearly 30 years, he has owned the Historic Toadlena Trading Post in Newcomb, New Mexico, working with contemporary Navajo weavers. As a renowned authority on Navajo weavings and Saltillo Serapes, Mark has authored several publications that include: The Master Weavers – Featuring the Family of Clara Sherman, The Master Weavers, Celebrating One Hundred Years of Navajo Textile Artists from the Toadlena/Two Grey Hills Weaving Region, and Saltillo Sarapes: A Survey 1850–1920.
The production of woolen textiles became an important industry in New Mexico as traders brought goods from New Mexico to Alta California on the Old Spanish Trail and exchanged them for mules, horses and various types of material culture that supported the vital economic trade route. Among the most popular trade items were Rio Grande blankets, serapes, and rugs,
About The Old Spanish Trail: Connecting a Network of Paths
This expansive exhibit illustrates the Old Spanish Trail, the approximately 700-mile network of trails that linked the Los Angeles area with the land that would become Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado through areas of high mountains, arid deserts, and deep canyons.
The Old Spanish Trail was primarily a horse and mule pack route linking the village of Santa Fe to the Pueblo of Los Angeles. The trail evolved from a network of indigenous trade routes and exploratory routes that crossed the modern states of New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California.
Many of the items that were moved along the trail system were wool, textiles, and piñon nuts traded for horses and mules, which were abundant in California. The exhibit will illustrate important commerce through illustrated wall panels, maps, textiles, and artifacts.
This exhibit runs November 15, 2024–May 12, 2025.
About the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas Founded in 1982, the mission of the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas, serves to educate a diverse public about the history and natural history of Nevada. The museum collects, preserves, exhibits, and disseminates material that contributes to an understanding and appreciation of the state. For more information, visit https://www.lasvegasnvmuseum.org/