Most people interested in Navajo weaving know that the different styles evolved around the trading posts on the reservation. Two GreyHills, Ganado, Teec Nos Pos, and about a dozen other posts have weaving styles named after them.
It makes perfect sense that the weavers around a trading post would create a style of weaving that the trader liked and would pay the most to purchase. Of course, artistic freedom was always within the style, and weavers were proud of their individuality.
But not all weavings fit into any category, even if they came from one of the regional style trading posts. There were, at one time, over 250 different trading posts on and around the Navajo Reservation, and almost all of them purchased Navajo weaving.
In his book Navajo Weaving, Past, Present and Future, written in 1963 and revised by Bill and Sande Bobb in 1984, Gilbert Maxwell said that one could ascribe about half of Navajo rugs to a particular regional style; the rest were general area weavings.
Two-Face Twill Weaving by an Unknown Weaver
One style done sparingly by Navajo weavers was the Two-Face, sometimes called a Double Weave. These amazing pieces are woven on the same loom as all Navajo rugs but have a different design on both sides. It is a complicated achievement for a weaver to sit at a loom and simultaneously create two patterns using one set of warps while sitting on one side of the loom.
I have had weavers diagram the technique for me, I’ve watched a weaver work on one, and I don’t get it. As best as I can understand, they use the weft (the part that makes the designs) as a substitute warp for the other side of the weaving.
As you can imagine, not many people are capable of weaving a Two-Face rug.
Two-Face Yei by Virginia Snyder
In talking to other traders and dealers in Navajo weaving, l have concluded that fewer than a dozen weavers make this type of textile, which may be high. Several have passed in recent years.
We are lucky to have a couple of award winners in the Gallery. One, by Ora Nez, was awarded a Blue Ribbon at the Gallup Ceremonial in 2010. Like most Two-Face weavers today, she doesn’t do large pieces. Winning Ribbons at the Ceremonial is always special, and this is an excellent piece for someone who wants a wonderful example of a unique style of weaving.
Blue Ribbon Gallup Ceremonial Two-Face Rug by Ora Nez
Another Two Face won a Blue Ribbon at the New Mexico State Fair in 1985. It is by Nellie Begay and has Chinle diamonds interspersed between Diamond Twill patterns and alternating lines. It is also primarily colored with vegetal dyes, which makes it unique.
1985 Double Weave by Nellie Begay
