Browse our collection of Two Grey Hills and natural rugs.

 ELEVATION:  5920'

LOCATION:  Situated on a treeless pediment separating the Chuska Mountains to the west from the Chaco wastelands, the site appears on 19^th century maps as Crozier.  (New Mexico).  The name, Two Grey Hills, was probably derived from the Indian name, Bis dahlitso, which means, "upper yellow adobe."  Actually, there are several hills which backdrop the post and the color is tan, not gray.

ESTABLISHED:  1897

THE RUG:  With the collapse of Moore's rug dynasty at Crystal, (he left the trading post in 1911; however, a second mail order catalog was published at that time, and that business continued), some of his original designs filtered eastward through the snowy confines of Washington Pass to be nourished by the Two Grey Hills weavers.  The area women eliminated Moore's bright colors, especially the red, and began to produce a distinctive rug of their own.  The Style was fully developed by the 1920's and has remained little changed throughout the century.  By 1925, the design elements borrowed from Moore had disappeared.  Davies, now sole owner at Two Grey Hills, and Bloomfield (Toadlena), were responsible for this, as they spent many patient hours pointing out to their weavers the fine points of individual style and quality craftsmanship.  What resulted from the efforts of these two dedicated traders was emergence of one of the finest textile styles to come - post-Revival loom, the Two Grey Hills Rug.  Reportedly Bloomfield and Davies also showed their weavers potsherds from the general area as an inspiration for their rugs.  These sherds would have been Anasazi black on white types as are found at Chaco Canyon.  Especially noticeable in both rugs and pottery is a multiple-outlined Z shape.

Novices to the field of Navajo weaving are often under the mistaken impression that the term "Two Grey Hills" refers to the color and pattern of the rugs bearing that name.  In fact the "two gray hills" are actual landmarks near the trading post, but are not depicted in any of the rugs from this area.

The Two Grey Hills fabric is a bordered rug (usually in black), utilizing natural wool tones of blended white, brown, and black.  With the exception of black, no commercial or vegetal dyes are used.  The warm beige which is today associated with Two Grey Hills weaving was found all over the reservation in the period between 1920 and 1940.  Both old and new rugs from Two Grey Hills are identifiable by certain characteristics, including a plain black outer border, multiple inner borders, a central medallion or double medallion with many hook motifs, and small filler elements (such as bars and dashes found in triangular elements).

Inch by inch and foot by foot, the Two Grey Hills rug is the finest textile to come out of Navajoland today (c. 1976).  It is also the most expensive.  One of the most attractive characteristics of the finer rugs is the light weight, accounted for by extremely careful carding and spinning, resulting in a high thread count in weaving. A weft count of 110 or more generally qualifies a rug as a tapestry.  Some of the outstanding examples of Two Grey Hills rugs count in excess of 120 wefts to the inch.

A new style was developed in the 1970's by Bruce Burnham of Burntwater, Arizona.  Called "Burntwater" after his post, this style combines vegetal dyed wools of the revival style with the elaborate Two Grey Hills patterns.  Soon, this style has taken over the former position of Two Grey Hills as the most expensive of all the Navajo weavings.

The evolution of the weaving style in the Two Grey Hills area has been the result of interaction among various groups - the trader with the customer, the trader with the weaver, and generations of weavers with one another.  Older women pass on their traditions, younger women take the family traditions and add something of their own and slowly over the years this complex interaction produces visual changes.

Source:  Posts and Rugs, The Story of Navajo Rugs and Their Homes, by H. L. James, Southwest Parks and Monuments Association, Third Printing 1979; Copyright 1976 by Southwest Parks and Monuments Association. (Pages 58, 5

Weaving of the Southwest, Marian Rodee, 1987, Schiffer Publishing Ltd., Atglen, PA, (Pages 99, 222, 225, 237)