Vintage Navajo Weaving: Teec Nos Pos, Circa 1930, 92″ x 50″

Always surrounded by a wide border and filled with an exuberant variety of motifs, Teec Nos Pos rugs are often large. Because of their size and complexity, Teec Nos Pos can be very expensive. An elaborate center is often enhanced with stylized feathers and arrows. Claw-like, angular hooks extend from the points of diamonds and triangles; zigzags are everywhere. The wide borders of a Teec Nos Pos rug often contain a lightening path. Contrasting colors outline many elements, and there are lot’s of diagonal lines. There is no rule for colors in a Tec Nos Pos rug, although of course they must harmonize. Teec Nos Pos is a bold, busy, exciting design. Many experts believe it developed from pictures of Persian rugs; others see no connection. The name comes from a settlement in the northeast corner of Navajo country. It means “Cottonwoods in a Circle.” However similar rugs are woven from Mexican Water on the west Beklabito, New Mexico, on the east.