Navajo (Dine’) textiles began to transition in style after the arrival of the railroads in 1880. Traders arrived in different regions on the Navajo reservation and these traders encouraged specific designs and types of textiles that they would market through published catalogs. Weavers were dependent on the trader who was closest to them and thus regional styles came to be associated with specific trading posts.

Teec Nos Pos and Red Mesa textiles came from Northeastern Arizona beginning in the 1920s. They are notable for their frequent use of red, purple, and burnt gold/orange wools along with natural and synthetic-dyed handspun wools.

The design of this rug clearly harkens back to the earlier eyedazzler design that the Navajo (Dine’) developed in the late 19th century. The weaver chose to use a stacked diamond design surrounded by a border. Synthetic purple is a dye that was often used in the lat 19th-early 20th centuries.