Diyogí Tsoh (Big Rug)

Diyogí Tsoh (Big Rug) is a Diné (Navajo) rug woven by Julia Bah Joe, a Diné master weaver and her daughter, Lillie Joe Hill, and other members of the Joe family. It is held in the permanent collection of the Affeldt Mion Museum in Window Rock, Arizona. The intricately patterned rug is hand-spun and hand-dyed from wool produced on Navajo land.The rug was formerly known as the Hubbell-Joe Rug. It is 21 feet wide by 33 feet long, weighs 250 pounds and took 3 1/2 years to weave.[1][2]

History

Diyogí Tsoh means "big rug" in the Navajo language. The rug was woven in Greasewood, Arizona on the Navajo Nation by the master weaver Julia Bah Joe, and members of her family.[1][3] The work involved in creating the rug included raising the sheep, shearing the sheep, carding the wool, dying the wool, spinning the yarn, setting up a custom built loom from plumbing pipes, and weaving the rug.[3] The rug was commissioned by Lorenzo Hubbell Jr. in 1932 who intended the rug to attract tourists to his trading post during the Depression era.[2][3] For their work, the Joe family was compensated by Hubbell with less than $1,900 in items that the Joe family had pawned at his trading post and in trading post credit.[4]

After being exhibited for years in a traveling tour, it was purchased by Kyle Bales and stored in Scottsdale, Arizona beginning in the mid-1970s. After Bales death, the rug was inherited by his daughter, Patricia Smith. In 2012, it was purchased by the owner of the La Posada, Allan Affeldt for $100,000 under the conditions that he develop a museum to exhibit the work. Affeld then donated it to the Winslow Arts Trust.[4]

Description

The rug was woven from locally produced, dyed and spun wool from Navajo churro sheep. It took two years to prepare the wool using traditional techniques for shearing the sheep, washing the fiber, carding it, then dying and spinning the wool into yarn.The colors used are the traditional tan, black, grey and "Ganado red", these represent the Universe to the Navajo people. [3]

Exhibition tour

The rug was competed in 1937 and was first presented to the public as "the world's largest Navajo rug" at the Hubbell Trading Post, as well as at Hubbell's Motor Company in Winslow, Arizona. It was then put on tour throughout the United States, and was exhibited in 1945 in the Senate chambers in Washington, DC.[1] In the 1940s it was toured in the Phoenix, Arizona parade on a horse drawn cart..[5][6] Later, in 1964, Diyogí Tsoh was presented to an international audience at the 1964 New York World's Fair.[1] The following year it was exhibited in Phoenix, Arizona at the Heard Museum.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Pontone, Maya. "Historic Diné Weaving Relabeled to Center Native History". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 1 November 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Roberto, Dustin (1 November 2025). "Diyogí Tsoh: 'Hubbell-Joe Rug' gets Diné name at Affeldt Mion Museum". The Navajo Times. Retrieved 1 November 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d Cannon, Carrie (11 November 2024). "Earth Notes: World's Largest Navajo Rugs". KNAU News. Retrieved 1 November 2025.
  4. ^ a b Wittenberg, Alexandra (16 September 2025). "Trader's name removed from record-breaking Navajo rug in Winslow". Navajo-Hopi Observer. Retrieved 1 November 2025.
  5. ^ "The Big Rug Series". Affeldt Mion Museum. Retrieved 1 November 2025.
  6. ^ "Diyogí Tsoh The Big Rug: Master Weaver: Julia Bah Joe, Co-weaver Lillie Joe Hill". Affeldt Mion Museum. Retrieved 1 November 2025.

Further reading

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