The Dr. Samuel R. Poliakoff Collection of Western Art

Burntwater is a region of the Navajo Reservation that is one of the centers of vegetal dye wool use. It is a distinctive rug type that combines the bordered, central geometric designs of modern Ganado and Two Grey Hills rugs with bright pastel, vegetal colors. Weavers who use vegetal colors dye their wool with the flowers, leaves, stems, and roots of various native plants to create a variety of colors from yellow, greens and browns to pink, purple, and mauve.