Identification of Dyes in Historic Textile Materials

Abstract

Some of the natural dyes that are suitable for dyeing textile materials can be identified very easily with chromatographic or spectroscopic methods even when the object to be investigated is very old. Such identification applies to the two natural vat dyes indigo and purple, and also to mordant dyes belonging to the class of the hydroxyanthraquinones, for example, madder, cochineal, kermes, and lac dyes. If, however, the dyeings were produced with natural dyes that have relatively poor lightfastness, for example, yellow dyeings with hydroxyflavones or red dyeings with orchil or brazilwood, specific color reactions to identify the small proportion of undestroyed dye are usually the more rapid and more reliable method. It is advisable to begin the investigation with these color reactions, and then to attempt to confirm the results thus obtained by the use of chromatographic or spectroscopic methods.

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