ANTH 361 was wrapped up with fun and interesting conference style presentations on our last day of classes. It was great to see all the hard work of our classmates and to present our project as well.
Final presentation
On the day of our presentation, after some time since our experiment, we saw that the colour had held well. Surprisingly well on our non-mordanted samples also. We were successful in creating a myriad of colours in our 6 samples by using different mordants and then applying them to the same dyebath. It is unfortunate not all of our side-experiment samples survived until the final presentation, but we were able to display the affects of the dyebath on other materials and fabrics.
The green-ish colour achieved from the 10min sample and copper mordant seemed to be a unanimous favourite for our classmates. It stood our against the shades of yellow to brown in our other samples. After 20min, the same copper sample began to take on a more light-brown. The 10min Alum sample also took on a brighter colour, nearly yellow, and then began to take a brown as seen in the 20min Alum sample. Both the Alum and Copper allowed the wool to bite and colourfast to the dyestuffs of the onion skins. The difference between the mordanted and non-mordanted is noticeable in the vibrance of the colour. Both 10 and 20 min samples we tested without the mordant have a more dull colour.
Here are the results of our mini experiment on different fabrics!
As you can see, two of our non mordanted fabrics got lost in transportation.
Wool: The very top row displays all of our wool samples. Wool clearly took the pigment the best, as these samples are by far the darkest. They are also vary evenly died, with little variation between mordants. When examining in person, the variations show much better. The first sample, without mordant, is the lightest and most unevenly coloured. The middle sample, with alum mordant, is the darkest and most evenly coloured. The third sample, with copper mordant, is the most vibrant, it displays a richer version of both other samples.
No mordantAlum mordantCopper mordant
Silk: The second row shows all of our silk samples. The two silk samples show the least variation between all of our samples. However, the one on the right, with copper mordant, is again a deeper shade than the alum mordanted silk.
Linen: The third row from the top shows all of our linen samples. Clearly linen does not take dye as well as wool or silk. As discussed previously, linen wrinkles easily, which is shown in the middle image below. In person, these samples have more variation between them than displayed below. The sample without mordant is the lightest and least evenly coloured. The middle sample, with alum mordant, is the most vibrant, however there is some uneven colouration. The sample on the right, with copper mordant, is a little less vibrant that the middle sample, but has the most even distribution of colour.
Cotton: The very bottom row shows all of our cotton samples. The cotton samples have the most variation between them. The sample on the left, with alum mordant, displays a much “greyer” version of the colour, with the most pigment collecting on the edges. The sample on the right, with copper mordant, took the colour evenly and vibrantly.
When consulting with Brenda, she gave us some extra scraps of fabric to experiment on! In doing so, we were able to test which fabric ‘takes’ the onion skin dye the best. Brenda gave us samples of the following fabrics – wool, linen, silk and cotton. We followed the same steps with the extra scraps, although we skipped testing how time affects the samples. We were supper excited to test how mordants affected different fabrics.
Based on a previous lecture given by Brenda, we already had some baseline knowledge of how these fabrics each took to dyes.
Wool: Dyers in the Middle Ages commonly used wool fibres to make clothing. It was readily available and is a very resilient fabric. Although resilient, wool is weaker when wet, making it a less suitable outer layer in rainy climates. Wool also shrinks, or felts, when agitated wool takes dye quite nicely, vibrantly and evenly. Because wool was used frequently in the Middle Ages and took colour so well, we decided to conduct our main experiment on it.
Silk: Silk is a beautiful fabric that has been a prized commodity for many years. Silk is another animal fibre coming from silkworms. Silk is an excellent fabric because it can withstand boiling, doesn’t track dirt, and has a moderate resistance to creasing. On the other hand, it accumulates water spots quite quickly, and perspiration stains it. However, silk takes dyes well and, to many, is the best out of the natural fibres.
Linen: Linen was another familiar fabric in the Middle Ages, as flax grew readily throughout Europe. Linen was cheaper than silk, so people used it for bedding and undergarments. Although abundant, linen wrinkles easily and takes quite a long time to process. Linen is more absorbent than most fabrics; however, it doesn’t take dyes very well.
Cotton: Cotton is another plant fabric that is extremely common in our modern era. However, it grows in very limited climates and was an exotic, hard-to-find fabric during the Middle Ages. Cotton fabric wrinkles readily shrink well and collect dirt quickly. Cotton is also lightfast, meaning it won’t fade in the sunshine and takes dye pretty well.
After a couple of emails we got the chance to meet with Brenda, who has been a spinner and weaver in Victoria for years. Brenda’s expertise really helped guide us through our experiment and we could not be more grateful to her.
As I outlined in a previous post we changed our project plan based on the advice she gave us. As well as helping us with our project she let us have a look around her studio. We wanted to share the wonderful experience with you! Here are some pictures!
Some fibres and dye materials:
Different mordants: Iron sulphate, alum, and copper sulphate:
Berghe et al. (2009) tested various textile artifacts found in prehistoric Danish and Norwegian bogs to determine which natural organic dyes were used and further academic knowledge of Early Iron Age dyeing technology. In a previous study, Walton (1988) also researched various wool and dye types used in Iron Age textiles in Norway and Denmark to widen the academic knowledge of textile use in the Middle Ages. When analyzing red samples, Walton (1988) and Berghe et al. (2009) found textiles dyed with various plant and insect sources, as discussed below. Also, note the Iron Age in Norway and Denmark extended into the Middle Ages.
Plant dyes:
The anthraquinone component alizarin was found in all red samples in this study, indicating the red dye source came from the Rubiaceae family, which contains well-known dye sources such as ladies’ bedstraw (Galium verum L.), dyer’s woodruff (Asperula tinctoria L.) or most notably the madder types (Rubia species) (Berghe et al., 2009).
Additionally, within the plant category, Walton found many substances of galiumuse, which resulted in a red dye with a similar spectrum to madder. Although madder yields a greater quantity of red dye, it is challenging to cultivate and requires special environments. Therefore, galium can be a better option. Walton found Lady’s bedstraw (Galium verum), Northern bedstraw (Galium boreale), and Woodruff(Galium odoratum) in various samples.
Furthermore, Walton noted that many Scandinavian mushrooms(E.g. Dermocybe semisanguinea) produced red dyes similar to insects.
Walton additionally discussed the cochineal/kermes/lac group of red dyes derived from insects. These insects result in a similar spectrum of reds, and Walton distinguished them by their degree of solubility in water. Cochineal contains the insoluble carminic acid, whereas kermes contains the soluble kermesic acid. However, some samples contained both, pointing to Polish cochineal, which has partial solubility because it includes both carminic and kermesic acids. Either way, both insects produce vibrant red dyes.
Polish CochinealPorphyrophora polonica L. : found on Scleranthus perannis L. – crimson
Vanden Berghe, I., Gleba, M., & Mannering, U. (2009). Towards the identification of dyestuffs in early iron age Scandinavian peat bog textiles. Journal of Archaeological Science, 36(9), 1910–1921. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2009.04.019
WALTON, P. (1988). Dyes and wools in Iron Age textiles from Norway and Denmark. Journal of Danish Archaeology, 7(1), 144–158. https://doi.org/10.1080/0108464x.1988.10590003
After meeting with Brenda, we left with supplies and equipment and were ready to conduct our experiment. Brenda was generous with her resources, lending us wool, mordants, dyeing pots, and 1981 Reader’s Digest edition titled “Back to the Basics”. We cannot express enough how helpful she was. Images below show the supplies and Brenda’s work that initially inspired us to pursue this project.
To begin, we cleaned and wrapped our red onion skin in cheesecloth, placed it into a large pot of water, and brought it to a boil. The colour matter seeped into the water at a fast rate, see images below for reference. The colour of the water changed from clear, to a soft brown, and then to a darker burgundy. We were surprised at how quickly the results began to show, checking in every 5 minutes to see it becoming darker. The onion skins boiled in the dyebath for one hour while we set up our wool samples and mordants.
We then prepared our wool samples to be mordanted. This can be done before or after adding materials to a dye bath to allow the dyestuffs to colourfast, however, we chose to do it before so as not to risk overexposure to the chemicals. The wool was wrapped neatly around a hardcover book to create bundles. Brenda showed us this technique and it would allow us to present our final product neatly. Once complete, the samples were ready to be mordanted. In two separate stainless steel pots we combined water and our mordants:
A) 0.9 grams of copper added to 4 cups of water
B) 7 grams of alum/ 2 grams of CroT added to 4 cups of water
C) No mordant
According to the Reader’s Digest “Back to the Basics” we received from Brenda, a chapter on natural dyes suggests methods and measurements for mordanting wool that we followed. For alum, they suggest 1 ounce per gallon of water. We lowered the scale from 1 gallon of water, or, 16 cups, to 4 cups to work better with our limited space and tools. The ounce of Alum, or, 28.35g, was also divided by 4 and rounded down to 7g. It is reccommended to use 1/8 ounce of Copper per 1 gallon of water. Uniformly, we used 4 cups water. We divided the 1/8 ounce, or, 3.54g by 4 and weighed out 0.9g of Copper on our scale. It is important to note that these are reccomendations and the measurements can be altered to varying extents and are also dependent on the mordant you are using. For the purpose of our experiement though, this was a good reference point.
The wool was immersed in the solution and then brought to a low simmer:
Alum/CroT Copper
Two samples of wool simmered in each mordant pot for 30 minutes (while the no-mordant samples were left to the side). We then removed the wool and marked each according to their mordant to differentiate them. All 6 samples, copper, alum/CroT, and no mordant, were then placed into the dyebath together. The First round of samples were removed after 10 minutes, and the second after 20 minutes.
(From left to right) The first two images shows our samples immediately out of the dyebath, and the third when they were dry)
Luteolin, apigenin and quercetin flavonoids were detected in samples taken from yellow textiles. According to Berghe et al. (2009), these dye components point to various plants. In northern Europe, luteolin based dye sources could be one of the following: weld (Reseda luteola L), sawwort(Serratula tinctoria L), dyers broom(Genista tinctoria L), or various chamomiles(Anthemis species).
To learn more about flavonoids check out our Where do pigments come from post!
Additionally rhamnetin was detected, which is a characteristic dye component of theRhamnaceaefamily, which includes the buckthorn(Rhamnus cartharticus L). Buckthorn is native to northern Europe, while other plants in the rhamnaceae family are native to Asia, ruling them out as a dye source in early Iron Age Scandinavia and Norway.
Bucktorn(Rhamnus cartharticus L): Buckthorn may not look yellow, but it contains rhamnetin, a flavonol, in the leaves and bark, producing a mellow yellow colour.
Vanden Berghe, I., Gleba, M., & Mannering, U. (2009). Towards the identification of dyestuffs in early iron age Scandinavian peat bog textiles. Journal of Archaeological Science, 36(9), 1910–1921. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2009.04.019
As common as red, blue and yellow natural dyes are, greens are as rare! In both Berghe et al., and Walton’s studies on dye sources in Middle Age northern Europe various combinations of blue and yellow dyes were discovered, indicating green may have been the intended colour.
According to Berghe et al., a combination of indigotin and the flavonoid luteolin were found. This combination could indicate a mixture of many plants, including woad and weld.
Vanden Berghe, I., Gleba, M., & Mannering, U. (2009). Towards the identification of dyestuffs in early iron age Scandinavian peat bog textiles. Journal of Archaeological Science, 36(9), 1910–1921. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2009.04.019
WALTON, P. (1988). Dyes and wools in Iron Age textiles from Norway and Denmark. Journal of Danish Archaeology, 7(1), 144–158. https://doi.org/10.1080/0108464x.1988.10590003
According to Walton’s 1988 study people had been using dyes to colour textiles since the 1st century A.D. Among these, blue indigotin has been the most commonly identified dye. Berghe et al’s., (2009) study found indigotin, sometimes in combination with isomere indirubin, in 28 samples taken from 16 textiles. Both indigotin and isomere indirubin are characteristic dye components of an indigoid dye source (blue indigotin). Both Walton and Berghe et al., conclude that an indigoid dye source could come from one of two plants, either the subtropical Indigofera tinctoria L (indigo) or the more commonly used Isatis tinctoria L (woad).
According to both studies, neither indigo nor woad are native to northern Europe. However, archaeological finds show woad seeds had been transported to Scandinavia by the Roman Period, making it the more probable dye source for the studied samples. Indigo had yet to be imported to northern Europe, essentially ruling it out. Although dyers commonly used woad for blue, it was an ‘especially difficult dye’ to work with and required skill, proving that dyeing had become an important aspect of material culture in the Iron Age (Walton, 1988).
Indigo Indigofera tinctoria L:
Indigofera tinctoriaIndigo dye potFabric dyed with indigo
Indigo, unlike most naturally occurring dyes, does not naturally occur in the plant. Indigo actually comes from oxidation caused by the extraction process. During its life, the indigo plant accumulates indoxly compounds. When extracting indigo, the indoxly compounds oxidize into indigo (fig. 1) (John, P. and Angelini, L.G. 2023).
Woad, unlike indigo, is much easier to extract. Dyers can simply chop woad leaves and boil them in water for around 10 to 20 minutes. After, the leaves can be gathered and rolled into balls and composted.
Vanden Berghe, I., Gleba, M., & Mannering, U. (2009). Towards the identification of dyestuffs in early iron age Scandinavian peat bog textiles. Journal of Archaeological Science, 36(9), 1910–1921. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2009.04.019
WALTON, P. (1988). Dyes and wools in Iron Age textiles from Norway and Denmark. Journal of Danish Archaeology, 7(1), 144–158. https://doi.org/10.1080/0108464x.1988.10590003
