Assistant Professor Dr.Recep KARADAG Marmara University Faculty of Fine Arts In our country and throughout the world, in many museums and private collections, rugs, kilims and fabrics, which use much admired colours and harmony of tones, are considered as unique examples of this dyeing. Dyeing is as old as humanity, and first appeared in the bronze age. Dyeing, in a real sense, started in India in 2000 B.C. more by chance after the discovery of mordant dyes. After a short time, mordant dyeing also started in Anatolia, where many civilisations lived, and the producers of rich examples of rugs, kilims and fabrics started using natural dyeing materials, some of which have survived until today.
In our country and throughout the world, in many museums and private collections, rugs, kilims and fabrics, which use much admired colours and harmony of tones, are considered as unique examples of this dyeing. Actually, what we do not realise is the fact that this harmony of colour belongs to living things in nature. All of them are dyed with the dyes that are maintained from some of the plants around us and from various insects. Using various plants and insects with different mordant material, almost every desired colour can be produced. The first synthetic pigments were found in the second half of the 19th century with the development of technology throughout the world. As a consequence, the use of natural pigments gradually decreased and at the beginning of the 20th century it almost disappeared. But after 1980, in Anatolia, natural dyeing again started, especially in hand-woven rugs. In the light of scientific studies of recent years, discovery of the carcinogenic and toxic effects of synthetic pigments, once more increased the importance of natural dyeing.
Because of the fact that most of the pigments of the plants that are used in natural dyeing are the same as the ones used in herbal teas show that these do not have toxic and carcinogenic qualities. In addition to this, mordant material used in natural dyeing also does not have carcinogenic and toxic qualities. What is more, with the increasing importance of eco-textiles, the usage of natural pigments also came into consideration. Recently, some official projects and private associations have started to deal with new products using weaving techniques, pigment sources and natural dyeing methods of rugs, kilims and fabrics that were previously produced in Anatolia.
Of all the colours of rugs and kilims in Anatolia, red is the most commonly used. The source of this colour is the Madder plant (Rubia Tintorum L). Insect originated pigments are: Cochineal (Dactylopius coccus Costa), Ararat Kermes (Porphyrophora hamali Brand), Kermes (Kermes vermillio Plane) and Lac (Kerria Lacce Kerr) insects. These pigment sources are used for dyeing fibres in both red and purple. Although root dye is used for the colours red and purple, in historical wool-woven textiles (fabric, rug and kilim), insect pigments are also used, though in small amounts. In Anatolia, many plants give out the colour yellow, but Weld (Reseda luteola L) having a high quality of light, washable and other practical features is mostly preferred for these reasons. Apart from Weld, yellow refining plants such as buckthorn (Rhamnus petiolaris Boss), camomile (Matricaria chamomilla L), dyer's sumac (Catinus coggrygria Scop) are also utilised. In spite of many plants capable of use for yellow dying existing in Anatolia, only 40 of these plants are good enough and suitable.
Different regions have different plants available and used for dying. As for the colour blue and its tones, woad (Isatis tinctoria L.) and India-originated Indigo (Indigofera tinctoria L) are used in Anatolia. This kind of dyeing is different from others in the sense that it is applied in a form called cubic indigo dying, by using an alkali solution, whereas mordant and direct dyeing methods are applied in order to get other colours.
A different method is used for the colour green. because there are no plants in nature that gives out green. For this reason, dyeing fibres blue first, by cubic dyeing, then dyeing them again with mordant dye and yellow produces a green colour. The tone of the colour depends on the tone of blue Oak galls (Quercus macrolepis) and acron (Quercus aegilops) are used for black dyeing. Fibres, first dyed with these plants are later dyed using iron salts as mordant. The lighter tones of all colours are maintained by using a 2nd or a 3rd sequence of dye baths or simply by decreasing the amount of dye. |