Oriental Rugs, Antique and Modern

by W. A. Hawley

CHAPTER IV

DYEING

OWEVER remarkable the achievements of Oriental art in any field, their most pleasing effect has always been associated with colour. Without it the beauty of the lustre tiles of Persia, the marvellous porcelains of China, and the delicate textiles of Western Asia would fade into insignificance. It is indeed the wonderful harmonies of exquisite tints chosen by the touch of genius from a palette of many thousand pigments that awaken the appreciation of the luxurious splendour of the East. This love for colour is inherent in every rug-producing race of Asia and is older than history. It is but natural, then, that the earliest carpets should be radiant with glorious tints, which in a lesser measure are reflected in modern fabrics.

If high praise is due to the artist who, by a skilful association of different colours of co-ordinate tones, creates the picture that delights the sense, a fair measure is also due to the artisan who not only controls the secrets of the dyes, but has mastered the difficult knowledge of their proper application; for the beauty of the finished woven product depends on the judicious dyeing of the yarn more than on anything else. From father to son for many generations has been transmitted a knowledge of those particular vegetable and animal products of root, leaf, fruit, and insect, and the manner of their use, by which the imperishable lustrous sheen and colour of the finest woven fabrics are produced. Indeed, this art requires to-day more technical knowledge than any other branch of rug weaving, since modern designs are no longer more than the imitation of those in older carpets; and so important is it regarded that a successful dyer is a man of distinction in his tribe.

The sources from which are obtained many of the dyes that give the innumerable carpet colours are recorded. A few of them are received from remote countries, but most of the plants from which they are extracted grow in marshes and on hills and plains where the nomads wander with their flocks. Many of them are used without blending, but even some of the seven primary colours are derived by proper blending; and from a number of dyes of different strengths and qualities are produced an infinite number of rich and delicate shades.

The principal blues of Oriental rugs are obtained from indigo. This is derived from colouring matter in the leaves of plants of the genus Indigofera, that grow to a height of four to six feet in the East Indies, when they are cut and placed in a vat containing water. In about twelve hours fermentation ensues; and after this subsides the liquid is drawn off into another vat, where after one or two hours of agitation the indigo forms as a precipitate. Many different species of this plant grow wild throughout Asia, and from the earliest times have been used to produce dye-stuff. Indigo is one of the most valuable of all dyes, as by using it in conjunction with others an infinite variety of shades result.

Some reds are obtained from the plant madder (Rubia tinctorum), that grows abundantly in Central and Southwestern Asia, Its colouring properties were known to the ancients; and for a long period it has been cultivated in Asia Minor, where the succulent roots of the second and third years’ growth are regularly dried and prepared for use. Other reds are derived from the insect cochineal (Coccus ilicis) that lives on oaks of the countries bordering the Mediterranean, and was known among the Arabs as “kermes,” signifying Red Dye. After the discovery of America another species (Coccus cacti) was found that was more productive of dyeing qualities. The females, which alone are valuable, are plucked from the trees and killed by exposing them to vapours of acetic acid, or placing them in hot water, or in an oven. From their dried bodies, of which over fifty thousand are necessary to make a pound, the dye is produced. As both these dyes are noted for their fastness, they are constantly used, but when silk or wool is to be dyed cochineal is preferable to madder.

The yellow dyes are obtained from several sources. Some are from the berries of plants of Western Asia. Others are from the leaves of the sumach bushes, that are indigenous to nearly every part of the world. An orange tinge is derived from the turmeric extracted from the short root stocks of a plant of the genus Curcuma. From time immemorial a beautiful yellow has been obtained from saffron. It is the product of the stigmas of the fragrant crocus, which are so small that over four thousand are necessary to furnish an ounce of dried saffron; yet the dye is so powerful that it will give a distinct tint to seven hundred thousand times its weight of water. As saffron has something of a stimulating effect on the human system, it has been taken by the Persians when mixed with their rice.

With none of these three basic colours was any national feeling associated, yet the Persians excelled in the use of blues. The Turkomans of Turkestan and Asia Minor produced better reds than any other colour, and the best yellows, even if generally inferior in positiveness to blues and reds, were those of the Chinese.