1. We gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Textile Conservation Foundation, the Swire Charitable Trust, the Sym Charitable Trust, the Sino-
British Fellowship Trust and the Great Britain-China Educational Trust for this doctoral research.
Faded and
original colours
Different
amount of
turmeric
Different
amount of
safflower
Historical Analysis
Historical Chinese dyeing recipes give instructions for dye
sources and their use. Dye analysis proves for the first time
whether they were followed:
How to save cost when dyeing safflower?
Literature evidence: ‘Pure red. Use a safflower cake […] To save cost in
dye workshops, firstly dye background with smoketree’. Recorded in
Tiangongkaiwu (1637)
Material evidence: So far, UPLC-PDA analysis of 12 red dyes for patterns
reveal they were all dyed by safflower and Amur cork tree
How to achieve different shades?
Literature evidence: Dyeing various red shades by safflower and turmeric.
Recorded in Bujing (1795-1850):
•桃紅: 川紅花一百斤 薑黃五兩 烏梅十五斤 生炭灰四鬥
•瞿紅: 川紅花一百斤 薑黃八兩 烏梅十五斤 生炭灰五鬥
•大紅: 川紅花二百斤 薑黃十兩 烏梅十五斤 生炭灰七鬥
Material evidence: Different shades of orange were dyed by safflower and
Amur cork tree in different ratios, as revealed by UPLC-PDA analysis
Scientific Analysis
Preservation state indicated by ratios of dye components
Chemical Investigations of Red and Yellow Dyes in High Status
Chinese Textiles of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1912)
Jing Han, Anita Quye and Nick Pearce
Centre for Textile Conservation and Technical Art History, History of Art
University of Glasgow, charity number SC004401
Silk panel, Ming Dynasty. © Burrell Collection
Fifteen collections of Ming and Qing Dynasties textiles in China and the UK
have been selected, and 208 dyed yarns carefully sampled. To date, 158 samples been analysed by Ultra
Performance Liquid Chromatography with Photo-Diode Array detectiom (UPLC-PDA) to identify the dye sources.
Comparison of dyes recorded in dye recipes and found on textiles
DYES IN DYE RECIPES ON TEXTILES BY UPLC-PDA ANALYSIS
safflower ✔ ✔
sappanwood ✔ ✔
Amur cork tree ✔ ✔
pagoda bud ✔ ✔
smoketree ✔ Only one sample - with pagoda bud for a yellow
pattern on a Ming robe
turmeric
✔ Only three samples - two gold thread cores of two
pieces of Qing dragon robes. and with sappanwood
for the background colour of a Ming tapestry
indigo ✔ ✔
gallnut ✔ not found yet
ellagic acid ✔ ✔
Sources of historical textile samples
Burrell Collection,
Glasgow Museums
Private collection
Chester Beatty
Library
Private
collection
Victoria and
Albert Museum
The Shaanxi Institute
of Archaeology
National Palace
Museum
Yinan Museum
Shanghai
Museum
Private collection
Institute of Archaeology,
Shijingshan District
Shandong Museum
This is the combine results for scientific and historical analyses of a silk
embroidered dragon robe of the Qianlong period (1736-1795) with altered cuffs and neck edging for wear in Tibet:
UPLC-PDA analysis shows the
background was dyed by
sappanwood and turmeric.
Since turmeric is light-sensitive, the
background may be severely faded.
The original colour was probably like this:
Pagoda bud is yellow mainly because of two flavonoid
colorants - rutin and quercetin.
UPLC-PDA analysis of pagoda bud dyed silk after simulated
light ageing study shows that quercetin degrades more
quickly than rutin. The ratio between the two components
could indicate the preservation state of the dye.
Silk embroidered dragon robe, Qianlong
(1736-1795). © Private collection
0
5
10
15
20
25
reference silk dyed
by pagoda bud
JS-4-1 JS-6-3
Ratioofrutintoquercetin
No light
exposure
Severely degraded
After simulated exposure to
daylight through glass for
300 years
in relatively
good condition
INTRODUCTION
USE OF DYES: A CASE STUDY
BASIS OF THE RESEARCH
This doctoral research is studying the dyes and dyeing practice of Ming and Qing China by
combining the scientific analysis of historical textile dyes with traditional dyeing recipes and decorative art history.
The aim is to reveal the most popular red and yellow dyes in the historical textiles to understand when and why
they were chosen, and how their colours have changed, or could change, with time. This will help historians to
date and interpret other Chinese textiles, and conservators to choose suitable display and cleaning approaches.
Reference silk sample dyed by sappanwood and turmeric ©JH
Embroidered blue court robe, Tongzhi
period, 1862-1874, sample JS-4-1
© Courtesy Jacqueline Simcox Ltd
Embroidered mang robe
Wanli period, 1573-1619,
sample JS-6-3
© Courtesy Jacqueline Simcox Ltd
AU
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
0.30
0.35
0.40
Minutes
4.00 6.00 8.00 10.00 12.00 14.00 16.00 18.00 20.00 22.00 24.00
8.441 Peak 1
229.3 264.8 346.5
425.9
666.0 704.1
AU
0.00
0.20
0.40
0.60
22.430 Peak 2
243.4
372.8
519.3
667.3 721.2743.3 797.3
AU
0.00
0.10
0.20
0.30
nm
250.00 300.00 350.00 400.00 450.00 500.00 550.00 600.00 650.00 700.00 750.00 800.00
berberine -
characteristic
component of
Amur cork tree carthamin
characteristic
component of
safflower
Minutes
4.00 4.50 5.00 5.50 6.00 6.50 7.00 7.50 8.00 8.50 9.00 9.50 10.00 10.50 11.00 11.50 12.00 12.50 13.00 13.50 14.00 14.50 15.00 15.50 16.00 16.50 17.00 17.50 18.00 18.50 19.00 19.50 20.00 20.50 21.00 21.50 22.00 22.50 23.00 23.50 24.00 24.50 25.00
13.864Peak1
256.5
356.0
666.0 704.1721.2742.1
AU
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
0.30
0.35
15.340Peak2
256.5
351.2
459.8 501.1 548.6 595.0
662.4 720.0 782.6
AU
0.000
0.005
0.010
0.015
0.020
0.025
0.030
nm
250.00 300.00 350.00 400.00 450.00 500.00 550.00 600.00 650.00 700.00 750.00 800.00
rutinhistorical
sample
reference
sample dyed by
pagoda bud
quercetin
National Museums
Scotland
UKChina
©JH
USING THE RESEARCH RESULTS