Carpet lovers often ask, "How can you tell whether the dye of a carpet is natural madder or synthetic?" asks the question. However "How to recognize madder carpet?Before answering the question "", it should be asked why the type of paint makes a difference.
Many carpet collectors agree that madder dyes are more attractive than synthetics. In fact, it does not make any difference in terms of aesthetics whether the carpet gets its color from plant sap or from the chemistry laboratory.
Well then, why do carpet collectors care about the answer to this question? The answer is actually very simple. Knowing whether the color of the carpet is natural or synthetic allows estimating the age and average market value of the carpet. Because madder carpet prices It is higher than synthetic dyed carpet prices.
How to Determine the Type of Carpet Dye? General Methods for Determining the Type of Carpet Dye
Two methods are used when determining the type of carpet dye. These; chemical analysis or experienced eye test (I think George O'Bannon It is called (a term coined by). Both methods have their own advantages and disadvantages.
Chemical analysis:
In the chemical analysis of paints, chromatography A method called . Chromatography separates chemicals in a mixture and provides information about the structure of the mixture from their behavior during separation. Sometimes this method is combined with spectroscopy, a physical technique used to measure what our eyes perceive as color. Even the worst methods of chemical analysis, such as chromatography and spectroscopy, are more accurate than the "experienced eye" in identifying dyes.
It is an advantage that chemical analyzes are more reliable. However, this method also has some disadvantages. First of all, chemical analysis methods are expensive. Even the cheapest method, thin layer chromatography, can be set up at home with an investment of several thousand dollars. More complex forms of chromatography require initial costs of tens of thousands of dollars. If spectroscopy is to be included in the analysis, the cost of the laboratory can exceed almost $100,000.
In addition, serious training and skills are required to use chemical analysis methods. For most people, sending samples to a central laboratory for analysis will be more practical than setting up the equipment at home.
Another disadvantage of chemical testing is that it takes time to obtain results. First samples are taken and then sent to the laboratory. It may take hours, days or sometimes weeks for results to arrive. This creates a serious problem, especially for potential bidders at auction, or what many sellers describe as "opportunistic collectors." Since most carpets have 5 to 15 different colors, it is necessary to take several samples from each carpet for analysis. Additionally, a section of the carpet must be cut to take samples. Therefore, it is unrealistic to expect sellers to be very enthusiastic about this issue. It is therefore not surprising that chemical analyzes are rarely used.
Experienced Eye Test
Although the "experienced eye" test is not as reliable as chemical analysis, it has many advantages in practical situations. However, there is a mistake in defining some synthetic dyes as natural origin. However, after gaining some knowledge, almost anyone can develop their "experienced eye". Thus, you have a test method that is completely portable, fast, cost-free, does not damage the carpet and is very reliable.
How to Learn Experienced Eye Test?
Some elements of identifying paint types by eye can be learned from books. However, this skill cannot be acquired by examining the photographs in books. Because photos cannot reflect colors accurately.
The best way to improve your experienced eye skill is to learn from someone who has an experienced eye that has been trained in this method by someone else before. In this way, the chain of experience in question extends into the past.
The visual identification method also has some risks. The first of these is that erroneous determinations, which vary from person to person, are now accepted as true as they are repeated. Another risk is; Since radical and synthetic dyes have a very wide range of colors, thousands of samples must be examined to train the eye.
So where can we find people who are competent and have an experienced eye on this subject? When we find them How to recognize a madder rug? To find out the answer to the question, how can we prepare an environment with enough rugs or carpets for these people? Knowledgeable sellers can help solve this problem by using their inventory as an example.
But having lots of teachers and lots of samples will be much more beneficial than having a few vendors willing to share samples from their limited inventory. Therefore, the two best places to train are dealer fairs at carpet conventions and previews of auctions held at major auction houses such as Sotheby's, Christie's or Skinner's.
Here you can see, touch and discuss several hundred to several thousand carpets in one place. Moreover, you will have the opportunity to ask questions to many people with expertise. Collectors, dealers, and auction house employees are all potential teachers. They are also generous in sharing their time and knowledge.
Some Basic Rules for Beginners
as much as possible to develop a trained eye. madder on carpet It is essential to look at it and receive training from people who have experience in this field. But there are also some simple starting steps you can take in your reading corner. Now let's look at these issues a little.
It is somewhat controversial whether the blue color is natural or synthetic. Because the madder used for blues is the same chemical as synthetic indigo. Indigo is even the dye of choice for blues on contemporary fabrics, including jeans. One of the interesting things about indigo is that it only dyes the surface of the thread, not the entire thickness. Therefore, when the surface is worn, the natural color of the thread emerges. This is why jeans "fade". In fact, color fading does not occur. Threads have high and low areas. Jeans look pale to our eyes because the high areas have a white appearance when worn.
If you've ever tried to deal with grass stains on children's clothes, you might be surprised to learn that natural green dye is a pretty rare thing. Some very early Turkmen works have a natural dark green in their palette. However, before the invention of synthetic dyes Most of the greens seen in hand-woven rugs produced using madder were obtained by sequentially dyeing the yarn with indigo (indigo) and natural yellow. It is quite easy to recognize green madder when it is made in this way. Because some natural yellows are quite sensitive to light. In carpets dyed with such dyes, the color on the surface exposed to light is blue, while the back side shows that the carpet was once green. Another clue that a green is a natural madder is the abrasions on the surface of the thread. Yellow spots appear on the surfaces where the indigo layer is worn away.
Although blacks and dark browns were sometimes obtained naturally from sheep with dark wool, these colors were usually created using dyes that had a corrosive effect on the wool. Therefore, dark brown or black areas would wear out more quickly than other colors, resulting in a noticeable embossed effect. In many older carpets, the blacks or dark browns are so worn that the pile in these areas has almost completely disappeared.
A note of caution: Many modern rugs , especially Turkish products with Caucasian patterns, feature black areas deliberately cut at a shorter pile height than other colors. One way to distinguish them from natural abrasive blacks is that the wear on areas dyed with abrasive blacks is variable from one section of the carpet to the next.
Purple madder dyes are relatively rare. But purple antique madder carpet can be easily distinguished from synthetic purples. Purple root dyes are very sensitive to light. Often the pale tips and vibrant purple bases can be noticed when the carpet pile is pushed back or turned over. However, there are some textile groups that use corrosive natural purple.
The color group in which it is most difficult to distinguish natural and synthetic dyes is red. Reds, both natural and synthetic, come in a wide range of hues, and the only way to become experienced is to see lots of examples. Early synthetic reds (and some contemporary red dyes) are prone to color bleeding. However, the presence of red color bleeding means that the dye from the red madder plant It does not indicate that it has not been achieved. Some synthetic red dyes are so similar in appearance to red madder shades that even the most experienced eye can be fooled. On the other hand, those who have truly experienced eyes must also have an educated mind aware of this problem.
Oranges and yellows create problems similar to those created by reds, but they generally appear in much smaller areas of carpets than reds. With the exception of early synthetic orange, which has a remarkable exuberance, these are rarely the only synthetic dyes in a carpet's palette.
Finally, there are carpets whose palettes have very vivid colors and whose ends are largely faded. This becomes much more obvious when the piles are opened so that the bases of the nodes can be seen. These carpets contain a lot of synthetic dyes and are usually grade I and II. They are Iranian or Caucasian textiles made between the World Wars (roughly the second quarter of the twentieth century).
Last word
There is no doubt that identifying paint by chemical analysis is much more reliable than the "experienced eye" method. However, since chemical analysis is impractical and quite expensive, it does not seem possible to use it widely in the near future. It is only the most expensive and often very old carpets that are likely to account for only a small fraction of the total cost. But these are also the carpets where the "experienced eye" is least likely to make a mistake.
There are a small number of experts who test carpet dyes, and one of the most well-known is Paul Mushak of Durham, North Carolina. I estimate that fewer than 500 rugs of any color have ever been subjected to dye analysis. The number of those tested in all colors is probably between 10 and 20 at most. Considering that the major auction houses on the US east coast offer approximately 10,000 rugs for sale every decade, and that each of their catalogs lists an estimated age based on visual inspection of the dyes, you can get a sense of how well-established the "seasoned eye test" has become in the rug world.
It is important to note that every serious collector owes it to himself to train his own eyes, and that there are many ways to do this. madder rug I believe there is no other way but to see it and let more experienced people be your teachers.
This article is reprinted with permission from author Steven Price and TurkoTek can be found on the website.
