Tasks
YES will address the knowledge gaps on yellow dyes through a practical, textual and integrative approach, where chemical analysis walks hand-in-hand with the study of ancient and medieval texts. Historically accurate reconstructions will disclose recipe’s specificities and provide references to develop new analytical methodologies that will enable, for the first time, the in situ identification of yellow dyes in selected medieval illuminations and textiles. Full elucidation of the unknown yellow organometallic complex structures will bring new insights into their degradation mechanisms.
YES will study six yellow dye plants which were identified in artworks or extensively described in written sources: weld, persian berries, flax-leaved daphne, sawwort, dyer’s broom, and saffron. The YES research plan and methods will be based on a multidisciplinary approach of 4 tasks:
HISTORICAL SOURCES FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF YELLOW DYES
Available historical sources on the production of yellow dyes and lake pigments from the Antiquity and Middle Ages will be disclosed and rationalized.
ETHNOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH OF SELECTED YELLOW DYE SOURCES
YES will entail the use, classification and cultivation of yellow dye plants throughout time. Dyed textiles and paint references will be prepared with the collected plants.
CHARACTERIZATION AND STABILITY STUDIES OF YELLOW DYES & PIGMENTS
The full elucidation of the organometallic complex structure, essential for the development of innovative analytical methodologies, will be achieved through a multianalytical approach.
The stability of the selected yellows will also be approached.
MARKERS FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF LOST YELLOWS IN ARTWORKS
The multianalytical characterization developed anchored in the aged references, will enable the identification of degradation markers by in-situ techniques, for the analysis of artworks at museums and archives.
Selected plant species
