Date of Award
1994
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design
Department
Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design
First Advisor
Margaret Ordoñez
Abstract
Ninety-one woven wool textile specimens from a mid-seventeenth century Narragansett Indian burial site were selected for dye analysis. Transmission spectrophotometry of extracted dye solutions and thin-layer chromatography were the methods of identification for mordant dyes. Non-mordant dyes were reduced in ammonia and sodium hydrosulfite before dilution in butanol for spectrophotometry. Fifty-seven specimens gave positive results in one or both of the tests performed on them. Twenty-eight specimens were positively identified as indigo, twenty-seven as madder. Thirty specimens were undyed and four yeilded inconclusive results. Two fragments suggested the presence of the insect dye kermes, one of which may also have been dyed with a hydroxyflavone yellow dye. These results were examined for their implications regarding test methods, historical context, conservation decisions and the applicability of the test methods to small specimens.
Recommended Citation
Johnson-Dibb, Rebecca T., "Identification of Dyes on Textiles from RI-100 A Seventeenth Century Narragansett Burial Site" (1994). Open Access Master's Theses. Paper 2026.
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/theses/2026
Terms of Use
All rights reserved under copyright.