Reworking black dye technologies of the Burgundian-Habsburg Netherlands : three types of black dyeing

Abstract: The colour black related to a palette of different hues and shades including reddish, brownish, and greenish black. The different hues and shades depended on the material to be dyed, the dye’s recipe, and the dyeing procedure. Historical evidence from the fifteenth and the sixteenth centuries shows that different shades of black were available, and there was a rich vocabulary to refer to them. For instance, ‘taneet’ (a very dark brown), ‘kastoorzwart’, ‘bleckzwart’, ‘ zijdezwart’, ‘Greinzwart’ and ‘Fusteinzwart’, all denote the different types of black hues and shades. The popularity... Mehr ...