'Colour in Textiles' by Susan Kay-Williams.
I was pleased to read a review copy of this book.
Just
dipping into the book is fascinating, it is a research based book suited to
academic settings, however, because of the clear descriptive style it grabs
your imagination. It is beautifully illustrated, with extensive references and bibliography.
There are so many interesting facts related to the subject which I certainly
never knew; for instance did you know that the Spartans had severe laws against
dyeing, as the Spartan word ‘dolun’ meant both to dye and deceive, so that as ‘deceivers’
dyers were banished. That the Romans are believed to have worn cloth dyed red using
madder to instil terror in their foes during battle.
Don’t
for a minute think that this is a dry subject, there was much intrigue and
secrecy linked to the lucrative dyeing trade. One chapter is entitled ‘Mystery,
Art and Science, the 17th century’. Cochineal was thought for a long
time to come from ‘berries’ which Cortes was said in 1519 to have seen Aztec
farmers harvesting. Commercial protectionism meant that no one in Europe
outside of Spain knew that cochineal was an insect until the development of the
microscope. When countries other than Spain began to want access to the New Worlds’
riches, including cochineal, its trade was prohibited on pain of death and
could only be purchased once it reached Seville. So much intrigue. A King’s
inspector was appointed in 1631 to check on imports of madder which was being adulterated
with sand.
Having
just read Hilary Mantels’ books ‘Wolfe Hall’ and Bring up the Bodies’ I am
particularly interested in the colour of clothing and tapestries in the time of
Henry VIII. There is an illustration showing a portrait of the king with Jane Seymour his third wife; to see her portrait and a discussion of the colours
worn was particularly interesting as I felt like she had become a real person
to me. They are not portrayed in purple, which was the royal colour, but rather
in reds and golds. Red is thought to have been favoured due to its link to the
red rose of Lancashire and also represents the Divine Right of Kings.
I
am a big fan of the ipad, even though I like to read fiction on my Kindle, I
like to see illustrations, maps and family trees on the Kindle app on the ipad.
I was also surprised to find that via the app I can do a search which gives me
a list of quotes , for instance of the many references to weaving, tapestries and
colours in Hilary Mantels books; Thomas Cromwell having ‘grown up’ in the cloth trade in The Netherlands. Passages you
mark as you read are clearly bookmarked in the app... Here are one or two that
I liked and which link to the theme of colour in textiles:
There
is a description of Thomas Cromwell’s loose Lemster wool jackets which he wore
at Court, ‘so fine they flow like water, in purples and indigos so near black
that it looks as if the night had bled into them’.
There
are ‘vestments of red turkey satin and white lawn wrought with beasts in gold’.
If
you then want to know more about the history of turkey red or Indigo it’s all
in Susan Kay-Williams book.
You
will probably feel near tears at Ann Boleyn’s beheading, and then interested to
know that she left huge debts not least owed to her ‘dyer, her farrier and her
pinmaker’ and ‘ fifty-five pounds to her embroiderer’.
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.JPG)
