Dyes in History and Archaeology 20

Until the 19th century, the dyes available to decorate all the objects of art and everyday life were obtained from naturally occurring raw materials. It was well known that some were better than others and from early times the necessity of assessing quality and avoiding falsifications was recognised. Following developments in synthetic organic chemistry, a vast number of new dyestuffs appeared; these also varied in quality and permanence and required testing. Historians, archaeologists, chemi…