Like wools, dyes may vary considerably in quality, and they may affect the
value and desirability of the rug. Some are rich and saturated, others are
soft. But good dye will have a transparent quality that lets the color shine
in response to light. When combined with lustrous wool, transparent dyes
make the color effects come to life. Inferior dyes are murky and flat. Good
dyes are also fast in response to exposure to light or water. Inferior dyes
fade in sunlight and run when wet, spoiling the effects of the design.
Antique rugs were made with dyes derived primarily from vegetable materials,
although some like lac or cochineal were derived from insect shells. All
such dyes were properly fixed not to run when wet or to fade appreciably on
exposure to light. This fixing might take weeks, especially to achieve rich
colors. Early synthetic dyes gave bright colors without lengthy fixing, but
they were unstable. Some, like fuchsine purple, faded to grey. Others
like aniline red bleed terribly when wet, and they may fade as well. Modern
chrome dyes developed after 1920 do not fade or run, but they seldom have
the depth and warmth of natural vegetable or insect dyes. Within the last
twenty years weavers in many rug-producing regions have succeeded in
reviving the traditional technique of vegetable derived dyes.
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