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Madder, pomegranate powders and dried euphorbia


 

Deep-rooted ancient dyeing traditions are being discovered One of the most important characteristics of antique nomadic rugs which make them irreplaceable is their wonderful natural colors. But over the last 100 years synthetic dyes and other influences have displaced the traditional values and craft techniques. Today 99% of the rugs on the worldwide market are chemically dyed. Also, new carpets usually are endowed with "old patina" by treating them with chlorine and caustic soda. Patterns are changed to satisfy the whims of current fashion and the weavers are grossly underpaid. The passion of reviving ancient weaving methods triggered an extensive research program on Caucasian Azerbaijan rugs - which caused rediscovering these long forgotten traditional dyeing plants and techniques. Our expert dyers from Southern Azerbaijan (today north west ostan of Iran) assist with the recipes and techniques that have been used in antique rugs. Visiting the countryside, and meeting old people who still remember how to extract color from the plants, is also one of the useful ways of reinventing dying techniques and recipes. Studying dyes from plants that grow only in certain limited areas made it possible to trace the geographic origin of some antique carpets by identifying the source of their colors.

One of our expert dyers - Gulu from Southern Azerbaijan, Tabriz -after dyeing the handspun wool with madder he adds some cochineal to get a cooler red. No mordants.
Dyeing handspun wool with indigo. Some walnut husks are added to darken blue color of yarns

Cochineal dyed weft yarns
 

Indigo dyed handspun yarns

Ground walnut husks

Handspun yarns are dyed with walnut husks and indigo to obtain black color