Reworking black dye technologies of the Burgundian-Habsburg Netherlands

Ondertitel:three types of black dyeing

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 of certain black shades was dependent on the prevailing fashion and taste of the period. The notions of jet or raven black that became popular in the nineteenth century, and are still in use today, were not yet commonly used to describe black-dyed fabrics during the Burgundian period.

Jaar van publicatie:2021

Trefwoorden:H3 Book chapter

Toegankelijkheid:Open