An old piece in modern colours

[figheadair]

Following a discussion on Weathered Colours in another thread I thought I'd post this picture as an example of just how confusing the whole dye terminology can be.



To many an eye these shades would conform to what we call Modern Colours i.e. those that are supposed to represent the darker chemical shades that came in with aniline dyes post 1855. However, this is a piece of Wilsons' Lochaber tartan and dates to c1800-20, a time before artificial dyes. This is a good example of the fact that natural, like any other dyestuffs, can be used to achieve a wide range of shades, it's just down to personal and customer preference.