colors & symbolism: any connection?

[EagleJCS]

I think some of the newer 'commissioned' (state, corporate, school, etc.) tartans have some meaning ascribed to the colors. (Probably to answer the question: "Why did you choose THAT color for our tartan?") This would help if there needs to be an official OK to have a mill produce some. I know there's meaning ascribed to the colors in the Kentucky tartan.

As far as the Scottish clans go, so far as I know, and as Jock said, there's no meaning whatsoever (unless, as you suggested, it's a back-invention for the romantic interest). From what I've read (here & elsewhere), before the Georgian/Victorian revival of tartan in the 1800's, most tartans were fairly simple, made from the dyes the weavers had avaiable.

[piperdbh]

It looks like we're all in agreement here, so we'll move on to the next question:
What color(s) of dye would have been easiest/cheapest to produce in 18th century Scotland? My guess is green, brown and pale yellow, with red and true blue being most difficult/most expensive.
Any dyers here?

[george7]

It looks like we're all in agreement here, so we'll move on to the next question:
What color(s) of dye would have been easiest/cheapest to produce in 18th century Scotland? My guess is green, brown and pale yellow, with red and true blue being most difficult/most expensive.
Any dyers here?

Tartan was invented before the advent of color (sometime in the 1950's), so I imagine variant shades of gray would have been the easiest to find.

I think red would have been an easy color to make.

http://www.pioneerthinking.com/naturaldyes.html

[Bugbear]

Tartan was invented before the advent of color (sometime in the 1950's), so I imagine variant shades of gray would have been the easiest to find. ...

...

[Jock Scot]

Tartan was invented before the advent of color (sometime in the 1950's), so I imagine variant shades of gray would have been the easiest to find.

I think red would have been an easy color to make.

http://www.pioneerthinking.com/naturaldyes.html

1950's?????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BroosterB1]

It looks like we're all in agreement here, so we'll move on to the next question:
What color(s) of dye would have been easiest/cheapest to produce in 18th century Scotland? My guess is green, brown and pale yellow, with red and true blue being most difficult/most expensive.
Any dyers here?

Actually, the earthy shades of tone are fairly easy to achieve, yellow, green, blue, brown, even some shades of black; red has always been a difficult color to dye, and of course purple (one of the reasons it's considered a "Royal" color).

This changed quite a bit with the introduction of Annalen dyes in the mid 19Th century, and colors once reserved for special situations due to their cost, became very popular.

The biggest problem with both older and newer dying is getting the color to fast or stay. This process is one of using another chemical or chemicals to fix the color to the fibers of the cloth. Certain type of cloth mordant (fix) easier than others, wool once cleaned is one that picks up color well, cotton on the other hand, until the introduction of the Madras process, was difficult to fix and remain color fast.

Also, natural colors are not necessarily the colors you would think. One example is sedge. A common green, but when boiled the color comes out a tawny yellow. The green is a result of re-boiling in cast iron, the iron ions fix to the sedge on the atomic scale and turn the cloth (or yard) into the wonderful green we love, also fasting it to the bonds that incorporate it into the cloth. A wee bit of salt and once the fabric or yarn has dried, your dye will last for decades.

[Monkey@Arms]

Looks like everyone's in agreement on this one. If you're interested in a more thorough (and authoritative) look at that question you might want to read this essay by Matt: http://albanach.org/tartan_symbolism.htm

Best regards,

Jake

[JolyStNicholas]

Very interesting reading, lots can be learned when we share knowledge.

thank you very much for sharing!

[Laird O'the Cowcaddens]

Jock is right, the colours of the woven tartan were predominantly dictated by the availability of the roots/fauna etc to the weaver.

[Macman]

I know that for the New York City Commemorative tartan each colour represents something specific. I've also seen write-ups on some of the Canadian provincial tartans that were designed with colour representations in mind. I agree with what others have said, though, that it is a fairly recent trend.