Compositional and Micro-Morphological Characterisation of Red Colourants in Archaeological Textiles from Pharaonic Egypt.

Tamburini Tamburini,Aceto Aceto,Turina Turina,Dyer Dyer,Gulmini Gulmini,Davit Davit,Vandenbeusch Vandenbeusch,Borla Borla

doi:10.3390/molecules24203761

Abstract

When the imagination conjures up an image of an Egyptian mummy, it is normally one of a human body wrapped with undyed linen bandages. However, the reality was much more colourful, as shown by the set of red mummy shrouds and textile fragments from Pharaonic Egypt considered in this work. The textiles were subjected to scientific investigation with the main aim of shedding light on the sources of red colour and on the possible reasons for the different levels of colour fading. The red colourants were investigated using various non-invasive and micro-invasive approaches. The results pointed towards the presence of three sources of red colour, which, in increasing order of lightfastness, are safflower (Carthamus tinctorius), madder (Rubia spp.), and red ochre. Micro-morphological observations and elemental analyses also enabled some hypotheses to be formulated regarding the application of these colourants to the textiles. The results not only deepen our knowledge of dyeing technologies in ancient Egypt and shed new light on the function of red shrouds and textiles as part of the funerary practices of Pharaonic Egypt, but are also essential in planning the display and future preservation of these mummies and their associated textiles.

Highlights

The image that we commonly have of an Egyptian mummy is one of a human body wrapped with pallid-coloured linen bandages, made from natural flax fibres
For the textiles coloured with red ochre, both the appearance of the textiles and the fine dispersion of the particles, which are evident on the fibres observed under the microscope, would exclude surface application in a way similar to painting or rubbing and would suggest, instead, some kind of soaking of the textile in a water-dispersion of red ochre, possibly with the aid of a medium
fibre optic reflectance spectroscopy (FORS) can provide the conclusive identification of the main colouring agents, and UV-optical microscopy (OM) is able to distinguish between luminescing and absorbing materials, as well as provide preliminary information on the distribution of the colouring agents on the fibres and on the expected photo-stability of the red colour

Summary

Introduction

The image that we commonly have of an Egyptian mummy is one of a human body wrapped with pallid-coloured linen bandages, made from natural flax fibres. While most bandages were made of undyed pieces of cloth, sometimes showing evidence of reuse, the external wrappings were regularly covered by a shroud. This usually consisted of a single length of cloth and was sometimes inscribed, dyed and/or painted [1]. Some mummies were covered by red shrouds, which in some instances have fully retained their intense colour over time (Figure 1). Molecules 2019, 24, 3761 of other bindings on the mummy, have exposed red-coloured textiles under a layer of faded ones, suggesting the original colourful appearance of the wrappings.

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