Colors in Rugs    

  Man has been fascinated with the different colors found in nature over the centuries and such fascination has been transmitted to the color combinations present in a kilim rug making it appealing to the eye and a wonderfully decorative work of art to be part of homes all over the world. Each color hides a meaning which contributes to the fascination for rugs. Here is a brief list of colors and their significance.

• Red is the color of fire, enthusiasm, courage, virility, faith, luck and joy. However, it also carries the idea of sorrow and calamity.
• Orange stands for humility and piety.
• Blue symbolizes a sense of strength and power or force.
• Green is used sparingly and only in place which are unlikely to be trodden on. It also means hope, life, renewal and spring.

How do rugs get their charming colors?  First of all, a distinction

should be made between the different dyes used in the dyeing process of these rugs: there are two dye types used in the coloring of rugs: natural dyes, which could be vegetable or animal, and synthetic dyes in which we may find a sub-division into aniline and chrome.

courtesy Bukhara-carpets.com

Natural dyes: Vegetable and Animal

            Time-consuming, pricey and tiresome are adjectives generally connected to the description of the making and using of natural dyes, both vegetable and animal. However, whenever vegetable and animal sources are abundant in the area where rugs are manufactured the situation changes and it becomes financially positive to use vegetable or animal dyes. The sources of these dyes may vary from country to country but the most common are the following:                     

• Madder: redroot of the madder plant; safflower
• Red: cochineal insect  
• Yellow: weld, vine leaves or pomegranate peel
• Brown : walnut shells or oak bark
• Green: combination of weld and indigo
• Purple: hollyhocks
• Black: walnuts
• Lark: spur plant
• Henna: leaves and flowers                                                                                                    

            An observation should be made regarding slight changes in color usually seen in older rugs for this happens when the weaver starts weaving with a yarn from a different dye lot than the one previously used .This peculiarity is common when working with natural dyes since it is quite difficult to get an exact color match. Fortunately, this condition does not affect the value of the rug.Synthetic Dyes: Aniline Dyes

            Aniline dyes were speedily adopted in the carpet industry due to their low cost and easy-to-use characteristic. Due to this, the use of them was not limited to a specific area but spread throughout the world. In the last years of the nineteenth century aniline dyes were strongly acidic which damaged the quality of the rug by destroying the natural oil in the wool causing the rug to wear off in no time. In addition, the colors ran when the kilim was washed or faded if the rug was exposed to sunlight. Because of the mentioned problems, aniline dyes are not as used as they used to. Nowadays they are used in the dyeing of inferior-quality rugs.

            If you do not know whether your precious rug was aniline dyed., you should rub a damp cloth over the pile. If the rug was dyed with a good-quality vegetable or chemical dye it will not rub off onto the cloth, but if it does then your rug has been dyed with aniline.

Synthetic Dyes: Chrome Dyes

            At present, oriental rugs are dyed with chrome dyes. In contrast to natural dyes, these are simpler to use, quite cheaper and their dye is much easier to match. Besides this, chrome dyes offer a greater range of shades and colors which are colorfast. The natural oils of the wool are not removed so the rug will not be worn off as fast as an aniline dyed one. Although chrome dyes are widely used, in the past there were also complaints on them because their colors were harsher than the hues of natural dyes. This was corrected by the implementation of a light chemical wash which is done to most rugs before being exported to ensure it's richness and color. 

Read about the materials and tools needed in the production of rugs.