Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Dominique Cardon gives a talk entitled “Colours from the Past: An Inspiration for Today”. This talk was given on 21 October 2025.
Natural organic colorants were used worldwide by all civilisations since prehistoric periods, until their replacement by synthetic colorants for all industrial applications. With the emergence of a society more conscious of the environmental challenges faced by our globe, and the development of a new “green economy”, they attract renewed interest. Ongoing advances in archaeological research and heritage sciences are revealing how early humankind endeavoured to master the art of dyeing. Recently published 18th century dyers’ recipe books illustrated with dyed textile samples offer a new contribution to the history of colours and colour nomenclature through the combined approach of colorimetry and experimental archaeology. The reproduction of historical dye processes is showing the beauty and fastness of those colours obtained from natural colorants, inspiring potential applications in various industrial branches. In her talk, Dominique Cardon gives an overview of these developments, with examples from collaborative projects she is participating in, or being informed about, as the scientific director of several recent international symposia on natural dyes.
Dominique Cardon gives a talk entitled “Colours from the Past: An Inspiration for Today”. This talk was given on 21 October 2025.
Natural organic colorants were used worldwide by all civilisations since prehistoric periods, until their replacement by synthetic colorants for all industrial applications. With the emergence of a society more conscious of the environmental challenges faced by our globe, and the development of a new “green economy”, they attract renewed interest. Ongoing advances in archaeological research and heritage sciences are revealing how early humankind endeavoured to master the art of dyeing. Recently published 18th century dyers’ recipe books illustrated with dyed textile samples offer a new contribution to the history of colours and colour nomenclature through the combined approach of colorimetry and experimental archaeology. The reproduction of historical dye processes is showing the beauty and fastness of those colours obtained from natural colorants, inspiring potential applications in various industrial branches. In her talk, Dominique Cardon gives an overview of these developments, with examples from collaborative projects she is participating in, or being informed about, as the scientific director of several recent international symposia on natural dyes.
