Heritage science is a growing and increasingly popular sector of interdisciplinary research, crucial to the preservation and understanding of humankind’s past. The aim of heritage science is to develop analytical, imaging, computational and statistical methods for analysis of culturally significant objects. Whilst the application of analytical chemistry can support the authentication and conservation of historical artifacts, heritage science can also provide insights into wastewater treatment, food and cosmetics.
The use of natural dyes can be traced back to ancient civilisations, with the earliest pigment use found in cave paintings dating back to 30,000BC1. The dye industry underwent a transformative change following the discovery of the first synthetic dye (Mauveine) in 1856 by William Perkin whilst trying to find a synthetic route for an anti-malarial drug. From the invention of Mauveine to the publication of the first edition of the Colour Index in 1924, more than 1200 synthetic organic colourants had been invented2, rendering natural dyes virtually obsolete within a few decades. This poses the analytical challenge of identification and detection of the vast amount and types of dyes present in objects produced in that time-period.
The aim of the present work is to apply analytical methods and techniques to expand the dataset available for early synthetic dyes and provide a multidisciplinary audience an overview of the start to finish process of analysing a culturally significant object.
[1] Abel, A., 24 - The history of dyes and pigments: From natural dyes to high performance pigments. In Woodhead Publishing Series in Textiles, Colour Design (Second Edition), Woodhead Publishing, 557-587 (2012).
[2] Zollinger H. Colour Chemistry: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications of organic dyes and pigments. John Wiley, 6;161 (2003).