Rug dying in China

The fugitive nature of some of the Chinese fruit reds causes them to fade out to a dull brown or yellow, and oftentimes a rug of tawny golden hue will upon close examination be found to have no yellow whatever in the pile, and the beautiful result has been brought about by the effect of time and slow fading, the yellow tones alone remaining after the vegetable or fruit reds have disappeared entirely.

The dyers of China at the present time mix with the twigs of logwood the juice of certain berries to give the yellow cast which characterizes Chinese reds.

Any theories concerning ancient methods of dyeing materials in China are however largely speculative ; and only with the present conditions of textiles is it possible to deal.