Until 1856 all textiles on the planet were colored with dyes extracted from a wide variety of plants; a specie of shellfish the Muricidae gaves us blues and purples, and a few insects gave us carmine and vermillion dyes: Polish carmine from central Europe, cochineal from Mexico and kermes and lac from Asia.

The wonderful tapestries, rugs, weaving, and all the beautiful clothing that we see in museums and collections were all dyed with these natural dyes. Over the centuries most have retained their vibrant colors, because they were kept largely out of the sun. The need to keep housing cool in hot climates and warm in cold climates did not allow for large windows and sunny interiors; this architecture contributed to the preservation of these fabrics by offering them a measure of protection from ultra violet radiations which cause dyes and pigments to fade.

All dyes and pigments, ancient or modern, natural or synthetic are affected by ultraviolet radiations, some more than others. The dyes that we use are the most stable plant dyes, and they have been proven so since antiquity.

Brigid wove this rug 20 years ago, she spun the wool and dyed it with plant dyes

Since then it has sat on the back of a couch in a south facing window, fully exposed to the sun several hours a day. The photograph on the left is from the side of the rug that was laying face down, not exposed to the sun. The other photograph on the right and the one below show the fade pattern after 20 years in the sun.

In the middle East, tradition demands that rugs recently woven are spread out in the street to be walked upon by the passing traffic, human and animal, this practice is supposed to improves the appearance of the rugs.

Persian rugs, which were all plant dyed up to the turn of the 20th century, were subjected to this intense foot traffic and according to the merchants, the rugs only benefited from the practice.

Plant dyes handle the wear.