Hi David,
The 'sharp' red that I described as familiar in Turkoman rugs 'of a certain age' was one of many different syntheticc reds that ultimately made their way to that artifact. I can't be sure your examples demonstrate that particular dye. The place it showed up most frequently was in the opposed quartered sections of the guls with the other two quarters in white. By 'bleeding,' I meant that the color would leak into adjoining colors of the foundation materials. This phenomenon was most likely abetted by contact with water.
The red with the faded tips you illustrated probably did not succumb to bleeding, but rather to exposure to light, a different weakness of some synthetic dyes. To get a much better grip in general on the business of dyes and their behavior in rugs, go into the Turkotek archive section, Salon 129, by our most excellent friend, Pierre Galafassi, for a very informative discussion. I plan to reread it myself.
Regarding the particular red I mentioned, I am not sure of the class of synthetic red dyes to which it belongs (this side of rereading Pierre), but I was always very sure through the years of my ability to spot it in the field...possibly delusional as that attitude may be. But I think most persons would be similarly confident after having run into it several times.
Rich
|