Pompeii brings back fabric dyeing to show life before the eruption
Busy winged cupids dyeing textiles are painted on a frieze at waist level that runs around the living room in one of the wealthiest homes in Pompeii, the House of the Vetti., in Pompeii, Italy, Dec. 7, 2023. (AP Photo)
by Associated Press
Dec 21, 2023 10:04 am


In Pompeii, there's a new project bringing back old ways of dyeing fabric to reveal more about daily life before the city was ruined by a volcano in 79 A.D.

This idea is inspired by paintings found in the archaeological site, showing cupids dyeing cloth, picking grapes for wine and making perfumes.

"It is very close to the actual reality," the archaeological site’s director, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, said of the images.

For the project, Zuchtriegel tapped a master dyer based in Umbria, Claudio Cutuli, who uses dyes he makes from plants in his own clothing line.

Designer and traditional dyer Claudio Cutuli prepares a rubia tinctorum, rose madder, to make a Pompeii red to dye his own line of clothing, in his laboratory in the village of Bevagna, Umbria, Italy, Nov. 28, 2023. (AP Photo)
Designer and traditional dyer Claudio Cutuli prepares a rubia tinctorum, rose madder, to make a Pompeii red to dye his own line of clothing, in his laboratory in the village of Bevagna, Italy, Nov. 28, 2023. (AP Photo)

Cutuli uses the root of "rubia tinctorum," or rose madder, for the famous Pompeiian red. He uses walnut husks for brown, elderberries for black and grey and cardamom for the amber, yellow and shades of green.

With the Pompeiian color palette, Cutuli is dyeing scarves with motifs taken from the House of Vetti frescoes, which include the cupids. The rich home, like the rest of Pompeii, was buried under ash.

Half of the profits from the scarves' sale will help fund further restoration efforts at the once-sprawling city, where gardeners recently recreated a nursery that includes plants that were used for dying before Pompeii's destruction.

Garden historian Maurizio Bartolini said roots, bark and flowers were often used in dyeing. Rosehip, for example, made a soft pink "that was one of the most used colors,’’ he said.

Frescoes in the archaeological site show wealthy Pompeiians dressed brightly in purple, green, pink, blues and yellows. The hues were achieved by boiling the dyed textiles in metal-lined vats at workshops run by slaves who, by contrast, wore plain, brown tunics.

Designer and traditional dyer Claudio Cutuli shows rubia tinctorum, rose madder, roots he grows in his garden, Bevagna, Italy, Nov. 28, 2023. (AP Photo)
A detail of a fresco showing a sea battle framed in Pompeii red topped by a basket and a mask that decorates the living room of the house of the Vetti, in one of the wealthiest homes in Pompeii, Italy, Dec. 7, 2023. (AP Photo)

"It’s quite unpleasant conditions for the slaves who worked here," said archaeologist Sophie Hay. "You have got the furnaces going, and it would be hot, crowded, and noisy because people would be shouting when they come in to see if their stuff is ready yet."

For Zuchtriegel, textile dyeing is another way to bring Pompeii back to life for modern visitors.

"It is part of a scientific and cultural project to create an awareness that history is not only the big monuments and beautiful paintings," he said.

"There’s also another history, of the economy, the daily life, the lives of the majority which often are not represented in the great narratives."

Last Update: December 21, 2023 14:20
Edited By: Buse Keskin