Seeing Red Exhibition Traces Turkey-red Dye

A vibrant and multi-facetted exhibition tracing the development of the Turkey-red dyeing industry in Glasgow between 1985 and the 1930s has opened at the Collins Gallery.

‘Seeing Red: Scotland’s Exotic Textile Heritage’ brings together, for the first time, a wealth of material from both public and private collections, illustrating the diverse uses of this dye, its impact on world trade and the spectrum of designs used for both the fabrics and manufacturers’ labels.

Turkey-red dyeing has been described as “the most complicated and tedious process”.  When introduced to Scotland in 1785, it took twenty five days just to dye yarn and later, when the technique had been developed to dye woven cotton fabric, thirty eight stages were involved utilising large quantities of urine, sheep’s dung and an annual volume of 130,000 gallons of bullocks’ blood.  The result was a vibrant and extravagant red, recognised as the fasted colour in existence and therefore ideal for exportation to South East Asia, China, Africa, India, the Americas and the West Indies.

The technique originated in India employing the root of the madder plant, then spread to the Levant, to Smyrna and Adrianople, from where it got its name “Turkey-red”.  It was brought to Scotland by Rouen dyer Pierre Jacques Papillon, on the invitation of George Mackintosh and David Dale, who set up the first dye works in Dalmarnock.

Various designs evolved to suit different markets: the Muslim market favoured geometric and floral patterns whilst the Hindus preferred designs incorporating elephants, tigers, peacocks and dancing girls.  These were initially printed from wooden blocks and records of the various designs were retained in pattern books, either printed on paper or on small pieces of fabric.      
 
The most successful product was undoubtedly the “bandanna”, a handkerchief with simple patterns including circles, diamonds, clubs and floral motifs.  Launched by Henry Monteith in 1802 and copied from a popular Indian fabric, they quickly saturated the world market and were worn by all sectors of society, including European gentlewomen, African slaves, American cowboys, David Livingstone and even Benjamin Bunny.

The exhibition is a visual feast of fabric lengths (including pieces digitally printed from tiny paper and cotton samples), quilts, costume, sample books, wood blocks and manufacturers’ labels, complimented by a series of photographs commissioned from Chris Heaney and data pertinent to the rise and fall of the industry in the west of Scotland.

Curated by Liz Arthur the exhibition is supported by an illustrated publication with essays by Liz Arthur, Lindsay Taylor, Mary Schoeser and John Hume (price: £10.00/£12.00 inc. p&p).

A full day symposium will be held at the Collins Gallery on Saturday 27 October 2007 with four presentations on different aspects of the industry by Liz Arthur, Mary Schoeser, John Hume and David Harvie.  Cost: £20.00/£15.00 concession, including refreshments, lunch and a complimentary copy of the catalogue.  To book a place, please contact the Collins gallery or complete and download and return the booking form and send with your remittance to the Collins Gallery Wednesday 24 October 2007.

The gallery hopes that the exhibition and the symposium will produce further material and data on the subject as well as raise public awareness of this hitherto almost neglected aspect of Scotland’s industrial history.

Seeing Red is on from 6 October to 17 November 2007 at the Collins Gallery, University of Strathclyde, 22 Richmond Street, Glasgow G1 1XQ. Tel: 0141 548 2558.  Open Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm and Saturday 12 noon to 4pm.