Overdyeing
Dyeing an existing textile a new colour to disguise damage, even out fading, or make a piece more commercially appealing. It destroys what was there.
Overdyeing involves immersing an existing rug in a dye bath to change its colour. The technique itself is ancient and legitimate, textile makers have always re-dyed worn or faded pieces. The commercial context in which it is most common today, however, is different: it is used extensively to transform worn, faded, or unfashionable vintage rugs into pieces with contemporary-looking colour profiles.
The problem is that overdyeing destroys information. The original dye palette, its age, its provenance, its material character, is obliterated. A High Atlas kilim with intact natural saffron and walnut browns becomes a grey-washed "Moroccan flatweave" indistinguishable in colour from one made in India last year. The cultural and material identity of the piece is erased in the service of a contemporary aesthetic.
Tilwen's position: pieces in the gallery have not been overdyed. If a piece's original dyes show fading or variation with age, this is documented honestly, not corrected with a dye bath.
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