Research Summary

The primary interest of my PhD project is the study of lac dye: the variety of sources, processing methods, characterisation and use as a dyestuff and a lake pigment. Usually, researchers focus only on one species of lac insect (Kerria lacca) discarding the fact that many more were available and that they could give important information on the trade, use and circulation of lac dye. To tackle this challenge, these are the research’s main objectives: i) systematic research into different Kerria species and characterisation of lac dyes with various techniques (FTIR, ATR, HPLC, FORS, SERS, molecular fluorescence); ii) historically accurate reconstructions of dyeing formulations and lac-dyed textiles; iii) optimisation of a portable fluorimeter for the identification of formulations and possibly markers of different species and iv) analytical investigation of case studies. This research aims to provide new insight into this complex red dye and its historical use in artworks.