02-18-2009, 06:12 PM
Good advice all around, but I particularly like your double dyeing pan, Magnus! Very clever.
Just to clarify, there are not "many" color depictions of crests, only a few (frescoes and mosaics). But yes, red and white are what are shown. There is also a literary reference to a cavalryman with a yellow crest. There are no indications of Romans using striped or multi-colored crests, though the Greeks certainly used them in the Late Archaic/Early Classical era (i.e., long before the Roman Principate).
Lots of people say how hard it is to dye horsehair, but that seems to stem from those who only use natural dyes. It works fine with modern RIT dye. It may also be entirely possible with ancient dyes, I just don't know what people have tried. There are references in Homer to purple horsehair crests (as well as white and black), but of course it doesn't say *how* purple, or what dye was used, or if that's just a poetic term for "black", etc. Maybe Tyrian purple shellfish dye works great on horsehair, couldn't tell ya! BIG bucks...
However you dye your hair, remember to give it a good (careful) rinse with cold water afterwards. Then dry it.
Good luck!
Matthew
Just to clarify, there are not "many" color depictions of crests, only a few (frescoes and mosaics). But yes, red and white are what are shown. There is also a literary reference to a cavalryman with a yellow crest. There are no indications of Romans using striped or multi-colored crests, though the Greeks certainly used them in the Late Archaic/Early Classical era (i.e., long before the Roman Principate).
Lots of people say how hard it is to dye horsehair, but that seems to stem from those who only use natural dyes. It works fine with modern RIT dye. It may also be entirely possible with ancient dyes, I just don't know what people have tried. There are references in Homer to purple horsehair crests (as well as white and black), but of course it doesn't say *how* purple, or what dye was used, or if that's just a poetic term for "black", etc. Maybe Tyrian purple shellfish dye works great on horsehair, couldn't tell ya! BIG bucks...
However you dye your hair, remember to give it a good (careful) rinse with cold water afterwards. Then dry it.
Good luck!
Matthew
Matthew Amt (Quintus)
Legio XX, USA
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.larp.com/legioxx/">http://www.larp.com/legioxx/
Legio XX, USA
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.larp.com/legioxx/">http://www.larp.com/legioxx/
