Dyes in History and Archaeology (DHA) is an annual international conference that focuses on the academic discussion of dyes and organic pigments used in the past. Every year since 1982, this meeting has drawn together conservators, curators, (technical) art historians, craftspeople, artists, scientists, and academics from museums, universities, research centres, and other public or private institutions. The aim of the conference is to bring these specialists together to delve deeply into the history, archaeology, production and application, and properties of organic colourants, as well as their analytical characterization and identification. The focus is often on textile objects, but also on other substrates as well as painted surfaces from all chronological periods.

The 42nd annual meeting will be hosted in Copenhagen from Tuesday the 31st of October to Friday the 3rd of November 2023 at the University of Copenhagen. The conference is organized by the National Museum of Denmark, the Centre for Textile Research (CTR), the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, and The Danish Royal Academy, Institute for Conservation.

The conference will consist of a four-day program. The first three days will be allocated to presentations as well as guided tours at the National Museum of Denmark, The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, and the Institute for Conservation. The last day of the conference is reserved for a field trip to “Sagnlandet Lejre” https://sagnlandet.dk/en/, where various workshops will provide insights into the world of colours in textiles and pigments.

Registration for DHA42 conference opens August 15th. 

For inquiries, please contact: DHA2023@hum.ku.dk