Biological sources containing anthraquinone dyes of vegetal and animal origin have been used for dyeing textiles from ancient times. Initially available only locally, later object of trade, different species were used in various areas of the world, in different historic periods. Moreover, the preference for certain biological sources also depended on the value, destination and manufacturing technique of the objects to be created. A large number of textiles from Romanian museum collections have

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... een studied since 1997, in order to identify the natural dyes and their biological sources. Analysis were first performed by Liquid Chromatography with Diode Array Detection (LC-DAD) and more recently by Liquid Chromatography with Mass Spectrometric detection (LC-MS). Anthraquinones of vegetal origin, such as Rubia tinctorum L. (madder), as well as from scale insects: Kerria lacca Kerr (lac dye), Dactylopis coccus Costa (Mexican cochineal), Porphyrophora hamelii Brandt (Ar menian car mine dyeing scale insect), Porphyrophora polonica L. (Polish carmine dyeing scale insect), Kermes vermilio Planchon (kermes) were identified in various textiles dating from the 15th-20th century and in seal bound fibres, in 15th-16th century documents. This paper presents the procedures used in the identification of the above-mentioned biological sources, based on the use of an ion trap mass spectrometer as the LC detector. The preferences for certain biological sources are discussed, according to the textile manufacturing technique, period and provenance.