We also know what chemical and natural dyes were in use so we have a good idea what colours looked like. We have old colour charts too.

https://www.c82.net/werner/

eg, this blue:

  24. Scotch Blue
      Throat of Blue Titmouse.
      Stamina of Single Purple Anemone.
      Blue Copper Ore.

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/natures-colours-page-paint.ht...

This is great, thank you.

And being such artifacts the means used by historians to reconstruct the past, while they deny others the same rights to interpret it, is quite ironic.

> And being such artifacts the means used by historians to reconstruct the past, while they deny others the same rights to interpret it, is quite ironic.

Maybe that's because those others are more likely to do a bad job, because they lack the training to do a good one. Sort of like how sci-fi filmmakers have taught millions of people that you can hear explosions in space and that lasers make a "zap" sound.

or that highly advanced space-faring civilizations are doomed to forever fight WWII naval battles over and over...

BTW, if you want to support some folks that actually try to get it right, check out the expanse.

Still, a pretty harsh take on what should be considered hobbyist work.

But those artifacts have usually faded with time and exposure to the light, so even those don't show you what the colors actually looked like, unless they have been sealed away from light exposure all this time.

Often you can find a bit of the paint in an overspray area that was covered by some other piece that is well preserved, even if the original paint is totally lost. Start taking off bolts and look at the flecks of paint stuck to the underside of the bolt.

Also, we still have the techniques and materials used to make old paints. New batches can be whipped up (assuming they aren't too toxic) for comparison. Lead based paints obviously are more problematic, but modern technology is really good at replicating paint colors.

You've seen though where a fabric covered couch, color faded over time, will reveal its original color when you roll back the cording covering the zipper or whatever. But I get your point.