The Origins of These Colors are Absolutely Beyond Your Imagination

Zhou+Yali

Take a look at this splendid world！ You will find fascinating colors， attractive and magic pictures， beautiful and fashionable clothes everywhere... Have you ever considered where these gorgeous colors are from？ In the past when science and technology are not so developed， people use various strange things to make different colors. Thus incredible stories are found behind quite a lot colors.

Insect is a Factory for "Magenta"

How can magenta be missed from the warm and imaginative series of red？ However， the color of magenta is made by cochineal—the master of color in nature.

Cochineal comes from Central and South America. Long time ago， the ancient Indians used cochineal as makeup and to dye food. Because in the body of female cochineal contains carmine acid which can be used to make dyes. Later， the Spanish took cochineal back to Europe. European nobles were quite fond of this color， because the red produced by cochineal looks better and richer compared with using traditional materials. However， the Spanish deliberately concealed the information about cochineal for their own interests. Europeans have always thought that the so-called cochineal is some kind of dye plants. Until the end of 16th century， people just found out that the so-called cochineal is actually a kind of insects.

Since spreading to China， people call the color it dyed "Magenta"， probably because it comes from abroad！

"Mummy Brown" Makes Little Use of Mummy

Mummy？ Who does not know it is the treasure from the mysterious country ？Egypt？ Who would use such a treasure to make a pigment？ In history， Europeans really did so. In the 166th to 17th century， people developed a brown pigment from mummy， called "Mummy Brown."

At that time， it is not like what is now that we can only see the mummy in the museum， people can purchase at the drugstore the mummy smuggled into Europe. Back in the year of 1300， mummy became a kind of medicine. Superstition goes that people can get incredible strength after eating mummy and all diseases are cured. However， how the drug is related to pigments？ During the Middle Ages， the colorants painters used are all drugs， such as white lead， red lead， cinnabar etc. In order to paint， you have to find a pharmacist to "fill a prescription！" So these two things which are not supposed to have any intersections are connected. We would never know who the brilliant and creative people he is that came up with the idea to mix together the white asphalt and crushed mummy powder， plus the preservative spices and myrrh thus creating a brown pigment. This brown color has good transparency， and is suitable for glazing to reflect people complexion， shadow and glow at dusk. Mummies used to make pigments are not limited to human mummy but also cats mummy. From the 16th to 19th century， "Mummy Brown" has long been favored by artists. Regardless of the attractive color， it still cannot make people ignore its terrible origin. It is said that in the late 19th century in England， Sir Edward Jones， who likes to draw deep color paintings， which requires an extensive use of "Mummy Brown." One day， he heard that the pigments are from the mummy， he held a "burial" ceremony in his own garden， and buried in soil all the "Mummy Brown" pigments.

Later， color formula of “Mummy Brown” was discovered that it can be made by kaolin， quartz， needle ironstone and iron ore， and by adjusting the amount of needle ironstone and iron ore， we can get more colors. For example， if you want some reddish brown， then increase the amount of iron！ Thus， the "Mummy Brown" got out of the direct relationship with the mummy. In 1964， "Mummy Brown “ extracted from the mummy completely disappeared.

"Indian Yellow" from Urine

Are you sick when you see this title？ However， pigments of "Indian Yellow" really originates from this unbelievable story. When seeing "Indian Yellow" painted on the surface of the object， you will never have a brilliant feeling， instead in your mind： "This stuff is actually made of cow urine！"

In India， people feed cattle mango leaves for six months， so that the color of cow urine is yellow. People collect cow urine with a container and place it in the sun to dry. The container will be left with a bright shiny golden yellow pigment， which is the "Indian Yellow". In the Indian culture， the cow is the incarnation of God thus the Indians pay respect to cattle. Therefore， using cow urine to produce pigment， in their view， is something quite proud of！

The Stinking "Royal Purple"

How can the color of purple， always been treated as a symbol of elegance be collected with words like"stinking"？

Nobles got fascinated by "Royal Purple" when it first appeared. The famous Cleopatra was a big fan of the "Royal Purple". She once had the sails， sofa and other stuffs all dyed as "Royal Purple". Later， when Julius Caesar came to Egypt， he also fell in love with this color. "Royal Purple" was specified by him as the color for Roman imperial. However， a disgusting fishy smell unique to marine organism will come when people are close to objects dyed with this color. "Royal Purple" does get the stench from its production process. The rotten dye murex is mixed with wood ash， soaked in a mixture of rancid smell of urine and water， and then the purple dye is extracted. The entire process of extracting the dye has been constantly stinking， which needs to be done far away from the crowds outside the city. It turns out that under the hypobranchial gland of murex， there is a kind of yellow active secretion. It does not dissolve in water， but if extracted and dyed in the fabric， after exposed to the sun and oxidation， it will be transformed into a high-purity purple pigment. You must have concerned， why do they have to use urine？ Because people add urine to adjust the depth of color. "Royal Purple" extracted from 250，000 murexes can dye only one gown. Besides， Roman Empire decreed that the purple dye is a state-controlled product， commercial and civil are prohibited from manufacturing of it. Therefore， stench doesnt affect peoples appreciation of this color. Until the year of 1856， when William Perkin， a 18-year-old chemist， synthesized Mauveine dyes， wee then finally throw away the stinking "Royal Purple."

Cattle Manure and Blood Contributed to "Madder Red"

The color red is easily associated with blood in our mind. However， the thought that the red comes from the blood is not just some kind of association， which really has its roots in history， such as the red used by French royal - "Madder Red"， which requires cattle blood as agent. But more surprisingly， cattle manure also plays an important part.

The process of "Madder Red" production is as follows： people first boil fabrics， then add cattle manure and oil into it； after that， put it into oil for another three times before soaking into alkaline for four baths； process it with tanning and alumand after cleaning and rubbing. This is really a complex and long process， but fabric is grey after all these processes！ Then you need to use madder and various dyes to stain， among which cattle blood is an indispensable agent. At that time， people think cattle blood has some kind of magic.

This color making method is from Turkey and was promoted in Europe in the year of 1730. The red adopted to make the France royal tapestry is extracted from cattle blood and manure and large amounts of this kind of red is also found in the coating to paint the wall of King Louis XIV as a special supply provided by Paris Royal Tapestry Factory.

Porcine Blood is Also a Kind of Adhesive

Furthermore， this "bloody" color has not yet finished. In China， blood is also a secret formula of color pigments.

On pavilions and pagodas with Chinese characteristics， one can always appreciate a variety of colored drawings. However， after exposed to the wind and sun， how long can these drawings last？ Using chemical pigments， colored drawings will peel off in 3 to 5 years. By adopting the traditional Cuban technology， using mineral pigments， with a special adhesive， drawings can be maintained longer. This pigment adhesive is not the glue commonly used now， which has poor durability， waterproof and stability， but porcine blood.

Making the colored drawing is quite like painting the wall when scraping a layer of putty is required. In this process， adhesive of porcine blood is used. If this basic work is not done， drawing is easy to crack or peel off.

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Kerria –purplish red

Kerria is also a kind of staining insects used as raw materials to make lipstick and rouge. Kerria can secrete a dye which can be dissolved in acid， whose color is purplish red. What also true is that Kerrias gum is one of the materials used to make long-playing record in the early stage.

Gallnut and Bark - Blue Black

"Gallnut" is a kind of galls formed by aphids parasitizing in the tree. What can be used to stain is the bark which had been attached by the aphid. People boil the bark with a high temperature water， then stain with a special dye mordant， after which blue-black appears. Long time ago， gallnut was once the material to make blue-black ink and material of stained teeth in ancient time as well.