DYES AND PIGMENTS
PREHISTORY TO 600CE
There was much more color in the ancient world than many faded objects and buildings that remain would suggest.
Mixing naturally occurring pigments with water or oil is evident in prehistoric cave paintings, and ancient people found colors to dye cloth, decorate their skin, and create jewelry.
The most commonly used dyes and pigments were locally available.
Many came from plants; insects were the source of a few rich colors, and rocks, minerals, or soil provided others.
The best quality, rarest, and most expensive dyes, such as Tyrian purple from sea snails, were traded across cultures and continents.
Color -- sometimes in the form of pattern -- differentiated class, customs, and geographic origin.
It could also be symbolic.
THE POPULARITY OF INDIGO
While some cosmetics were ruinous to health and beauty in the long term, indigo had special healing properties.
Indigo is a natural antiseptic and was traditionally used in tattooing the skin.
A major international trading commodity, indigo is one of the most readily available natural dyes around the world, although the quality and intensity can vary.
It is sourced from different plants, depending on the climate.
In Europe Isatis tinctoria (woad) was the source.
Different species for indigo exist far and wide, from sub-Saharan Africa to Japan and India.
--《THE DEFINITIVE HISTORY OF COSTUME AND STYLE》
染料與色素
史前 - 公元600年
留存的遺跡告訴我們，那些已褪色的物體與建筑，在古代世界也曾擁有非常豐富的色彩。
利用從大自然獲取的顏料混合水或者油，是遠古時代洞穴畫中常見的做法，古人還同樣發現可以染布，裝飾皮膚和加工珠寶的染料。
大多數常見的染料與色素都是當地的。
許多染料來自植物；昆蟲也是豐富色彩的來源，另外一些則的來自巖石，礦物質或者土壤。
最好品質，最稀有和最昂貴的染料，例如從海螺中提取的提爾紫Tyrian purple，它曾被拿來進行跨文化跨大陸交易。（還記得拜占庭國王的紫色長袍嗎？就是它。）
色彩 - 有時以圖案形式展現 - 成為階級，習俗與地理差異的來源。
它同樣可能是象征性的。
靛藍的流行
當一些化妝品長期使用會腐蝕健康與容貌時，靛藍染料卻擁有特殊的治愈功能。
靛藍是一款天然抗菌劑，傳統用它在皮膚上畫紋身。
作為一款主要的國際貿易商品，靛藍幾乎是世界各地最容易獲得的天然染料之一，雖然質量和強度可能有差異。
它來自不同植物，取決于當地氣候。
歐洲Isatis tinctoria菘藍（woad板藍根）是它的源頭。
靛藍種植廣泛，撒哈拉沙漠以南到日本與印度都有。
