Deep chestnut
A reddish-brown shade once known as chestnut in Crayola crayons
Deep chestnut is a reddish-brown colour, known as chestnut in Crayola crayons. It was also called Vermont maple syrup in a limited edition. The colour has been linked to the crayon formerly named Indian Red, which was renamed Chestnut in 1999 to avoid confusion about its origins.
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- Known as chestnut in Crayola crayons
- Also called Vermont maple syrup in a special edition
- Renamed from Indian Red in 1999 to avoid confusion
- Indian red pigment is popular in India
What colour is Deep chestnut?
Deep chestnut is a reddish-brown colour, close to the shade of the nut from the chestnut tree. In the context of Crayola crayons, it is the colour known as chestnut, with a rich, warm tone that stands out among other browns for its red undertone. It is not as dark as some browns but has more red than lighter tan shades.
Where does Deep chestnut come from?
The name deep chestnut comes from its resemblance to the chestnut nut. In Crayola crayons, this colour was originally called chestnut and, for a limited time, Vermont maple syrup. The crayon colour Indian Red was renamed Chestnut in 1999 after concerns that children might wrongly think it referred to Native American skin colour, though the original Indian red pigment is actually an iron oxide popular in India.
Where Deep chestnut is used
Deep chestnut is mainly seen in art materials, especially in crayons made for children. Crayola produced it as part of their standard range and in a special edition under the name Vermont maple syrup. Its use is mostly in drawing and colouring.
Brown around the world
What the brown family means from country to country.
Brown is the colour of Nazism in German political speech, after the brown shirts of the party's stormtroopers. To call a view "brown" is to call it far right.
Politics and protestDanger and warningShameSource: SturmabteilungMasi is bark cloth beaten from paper mulberry and printed in brown and black. It is worn at weddings and funerals and given in ceremonial exchanges.
Sacred and holyWeddings and marriageSource: Tapa clothKuntunkuni is a dark brown mourning cloth of the Asante, dyed with tree bark. Adinkra cloth, stamped with symbols, was first made on such dark grounds for funerals.
Mourning and deathSadnessSource: Adinkra symbolsThe batik of the Javanese courts at Yogyakarta and Surakarta is dyed in soga brown with indigo and cream. Some court patterns were once reserved for the royal family.
Royalty and powerPrideSource: BatikBogolanfini, or mud cloth, is cotton painted with fermented river mud in browns, black and white. Hunters wear it for protection, and women after childbirth.
Protection and healingSacred and holySource: B貌g貌lanfiniShades and relatives of Deep chestnut
Deep chestnut is related to other reddish-brown shades such as Indian red and chestnut. Indian red is an iron oxide pigment used in India, but in crayons, the name was changed to avoid confusion. Vermont maple syrup was a limited edition name for the same shade.
Colours that go with Deep chestnut
Harmonies are worked out from the value #B94E48. Contrast ratios follow the WCAG 2 formula.
Questions people ask about Deep chestnut
What colour is deep chestnut?
Deep chestnut is a reddish-brown shade, similar to the colour of the nut from the chestnut tree. In crayons, it is a warm brown with a noticeable red undertone.
Where does the name deep chestnut come from?
The name comes from the chestnut nut, which has a rich reddish-brown colour. In Crayola crayons, it was originally called chestnut.
Why was the crayon colour Indian Red renamed?
Crayola changed the name from Indian Red to Chestnut in 1999 because some educators worried children would think it referred to Native American skin colour, though the pigment actually comes from India.
Was deep chestnut ever called anything else?
Yes, in a special limited edition, Crayola called this colour Vermont maple syrup.
Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Chestnut (color)" (the section "Deep chestnut"), written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Rang rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. The swatch is an approximation: named colours are not fixed standards, and every screen shows them a little differently. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-03.
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