Colours of textiles and dress
Dyed, woven, printed and worn.
#FFFF00
Yellow
A primary colour between green and orange, seen in sunlight, leaves, and pigmentsBasic colour 路 馃嚝馃嚪 France +5
Blue
Lapis lazuli
A deep blue stone prized for jewellery and the source of ultramarine pigmentColour named from nature 路 馃嚘馃嚝 Afghanistan +5
Green
Malachite
A banded green mineral and pigment once prized for art and decorationColour named from nature 路 馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt +4
Red
Cinnabar
A scarlet to brick-red mineral and the main source of mercury and vermilion pigmentColour named from nature 路 馃嚜馃嚫 Spain +5
Blue
Azurite
A deep blue copper mineral once prized as a pigment and gemstonePigment 路 馃嚝馃嚪 France +5
White
Zinc oxide
A white inorganic powder used in pigments, ointments, ceramics and electronicsPigment 路 馃嚠馃嚦 India +2
Brown
Aniline
A colourless oil that darkens with air and launched the first synthetic dyesPigment 路 馃嚛馃嚜 Germany
#CC7722
Ochre
A natural earth pigment ranging from yellow to deep orange or brownPigment 路 馃嚘馃嚭 Australia +5
Blue
Indigo
A deep blue dye from plants, now mostly made synthetically and known for colouring denimDye 路 馃嚠馃嚦 India +5
Yellow
Orpiment
A golden-yellow mineral pigment once prized for its brilliant colour and rarityPigment 路 馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt +5
Blue
Methylene blue
A synthetic blue dye and medicine first made in 1876Dye
#003153
Prussian blue
A deep blue pigment first made in Berlin in the early 1700sPigment 路 馃嚡馃嚨 Japan
#120A8F
Ultramarine
A deep blue pigment once made from lapis lazuli, prized for centuries in artPigment 路 馃嚘馃嚝 Afghanistan +2
Red
Realgar
An orange-red arsenic sulfide mineral once used as a pigment and poisonPigment 路 馃嚚馃嚦 China +5
#E25822
Scarlet
A bright red with a touch of orange, long tied to power, sacrifice and sinNamed shade 路 馃嚬馃嚪 Turkey +4
Red
Carmine
A deep red pigment made from cochineal insects, once prized across continentsPigment 路 馃嚝馃嚪 France +2
#E34234
Vermilion
A brilliant orange-red pigment, once made from toxic mercury orePigment 路 馃嚬馃嚪 Turkey +5
Black
India ink
A deep black ink made from carbon soot, used for writing, drawing and calligraphyPigment 路 馃嚚馃嚦 China +1
Yellow
Tartrazine
A synthetic lemon yellow dye widely used in food, cosmetics and medicinesDye
#E32636
Alizarin
A deep red dye first made from madder roots, later produced from coal tarDye 路 馃嚬馃嚪 Turkey +1
Black
Carbon black
A deep black pigment and filler made by burning carbon-rich materials with little airPigment
#50C878
Paris Green
A toxic emerald-green pigment once prized in art and used as an early insecticidePigment 路 馃嚛馃嚜 Germany +4
Purple and violet
Crystal violet
A synthetic purple dye used in science, medicine, and industryDye
Green
Malachite green
A synthetic green dye once common for silk, now controversial in aquacultureDye 路 馃嚚馃嚦 China +3
Pink and magenta
Basic fuchsine
A magenta dye used in biology and textile staining since the 19th centuryPigment
#43B3AE
Verdigris
A historic bluish-green pigment formed on copper and used in art since antiquityPigment 路 馃嚞馃嚪 Greece +1
Black
Bone char
A deep black pigment and filter made by charring animal bonesPigment
#007BA7
Cerulean
A blue-green colour once made from cobalt stannate and linked with the skyNamed shade 路 馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom
Green
Scheele's green
A yellowish-green pigment once prized for its brilliance, now infamous for its toxicityPigment
#E49B0F
Gamboge
A strong yellow pigment tapped from Southeast Asian treesPigment 路 馃嚢馃嚟 Cambodia +5
#E3A857
Indian Yellow
A clear, glowing orange-yellow pigment once made in India from cow urinePigment 路 馃嚠馃嚦 India
#FFA700
Chrome yellow
A bright yellow pigment made from lead chromate, once popular in art and industryPigment
#006B3C
Cadmium pigments
A family of strong yellow, orange, red and green pigments made from cadmium compoundsPigment
Red
Lac啶侧ぞ啶曕啶粪ぞ
A red resin secreted by insects and used as dye, varnish and shellacColour named from nature 路 馃嚠馃嚦 India +5
#E32636
Rose madder
A traditional red pigment made from the roots of the madder plantPigment 路 馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt +5
#FFFEEF
Titanium white
A bright white pigment made from titanium dioxide, valued for its strong coveragePigment 路 馃嚭馃嚫 United States +1
White
Lead white
A dense, opaque white pigment once used in art, home, and cosmetics worldwidePigment 路 馃嚚馃嚦 China +2
Grey
Hematite
A mineral iron oxide, black to red, used since prehistory as a pigment and oreColour named from nature 路 馃嚳馃嚘 South Africa +5
White
Titanium dioxide
A brilliant white pigment made from titanium, used in paints, food and sunscreenPigment 路 馃嚚馃嚦 China +5
#86A1A9
Tourmaline喽о窛喽秽陡喽洁穵喽洁窉
A mineral group prized for its rainbow of gemstone coloursColour named from nature 路 馃嚤馃嚢 Sri Lanka +5
Brown
Goethite
A yellowish to reddish brown mineral used as a pigment since ancient timesPigment 路 馃嚛馃嚜 Germany +3
Red
Iron(III) oxide
A deep red iron compound found in hematite and used as pigment and polishPigment
Blue
Lazurite
A deep blue mineral that gives lapis lazuli its colourColour named from nature 路 馃嚘馃嚝 Afghanistan +2
White
Antimony trioxide
A white antimony compound used in flame retardants and glassmakingPigment 路 馃嚚馃嚦 China +4
White
White lead
A historic opaque white pigment once made from lead and vinegarPigment
Green
Glauconite
A soft green mineral used as a pigment and in fertilisersColour named from nature 路 馃嚙馃嚪 Brazil +2
Yellow
Cadmium sulfide
A bright yellow pigment and semiconductor compound made from cadmium and sulfurPigment
Red
Dragon's blood
A deep red resin from several plants, used as pigment, dye and varnish since ancient timesColour named from nature 路 馃嚠馃嚦 India +3
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Sienna: DanielCD~commonswiki, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cadmium pigments: Marco Almbauer, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gamboge: Ma拧a Sinreih in Valentina Vivod, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Indigo: Photo by Evan Izer ( Palladian ), CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Paris Green: Chris goulet at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tourmaline: Aurelienreys, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lazurite: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lac: Jeffrey W. Lotz, CC BY 3.0, source
- Aniline: Smokefoot, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lead white: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Titanium white: Arthur Dove, Public domain, source
- Carbon black: FK1954, Public domain, source
- Titanium dioxide: The original uploader was Walkerma at English Wikipedia ., Public domain, source
- Malachite: Burkhard M眉cke, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Zinc oxide: Andrew Silver, USGS, Public domain, source
- Cadmium sulfide: Marco Almbauer, Public domain, source
- Realgar: G茅ry PARENT, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Orpiment: Ra'ike, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Glauconite: Licks-rocks, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Scheele's green: Georg Friedrich Kersting, Public domain, source
- White lead: Thester11, CC BY 3.0, source
- Carmine: Stephhzz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dragon's blood: Andy Dingley, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bone char: Honza Groh ( Jagro ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Goethite: Raimond Spekking, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Iron(III) oxide: BXXXD, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tartrazine: Buli, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- India ink: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Azurite: Ivar Leidus, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Basic fuchsine: LHcheM, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Methylene blue: Amanda Slater, Flickr user amandabhslater, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Ultramarine: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Cinnabar: H. Zell, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lapis lazuli: Adam Ognisty, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Crystal violet: Richard Masoner, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Scarlet: Daderot, Public domain, source
- Vermilion: 毓購孬賲丕賳, CC0, source
- Alizarin: M. Girard - University of Kansas, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ochre: Marco Almbauer, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Indian Yellow: Shisha-Tom, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Yellow: Mark Robinson, CC BY 2.0, source
- Chrome yellow: FK1954, CC0, source
- Verdigris: No machine-readable author provided. Nartoun assumed (based on copyrig, Public domain, source
- Cerulean: Stephhzz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Prussian blue: Picture created by publunch, Public domain, source