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》
染料与色素
史前 - 公元600年
留存的遗迹告诉我们，那些已褪色的物体与建筑，在古代世界也曾拥有非常丰富的色彩。
利用从大自然获取的颜料混合水或者油，是远古时代洞穴画中常见的做法，古人还同样发现可以染布，装饰皮肤和加工珠宝的染料。
大多数常见的染料与色素都是当地的。
许多染料来自植物；昆虫也是丰富色彩的来源，另外一些则的来自岩石，矿物质或者土壤。
最好品质，最稀有和最昂贵的染料，例如从海螺中提取的提尔紫Tyrian purple，它曾被拿来进行跨文化跨大陆交易。（还记得拜占庭国王的紫色长袍吗？就是它。）
色彩 - 有时以图案形式展现 - 成为阶级，习俗与地理差异的来源。
它同样可能是象征性的。
靛蓝的流行
当一些化妆品长期使用会腐蚀健康与容貌时，靛蓝染料却拥有特殊的治愈功能。
靛蓝是一款天然抗菌剂，传统用它在皮肤上画纹身。
作为一款主要的国际贸易商品，靛蓝几乎是世界各地最容易获得的天然染料之一，虽然质量和强度可能有差异。
它来自不同植物，取决于当地气候。
欧洲Isatis tinctoria菘蓝（woad板蓝根）是它的源头。
靛蓝种植广泛，撒哈拉沙漠以南到日本与印度都有。