Colours

Posted on by Reena Saxena

“One thousand snails were needed to yield 1.4 grammes of dye. These snails oozed a yellow fluid, which, when exposed to light, turned a brilliant shade of purple. Tyrean purple became the royal colour due to  its high cost.”

“Why did they not mix red and blue to create the colour?”

Colour-mixing, as we know it today, was introduced much later with the advent of synthetic dyes. Before that, manufacturers relied solely on organic colours.

It’s quite a revelation, isn’t it? The idea of changing colours, something that humans are so adept at, was a concept that came much later.”

Moonwashed Weekly Prompt – Feb 25, 2025

11 thoughts on “Colours”

    1. Yes. They used only organic dyes in those days. And once royalty adopts a color, they forbade others from wearing it.

      Chemical dyes changed the picture. They say one of the reasons for mostly white clothes being worn in Kerala they did not want the rivers to be polluted with chemical dyes.

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