Metallurgy, Materials & Chemistry
Indigo dye and calico printing
ancient-medievalIndian dyersTrade & craft recordPan-Indian / unspecified
1,500 BCE
Deep-blue indigo dyeing and colourfast printed/painted cottons (chintz/calico).
- Dated
- 1,500 BCE–1500
- As scholars put it
- ancient-medieval
- Originator
- Indian dyers
- Source text
- Trade & craft record
- Region
- Pan-Indian / unspecified
- Discipline
- Metallurgy, Materials & Chemistry
- Evidence
- Documented
- Confidence
- High
- Verification
- Reference-cited
Meanwhile in the West
Later synthesised (synthetic indigo) in 19th-c. Germany.
Fair to say
Indigo was used in several regions; India was a principal source.
Path to modern innovation
Textile chemistry and global trade.
1,500 BCEIndigo dye and calico printing
1001Transmission
'Indigo' derives from Greek for 'Indian'; huge export trade to Europe.
Museum objects
Sarasa with Figures, Birds, and Fantastic AnimalsUnreviewed
Textile Panel of ChintzUnreviewed
Painted Textile Depicting Celestial MusiciansUnreviewed
References
- 1Etymology of 'indigo'
- 2textile trade histories
Further reading
Corrections and additional sources: edit IND-045 on GitHub.