Where Did All These Pigments, Dyes, and Colors Come From?

Are you ready? Let's go!

  • In Tibet, Buddhist monks' robes are dyed with what member of the ginger family?
    • Rosemary

    • Turmeric

    • Poppy

    • Thyme

  • Which is a red dye made from the ground-up dried carcasses of species of female scale insects?
    • Alizarin

    • Saffron

    • Indigo

    • Cochineal

  • Which dye made from benzaldehyde and dimethylaniline is used to color silk, wool?
    • Garnet

    • Jade

    • Malachite green

    • Ametrine

  • Mercury, a material utilized by the ancient Romans frequently in wall decoration, is mostly mined from which mineral?
    • Cinnabar

    • Obsidian

    • Basalt

    • Iron

  • Which animals' ink sacs are used to create the dye known as sepia?
    • Hornets

    • Honeybees

    • Cuttlefish

    • Scorpions

  • When making dark black inks and dyes in the Middle Ages, what insect was employed as a source of tannic acid?
    • Sand wasp

    • Paper wasp

    • Spider wasp

    • Gall wasp

  • Do you know which greenish ceramic glaze is used on stoneware?
    • Vanadium

    • Celadon

    • Cobalt

    • Manganese

  • Which of the following is a hard, brittle gum resin obtained from Garcinia trees that produces a bright yellow powdered form?
    • Mustard seed

    • Fallow

    • Gamboge

    • Amaranth

  • In the mustard family (Brassicaceae), which biennial or perennial herb was previously grown as a source of the blue color indigo?
    • Rocket

    • Alyssum

    • Woad

    • Cress

  • Which Central American and West Indian tree from the pea family (Fabaceae) was once a major source of black dye?
    • Logwood

    • Dogwood

    • Pitch pine

    • Hemlock

10 questions remaining