color

Orchil

Colors & materials

A lichen purple-red dye from Roccella and kin, ammoniated for cloth. Not Tyrian purple, and not cudbear as the Scottish trade name alone.

Also known as Orseille · Archil

  • Orchil is used in Dye.

    Dioscorides’ De Materia Medica discusses sea-lichen / phykos colorants among materials that dye cloth purple-red. A named orchil dye use in that handbook neighborhood, not Tyrian purple as the murex dye already seated in Pliny and not mauveine as a modern aniline.

    from Pedanius Dioscorides · De Materia Medica, 1st century CE

    used in · sourced · documented

sources