Kermes,cochineal and lac came in the market in the form of little dark coloured grains which, when ground up in hot water, give a red solution called carmine, containing a considerable amount of a colouring matter known as caraminic acid.
Kermes consists of dried bodies of a variety of insects which lives on a species of oak.
Cochineal consists of the dried bodies of an insect known as coccus cacti because it lives upon certain kinds of cactus which are native to Mexico and Central America.
Cochineal insects on a cactus pad
Diagram of Coccus cacti
Ground carmine pigment
Lac is also is the body of a small insect, the coccus laccac that lives on the twigs of banyan tree and other varieties of fig trees. It produces scarlet, orange, and crimson shades on wool.
Tyrian purple is the most highly prized ancient dyestuff, obtained from the juices of certain species of snails found in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea.It is tremendously costly, as 12,000 animals were needed to obtain one gram of dyestuff. Thus, the terms ‘royal purple’ or ‘born to purple’ were adopted as indication that only the wealthy could afford the dye.
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