'A rare and wonderful book... I could not be more enthusiastic.' Simon Winchester
'A treasure trove of human history and obsession...the breadth of research and insight is dazzling.' Glasgow Herald
Colour unlocks the history of the colours of the rainbow, and reveals how paints came to be invented, discovered, traded and used. This remarkable and beautifully written book, part travelogue part narrative history, remembers a time when red paint was really the colour of blood, when orange was the poison pigment, blue as expensive as gold, and yellow made from the urine of cows force-fed with mangoes. It looks at how green was carried by yaks along the silk road, and how an entire nation was founded on the colour purple.
'A highly companionable guide, adventurous and romantic' Independent on Sunday
Exciting, richly informative, and always surprising, Colour lifts the lid on the historical palette and unearths an astonishing wealth of stories about the quest for colours, and our efforts to understand them.
Autorentext
Victoria Finlay studied social anthropology at St Andrews University, specialising in Asian culture. She worked as a journalist in Hong Kong for eleven years, five of which were spent as arts editor for the South China Morning Post.
Zusammenfassung
'Pure pleasure'Independent'A rich read'Evening Standard'A delight'Sunday TelegraphTHE REMARKABLE STORY OF VICTORIA FINLAY'S QUEST TO UNCOVER THE MANY SECRETS HIDDEN INSIDE THE PAINTBOX.On her travels she visited remote Central American villages where women still wear skirts dyed with the purple tears of sea snails; learned how George Washington obsessed about his green dining room while he should have been busy with matters of state; and investigated the mystery of Indian Yellow paint, said to have been made from the urine of Indian cows force-fed with mango leaves.From mascara to nomadic carpets and pillar boxes, the story of colour is the story of the efforts of artists and artisans to reproduce the rainbow - and the impact their work has had on the world.