GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Cochineal refers to a red natural transparent lake colorant that has poor lightfastness and fades in strong sunlight, yet adheres extremely well and vibrantly to protein fibers of camelid and sheep. It is prepared from the bodies of the female scale insect, Dactylopius coccus, which lives as a parasitic on the prickly-pear cactus native to Mexico, the Canary Islands, and Central and South America. Cochineal dye was used by indigenous populations throughout the Americas, and was later adopted by Europeans who used comparative lac dye prior to the Spanish Conquest in the 16th century. The pigments are extracted from the dried bodies of insects using water or alcohol. The substance contains about 10% carminic acid, 2% coccerin wax, and 10% fat: the crimson color of cochineal dye is attributed to cochinealin, or carminic acid. Cochineal is also used in medicine as an antispasmodic.
Drawn from
- Kimberly L. Jones, PhD, Inca: Conquests of the Andes / Los Incas y las conquistas de los Andes, Gallery text, 2015.
- Ann Rowe, “Glossary,” in Weaving and Dyeing in Highland Ecuador, edited by Ann Rowe, Laura Miller and Lynn Meisch (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2007): 289-295.
- Getty Vocabulary, AAT (cochineal (colorant): AAT: 300013597; cochineal carmine (lake): AAT: 300311203; cochineal (color): AAT: 300311501).
NOTES
General description drawn from: Kimberly L. Jones, "Inca: Conquests of the Andes / Los Incas y las conquistas de los Andes," Label Copy (Cochineal), 2015.
ASSOCIATED CONTENT CHUNKS
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
265930355: UMO. [Caption] Cochineal (Dactylopius coccus). Source: H. Zell (Own work), Wikimedia Commons, accessed: April 20, 2016, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Dactylopius_coccus_04.JPG.
WEB RESOURCES
- Metropolitan Museum of Art (YouTube)~Watch a lecture organized by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, "Cochineal Red: The Art History of a Color," with speakers Elena Phipps, textile historian, and Barbara Berrie, conservation scientist at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
- North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (YouTube)~Watch a video with museum educator Bob Alderink discussing cochineal and food dye.
- PBS, Craft in America (YouTube)~Watch a video of weaver Jim Bassler discussing and demonstrating the grinding and dyeing of cochineal.
- Texas Standard (PBS)~Listen to a PBS broadcast about cochineal and the recent exhibition "The Red that Colored the World."
- Metropolitan Museum of Art~Read an essay about the materials and techniques of American quilts and coverlets.
- Metropolitan Museum of Art~Read an essay about Renaissance velvet textiles.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
SET OPERATOR AS OR
apply to OBJECTS where medium contains cochineal
apply to objects where number equals 1995.32.McD
apply to objects where number equals 1983.W.2173
apply to objects where number equals 1983.W.2170
Category
rules_operator
OR
General Description
Cochineal refers to a red natural transparent lake colorant that has poor lightfastness and fades in strong sunlight, yet adheres extremely well and vibrantly to protein fibers of camelid and sheep. It is prepared from the bodies of the female scale insect, Dactylopius coccus, which lives as a parasitic on the prickly-pear cactus native to Mexico, the Canary Islands, and Central and South America. Cochineal dye was used by indigenous populations throughout the Americas, and was later adopted by Europeans who used comparative lac dye prior to the Spanish Conquest in the 16th century. The pigments are extracted from the dried bodies of insects using water or alcohol. The substance contains about 10% carminic acid, 2% coccerin wax, and 10% fat: the crimson color of cochineal dye is attributed to cochinealin, or carminic acid. Cochineal is also used in medicine as an antispasmodic.
Drawn from
- Kimberly L. Jones, PhD, Inca: Conquests of the Andes / Los Incas y las conquistas de los Andes, Gallery text, 2015.
- Ann Rowe, “Glossary,” in Weaving and Dyeing in Highland Ecuador, edited by Ann Rowe, Laura Miller and Lynn Meisch (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2007): 289-295.
- Getty Vocabulary, AAT (cochineal (colorant): AAT: 300013597; cochineal carmine (lake): AAT: 300311203; cochineal (color): AAT: 300311501).
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- Metropolitan Museum of Art (YouTube)~Watch a lecture organized by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, "Cochineal Red: The Art History of a Color," with speakers Elena Phipps, textile historian, and Barbara Berrie, conservation scientist at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
- North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (YouTube)~Watch a video with museum educator Bob Alderink discussing cochineal and food dye.
- PBS, Craft in America (YouTube)~Watch a video of weaver Jim Bassler discussing and demonstrating the grinding and dyeing of cochineal.
- Texas Standard (PBS)~Listen to a PBS broadcast about cochineal and the recent exhibition "The Red that Colored the World."
- Metropolitan Museum of Art~Read an essay about the materials and techniques of American quilts and coverlets.
- Metropolitan Museum of Art~Read an essay about Renaissance velvet textiles.
Notes
General description drawn from: Kimberly L. Jones, "Inca: Conquests of the Andes / Los Incas y las conquistas de los Andes," Label Copy (Cochineal), 2015.
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1995.32.McD
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1983.W.2173
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1983.W.2170
source file
materials_and_techniques-0166.xml.nores