Winter Master Class: Antichi Colori: Getting to the Sources of Ancient Dyes and Pigments

The Ancient Mediterranean and global world was filled with ancient color. Ancient peoples were sophisticated in their technological resources; creating colors through multiple means. Recently the subject of whiteness in ancient marble sculpture and decoration has generated opinions, perspectives and even reconstructed models. The subject of color was documented heavily through literature, historical sources, painting, sculpture, and decorative arts, as a relatively static presence. But it is the dyes and pigments that command the most amount of attention. Evidence suggests that the manufacture application, attitudes towards and the color-terms were of prime concern to the ancients and contributed to their overall economic prosperity. Ancient color can be challenging for us to understand because of the temporal distance between our world and that of antiquity. Ancient dyes and pigments help to bridge the gap as solid tools for showing accurate tools from the ancient world. There has been long-standing research on…