Gambier
Description
A yellow Dye and Tannin extracted from the leaves and stems of Uncaria gambier of the Madder family. The woody vine is native to India, Malaysia, and the East Indies. A hot water extract contains the yellow dye Catechin (7-33%), along with the reddish tannin Catechutannic acid (22-50%). Gambier produces a pale yellow light fast color on Cotton. For tanning, gambier is produces a soft porous Leather and is most often used in combination with other tannins.
Synonyms and Related Terms
gambier (Fr.); Uncaria gambier; gambir; gambier cutch; pale catechu; white cutch; Bengal cutch; yellow cutch; cube cutch; tara japonica; terra japonica; plantation gambier; Singapore cube; gambier bulat; gambier papu;
Physical and Chemical Properties
Slightly soluble in cold water. Soluble in boiling water, alcohol, acetic acid, alkalis.
Resources and Citations
- John and Margaret Cannon, Dye Plants and Dyeing, Herbert Press, London, 1994
- F. Crace-Calvert, Dyeing and Calico Printing, Palmer & Howe, London, 1876
- G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971
- Ralph Mayer, A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques, Harper and Row Publishers, New York, 1969 (also 1945 printing)
- Matt Roberts, Don Etherington, Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: a Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC, 1982
- Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997
- The Merck Index, Martha Windholz (ed.), Merck Research Labs, Rahway NJ, 10th edition, 1983 Comment: entry 4371
- The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998
- Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000