Chay root

Description

A natural red dye extracted from the root of the chay plant, Oldenlandia umbellata (or Hedyotis umbellata), that is found in the sandy plains of India and southeast Asia. Chay root was used for dying fabrics. The principle colorants are anthragallol-1,3-dimethyl ether, anthragallol-1,2-dimethyl ether and alizarin. It has good lightfastness.

Synonyms and Related Terms

Oldenlandia umbellata; Hedyotis umbellata ;Natural Red 6; Indian madder; robbia indiana (It.)

Resources and Citations

• H.Schweppe, J.Winter, "Madder and Alizarin", Artists Pigments, Volume 3, E. West FitzHugh (ed.), Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1997.

• Ralph Mayer, A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques, Harper and Row Publishers, New York, 1969 (also 1945 printing)

• Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000