Ochre
Encyclopedia
Ochre is the term for both a golden
-yellow
or light yellow brown
color and for a form of earth pigment
which produces the color. The pigment can also be used to create a reddish tint known as "red ochre". The more rarely used terms "purple ochre" and "brown ochre" also exist for variant hues. Because of these other hues, the color ochre is sometimes referred to as "yellow ochre" or "gold ochre".
Ochres are among the earliest pigments used by mankind, derived from naturally tinted clay
containing mineral oxides. Chemically, it is hydrated iron (III) oxide. Modern artists' pigments continue to use the terms "yellow ochre" and "red ochre" for specific hues.
from the earliest times. For example, such use is described in the Ebers Papyrus
from Egypt, dating to about 1550 BC.
Ochres are non-toxic
, and can be used to make an oil paint that dries quickly and covers surfaces thoroughly. To manufacture ground ochre, ochre clay is first mined from the ground. It is then washed in order to separate sand from ochre, which can be done by hand. The remaining ochre is then dried in the sun and sometimes burned to enhance the natural color.
As a painting
pigment
, it exists in at least four forms:
They are found throughout the world in many shades. Many sources consider the best brown ochre to come from Cyprus
, and the best yellow and red ochre from Roussillon
, France
. All have been used since prehistoric times.
comes from the site of Blombos Cave
in South Africa, where two pieces of ochre engraved with abstract designs have been found, often considered to be the world's first known art
, along with shells pierced for use as jewelry and a complex toolkit including finely crafted bone tools. The ensemble is dated to around 75,000 years ago. Another discovery at the same location is 100,000 years old . It has been suggested that the presence of complex culture indicates the use of modern human language
. A report published in 2009 on an additional thirteen pieces of ochre states that the results "suggest that symbolic intent and tradition were present in this region at an earlier date than previously thought." An anthropologist studying another South African cave has called for further studies to ensure that the incisions were deliberate and not the result of an attempt to remove ochre powder from the stones.
The use of ochre in Australia
also has a long history. Ochre has been used for millennia by Aboriginal people in body decoration, mortuary practices, cave painting, bark painting and other artwork, and the preservation of animal skins, among other uses. At Lake Mungo
, in Western New South Wales
, burial sites have been excavated and burial materials, including ochre-painted bones, have been carbon-dated to 62,000 years, although some archaeologists believe human occupation of Australia dates no further back than 45,000 years. Red, yellow and white ochres are plentiful across Australia, especially the Western Desert
, Kimberley
and Arnhem Land
regions, and occur in many archaeological sites. The National Museum of Australia
has a large collection of samples of ochre from many sites across Australia.
However, the archaeological literature is not consistent in the use of the word 'ochre', at times using it to refer to any red deposit and the distinction between ochre and umber
can also be contentious. Ochre pigments were used by the Cro-Magnon
artist
s who painted the pre-historic cave painting
s in southern Europe
between 32,000 and 10,000 years ago.
It has been argued that Neolithic burials used red ochre pigments symbolically, either to represent a return to the earth or possibly as a form of ritual rebirth, in which the color symbolizes blood and the Great Goddess
.
In Germanic rune lore, red ochre was often used in place of blood to redden, or tint, the runes and thereby instilling the spirit of life into the rune, enabling it to be used for magical purposes.
were said to paint themselves "Iron Red" according to the Gothic
historian Jordanes
. Frequent references in Irish myth to "red men" (Gaelic
: Fer Dearg) make it likely that such a practice was common to the Celts of the British Isles
, bog iron
being particularly abundant in the midlands of Ireland.
In Newfoundland
its use is most often associated with the Beothuk
, whose use of red ochre led them to be referred to as "Red Indians" by the first Europeans to Newfoundland. It was also used by the Maritime Archaic
as evidenced by its discovery in the graves of over 100 individuals during an archaeological excavation at Port au Choix
. California Native Americans
such as the Chumash were known to use red ochre as body paint.
In ancient Egypt
red ochre was used as a rouge, or lip gloss for women.
Ochre in its various permutations was the most commonly used material for painting walls in the ancient Mediterranean world. In Ancient Greece
, red ochre was called μίλτος, míltos (hence Miltiades
, red-haired or ruddy). In Athens when Assembly
was called, a contingent of public slaves would sweep the open space of the Agora
with ropes dipped in miltos: those citizens that loitered there instead of moving to the Assembly area
would risk having their clothes stained with the paint. This prevented them from wearing these clothes in public again, as failure to attend the Assembly incurred a fine.
The Maori people of New Zealand were in the early neolithic period of development when Europeans arrived, and were found to be making extensive use of mineral ochre mixed with fish oil. Ochre was the predominant coloring agent used by Maori, and was used to paint their large waka taua (war canoe). Ochre prevented the drying out of the wood in canoes and the carvings of meeting houses; later missionaries estimated that it would last for 30 years. It was also roughly smeared over the face, especially by women, to keep off insects. Solid chunks of ochre were ground on a flat but rough surfaced rock to produce the powder. When Captain James Cook visited the Bay of Islands in northern New Zealand, Maori who came on board his ship could not resist stealing large containers of red paint. Marines shot and killed the thieves as they paddled off in their waka.
England
, it became a very important part of the developing fishing industry. This gave the old fishing boats their "Red Sails in the Sunset
", but the purpose was to protect the canvas from seawater, not to be picturesque. It was boiled in great caldrons, together with tar
, tallow
and oak bark
, the last ingredient giving the name of barking yards to the places where the hot mixture was painted on to the sails, which were then hung up to dry.
Ochre was a popular coloring in France during the time of the French Empire
, and many French citizens living in foreign colonies would import a great deal of ochre clay from France to make their new lands feel like home. As a result, after the period of French colonization ended, ochre became associated with repression and fell out of favor. With the advent of synthetic dyes, ochre mining nearly stopped altogether. Recently, however, natural ochre paint has seen something of a comeback as an upscale house paint option.
In Newfoundland
, red ochre was the pigment of choice for use in vernacular
outbuildings and work buildings associated with the cod
fishery. Deposits of ochre are found throughout Newfoundland, notably near Fortune Harbor and at Ocher Pit Cove. While earliest settlers may have used locally collected ochre, people were later able to purchase pre-ground ochre through local merchants, largely imported from England
.
The dry ingredient, ochre, was mixed with some type of liquid raw material to create a rough paint. The liquid material was usually seal oil
or cod liver oil
in Newfoundland and Labrador, while Scandinavia
n recipes sometimes called for linseed oil
. Red ochre paint was sometimes prepared months in advance and allowed to sit, and the smell of ochre paint being prepared is still remembered by many today.
Variations in local recipes, shades of ore, and type of oil used resulted in regional variations in color. Because of this, it is difficult to pinpoint an exact shade or hue or red that would be considered the traditional “fishing stage
red”. Oral tradition
in the Bonavista Bay
area maintains that seal oil would give a purer red color, while cod liver oil
would give a “foxy” color, browner in hue.
Women of the Himba
tribe in Namibia
are famous for using a mix of ochre and animal fat for body decoration, to achieve a beautiful reddish skin color. The ochre mixture is also applied to their hair after braiding.
Gold (color)
Gold, also called golden, is one of a variety of orange-yellow color blends used to give the impression of the color of the element gold....
-yellow
Yellow
Yellow is the color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M cone cells of the retina about equally, with no significant stimulation of the S cone cells. Light with a wavelength of 570–590 nm is yellow, as is light with a suitable mixture of red and green...
or light yellow brown
Brown
Brown is a color term, denoting a range of composite colors produced by a mixture of orange, red, rose, or yellow with black or gray. The term is from Old English brún, in origin for any dusky or dark shade of color....
color and for a form of earth pigment
Pigment
A pigment is a material that changes the color of reflected or transmitted light as the result of wavelength-selective absorption. This physical process differs from fluorescence, phosphorescence, and other forms of luminescence, in which a material emits light.Many materials selectively absorb...
which produces the color. The pigment can also be used to create a reddish tint known as "red ochre". The more rarely used terms "purple ochre" and "brown ochre" also exist for variant hues. Because of these other hues, the color ochre is sometimes referred to as "yellow ochre" or "gold ochre".
Ochres are among the earliest pigments used by mankind, derived from naturally tinted clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
containing mineral oxides. Chemically, it is hydrated iron (III) oxide. Modern artists' pigments continue to use the terms "yellow ochre" and "red ochre" for specific hues.
Medicinal use
Ochre clays have been used medicinallyMedicinal clay
The use of medicinal clay in folk medicine goes back to prehistoric times. The indigenous peoples around the world still use clay widely, which is related to geophagy. The first recorded use of medicinal clay goes back to ancient Mesopotamia...
from the earliest times. For example, such use is described in the Ebers Papyrus
Ebers papyrus
The Ebers Papyrus, also known as Papyrus Ebers, is an Egyptian medical papyrus dating to circa 1550 BC. Among the oldest and most important medical papyri of ancient Egypt, it was purchased at Luxor, in the winter of 1873–74 by Georg Ebers...
from Egypt, dating to about 1550 BC.
Pigment
Toxin
A toxin is a poisonous substance produced within living cells or organisms; man-made substances created by artificial processes are thus excluded...
, and can be used to make an oil paint that dries quickly and covers surfaces thoroughly. To manufacture ground ochre, ochre clay is first mined from the ground. It is then washed in order to separate sand from ochre, which can be done by hand. The remaining ochre is then dried in the sun and sometimes burned to enhance the natural color.
As a painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
pigment
Pigment
A pigment is a material that changes the color of reflected or transmitted light as the result of wavelength-selective absorption. This physical process differs from fluorescence, phosphorescence, and other forms of luminescence, in which a material emits light.Many materials selectively absorb...
, it exists in at least four forms:
- Yellow ochre, FeIronIron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
2OOxygenOxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
3 • HHydrogenHydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
2OOxygenOxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
, a hydrateHydrateHydrate is a term used in inorganic chemistry and organic chemistry to indicate that a substance contains water. The chemical state of the water varies widely between hydrates, some of which were so labeled before their chemical structure was understood....
d iron oxideIron oxideIron oxides are chemical compounds composed of iron and oxygen. All together, there are sixteen known iron oxides and oxyhydroxides.Iron oxides and oxide-hydroxides are widespread in nature, play an important role in many geological and biological processes, and are widely utilized by humans, e.g.,...
, also called Gold ochre - Red ochre, Fe2O3, is the anhydrate of yellow ochre, which turns red when heated because heat drives off the water ligands
- Purple ochre, is identical to red ochre chemically but of a different hue caused by different light diffraction properties associated with a greater average particle size
- Brown ochre (GoethiteGoethiteGoethite , named after the German polymath Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, is an iron bearing oxide mineral found in soil and other low-temperature environments. Goethite has been well known since prehistoric times for its use as a pigment. Evidence has been found of its use in paint pigment samples...
), also partly hydrated iron oxideIron oxideIron oxides are chemical compounds composed of iron and oxygen. All together, there are sixteen known iron oxides and oxyhydroxides.Iron oxides and oxide-hydroxides are widespread in nature, play an important role in many geological and biological processes, and are widely utilized by humans, e.g.,...
(rustRust (color)Rust is a red-brown-orange color resembling iron oxide. It is a commonly used color in stage lighting, and appears roughly the same color as photographic safelights when used over a standard tungsten light source. The color is number 777 in the swatch book....
)
They are found throughout the world in many shades. Many sources consider the best brown ochre to come from Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, and the best yellow and red ochre from Roussillon
Roussillon, Vaucluse
Roussillon is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.Roussillon lies within the borders of the Parc Naturel Régional du Luberon. In the French natural regional parks, new economic activities may be developed only if they are...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. All have been used since prehistoric times.
Prehistoric
The earliest potential evidence for complex human cultureBehavioral modernity
Behavioral modernity is a term used in anthropology, archeology and sociology to refer to a set of traits that distinguish present day humans and their recent ancestors from both living primates and other extinct hominid lineages. It is the point at which Homo sapiens began to demonstrate a...
comes from the site of Blombos Cave
Blombos Cave
Blombos Cave is a cave in a calcarenite limestone cliff on the Southern Cape coast in South Africa. It is an archaeological site made famous by the discovery of 75,000-year-old pieces of ochre engraved with abstract designs and beads made from Nassarius shells, and c. 80,000-year-old bone tools...
in South Africa, where two pieces of ochre engraved with abstract designs have been found, often considered to be the world's first known art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, along with shells pierced for use as jewelry and a complex toolkit including finely crafted bone tools. The ensemble is dated to around 75,000 years ago. Another discovery at the same location is 100,000 years old . It has been suggested that the presence of complex culture indicates the use of modern human language
Origin of language
The origin of language is the emergence of language in the human species. This is a highly controversial topic. Empirical evidence is so limited that many regard it as unsuitable for serious scholars. In 1866, the Linguistic Society of Paris went so far as to ban debates on the subject...
. A report published in 2009 on an additional thirteen pieces of ochre states that the results "suggest that symbolic intent and tradition were present in this region at an earlier date than previously thought." An anthropologist studying another South African cave has called for further studies to ensure that the incisions were deliberate and not the result of an attempt to remove ochre powder from the stones.
The use of ochre in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
also has a long history. Ochre has been used for millennia by Aboriginal people in body decoration, mortuary practices, cave painting, bark painting and other artwork, and the preservation of animal skins, among other uses. At Lake Mungo
Lake Mungo
Lake Mungo is a dry lake in south-western New South Wales, Australia. It is located about 760 km due west of Sydney and 90 km north-east of Mildura. The lake is the central feature of Mungo National Park, and is one of seventeen lakes in the World Heritage listed Willandra Lakes Region...
, in Western New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, burial sites have been excavated and burial materials, including ochre-painted bones, have been carbon-dated to 62,000 years, although some archaeologists believe human occupation of Australia dates no further back than 45,000 years. Red, yellow and white ochres are plentiful across Australia, especially the Western Desert
Western Desert
Western Desert may refer to:* Libyan Desert, located in the northern and eastern part of the Sahara Desert. It occupies Egypt west of the Nile , eastern Libya and northwestern Sudan alongside the Nubian Desert.* Western Desert cultural bloc or just Western Desert is a cultural region in...
, Kimberley
Kimberley
-United States:* Kimberly, Arkansas* Kimberly, Alabama* Kimberly, Idaho* Kimberly Township, Aitkin County, Minnesota* Kimberly, Oregon, unincorporated community* Kimberly, Utah, abandoned town* Kimberly, Fayette County, West Virginia, unincorporated community...
and Arnhem Land
Arnhem Land
The Arnhem Land Region is one of the five regions of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around 500 km from the territory capital Darwin. The region has an area of 97,000 km² which also covers the area of Kakadu National...
regions, and occur in many archaeological sites. The National Museum of Australia
National Museum of Australia
The National Museum of Australia was formally established by the National Museum of Australia Act 1980. The National Museum preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation....
has a large collection of samples of ochre from many sites across Australia.
However, the archaeological literature is not consistent in the use of the word 'ochre', at times using it to refer to any red deposit and the distinction between ochre and umber
Umber
Umber is a natural brown clay pigment which contains iron and manganese oxides. The color becomes more intense when calcined , and the resulting pigment is called burnt umber. Its name derives from the Latin word umbra and was originally extracted in Umbria, a mountainous region of central Italy,...
can also be contentious. Ochre pigments were used by the Cro-Magnon
Cro-Magnon
The Cro-Magnon were the first early modern humans of the European Upper Paleolithic. The earliest known remains of Cro-Magnon-like humans are radiometrically dated to 35,000 years before present....
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
s who painted the pre-historic cave painting
Cave painting
Cave paintings are paintings on cave walls and ceilings, and the term is used especially for those dating to prehistoric times. The earliest European cave paintings date to the Aurignacian, some 32,000 years ago. The purpose of the paleolithic cave paintings is not known...
s in southern Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
between 32,000 and 10,000 years ago.
It has been argued that Neolithic burials used red ochre pigments symbolically, either to represent a return to the earth or possibly as a form of ritual rebirth, in which the color symbolizes blood and the Great Goddess
Great Goddess
Great Goddess refers to the concept of an almighty goddess, or to the concept of a mother goddess, including:*Great Goddess, anglicized form of the Latin Magna Dea*Great Goddess, anglicized form of the Sanskrit Mahadevi, the Shakti sum of all goddesses...
.
In Germanic rune lore, red ochre was often used in place of blood to redden, or tint, the runes and thereby instilling the spirit of life into the rune, enabling it to be used for magical purposes.
Ancient history
Early historical records suggest the use of ochre as a pigment by numerous cultures. The Ancient PictsPicts
The Picts were a group of Late Iron Age and Early Mediaeval people living in what is now eastern and northern Scotland. There is an association with the distribution of brochs, place names beginning 'Pit-', for instance Pitlochry, and Pictish stones. They are recorded from before the Roman conquest...
were said to paint themselves "Iron Red" according to the Gothic
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
historian Jordanes
Jordanes
Jordanes, also written Jordanis or Jornandes, was a 6th century Roman bureaucrat, who turned his hand to history later in life....
. Frequent references in Irish myth to "red men" (Gaelic
Goidelic languages
The Goidelic languages or Gaelic languages are one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic languages, the other consisting of the Brythonic languages. Goidelic languages historically formed a dialect continuum stretching from the south of Ireland through the Isle of Man to the north of Scotland...
: Fer Dearg) make it likely that such a practice was common to the Celts of the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
, bog iron
Bog iron
Bog iron refers to impure iron deposits that develop in bogs or swamps by the chemical or biochemical oxidation of iron carried in the solutions. In general, bog ores consist primarily of iron oxyhydroxides, commonly goethite...
being particularly abundant in the midlands of Ireland.
In Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
its use is most often associated with the Beothuk
Beothuk
The Beothuk were one of the aboriginal peoples in Canada. They lived on the island of Newfoundland at the time of European contact in the 15th and 16th centuries...
, whose use of red ochre led them to be referred to as "Red Indians" by the first Europeans to Newfoundland. It was also used by the Maritime Archaic
Maritime Archaic
The Maritime Archaic is a North American cultural complex of the Late Archaic along the coast of Newfoundland, the Canadian Martimes and northern New England. The Maritime Archaic began in approximately 7000 BC and lasted into the 18th century. The culture consisted of sea-mammal hunters in the...
as evidenced by its discovery in the graves of over 100 individuals during an archaeological excavation at Port au Choix
Port au Choix, Newfoundland and Labrador
Port au Choix or Port aux Choix is a town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The nearest airport is Port au Choix Airport, 2.8 km to the southeast.- History :...
. California Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
such as the Chumash were known to use red ochre as body paint.
In ancient Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
red ochre was used as a rouge, or lip gloss for women.
Ochre in its various permutations was the most commonly used material for painting walls in the ancient Mediterranean world. In Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
, red ochre was called μίλτος, míltos (hence Miltiades
Miltiades
Miltiades or Miltiadis is a Greek name. Several historic persons have been called Miltiades .* Miltiades the Elder wealthy Athenian, and step-uncle of Miltiades the Younger...
, red-haired or ruddy). In Athens when Assembly
Ecclesia (ancient Athens)
The ecclesia or ekklesia was the principal assembly of the democracy of ancient Athens during its "Golden Age" . It was the popular assembly, opened to all male citizens over the age of 30 with 2 years of military service by Solon in 594 BC meaning that all classes of citizens in Athens were able...
was called, a contingent of public slaves would sweep the open space of the Agora
Ancient Agora of Athens
The Ancient Agora of Athens is the best-known example of an ancient Greek agora, located to the northwest of the Acropolis and is bounded on the south by the hill of the Areopagus and on the west by the hill known as the Colonus Agoraeus.-History:The agora in Athens had private housing, until it...
with ropes dipped in miltos: those citizens that loitered there instead of moving to the Assembly area
Pnyx
The Pnyx is a hill in central Athens, the capital of Greece. It is located less than west of the Acropolis and 1.6 km south-west of the centre of modern Athens, Syntagma Square.-The site:...
would risk having their clothes stained with the paint. This prevented them from wearing these clothes in public again, as failure to attend the Assembly incurred a fine.
The Maori people of New Zealand were in the early neolithic period of development when Europeans arrived, and were found to be making extensive use of mineral ochre mixed with fish oil. Ochre was the predominant coloring agent used by Maori, and was used to paint their large waka taua (war canoe). Ochre prevented the drying out of the wood in canoes and the carvings of meeting houses; later missionaries estimated that it would last for 30 years. It was also roughly smeared over the face, especially by women, to keep off insects. Solid chunks of ochre were ground on a flat but rough surfaced rock to produce the powder. When Captain James Cook visited the Bay of Islands in northern New Zealand, Maori who came on board his ship could not resist stealing large containers of red paint. Marines shot and killed the thieves as they paddled off in their waka.
Modern history
When the mineral was found in BrixhamBrixham
Brixham is a small fishing town and civil parish in the county of Devon, in the south-west of England. Brixham is at the southern end of Torbay, across the bay from Torquay, and is a fishing port. Fishing and tourism are its major industries. At the time of the 2001 census it had a population of...
England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, it became a very important part of the developing fishing industry. This gave the old fishing boats their "Red Sails in the Sunset
Red Sails in the Sunset (song)
"Red Sails in the Sunset" is a popular song.Published in 1935, its music was written by Hugh Williams with lyrics by prolific songwriter Jimmy Kennedy...
", but the purpose was to protect the canvas from seawater, not to be picturesque. It was boiled in great caldrons, together with tar
Tar
Tar is modified pitch produced primarily from the wood and roots of pine by destructive distillation under pyrolysis. Production and trade in tar was a major contributor in the economies of Northern Europe and Colonial America. Its main use was in preserving wooden vessels against rot. The largest...
, tallow
Tallow
Tallow is a rendered form of beef or mutton fat, processed from suet. It is solid at room temperature. Unlike suet, tallow can be stored for extended periods without the need for refrigeration to prevent decomposition, provided it is kept in an airtight container to prevent oxidation.In industry,...
and oak bark
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
, the last ingredient giving the name of barking yards to the places where the hot mixture was painted on to the sails, which were then hung up to dry.
Ochre was a popular coloring in France during the time of the French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
, and many French citizens living in foreign colonies would import a great deal of ochre clay from France to make their new lands feel like home. As a result, after the period of French colonization ended, ochre became associated with repression and fell out of favor. With the advent of synthetic dyes, ochre mining nearly stopped altogether. Recently, however, natural ochre paint has seen something of a comeback as an upscale house paint option.
In Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
, red ochre was the pigment of choice for use in vernacular
Vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture is a term used to categorize methods of construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local needs and circumstances. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it...
outbuildings and work buildings associated with the cod
Cod
Cod is the common name for genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name for various other fishes. Cod is a popular food with a mild flavor, low fat content and a dense, flaky white flesh. Cod livers are processed to make cod liver oil, an important source of...
fishery. Deposits of ochre are found throughout Newfoundland, notably near Fortune Harbor and at Ocher Pit Cove. While earliest settlers may have used locally collected ochre, people were later able to purchase pre-ground ochre through local merchants, largely imported from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
The dry ingredient, ochre, was mixed with some type of liquid raw material to create a rough paint. The liquid material was usually seal oil
Seal hunting
Seal hunting, or sealing, is the personal or commercial hunting of seals. The hunt is currently practiced in five countries: Canada, where most of the world's seal hunting takes place, Namibia, the Danish region of Greenland, Norway and Russia...
or cod liver oil
Cod liver oil
Cod liver oil is a nutritional supplement derived from liver of cod fish. It has high levels of the omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA, and very high levels of vitamin A and vitamin D. It is widely taken to ease the symptoms of arthritis and for other health benefits...
in Newfoundland and Labrador, while Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n recipes sometimes called for linseed oil
Linseed oil
Linseed oil, also known as flaxseed oil, is a clear to yellowish oil obtained from the dried ripe seeds of the flax plant . The oil is obtained by cold pressing, sometimes followed by solvent extraction...
. Red ochre paint was sometimes prepared months in advance and allowed to sit, and the smell of ochre paint being prepared is still remembered by many today.
Variations in local recipes, shades of ore, and type of oil used resulted in regional variations in color. Because of this, it is difficult to pinpoint an exact shade or hue or red that would be considered the traditional “fishing stage
Fishing stage
A fishing stage is a wooden vernacular building, typical of the rough traditional buildings associated with the cod fishery in Newfoundland, Canada. Stages are located at the water's edge or "landwash", and consist of an elevated platform on the shore with working tables and sheds at which fish...
red”. Oral tradition
Oral tradition
Oral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants...
in the Bonavista Bay
Bonavista Bay
Bonavista Bay is a large bay located on the northeast coast of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It opens directly onto the Atlantic Ocean....
area maintains that seal oil would give a purer red color, while cod liver oil
Cod liver oil
Cod liver oil is a nutritional supplement derived from liver of cod fish. It has high levels of the omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA, and very high levels of vitamin A and vitamin D. It is widely taken to ease the symptoms of arthritis and for other health benefits...
would give a “foxy” color, browner in hue.
Women of the Himba
Himba
The Himba are an ethnic group of about 20,000 to 50,000 people living in northern Namibia, in the Kunene region . Recently they have built two villages in Kamanjab which have become tourist destinations...
tribe in Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
are famous for using a mix of ochre and animal fat for body decoration, to achieve a beautiful reddish skin color. The ochre mixture is also applied to their hair after braiding.
See also
- Clay earth pigmentClay earth pigmentClay earth pigments are naturally occurring minerals, principally iron oxides, that have been used since prehistoric times as pigments. The primary types are*ochre*sienna*umber...
- Falu redFalu redFalu red or Falun red is the name of a Swedish, deep red paint well known for its use on wooden cottages and barns. The paint originated from the copper mine at Falun in Dalarna, Sweden. The traditional colour remains popular today due to its effectiveness in preserving wood. In Finland, it is...
- Iron(III) oxideIron(III) oxideIron oxide or ferric oxide is the inorganic compound with the formula Fe2O3. It is one of the three main oxides of iron, the other two being iron oxide , which is rare, and iron oxide , which also occurs naturally as the mineral magnetite. As the mineral known as hematite, Fe2O3 is the main...
- List of colors
- Red Lady of PavilandRed Lady of PavilandThe Red Lady of Paviland is a fairly complete Upper Paleolithic-era human male skeleton dyed in red ochre. It was the first human fossil to have been found anywhere in the world and is also the oldest ceremonial burial anywhere in Western Europe so far discovered. The bones were discovered between...
Further reading
- Fuller, Carl; "Natural Colored Iron Oxide Pigments", pp. 281–6. In: Pigment Handbook, 2nd Edition. Lewis, P. (ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1988.
- Thomas, Anne Wall. Colors From the Earth, New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1980.
- Wreschner, Ernst E. (October 1980) "Red Ochre and Human Evolution: A Case for Discussion." Current Anthropology 21:631–644. (Comments by various authors included).
External links
- Pigments through the ages
- A recipe for red ochre paint.
- Aboriginal Art Online Use of ochres in traditional Aboriginal art.
- National Museum of Australia Collection of ochre samples.