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Kermes is a red dye derived from the dried bodies of the females of a
scale insect Scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient grouping than th ...
in the genus '' Kermes'', primarily '' Kermes vermilio''. The ''Kermes'' insects are native in the Mediterranean region and are parasites living on the sap of the host plant, the
Kermes oak ''Quercus coccifera'', the kermes oak, is an oak bush in the '' Ilex'' section of the genus. It is native to the Mediterranean region and Northern African Maghreb, south to north from Morocco to France and west to east from Portugal to Cyprus ...
(''Quercus coccifera'') and the Palestine oak (''Quercus calliprinos''). Amar, ''et al''. (2005), p. 1081 These insects were used as a red dye since antiquity by the ancient Egyptians, Mesopotamians, Indians, Greeks, Romans, and Iranians. The kermes dye is a rich red, a crimson. It has good colour fastness in silk and wool. It was much esteemed in the medieval era for dyeing silk and wool, particularly scarlet cloth. Post-medievally it was replaced by other red dyes, starting with
cochineal The cochineal ( , ; ''Dactylopius coccus'') is a scale insect in the suborder Sternorrhyncha, from which the natural dye carmine is derived. A primarily sessile parasite native to tropical and subtropical South America through North America ...
.


Etymology

Kermes ultimately derives from the Sanskrit word कृमिज or ''kṛmija'' meaning "worm-made". This was adopted into Persian and later Arabic as قرمز ''qermez''. The modern English word kermes was borrowed from the French term ''kermès''.


History

Kermes dye is of ancient origin; jars of kermes have been found in a Neolithic cave-burial at Adaouste, northeast of
Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille ...
.Barber (1991), pp. 230–231 The early Egyptians made use of the kermes dye. In the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, rich crimson and scarlet
silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from th ...
s dyed with kermes in the new
silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from th ...
-
weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...
centers of
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
and
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
exceeded the legendary
Tyrian purple Tyrian purple ( grc, πορφύρα ''porphúra''; la, purpura), also known as Phoenician red, Phoenician purple, royal purple, imperial purple, or imperial dye, is a reddish-purple natural dye. The name Tyrian refers to Tyre, Lebanon. It is ...
"in status and desirability".Schoeser (2007), p. 118 The dyestuff was called "grain" (''grana'') in all Western European languages because the desiccated eggs resembled fine grains of wheat or sand, and textiles dyed with kermes were described as ''dyed in the grain''.Munro, John H. "Medieval Woollens: Textiles, Technology, and Organisation". In Jenkins (2003), pp. 214–215.
Woollen Woolen (American English) or woollen (Commonwealth English) is a type of yarn made from carded wool. Woolen yarn is soft, light, stretchy, and full of air. It is thus a good insulator, and makes a good knitting yarn. Woolen yarn is in contrast t ...
s were frequently dyed blue with
woad ''Isatis tinctoria'', also called woad (), dyer's woad, or glastum, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae (the mustard family) with a documented history of use as a blue dye and medicinal plant. Its genus name, Isatis, derives from ...
before
spinning Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally ...
and weaving, and then piece-dyed in kermes, producing a wide range colours from blacks and grays through browns,
murrey In heraldry, murrey is a "stain", i. e. a non-standard tincture, that is a dark reddish purple colour. It is most proximate in appearance to the heraldic tincture of purpure, but is distinct therefrom. Overview According to dictionaries, "m ...
s, purples, and sanguines. One source dated to the 12th-century notes that kermes dye adheres best to animal-based fibers (e.g. wool, silk, etc.), rather than to plant-based fibers (e.g. cotton, linen, etc.). By the 14th and early 15th century, brilliant ''full grain'' pure kermes scarlet was "by far the most esteemed, most regal" colour for luxury woollen textiles in the
Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
and Italy.Munro, John H. "The Anti-Red Shift – To the Dark Side: Colour Changes in Flemish Luxury Woollens, 1300–1500". In Netherton & Owens-Crocker (2007), pp. 56–57. Following the
Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, also known as the Conquest of Mexico or the Spanish-Aztec War (1519–21), was one of the primary events in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. There are multiple 16th-century narratives of the eve ...
,
Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
cochineal The cochineal ( , ; ''Dactylopius coccus'') is a scale insect in the suborder Sternorrhyncha, from which the natural dye carmine is derived. A primarily sessile parasite native to tropical and subtropical South America through North America ...
, which produced a stronger dye and could thus be used in smaller quantities, replaced kermes dyes in general use in Europe.


The biblical scarlet (''tolaʻat šanī'')

In the Bible, scarlet was one of three principal pigments used in the Temple curtain, appurtenances, Amar (2007), p. 21 and sacred vestments. In some cases scarlet wool threads were woven together with threads of other colors; elsewhere a purely scarlet fabric was required. In addition, scarlet-dyed yarn was thrown as an adjunct into the burning ashes of the Red heifer, and was used as an adjunct in the purification ritual of lepers who had been healed. The English word for the biblical "scarlet" (, etc.) is a literal translation from the
Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond t ...
( grc-x-koine, κόκκινον = ''kókkinon'', meaning "scarlet"). The original Hebrew text (''tola'at shani'') translates to "scarlet worm", indicating that the scarlet color is derived from an animal, a requirement which was formalized in the
Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...
(''Kila'im'' 9:1 2a. This animal was known in the Roman world as ''grani coccum'' = "the grain of the scarlet yarn." While production of the crimson or scarlet dye from the kermes scale insect had, traditionally, been an art preserved with medieval dyers, the practice seemed to have been lost for many centuries. Late exponents of Jewish law were baffled by the
Tosefta The Tosefta ( Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: תוספתא "supplement, addition") is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the late 2nd century, the period of the Mishnah. Overview In many ways, the Tosefta acts as a supplement to the Mishnah ( ...
's ruling that ''tola'at shani'' (scarlet colored ritual wool) may only be made from the ''tola'at'' (worm-like aphid) which lives in the mountainous regions. The dye's crimson or scarlet-orange tinge is alluded to in an early rabbinic source, '' Pesikta Rabbati'', where ''tola'at shani'' is said to be "neither red, nor green," but of an intermediate color. Biblical exegete
Saadia Gaon Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon ( ar, سعيد بن يوسف الفيومي ''Saʻīd bin Yūsuf al-Fayyūmi''; he, סַעֲדְיָה בֶּן יוֹסֵף אַלְפַיּוּמִי גָּאוֹן ''Saʿăḏyāh ben Yōsēf al-Fayyūmī Gāʾōn''; ...
(882–942) wrote that the scarlet colored fabric was ''qirmiz'' ( ar, قرمز), derived from the kermes insect and which produced a color ranging from Venetian scarlet to
crimson Crimson is a rich, deep red color, inclining to purple. It originally meant the color of the kermes dye produced from a scale insect, '' Kermes vermilio'', but the name is now sometimes also used as a generic term for slightly bluish-red co ...
. According to Saadia, the dye was applied to
silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from th ...
yarns. A rare 10th-century Arabic document was retrieved by
Zohar Amar Zohar Amar (born 1960) is a professor in the Department of Land of Israel Studies at Bar-Ilan University, whose research specialties are: natural history in ancient times; the identification of the flora of the Land of Israel and identification ...
, from which he was able to reproduce the dye extract, using antique methods.


Dye production

Out of the four kermes scale insects tested in Israel, the wingless female ''Kermes echinatus'' with her unhatched eggs still in her body yielded the brightest red colorant. The scale insect is first dried and ground to a powder. The dyestuff is then placed in a pot of water and cooked on a low heat, which turns the water red. The water is then strained and is ready for use. Amar (2007), p. 51 Those familiar with the dyeing technique have noted that before inserting the fabric into the bath containing the dye solution, the fabric is first dipped into a bath of dissolved
alum An alum () is a type of chemical compound, usually a hydrated double sulfate salt of aluminium with the general formula , where is a monovalent cation such as potassium or ammonium. By itself, "alum" often refers to potassium alum, with the ...
, which, when added to the dye solution, gives to the fabric its bright reddish-orange color, besides serving as a
mordant A mordant or dye fixative is a substance used to set (i.e. bind) dyes on fabrics by forming a coordination complex with the dye, which then attaches to the fabric (or tissue). It may be used for dyeing fabrics or for intensifying stains in ...
. Darker shades are achieved by repeating the dyeing process several times, having the fabric dry, and re-dyed. According to field research conducted by Amar and colleagues, the female ''K. echinatus'' insect, which has a camouflage color of grey to reddish-brown, "produces the dye pigment in both her body and in her eggs, only at the peak of her adulthood, which continues for no more than one month, around July and August." A delay in harvesting the scale insect with eggs may result in a significant reduction in dye production. After collecting, the insects are first dried in the shade for a period of one week, ground to a powder, and then steeped in water for 45 minutes and which maintains a low-heated temperature of 60 degrees Celsius to 80°C (140° Fahrenheit to 176°F). To this hot bath is added the fabric to absorb the dye. Heating the dye solution to a temperature more than this is liable to destroy the pigment or to cause fading. When
alum An alum () is a type of chemical compound, usually a hydrated double sulfate salt of aluminium with the general formula , where is a monovalent cation such as potassium or ammonium. By itself, "alum" often refers to potassium alum, with the ...
is added to the dye substance as a mordant, a bright red-orange hue is obtained, which color is then made color-fast. Chemical analysis of the dye extract shows a high percentage of kermesic acid (C16H10O8) (Ka; maximum at 480 nanometers m and flavokermesic acid (Fk; maximum at 432 nm). Wool dyed in an acid bath solution with kermes produced a red-orange hue, but without the acidic addition the color remained a brick red or dark red. Amar, ''et al''. (2005), p. 1082 Other acid bath solutions produced a golden-yellow hue. Amar found that the host trees in the Land of Israel (viz. ''Quercus calliprinos'') produced varied sizes of the scale insect ''Kermes echinatus'', the largest of which being found in Israel's north, particularly in the
Upper Galilee The Upper Galilee ( he, הגליל העליון, ''HaGalil Ha'Elyon''; ar, الجليل الأعلى, ''Al Jaleel Al A'alaa'') is a geographical-political term in use since the end of the Second Temple period. It originally referred to a mounta ...
region and in the northern parts of the
Golan Heights The Golan Heights ( ar, هَضْبَةُ الْجَوْلَانِ, Haḍbatu l-Jawlān or ; he, רמת הגולן, ), or simply the Golan, is a region in the Levant spanning about . The region defined as the Golan Heights differs between di ...
, which reached a mean size of 6.4–5 millimeters. However, the scale insect's distribution was not uniform. Some trees were effected by the parasites, while others were not. of freshly harvested kermes scale insects loses about two-thirds of its weight when dried. Amar (2007), p. 82 The dried dyestuff is sold either in its raw form as kernels, as powder, or as briquettes. Approximately 50,000 to 60,000 scale insects are needed to produce one kilogram of the dried dyestuff.


In literature

In the
Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' bridal chamber in Jewish weddings, in which large colored sheets of scarlet overlaid with gold were hung. As part of the
Yom Kippur Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day' ...
Temple service, a man would lead away the
scapegoat In the Bible, a scapegoat is one of a pair of kid goats that is released into the wilderness, taking with it all sins and impurities, while the other is sacrificed. The concept first appears in the Book of Leviticus, in which a goat is designate ...
and, when he reached a precipitous ravine some distance away, he would tie scarlet thread to its horns, before pushing it down to its death. Amar (2007), pp. 21–22


See also

*
Alchermes Alchermes (, ; from the ar, القرمز, al-qirmiz, cochineal, from fa, کرمست, kermest, bloody, red, cochineal, carmine) is a type of Italian liqueur (especially in Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna and Sicily) prepared by infusing neutral spirit ...
*
Natural dye Natural dyes are dyes or colorants derived from plants, invertebrates, or minerals. The majority of natural dyes are vegetable dyes from plant sources— roots, berries, bark, leaves, and wood—and other biological sources such as fungi. Ar ...
*
Porphyrophora The scale insect genus ''Porphyrophora'' is a large group in the family Margarodidae, which includes the insects Polish cochineal and Armenian cochineal formerly used in dye A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrat ...


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* * M. Spofek, Z. Mendel & Y. Ben-Dov (2016). "Natural history of Kermesidae (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha) in Israel", ''
Journal of Natural History The ''Journal of Natural History'' is a scientific journal published by Taylor & Francis focusing on entomology and zoology. The journal was established in 1841 under the name ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History'' (''Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist.'') a ...
'', 30: 1-14.


External links

* *The torah process of curing tzoraath; using tolaath shani תולעת שני, the Kermes dye
Kehuna.org

Wool dyed with the scale insect Kermes echinatus
(David Iluz) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kermes Kermesidae Animal dyes Insect products