Kermes is a red dye derived from the dried bodies of the females of a scale insect 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'') 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 dye also served a number of ritual and practical purposes in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' colour fastness in silk and wool. It was much esteemed in the medieval era for dyeing silk and wool, particularly scarlet cloth. Following the

Columbian exchange The Columbian exchange, also known as the Columbian interchange, was the widespread transfer of plants, animals, and diseases between the New World (the Americas) in the Western Hemisphere, and the Old World (Afro-Eurasia) in the Eastern Hemis ...

it was superseded by the similar, and more easily obtained,

cochineal The cochineal ( , ; ''Dactylopius coccus'') is a scale insect in the suborder Sternorrhyncha, from which the natural dye carmine is derived. A primarily sessility (motility), sessile parasitism, parasite native to tropical and subtropical Sout ...

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, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...

.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 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, rich crimson and scarlet

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

s dyed with kermes in the new

- weaving centers of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

exceeded the legendary Tyrian purple "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 they were mistaken for plants; so 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. Woollens were frequently dyed blue with

woad ''Isatis tinctoria'', also called woad (), dyer's woad, dyer's-weed, 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, ''Isati ...

before spinning and weaving, and then piece-dyed in kermes, producing a wide range colours from blacks and grays through browns, murreys, 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,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

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, Mexican

, which produced a stronger dye and could thus be used in smaller quantities, replaced kermes dyes in general use in Europe. In 2016, an archaeological excavation in the "Cave of Skulls" in the Judaean Desert uncovered a woven fabric that potentially used Kermes scarlet dye. Dated to the Middle Bronze Age, it is the earliest example found in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. In 2024, researchers, joined by Hebrew University, Bar-Ilan University, and the Israel Antiquities Authority published a paper in the

Journal of Archaeological Science The ''Journal of Archaeological Science'' is a monthly peer-reviewed academic journal that covers "the development and application of scientific techniques and methodologies to all areas of archaeology". The journal was established in 1974 by Acad ...

that this artifact was confirmed to be colored by the dye from the Kermes vermilio.

In culture

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 Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...

( = ''kókkinon'', meaning "scarlet"). The original Hebrew text (''tola'at shani'') translates to "scarlet worm", indicating that the scarlet color is derived from an insect, a requirement which was formalized in the Jerusalem Talmud (''Kila'im'' 9:1 2a. This insect, generally mistaken for a plant, was known in the Roman world as ''grani coccum'' = "the grain of scarlet." 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'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 Saʿadia ben Yosef Gaon (892–942) was a prominent rabbi, Geonim, gaon, Jews, Jewish philosopher, and exegesis, exegete who was active in the Abbasid Caliphate. Saadia is the first important rabbinic figure to write extensively in Judeo-Arabic ...

(882–942) wrote that the scarlet colored fabric was ''qirmiz'' (), derived from the kermes insect and which produced a color ranging from Venetian scarlet to crimson. According to Saadia, the dye was applied to

yarns. A rare 10th-century Arabic document was retrieved by Zohar Amar, from which he was able to reproduce the dye extract, using antique methods.

Hebrew Bible

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 Temple service, a scarlet thread was tied to the horns of 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 ...

, before it was sent to the desert.

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 salt, double sulfate salt (chemistry), salt of aluminium with the general chemical formula, formula , such that is a valence (chemistry), monovalent cation such as potassium ...

, which, when added to the dye solution, gives to the fabric its bright reddish-orange color, besides serving as a mordant. 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." Amar (2007), p. 42 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 . 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

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) and flavokermesic acid. 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 region and in the northern parts of the Golan Heights, which reached a mean size of 6.4–5 millimeters. However, the scale insect's distribution was not uniform. Some trees were affected 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.

References

Bibliography

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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