Aztec writing on paper formed from fig trees was embellished with ink made from a mixture of charcoal and
mineral dyes.
The Chinese heated this to thicken it and then added vegetable and
mineral dyes to obtain different colours - the main one being red from a form of mercury sulphide known as cinnabar.
The causes, diagnostic techniques, and treatments of illness, as well as human anatomy, are represented in nearly 8,000 extraordinarily detailed images painted on canvas using vegetable and
mineral dyes. The !
Genuine thangkas employ only vegetable or
mineral dyes, and each colour has its own significance; white stands for peace, gold represents enlightenment and red signifies passion.
Their carpets are coloured with natural vegetable and
mineral dyes, such as indigo, madder roots, berries, walnut shells.