Misplaced Pages

Iron oxide red is a generic name of a ferric oxide pigment of reddish colors. Multiple shades based on both anhydrous Fe
₂O
₃ and its hydrates were known to painters since prehistory. The pigments were originally obtained from natural sources, since the 20th century they are mostly synthetic. These substances form one of the most commercially important groups of pigments, and their names sometimes reflect the location of a natural source, later transferred to the synthetic analog. Well-known examples include the Persian Gulf Oxide with 75% Fe
₂O
₃ and 25% silica, Spanish red with 85% of oxide, Tuscan red.

Properties

The anhydrous pigment has a dark purple-red or maroon color, hydrates' colors vary from dull yellow (yellow ochre) to warm red.

The iron oxide red is extremely stable: it is not affected by light and most chemicals (soluble in hot concentrated acids); heat only affects the hydrated variants (the water is removed, and the color darkens).

Indian red

Indian Red
Color coordinates
Hex triplet	#CD5C5C
sRGB (r, g, b)	(205, 92, 92)
HSV (h, s, v)	(0°, 55%, 80%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)	(53, 85, 12°)
Source	X11
ISCC–NBS descriptor	Moderate red
B: Normalized to (byte)

Indian red is a pigment, a variety of ocher, which gets its colour from ferric oxide, used to be sourced in India, now made artificially. Other shades of iron oxides include Venetian Red, English Red, and Kobe, all shown below.

Chestnut is a colour similar to but separate and distinct from Indian red.

Etymology

The name Indian red derives from this pigment being originally imported from India, where red laterite soil is found, composed of naturally occurring iron oxides. The first recorded use of Indian red as a color term in English was in 1672.

Deep Indian red

Deep Indian Red
Color coordinates
Hex triplet	#B94E48
sRGB (r, g, b)	(185, 78, 72)
HSV (h, s, v)	(3°, 61%, 73%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)	(47, 83, 14°)
Source	Crayola
ISCC–NBS descriptor	Dark reddish orange
B: Normalized to (byte)

Deep Indian red is the colour originally called Indian red from its formulation in 1903 until 1999, but now called chestnut, in Crayola crayons. This colour was also produced in a special limited edition in which it was called Vermont maple syrup.

At the request of educators worried that children (mistakenly; see Etymology) believed the name represented the skin color of Native Americans, Crayola changed the name of their crayon color Indian Red to Chestnut in 1999.

Indian red in culture

Railroads/Railways

• The Talyllyn Railway painted their locomotives Talyllyn and Dolgoch Indian Red in honour of the 150th anniversary of the line in 2015.

  

• The Furness Railway in the UK used Indian Red for its locomotive livery.
• The Department of Railways New South Wales, Public Transport Commission and the State Rail Authority painted their diesel locos and passengers cars in Indian red.

Venetian red

Venetian Red
Color coordinates
Hex triplet	#C80815
sRGB (r, g, b)	(200, 8, 21)
HSV (h, s, v)	(356°, 96%, 78%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)	(42, 136, 12°)
Source	Internet
ISCC–NBS descriptor	Vivid red
B: Normalized to (byte)

At right is displayed the colour Venetian red.

Venetian red is a light and warm (somewhat unsaturated) pigment that is a darker shade of scarlet, derived from nearly pure ferric oxide (Fe₂O₃) of the hematite type. Modern versions are frequently made with synthetic red iron oxide.

The first recorded use of Venetian red as a colour name in English was in 1753.

English red

English Red
Color coordinates
Hex triplet	#AB4E52
sRGB (r, g, b)	(171, 78, 82)
HSV (h, s, v)	(357°, 54%, 67%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)	(45, 67, 10°)
Source	ISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptor	Moderate red
B: Normalized to (byte)

At right is displayed the colour English red.

This red is a tone of Indian red, made like Indian red with pigment made from iron oxide.

The first recorded use of English red as a color name in English was in the 1700s (exact year uncertain). In the Encyclopédie of Denis Diderot in 1765, alternate names for Indian red included "what one also calls, however improperly, English Red."

Kobe

Kobe
Color coordinates
Hex triplet	#882D17
sRGB (r, g, b)	(136, 45, 23)
HSV (h, s, v)	(12°, 83%, 53%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)	(32, 73, 18°)
Source	ISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptor	Strong reddish brown
B: Normalized to (byte)

At right is displayed color kobe.

The color kobe is a dark tone of Indian red, made like Indian red from iron oxide pigment.

The first recorded use of Kobe as a colour name in English was in 1924.

The normalized colour coordinates for Kobe are identical to sienna, first recorded as a color name in English in 1760.

See also

• Chestnut (color)
• List of colors

References

1. ^ Gettens & Stout 1966b.
2. Church, Arthur Herbert (1915). The Chemistry of Paints and Painting (4th ed.). London: Seeley, Service & Co. pp. 202–203. OCLC 1041775719. OL 7214282M.
3. ^ Gettens & Stout 1966a.
4. "Indian, adj. and n. : Oxford English Dictionary". Retrieved 4 July 2020.
5. Crayon Chronology
6. "Steam trains secret 150th paint job". BBC News. 2015-01-08. Retrieved 2020-06-07.
7. Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill p. 201; Color sample of Venetian red: p. 35 Plate 6 color sample I12
8. Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill p. 194; Color sample of English red: p. 31 Plate 4 color sample H12
9. Jaucourt, Louis, chevalier de. "Indian Red." The Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert Collaborative Translation Project. Translated by Abigail Wendler Bainbridge. Ann Arbor: Michigan Publishing, University of Michigan Library, 2013. Web. 1 Apr. 2015, <http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.did2222.0003.009>. Trans. of "Rouge d'Inde," Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, vol. 14. Paris, 1765.
10. Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill p. 197; Color sample of Kobe: p. 35 Plate 6 color sample K12
11. Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill p. 204; Color Sample of Sienna: p. 37 Plate 7 Color Sample E12

Sources

• Gettens, R. J.; Stout, G. L. (1966a). "Indian Red". Painting Materials: A Short Encyclopedia. Courier Corporation. p. 119. ISBN 978-0-486-14242-5. OCLC 868969354.
• Gettens, R. J.; Stout, G. L. (1966b). "Iron Oxide Red". Painting Materials: A Short Encyclopedia. Courier Corporation. p. 122. ISBN 978-0-486-14242-5. OCLC 868969354.

v t e Color topics
Color science	Color physics Electromagnetic spectrum Light Rainbow Visible Spectral colors Chromophore Structural coloration Animal coloration Color of chemicals Water Spectral power distribution Colorimetry Color perception Chromesthesia Sonochromatism Color blindness Achromatopsia Dichromacy Color calibration Color constancy Color task Color code Color temperature Color vision test Evolution of color vision Impossible colors Metamerism Opponent process Afterimage Unique hues Tetrachromacy The dress Color psychology Color symbolism Color preferences Lüscher color test Kruithof curve Political color National colors Chromophobia Chromotherapy Color reproduction Color photography Color balance Color cast Digital image processing Color management Color printing Multi-primary color display Quattron Color model additive RGB subtractive CMYK Color space Color mapping
Color philosophy	Color scheme Color tool Monochromatic colors black-and-white Complementary colors Analogous colors Achromatic colors (Neutral) Polychromatic colors Light-on-dark Web colors Tinctures in heraldry Color theory Color mixing Primary color Secondary color Chromaticity Color solid Color wheel Color triangle Color analysis (fashion) Color realism (art style) On Vision and Colours (Schopenhauer) Theory of Colours (Goethe)
Color terms	Basic terms Blue Green Red Yellow Pink Purple Orange Black Gray White Brown Cultural differences Linguistic relativity and the color naming debate Blue–green distinction in language Color history Black-and-white dualism Blue in culture Color in Chinese culture Traditional colors of Japan Human skin color Color dimensions Hue Dichromatism Colorfulness Pastel colors Luminance Lightness Darkness Brightness Iridescence Fluorescence Grayscale Tint, shade and tone
Color organizations	Pantone Color Marketing Group Color Association of the United States International Colour Authority International Commission on Illumination (CIE) International Color Consortium International Colour Association
Names	Lists List of colors: A–F List of colors: G–M List of colors: N–Z List of colors (compact) List of colors by shade List of color palettes List of color spaces List of Crayola crayon colors history Color chart List of RAL colors List of web colors Shades of: Red Orange Yellow Green Cyan Blue Violet Purple Magenta Pink Brown White Gray Black
Related	Vision Contrast Qualia Lighting
Category Index

• Shades of red
• Shades of brown
• Iron oxide pigments
• Culture of India