Indigo and Blue: A Marriage Made in Heaven

• Published in: Textile Museum journal 2020, Vol.47 (1), p.161-185
• Main Author: Balfour Paul, Jenny
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0083-7407; 2475-8825; 2475-8825
• DOI: 10.1353/tmj.2020.a932819

Blue is the color of heaven, both literally and symbolically. Humans live on a planet enveloped by the sky’s blueness and have a profound affinity with its reflection in water. Yet blue is scarce in nature and in the world of textile dyes; before the invention of synthetic substitutes, there would have been no blue to represent the human response to this special color were it not for indigo derived from plants. Indigo-bearing plants provided the most universal of all dyestuffs for almost six millennia, as well as the only pigment of vegetable origin. Indigo’s qualities are unique and its use widespread in many civilizations, which have their own perceptions and beliefs about this dye, bound up in its history, botanical and chemical mysteries, and its color qualities, as well as other distinct aspects. These in turn link to the way indigo was, and still is, used for both daily and prestigious textiles and to its compatibility with such textile techniques as shibori and batik, as well as with blue denim, which dominates the world of fashion. Blue and indigo sing in harmony, but what is the subtle chord they play and how does it tune in to the rest of the spectrum? In terms of textile history, the two are both interrelated and at the same time separate, their relationship intriguing and worth examining in all its colorful and teasing detail.