The material archive

Where colours come from.

Every colour in the archive starts as something you can touch.

Each record traces one material to its source, samples the colours it gives and links to the studies that use it.

Wax · 6 studiesBeeswaxThe wax honey bees make to build their comb, rendered into candles, polish and seals.
Metal · 1 studyPewterA soft grey alloy made mostly of tin, once the everyday metal of plates, tankards and candlesticks.
Ceramic · 1 studyDelftwareDutch tin-glazed earthenware painted in cobalt blue, made to rival Chinese porcelain.
Fruit · 1 studyDried CitrusOranges dried slowly until their slices turn translucent, long used for scent and winter decoration.
FruitPomegranateA leathery-skinned fruit packed with jewel-like seeds, grown and painted since antiquity.
Plant · 1 studyMossSoft carpets of bryophytes from forest floors, logs and rocks, widely picked for floral work.