Plant Pigments

Very few of the Patua still routinely use traditional vegetable colours in their paintings, instead opting for ready made pigments. The plants they would have needed for the dyes can all be sourced locally, from the land around their homes and the surrounding countryside. 

             
              Yellow =       powdered saffron

               Blues =       aparajita flower

                  Red =       lotkom plant 

Black and grey =       burnt paddy grains and charcoal  

                White =       ground rice, clay or shells

              Green =       seempata (bean plant)

              Brown =       cowdung  

Here is a sample of what we were shown in Naya:

Rubbing this leaf with your hands makes a powerful terracotta red dye