Dye, Indigo Blue

A precious powder of indigo fermented from West or Far Eastern plants, reduced and mordanted to a rich blue that rivals woad in depth but surpasses it in permanence. Indigo requires careful handling—it is set in a vat of urine and wood ash, then the cloth is oxidized in air to fix the color. A small pot serves many dyeing days and is prized by wealthy merchants and court dyers.