T'omba Blue
A rich blue dye created from the safyan flower. Its rarity and expense, along with its vibrant color, have combined to make it a symbol of wealth and authority. The dye is primarily manufactured in the city of T'omba whose name was applied to the dye, and by implication, textiles colored using the dye.
Properties
Material Characteristics
A rich blue cloth that keeps its vibrancy in both direct sunlight and indoors.
Geology & Geography
The dye is primarily manufactured by the delta city of T'omba. The safyan flower, a key ingredient in the dye grows almost exclusively on the nearby island of Minrik.
Origin & Source
The dye is created from the safyan flower. Copper is usually added as a fixing agent to prevent the dye from fading when exposed to sunlight.
History & Usage
Cultural Significance and Usage
Due to its rarity and rich color, the cloth has always had associations with wealth and power. It is sometimes known as the "king of the textiles". T'omba blue is to cloth as gold is to other metals.
The heraldry system of the region is based on color + metal pairs. In this system blue and gold is the symbol of royalty. As such, many monarchs employ the combination to display their authority. For example gold crowns trimmed with blue cloth or blue tunics embroidered with gold cloth.
Refinement
First the pigment must be extracted from the flowers by soaking them in water and fermenting the mixture for 12 days.
Copper ingots are added to the liquid and the whole thing is boiled until it turns most of the water is gone, leaving behind a paste. This process leaches small amounts of copper which binds to the pigment in the liquid to form a compound that is more resistant degradation, especially from sunlight.
After this, the copper is removed and the paste is formed into small bricks which are dried in ovens. The dye can now be stored or transported until ready for further use.
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