A Length of Safflower Dyed Orange Pink Cotton: Benibana

early twentieth century
50" x 13", 127 cm x 33 cm

This is a length of cotton that has been dyed using safflower or, as it is called in Japan, benibana. Benibana dye yields a range of color from pale yellow to a deeply toned, almost "shocking"pink color, depending on how the dye was manipulated and which mordant was used to set it.

This length is a kind of fuschsia pink that skews to a more orangeish hue. In order for a dyer to achieve a true pink the benibana dyestuff must be purged of its yellow tones. After that is done the cloth is dyed and then, depending on the mordant, will transform into a pink color.

This length is not the true, bluish pink that some benibana dye yields as it is on the warm spectrum. But its beguiling color is wonderful to look at--and for those who are interested in natural dyeing this length is a wonderful piece to study.

Safflower dye is notoriously fragile and light fugitive and we see evidence of this here: the mottling of the dye from light fading makes this very clear: some of the other areas of irregularity might have something to do with skin contact as it seems this length came from the lining of a garment. 

The cotton is old and nicely woven and this color tone of benibana is a joy to behold, and somewhat rare.