Dyeing with Cochineal
29-10-1821, Madrid
3 sheets, coloured drawings on paper; size 30,5 × 21 cm
Spanish
State Archives
General Archive of Indias, ES.41091.AGI/27.17//MP-MEXICO,515
The drawings presented here show the insect called grana or cochineal, from which an important and popular natural dye (crimson) was extracted. The documents show different steps in the harvest and processing of the insect, along with production of the dye as it was carried out in Oaxaca, Mexico, in the early 19th century.
Cochineal dye originates from the American continent, where it was used by the Aztec and Maya as early as the 2nd century BC. By the time Spanish colonisers arrived in the 15th century, the dye was used extensively in America for colouring fabrics. The European newcomers were quick to grasp the commercial opportunities. Cochineal, produced almost exclusively in Oaxaca by indigenous producers, became Mexico second-most valuable export after silver.
Cochineal dye is but one example of the many products and goods that were introduced into Europe and elsewhere from other continents in the 16th century, thus changing traditional processes and daily habits in a profound manner.
The document comprises three sheets. Sheet 1 presents illustrations of the insect and the cactus, its nesting in a stalk of the plant. Sheet 2 displays the cochineal insect at different stages in its life cycle. Sheet 3 presents the process of killing cochineal insects.