Red is the color that best represents energy and warmth and which has had various uses and interpretations over the centuries. Its story is full of shades and curious facts, some of which involve Venice, too: here’s why.
The origins of the color red
Red is one of the first colors our Paleolithic forefathers used to paint cave walls, together with black and white. Almost all ancient peoples employed it, from the Egyptians to the Phoenicians, who first created purple. Ancient Roman brides wore red shawls to symbolize love and fidelity, and Rome’s villas were bursting with frescoes featuring an extremely intense shade of red, vermilion.
At that time, though, the production of this tone required cinnabar, a mineral containing mercury and therefore highly toxic. So being sentenced to work in the mines where cinnabar was extracted was, in fact, a death sentence.
With the advent of Christianity, red became the color of Christ’s blood and, as a consequence, a very popular hue in icons and on public-worship textiles. Take, for example, the cardinals: they’re dressed completely in red to indicate they’re willing to give their lives to martyrdom.
“Christ Enthroned” by Cima da Conegliano (1505) – Pushkin Museum, Moscow
Medieval royals frequently used this color, as well, since they wanted to clearly state that their right to rule derived directly from God’s will. That’s why throne rooms almost all over Europe are decorated in red: you can see an example of it in Dresden’s Royal Palace, whose audience chamber is covered in our handmade red Unito velvet. But red didn’t charm only European kings: from the Zhou Dynasty (11th century BC) to the Ming Dynasty (17th century), many Chinese emperors chose this color for their garments and palaces to bring prosperity and good luck to their reigns.
Audience Chamber – Royal Palace of Dresden
So red became a symbol of authority, power and wealth: this is why Venetian Senators started wearing it, too, during the 17th century. But we need to take a short step back in time to understand which role this color played in Venice.
Venice and red dyes
When new routes to Asia and the Middle East were opened, during the 15th century, streams of pigments to create red invaded Europe. For the clothes of merchants and craftsmen, there was common madder (Rubia tinctorum), a plant that provided a sort of brick red.
Only the wealthy could afford textiles dyed using kermes, made from the dried bodies of a huge number of female cochineals, tiny parasitic insects living on plants.
Venice was the main route by which these pigments reached Europe. But the situation changed dramatically during the 16th century. This is because the Spaniards discovered that the color of Mexican Aztecs’ fabrics was much brighter and more intense than the European shade, although it was derived from cochineal. But why then? Because Mexican cochineal contains a higher percentage of carminic acid, the pigment that produces red.
For a while, Venetians tried to ban the pigment derived from the foreign insect, but there was simply nothing to do: the new dye had a matchless effect on fabrics. So, the Spaniards replaced Venice as the main exporter of red dyes around Europe.
Red upholstery fabrics: our catalogue’s shades
Today all these pigments have been replaced by synthetic dyes, which provide us with a wide range of shades, just like the ones in our catalogue.
- In its most classical shade, our red is a light tone that conveys warmth and a touch of color that can instantly catch one’s eye.
- An original alternative to this classical shade is ibisco (hibiscus), another bright tone which is more intense and produces incredible iridescent effects on velvets.
- The antique red variant is a bit darker, elegant and with a vintage flair.
- The corallo (coral) tone inspires a genuine sense of energy and liveliness.
- Pomegranate, finally, is a dark tone, extremely elegant and ideal for creating a contrast in a room full of neutral and light colors.
Below, you will find a presentation of our fabrics in all shades of red sorted by type: velvets, animalier velvets, multicolored velvets, heddle velvets, damasks, brocatelles, satins, lampases.
Velvets
Ardis – Ibisco
Bestiario – Ibisco
Caccia – Ibisco
Da Vinci – Ibisco
Griglia – Ibisco
Onda – Ibisco
Palmyra – Ibisco
Radica – Ibisco
Senatori – Ibisco
Unito – Ibisco
Zig Zag – Ibisco
Animal Velvets
Coccodrillo – red
Leopardo – Ibisco
Leopardo – Red Shiné
Tigre – Ibisco
Tigre – Red Shiné
Multicoloured Velvets
Fioroni – red multicolour Ivory ground
Fresie – red multicolour Ivory ground
GIARDINO ANTICO – red multicolour
Grottesche – Red
Heddle Velvets
Caccia – pomegranate
Caccia – red
Cardi – pomegranate
Cardi – red
Da Vinci – Red
Fiere – pomegranate
Fiere – Red
Gotico – Red
Lancé – Red
Leoni Bizantini – pomegranate
Mosaico Lancé – Multicolour Red
Righe Piccole – red
Rinascimento – red
Senatori – red
Taccheggiato – pomegranate
Taccheggiato – red
Torcello – Red
Damasks
“31026” – Red
“31089 R” Craquelé – Corallo
“31089 R” Craquelé – red – gold
Bizar – Red
Fenice – red
GIARDINO CRAQUELÉ – Corallo – gold
GIARDINO CRAQUELÉ – Red – gold
GROTTESCHE – red
Termidoro – Red – Beige
Brocatelles
Acanto – Red
Copenhagen – red
Fiere – red
Giardino – Red
Giardino – antique red
Griccia – antique red
Grottesche – antique red
Rinascimento – Red
Rinascimento – antique red
Sagredo – Corallo
Sagredo – Red
Senatori – Corallo
Senatori – Red
Serto – Red
Serto – antique red
Satins
Goffrato – Corallo
Goffrato – Red
Unito – Corallo
Unito – Red
Lampases
Bizar – Corallo lamé
Bizar – Red lamé
Broccato – Red
Broccato – Corallo
Fiamma – Multicolour corallo
Maja – Corallo
Melograno – Corallo
Melograno – Red
Paesaggio – Corallo
Svezia – Corallo
Svezia – Red
Three Crowns – Corallo
Three Crowns – Red
Uccelli – Corallo
Uccelli – red
Walls – Corallo
