Obtained from the ore cinnabar, vermilion is a shade of what color?
Vermilion English word vermin. The name originated because it had a similar color to the natural red dye made from an insect, the "Kermes vermilio", which was widely used in Europe. The words for the color in Portuguese ("vermelho"), Galician ("vermello") and Catalan ("vermell") have the same origin. The first recorded use of "vermilion" as a color name in English was in 1289. The term cinnabar was used interchangeably with vermilion until the 17th century, when vermilion became the more common name. By the late 18th century 'cinnabar' applied to the unground natural mineral only. Vermilion is a dense, opaque pigment
Vermilion paint the walls of some of the most luxurious villas in Pompeii, including the Villa of the Mysteries. Pliny reported that the painters of that villa stole a large portion of the expensive pigment by frequently washing their brushes and saving the wash water. In the Byzantine Empire, the use of cinnabar and the vermilion color was reserved for the use of the Imperial family and administrators; official letters and imperial decrees were written in vermilion ink, made with cinnabar. Vermilion was also used by the peoples of North and South America, to paint ceramics, figurines, murals, and for the