Lac
is the scarlet resinous secretion of a number of species of lac insects, of which the most commonly cultivated species is Kerria lacca.
Cultivation begins when a farmer gets a stick (broodlac) that contains eggs ready to hatch and ties it to the tree to be infested.[1] Thousands of lac insects colonize the branches of the host trees and secrete the resinous pigment. The coated branches of the host trees are cut and harvested as sticklac.
The harvested sticklac is crushed and sieved to remove impurities. The sieved material is then repeatedly washed to remove insect parts and other soluble material. The resulting product is known as seedlac. The prefix seed refers to its pellet shape. Seedlac which still contains 3–5% impurities is processed into shellac by heat treatment or solvent extraction.
The leading producer of lac is Jharkhand, followed by the Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, and Maharashtra states of India. Lac production is also found in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, parts of China, and Mexico.
Lac has been used as a natural dye for hundreds of years.
Host trees
In Thailand the most common host trees are
Rain tree (Albizia saman), Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan)
It's renowned for its shade and is well known in traditional uses for its medicinal properties. It is also grown as a host plant for lac insects. The tree is also one of the food plants for common cerulean (Jamides celeno).Kerria lacca can be cultivated on either cultivated or wild host trees.
Thailand's production increased somewhat, with annual lac exports of around 7,000 tons in the 1990s, mainly of seedlac. While India, Thailand, and China are the major lac producers, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka also play small roles.[9]
In this textile workshop located at Sakon Nakorn in Southeastern Thailand, natural dyeing craftsmanship has been kept alive. The master dyer knows the color potential of each plant located in the surrounding countryside and which infinity of colors it can give.
The workshop mainly dyes silk hanks which will be used once tinted for precious brocades and royal weavings, in the purest Thai tradition.
For red, the artisan uses “khrang” in Thai (also called “lak” in Khmer). It is a resin excreted by a small insect, the Laccifer lacca, an Asian cochineal species.
Credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lac www.wildcolours.co.uk/html/lac_extract.html
is the scarlet resinous secretion of a number of species of lac insects, of which the most commonly cultivated species is Kerria lacca.
Cultivation begins when a farmer gets a stick (broodlac) that contains eggs ready to hatch and ties it to the tree to be infested.[1] Thousands of lac insects colonize the branches of the host trees and secrete the resinous pigment. The coated branches of the host trees are cut and harvested as sticklac.
The harvested sticklac is crushed and sieved to remove impurities. The sieved material is then repeatedly washed to remove insect parts and other soluble material. The resulting product is known as seedlac. The prefix seed refers to its pellet shape. Seedlac which still contains 3–5% impurities is processed into shellac by heat treatment or solvent extraction.
The leading producer of lac is Jharkhand, followed by the Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, and Maharashtra states of India. Lac production is also found in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, parts of China, and Mexico.
Lac has been used as a natural dye for hundreds of years.
Host trees
In Thailand the most common host trees are
Rain tree (Albizia saman), Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan)
It's renowned for its shade and is well known in traditional uses for its medicinal properties. It is also grown as a host plant for lac insects. The tree is also one of the food plants for common cerulean (Jamides celeno).Kerria lacca can be cultivated on either cultivated or wild host trees.
Thailand's production increased somewhat, with annual lac exports of around 7,000 tons in the 1990s, mainly of seedlac. While India, Thailand, and China are the major lac producers, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka also play small roles.[9]
In this textile workshop located at Sakon Nakorn in Southeastern Thailand, natural dyeing craftsmanship has been kept alive. The master dyer knows the color potential of each plant located in the surrounding countryside and which infinity of colors it can give.
The workshop mainly dyes silk hanks which will be used once tinted for precious brocades and royal weavings, in the purest Thai tradition.
For red, the artisan uses “khrang” in Thai (also called “lak” in Khmer). It is a resin excreted by a small insect, the Laccifer lacca, an Asian cochineal species.
Credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lac www.wildcolours.co.uk/html/lac_extract.html