The Gūr-e Amīr in Uzbekistan, with its colourful, striking ribbed dome, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images/ istock
1. This beautiful colour is between yellow and red on the spectrum, and its vibrant character has been celebrated by many cultures. A specific shade of this (E56717) is named after a popular fruit, and is also the official colour of the McLaren F1 team. What is the name of this shade, which might sound more like a mixed fruit juice?
2. This shade is a deep red and is the national colour of Nepal. A classically royal hue, it has been used in various textiles since the 12th century to denote nobility. What colour is this, which is obtained from ‘Kermes’ insects and gets its name from them?
3. This colour is located midway between yellow and orange, and gets its name from a Persian word that refers to a solid waxy substance, the most common occurrence of which is fossilised tree resin. What shade is this, which is technically one of the three colours in a traffic light?
4. This bright-red colour is widely found in the art of Ancient Rome and Chinese lacquerware. It gets its name from the Latin word for ‘worm’, as initially this hue was obtained from the larva of an insect that looked like a worm. What intense colour is this?
5. This colour, usually described as a shade of grey, gets its name from the French word for ‘the colour of undyed wool’. Although one of the toughest tints to produce in offset printing, it has become a metaphor for ‘bland’ or ‘boring’. What colour is this?
6. This highly expensive paint colour is a striking shade of blue. The name is wrongly considered to be a reference to the colour of the ocean. In fact, it gets its name from the fact that it was initially brought to Europe from Asia via the sea. What shade is this?
7. This colour is obtained by mixing orange and green pigments in equal measure. Named after a fruit that is basically a ‘huge, rough lemon’ found in the Mediterranean area, the colour is usually used in interior decoration to give a summery, European feel. What colour is this, whose name can be traced to the acid found in the fruit?
8. This colour is named after a blue-green gemstone made of copper and aluminium. The name refers to the fact that the Europeans came across it for the first time in Ottoman Empire artefacts. What hue is this, which one would see on the beautiful domes of mosques in Central Asia?
9. This pale purple gets its name from the mallow flower, and is quite a modern colour. It was also the very first commercially synthesised dye, unintentionally discovered by William Perkin, an 18-year-old chemist, while trying to synthesise a cure for malaria. What colour is this?
10. This colour refers to a hue of blue that has been used for more than 6,000 years. Its name comes from the fact that the plant-based dye was a major export of our shores. Although it once referred to a variety of shades, it became classified as a colour thanks to Isaac Newton, who added it to the spectrum. What colour is this?
A molecular biologist from Madurai, our quizmaster enjoys trivia and music, and is working on a rock ballad called ‘Coffee is a Drink, Kaapi is an Emotion’. @bertyashley
Answers
1. Papaya Orange
2. Crimson
3. Amber
4. Vermilion
5. Beige
6. Ultramarine Blue
7. Citron
8. Turquoise (from ‘Turkish’)
9. Mauve
10. Indigo
