Alizarin crimson can create a wide range of rich, permanent purples and browns. The dye was prominently used for dyeing clothes and traces were found in Ancient Egypt, Persia and the ruins of Pompeii. By the seventh century BC, the dye had been made into a lake pigment and was used across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. By this time the use of madder dye and pigment were widespread, but they remained costly and time-consuming to produce.
