Colour plays a pivotal role in every facet of life. Dictating our moods, displaying one’s status, erudition, religion, reverence for the past and the future. Yet, the evolution of colour has been approached on a strictly intuitive level. Although taste, symbolic resonance and rarity play a large role in the popularity of a colour, there is an undeniable factor that is crucial to any understanding of colour. Science.
Our human ability to perceive colour was adapted as an aid to navigate our natural environment, which is arguably why colours found in the natural world have always been a source of satisfaction. From children to adults, everyone finds pleasure in looking and working with colour. There is, however, a difference with the application of colours on a canvas in the West, to ceramics of the East. Countries and cultures inherent different symbolisms and associations with colour. For the artist, they must ask what is colour for? For the designer, they ask what can colour do?
Throughout history, colour has been used in various ways and in different spaces, mediums, and styles, so much so that it would be impossible to suggest any single colour as characteristic to one symbolic meaning. A single colour may have multiple meanings attached, from various parts of the world and various parts of history. This connection between chemistry, symbolism, nature, and history form the important constituting parts of what makes up colour and why it is so important to us.
In this series on the symbolism of colour, we continue with the colour yellow.
The life-giving sun shines down in pools of yellow, breathing life into plants and lighting up our world. The yellow sun was once one of humanity’s most important symbols. As many cultures worshipped the sun as their God, yellow became the colour associated with other-worldly importance, qualities of the imperishable, eternal and indestructible. In the West, yellow is associated with happiness, warmth, and optimism. However, yellow is not monolithic in its symbolic meaning. It is also the colour of death and decay.
Yellow, and its secondary colour orange, are viewed by the West to be energising and happy colours. In its brightest form, yellow immediately grabs your attention. Advertisements will often employ yellow in their designs and graphics to attract customers. According to colour psychology, yellow may increase mental activity and stimulate the nervous system. Its ability to evoke strong feelings and foster analytical thinking makes it a positive stimulus to promote a well-balanced brain. The colour yellow also holds great symbolic power in Aboriginal art. With a strong connection to the sun, yellow is associated with spiritual energy, possessing the essential roles of life, light, and warmth. Yellow is also their colour of the celestial bodies of the stars, sun, and moon, serving as a reminder of the fine balance between the natural world and spiritual realms. In Regency, Georgian, and Victorian England, yellow was a popular colour used in fashion, upholstery, and interiors. Ranging from a pale butter-like hue to zesty lemon, the colour was the height of fashion, creating uplifting environments and spaces. This tradition re-emerged in the 20th century with modernism utilising block primary colours in art and design.
On the other hand, yellow in excess causes negative effects of anxiety and fatigue. Arsenic sulfide, otherwise known as orpiment or king’s yellow, has been used for centuries, mentioned by Pliny, Vitruvius, and used by Tintoretto. However, orpiment contains a significant amount of poisonous arsenic, making it somewhat toxic. Yellow’s associations with death and decay run as deep as its chemical components. In Christian iconography and the depiction of the crucifixion, Judas is often depicted wearing yellow, connecting the colour with negative traits of deceit, envy, and cowardice. Yellows cowardly origins are unknown. However, phrases such as “yellow-bellied”, used to describe someone who lacks courage, are likely linked to illness and decay. A yellowed tint to the eyes or body often indicates underlying medication conditions. The body also turns a pallid yellow as body dies and circulation slows down, although this is less immediately apparent on darker skin. In some cultures yellow has also come to denote mourning, yet more specifically traverses both life and death.
Like red ochre, humankind has had a long and meaningful history with yellow ochre. Its use can be dated back to palaeolithic cave paintings in Lascaux and later to ancient Egypt and Rome, who used the colour for gold and skin-like tones in tomb murals. Both yellow and its secondary colour orange toe the line between life and death, representing decay but also the enlightenment that comes from ascending our mortal world. This is true for Asian countries, namely Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, and India. In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, one must achieve the characteristics associated with each colour of the ‘rainbow body’ before attaining the clear light of nirvana. Yellow is a symbol of humility, separation from materialistic society, and renunciation. Tibetan temples are painted in yellow to symbolise the prosperity of the land and its rootedness. In Theravada Buddhism, monks will wear saffron robes in the tradition of humility which dates back to the time of Buddha. Orange is the sacred hue of Hinduism, with the divinity Krishna commonly portrayed dressed in orange, representing fire and the impurities that can be burned away.
Yellow is also the colour of incarnation. The Polynesian god Oro manifests as Ata, a natural object or artefact which humans seek out to represent the god’s incarnation. For Oro this is commonly as a light yellow thrush. Yet, yellow symbolises more than just spiritual enlightenment. It can symbolise enlightenment on earth, the transition into wealth and prosperity. In East Asia and Africa, yellow is associated with wealth or dynasty because of its similarity to gold. Yellow therefore symbolises the transition that occurs from monetary gain.
Understanding the symbolism behind colours in art and design can create a more effective and meaningful connection between you and your desired antiques. Across time and culture, colour has created visually compelling experiences, evoking emotional responses and conveying subliminal messages. With your now extensive knowledge of the colour yellow, explore the Nicholas Wells website to find your perfect touch of colour, or read more on our other deep dives in colour symbolism.
All images show pieces available on the Nicholas Wells website.
Written by Daisy Watson
Sign up for email updates on new product arrivals, promotions and information
© 2022 Nicholas Wells Antiques Ltd, All rights reserved
