Indian Yellow 

Curator: This is "Indian Yellow," manufactured by Geo. Rowney & Co., a seemingly simple object from the Harvard Art Museums' collection. Editor: I'm struck by the bottle itself. The glass and the stopper frame this brilliant yellow pigment like a jewel. It's contained, almost precious. Curator: Indeed, it's a relic of pigment production. The name "Indian Yellow" hints at its complex, and frankly disturbing, origins involving the feeding of mango leaves to cows, and the harvesting of their urine, to create this color. Editor: So, the means of production are directly tied to a natural, almost visceral process? The color's beauty belies a rather unsettling reality. Curator: Precisely. The materiality of this color forces us to confront its socio-economic roots. Editor: I find the label on the bottle creates a focal point. It's like a signifier linking the color to a whole network of meaning. Curator: An interesting color with even more interesting production and societal impact. Editor: It highlights the strange dance between nature, labor, and artistic creation.