Intended for use as a garment, clothing. Textile, wrapped garment, silk, Sibsagar, ca. 1855. Length of lac dyed tussar silk, with bands of undyed silk at ends, and fringes. Complete piece. LAC BEETLE DYE Lac is a red dye made from the body of the lac beetle (Kerria lacca). The insects colonise the twigs of certain trees by secreting a resin around themselves and their eggs, forming ‘stick lac’. The stick lac is ground up and the dye is extracted by rinsing it out of the powder. It can then be boiled down for storage and sale as lac-dye cakes. Shawl Lac-dyed tasar silk Sibsagar, Assam, about 1855 V&A: 5091 (IS) Lac cakes Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, about 1862 Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Stick lac Assam, about 1886 Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew [03/10/2015 - 10/01/2016]