Color terminology

Anne Lane <alane<-a t->infoave< . >net> writes

>We are in the process of trying to standardize the terminology we
>use in our cataloguing, and our Curator of Art was wondering if
>there is any standard terminology for color shades

The US Dept. of Commerce's publication "Color: Universal Language
and Dictionary of Names" contains a color name chart which keys into
the Munsell Color System.  The Munsell Color System is one means of
designating color matches for soil samples as well as paint
analysis.  The system uses a combination of numbers and letters to
designate a color by hue, value, and chroma.  The color name chart
equates the Munsell designation to a color name.  The names include
such terms as "light olive gray" or "strong yellow" which are as
specific as general terms can be without using descriptive
adjectives like forest green or sunset orange, which are much more
subjective.  Perhaps this method would be useful for cataloguing
purposes as well.

Shelley Sass
Conservation Center, Institute of Fine Arts, NYU

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                 Conservation DistList Instance 10:108
                   Distributed: Monday, June 9, 1997
                       Message Id: cdl-10-108-002
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