Red pigment made from ochre was one of the first colors used in prehistoric art. The Ancient Egytians and Mayans coloured their faces red in ceremonies; Roman generals had their bodies colored red to celebrate victories. It was also an important colour in China, where it was used to colour early pottery and later the gates and walls of palaces. In the Renaissance, the brilliant red costumes for the nobility and wealthy were dyed with kermes and cochineal. The 19th century brought the introduction of the first synthetic red dyes, which replaced the traditional dyes. Red also became the colour of revolution; Soviet Russia adopted a red flag following the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, later followed by China, Vietnam, and other communist countries.
