Bold Niche violet

Old English beald, brave, courageous — a quality word that crossed over to color in the late seventeenth century. Bold describes a color that asserts itself: high saturation combined with mid lightness, where the hue presents itself without compromise. Sits at the center of the bold-bucket grid, near strong and rich. Closer to a presence word than a pigment word.

Italian nicchia, recess. As a color modifier, niche implies a wall-recess-for-statue-or-icon quality, the visual register of Roman-Catholic-and-Renaissance-niche hand-cut wall-recess-and-shell-shaped niche-for-statue-or-icon architectural surfaces under candle-and-niche-statue-and-icon devotional light. Sits at the modifier-and-architecture end of the grid, parallel to alcove and atrium in usage.

Viola odorata, the European sweet violet — small, fragrant, and the original meaning of the color name in English (the Violet of the rainbow). The color refers to a fresh sweet violet blossom in late winter: a saturated, slightly red-shifted deep blue-purple with the matte finish of small five-petaled flower. Cooler than amethyst, warmer than indigo, with the perfumed weight of a flower used in Roman garlands and Victorian eau de toilette.