In my last blog post, I identified nakara as a dark red poppy color. But its history is somewhat more interesting than I suggested. Here's the story of a royal marriage and a color, drawn from some rather disparate pieces of evidence.

First the marriage....

In 1791, Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia (1767-1820) married Prince Frederick Augustus, Duke of York (1763-1827). Rather she married him twice, once on September 29 in Berlin and the second time on November 23 at Buckingham Palace.

The Duchess first appeared at a court birthday (the Queen's) on January 18, 1791. The description of her dress in the European Magazine ran for almost a full column, more than any other lady's clothing received--in fact, more than the description of all the other ladies' clothing combined.

"Her Royal Highness's petticoat was of white crape, interspersed with jewels in the form of stripes, trimmed round the bottom with a wreath of pine-apples set in brilliants, and richly festooned with mosaic crape, edged with small wreaths of the same. It was fastened on the left side with a superb diamond bow; the train was of crape in gold, and the body Nakara satin richly spangled."

At the ball that night, lady's caps were made of a variety of materials: "Crape, satin, and ribbands, formed the lower part; and feathers, white, or white tinged at the tips and edges with York flame, or coquelicot [a muddy brown], or light blue, were generally worn.--Some feathers were also ornamented with spots of coquelicot ribband."

Frederica Charlotte was by all accounts a tiny woman. A number of satirical prints from late 1791 through early 1792 show large British women trying to put on the Duchess' clothes or her shoes, and many prints of the day focus on her tiny feet, including one provocative one where the Duchess' tiny feet lie in-between and under the large feet of her husband. (You can see that at her entry on wikipedia).

The color.
In a December 6, 1791 print entitled "The Duchess Blush or York Flame," three objects are placed one above the other. The first, is a ribbon, stiffened by a spring, making it a garter, and labelled as Vanbuchel's Spring Garter. Under the garter are two views of the Duchess's shoe, top down, and sole up. The shoes are clearly no longer than a garter. You can see that print at the British Museum: bit.ly/1SY9ZDpb

The garter here carries multiple meanings. In the Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires in the British Museum(VI, 1938), M. Dorothy George indicates that "the 'spring garter' (30s. a pair) was seen as an emblem of 'alluring coquetry and fashion.' In addition, the Duke of York was a member of the Order of the Royal Garter, so it becomes a signifier of the recent royal marriage. The garter itself--in this particular engraving--is handpainted a dark red, to highlight the blush of the Duchess indicated in the title.

Other engravings use the image of the flame in association with the Duke and Duchess's marriage, particularly one published on the day of the Queen's birthday. Called "The Contrast," the engraving juxtaposes the Duke of York's marriage to his Duchess to the very public affair his brother, the Prince of Clarence was then conducting with Dora Jordan (who bore him 10 children). The York marriage is described as "A virtuous Flame, or Nuptial Glory" while Clarence's 'romp' with Jordan is labelled "A burning shame, or, adulterous Disgrace.'

Nakara then becomes associated with the Duchess of York and the flame of her marriage to the Duke. Sadly that marriage produced no heirs, and within five years the couple separated to their own residences and their own lives.

Note.
George's catalogue with her detailed descriptions is available via archive.org. The volume that contains the engravings discussed above is available at this link: http://bit.ly/1OyefSj