during their experiments with glass
making. A famous example of the
use of Han blue is in painted details
on the Terracotta Army of the Qin
Dynasty. Many examples of Chinese
blue and white export ware (found
in archeological sites and ancient
ship wrecks) from the time of the
Han onward point to a thriving trade
between China and the rest of Asia
and South East Asia. The variations
in the pigments in the ceramics
are often used to date and identify
aspects of archaeological digs.
A basic carbonate of copper
found in many parts of the world in
the upper oxidized layers of copper
deposits forms the base material
for Azurite. “Mountain Blue”, “Blue
verditer” or “lapis armenius” are
names given to the blue pigment
which became so important
throughout the Middle Ages and
Renaissance in Europe. It was
another blue called Ultramarine,
which was both rare and expensive,
which was sought after by the
illustrators of the illuminated
manuscripts of the European Middle
Ages. This exotic and complex
mineral pigment was made from
Lapis Lazuli. Ultramarine translates
as “beyond the sea”, with reference
to the semi-precious stone being
imported from Asia. Lapis Lazuli
was first used in the seventh and
eighth century in Afghanistan in
Buddhist cave temples, examples
of which survive in the remains
of Kizil (the thousand Buddha
caves). Examples of Lapis Lazuli
pigment can be found also in both
Chinese and Indian painting from
the eleventh and twelfth centuries.
It begins to be seen in Anglo-Saxon
illuminated manuscripts from the
twelfth Century. Ultramarine was
reserved for the most important
paintings in the Middle Ages in
Europe. At one time, Lapis Lazuli
became more expensive than
gold. These days, Ultramarine is
made by a synthetic process which
produces a very vivid result.
The Chinese were credited with
the invention of Vermillion red
( an orange reddish pigment)
originally made from Cinnibar.
Another artist pigment to be
found in most artists’ paint boxes
is Alizarin Crimson. Originally
known as “Alizarin Madder Lake”
it was made from the European
Madder root, Rubia tinctorum. In
the nineteenth century synthetic
pigments replaced the original
recipe. Alizerine pigments are
lightfast in their pure form, but when
they are mixed with other pigments
such as Raw Umber , Ochre,
and Sienna, they may change or
fade with exposure to UV light.
The Egyptians and Romans
developed lead white, which
continued to be the only white
used in European painting until
the nineteenth century. Lead white
strongly absorbs X-rays, making it
easy to detect in paintings, which is
useful for dating pictures. Lead white“Ochre and red
oxides are some of
the oldest pigments
used by human kind.
Evidence of ochre
has been found in
ancient burial sites
such as Lake Mungo
in Australia, where
bones dated to
around 65,000 years
ago were found to
be painted in ochre
earth pigments.”