orpiment

Ingredients

orpiment, gold, yellow dye

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

Two distinct yellow preparations are described: pure orpiment for tree foliage on folio 11, and a mixture of orpiment with gold and possibly yellow dye for flags on folios 14 and 20 to produce a unique non-metallic luster (p. 167, Tab. 5-32). Light brown for a bird on folio 11 was made by combining red lead with orpiment (p. 166).

Evidence

"one is the use of orpiment pigment for colour yellow at the outermost part of the tree’s foliage in folio 11 and also the use of combination of orpiment with gold to create a special yellow colour which has non-metallic luster and has been used to paint the flag on folios 14 and 20 (Fig. 5-69)."

Remarks

Yellow is used very sparingly in this manuscript (p. 167). The combination of orpiment and gold is an intentional aesthetic choice to create a specific visual effect.