Cinnabar/vermillion

Ingredients

sulphur, quicksilver

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

Put sulphur in an iron pot; melt it, and when it is melted remove it from the trivet; put it on the floor in the open air and add quicksilver. Stir it with an iron shovel and let it rest for a while until it gets a thin film; then add the rest of the quicksilver. Without stopping, stir it well on the bottom and along the sides of the pot until it is very thick and one no longer sees any drops of quicksilver... The mixture is good when it is dark blue on the outside, and, on the inside, an even silver colour without any drops of quicksilver being visible. This mixture is pounded with a pestle in a large wooden bowl, and then placed in little pots... in order to be put in the vermillion-pot. Then heat up the vermillion pot 2-3 hours, then add the little pots, add a lid, and do a sublimation (p. 1, Appendix).

Evidence

"Put sulphur in an iron pot; melt it, and when it is melted remove it from the trivet; put it on the floor in the open air and add quicksilver. Stir it with an iron shovel and let it rest for a while until it gets a thin film; then add the rest of the quicksilver."

Remarks

This recipe from the Amsterdam paint-seller Pieter Pekstok (1670s-1680s) provides granular detail on the physical states of the mercury-sulfur mixture. It describes the mixture as 'good' when it achieves a dark blue exterior and silver interior. The account includes procedural troubleshooting, noting signs of excessive or insufficient heat, instructions for when a pot cracks, and procedures if the mixture catches fire (p. 1, Appendix).