brazilein (brazilwood lake pigment)

Ingredients

brazilwood lake pigment, mesquite gum, lead white, calcium carbonate, gypsum

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

The pink colors in the Rich codex were made using a thin layer of brazilwood paint applied directly over the parchment to achieve a light hue without additives (p. 293). In the Musicians' codex and Lapidary, brazilwood was mixed with lead white (p. 293). In the Ajuda Songbook, it was mixed with calcium carbonate and sometimes gypsum to achieve different pink tones in vestments and architecture (p. 293).

Evidence

"both use brazilein as the main dye. ... the Musicians’ codex and Lapidary use lead white in the pink colors. On the other hand, the Rich codex uses the parchment color and a thin layer of brazilwood paint to produce a lighter hue without additives."

Remarks

The quantification of the tempera as mesquite gum was achieved via infrared spectroscopy (p. 294). The study notes that brazilwood-based colors are traditionally unstable, but in these manuscripts, they appear in very good condition (p. 294).