cinnabar
Mediterranean
3th Century
Source: Paula De Vos, "Apothecaries, Artists, and Artisans: Early Industrial Material Culture in the Biological Old Regime", The Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Vol. 45, No. 3 (Winter 2015), pp. 277-336.
Recipe Details
Preparation Steps
In the survey of the Leyden and Stockholm papyri and the Mappae Clavicula, cinnabar is identified as one of the top pigment materials (p. 292). Table 5 indicates that cinnabar appeared in 37 different recipes across two of the three primary recipe collections surveyed (p. 298).
Original Recipe Text
In the survey of the Leyden and Stockholm papyri and the Mappae Clavicula, cinnabar is identified as one of the top pigment materials (p. 292). Table 5 indicates that cinnabar appeared in 37 different recipes across two of the three primary recipe collections surveyed (p. 298).
Evidence
"For the decorative arts, the top materials were metals and metal ores—copper, gold, silver, mercury, tin, lead, and such pigments as cinnabar, orpiment, sandarach, litharge, misy, ceruse, and verdigris"
Remarks
Cinnabar is noted as a primary mineral pigment that formed the 'real basis of the decorative arts' in the biological old regime (p. 292). The text emphasizes the continuity of use between pharmacological and artistic materials, as cinnabar was used both as a medicine and a colorant (p. 278, 287). Mineral pigments like cinnabar were more likely to appear in multiple recipes compared to organic plant-based colorants (p. 292).
Scientific Analysis
Chemical CompositionHgS
Analytical Techniques
textual analysis of recipe collections
tabulation of materials
Certainty Level
Probable
Instrumentally Verified
Not Verified
Metadata
Material Type
pigment
ColorRed
RegionMediterranean
Approx. Year250
Source Information
TitleApothecaries, Artists, and Artisans: Early Industrial Material Culture in the Biological Old Regime
AuthorPaula De Vos, "Apothecaries, Artists, and Artisans: Early Industrial Material Culture in the Biological Old Regime", The Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Vol. 45, No. 3
CollectionAlexandria
Language
N/A
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