red lead, cinnabar, ultramarine blue, indigo, Indian lac, copper green, gold, white lead

Ingredients

cinnabar, red lead, ultramarine blue, white lead, indigo, Indian lac, orpiment, copper green, gold

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

Painter A used cinnabar and red lead for red, brown, and orange tones. Notably, cinnabar was used instead of red ocher to create brown (p. 204). Light blue was made from ultramarine mixed with white lead, while dark blue was pure indigo (p. 204). Light pink for faces and backgrounds was made from red lead and white lead (p. 204). Purple tones resulted from Indian lac combined with white lead (p. 204). Green for foliage was made from indigo and orpiment, while copper green was used for clothes and background (p. 205). Grey was created from indigo and white lead (p. 205).

Evidence

"In this manuscript, painter A, like many other Persian painters in this manuscript has used two pigments cinnabar and red lead, to create red, brown, and orange tones... ultramarine is used to create colour blue... the painter used a combination of red lead and white lead to create a light pink colour... this painter also used a combination of Indian lac with white lead to create a variety of purple tones."

Remarks

Painter A is one of eight painters in the manuscript RAS 239. His style is characterized by the absence of red ocher, substituting it with cinnabar for brown tones. The use of both organic (Indian lac) and inorganic pigments for pinks and purples is documented (p. 204).