Ultramarine and organic red
Afghanistan
15th Century
Source: Knipe, P., Eremin, K., Walton, M., Babini, A., & Rayner, G. (2018). Materials and techniques of Islamic manuscripts. Heritage Science, 6(1), 55.
Recipe Details
Ingredients
Ultramarine, Organic red, Lead white
Preparation Steps
Purple hues were produced by two distinct methods in the Herat Anthology: 1) Physical mixing of ultramarine and organic red pigments (Fig. 5a); or 2) Layering a mixture of ultramarine and organic red over a base layer of pure organic red (Fig. 5b) (p. 18, 20).
Original Recipe Text
Purple hues were produced by two distinct methods in the Herat Anthology: 1) Physical mixing of ultramarine and organic red pigments (Fig. 5a); or 2) Layering a mixture of ultramarine and organic red over a base layer of pure organic red (Fig. 5b) (p. 18, 20).
Evidence
"Purple was often created with a mix of blue and red pigments, normally ultramarine and organic red with lead white used to lighten the shade as desired... whilst in others a layer of organic red was covered with a mixture of ultramarine with organic red."
Remarks
The use of organic red (kermes, cochineal, or lac) was inferred from the absence of inorganic elements in XRF and high fluorescence in Raman (p. 15). Lead white was added as a modifier to lighten the purple shades (p. 18).
Scientific Analysis
Chemical Composition3Na2O·3Al2O3·6SiO2·2Na2S (Lazurite) + Organic red
Analytical Techniques
Raman
High magnification microscopy
XRF
Certainty Level
Confirmed
Instrumentally Verified
Verified
Metadata
Material Type
pigment
ColorPurple
RegionAfghanistan
Approx. Year1450
Source Information
AuthorKnipe, P., Eremin, K., Walton, M., Babini, A., & Rayner, G.
CollectionAnthology for prince baysunghur (Table 1, #13)
Language
N/A
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