History of Pigments

A certain Apollonios wanted a garment of a particular color in Roman Egypt in the second century CE. His sister, Aline, a dyer, encouraged him to send a sample of that color to her so that she could match it. Similarly, a painter in Roman Egypt had started to paint a portrait on a wooden panel. 1 The preliminary draft of this painting survives, where an outline of the portrait of a woman had been sketched. Written instructions specified what colors (for example, "purple" and "green necklace") should be painted in which areas on the panel. In both cases, before the textile or painting had been created, an artist was thinking about what color might be appropriate. Just what colors did Aline and the panel artist have to choose from in antiquity? And how were these colors (whether pigments or dyes) gathered or produced? What choices did artists, patrons, and everyday buyers have in terms of color and price? The Greeks and Romans used a great number of pigments and dyes that gave color to textiles, faces (cosmetics), statues, walls, and the like. This chapter surveys the trade in ancient pigments and dyes, first looking at how they were produced (or mined) and then examining the evidence for how these colors were sold and priced. It will set dyes and pigments in parallel, moving from manufacture to product specialization and then to the market, where prices and color choices will be explored. MATERIALS: DYES It is first useful to define dyes in relation to pigments. Most pigments were naturally occurring minerals; however, a few, such as white lead and Egyptian

English:
A late-Hellenistic production site was found at the eastern stoa of the agora of Kos. The presence of destroyed fire-structures indicates pyrotechnological processes, related to pigment manufacture and metallurgy. Pigment production included the treatment of natural earths and the manufacture of the artificial material Egyptian blue. Among the excavation’s finds were hollow tubular litharge rods, amorphous lead lumps and drops, and a small quantity of silver, which point to lead production and silver separation through cupellation. The co-existence of the two separate manufacturing activities at the same site may have been beneficial in supplying the workshop with raw materials and fuel. The strategic location of the production site in the commercial centre of the ancient town, with its connection to the port, would have facilitated trade. The production debris from the Koan site underlines the relationship between pigment manufacture and metallurgy.
Italian:
Un sito produttivo risalente all’età tardo ellenistica fu messo in luce nel settore orientale dell’agorà di Kos. Resti di fornaci, pur se scarsamente conservate, testimoniano processi piro-tecnologici relativi alla metallurgia e alla manifattura di pigmenti. La produzione dei pigmenti includeva il trattamento di terre colorate e la manifattura del blu egizio, un pigmento artificiale. Alcuni tra i materiali rinvenuti nel sito (barre tubolari di litargirio, masse amorfe e gocce di piombo, e residui d’argento) indicano la produzione di piombo e la separazione dell’argento tramite coppellazione. La compresenza delle due diverse attività manifatturiere nello stesso impianto artigianale potrebbe essere stata vantaggiosa in termini di approvvigionamento di materie prime e combustibile. La posizione strategica della manifattura, situata nel centro commerciale della città antica e interconnessa con il porto, avrebbe facilitato la commercializzazione dei prodotti. Gli scarti produttivi suggeriscono una relazione tra la produzione di pigmenti e la metallurgia.

Two paintings, made on aluminium support by Silvio Pasotti (one belonging to a private Italian collection, a larger one to the civic collections of the City of Segrate, Milan, Italy) were investigated in a totally non-invasive manner to identify the materials used by the artist.
Pasotti belongs to the major exponents of 1960s Italian pop art, together with Valerio Adami, Emilio Tadini, Lucio del Pezzo, and the so called "artists of Piazza del Popolo": Mario Schifano, Tano Festa, Franco Angeli, Mimmo Rotella, Giosetta Fioroni, Mario Ceroli, Cesare Tacchi, Renato Mambor.
Raman spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), visible reflectance spectroscopy, and spectrofluorimetry with visible excitation were exploited as molecular analysis techniques, which are particularly suitable to recognise also synthetic organic materials, such as pigments and binders. The effectiveness of this multi-analytical approach was demonstrated, leading to the identification of several synthetic organic pigments, both conventional and “special effect” ones, introduced during the first half of the 20th century, as well as some well-established inorganic ones. Combining FTIR results both in the medium and near IR ranges, considerations regarding the binders employed by the artist could also be made, suggesting the use of both nitrocellulose and acrylic paints.
Imaging techniques, such as IR reflectography, false colour IR, UV induced fluorescence, and portable microscopy, were also used to achieve a better knowledge of the painting practice.

Non-destructive analysis by means of portable X-ray flourescence (pXRF) and Raman spectroscopy of color traces on sculptures and architectural parts from the Delphi Museum, Phokis, Greece, are presented. These sculptures and architectural parts are dated to the Archaic period (7th-6th c. B.C.). The main question to be answered is the mineral/pigment used for each part and therefore to reconstruct the color palette of the artists. For this research, sixteen archaeological exhibits of the Delphi museum were analyzed with two different spectroscopies, and the white, red, black, yellow and blue pigments were identified.

This publication, a slight revision of my MA thesis from 1967, is the first published report showing the modern Maya use of palygorskite (then called attapulgite), a clay mineral used by the ancient Maya to make Maya Blue, an unusual pigment that is resistant to weathering and retains it rich blue color over time. Most of the report is devoted to demonstrating that the potters of Ticul used palygorskite in their temper, and that they  recognized its unusual properties. The report suggests that nearby Sacalum and perhaps Ticul were sources of the pigment used to obtain palygorskite for Maya Blue since those communities are so close to Mayapan where the pigment was widely used. (In this report, II thought that Maya Blue was made locally and traded widely, but I no longer believe that this is the case.)

During the Aegean Bronze Age (ca. 3,200-1,100 B.C.), blue pigments are rendered from a myriad of different sources across distinct media: from naturally-occurring minerals such as riebeckite and lapis lazuli to man-made compounds like Egyptian blue, and even plant- and animal-based pigments, such as murex purple and indigo. The ways in which these colors are employed in wall painting, however, often leaves modern viewers with more questions than answers. For instance, why render the shaved scalps of young individuals in blue? The fur of monkeys and cats, and the feathers of birds are not blue in reality either, so why depict them as such? One might turn to color theory, which is well established for the art of neighboring regions (Egypt, Mesopotamia), yet no such over-arching theory exists for the Aegean. Previous, cursory explanations for the choice to show a pictorial element as blue either regard Aegean artistic norms as mildly derivative of Egyptian artistic convention, or simply state that blue is more visually appealing than gray or brown. Rather than entertain reductionist notions, this paper seeks to propose a new, polyvalent understanding for the use of Aegean color. Not only might the pigments themselves serve as material references to the places from which they come (mostly The East), but blue may also be considered a luxury pigment, perhaps evocative of inextricable notions of personal or regional identity, access to far-flung trade networks, and participation in or belonging to an elite, international lineage.

le 30e colloque de l'AFPMA aura lieu les vendredi 24 et samedi 25 novembre 2017 au musée départemental Arles antique à Arles.

Vous trouverez ci joint le programme de ces 30e rencontre et dans une autre rubrique la fiche d'inscription auditeur à retourner avant le 31 octobre.

Maya Blue is a colour that is more than a pigment; it had roles in status, ritual and performance, being daubed onto pots and people before sacrifice. Here researchers use experimental and historical evidence to discover how it was made, including direct scientific analysis of Maya Blue on a pot thrown into the sacred well at Chichén Itzá. The results indicate that the formation of the color was actually part of the ritual.

A scientific examination of a double-sided panel painting attributed to Canadian artist Tom Thomson (1877-1917) was undertaken to investigate its authenticity and attribution. The materials and support of the two painted sides--Spring Landscape with Snow and Northern Mist--were compared with those of three Thomson reference panels from the National Gallery of Canada. The paintings were oil sketches on small birch panels and were impressed with an estate stamp. Dimensions of the subject panel were compared with those of 73 similar sketches by the artist. Paint samples from the subject and reference paintings were compared using x-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Nondestructive methods, including x-ray spectrometry and x-radiography, were also used to compare the panels. The main constituent of all the paintings except one was a mixture of lead sulfate and zinc white. The vehicle was identified as an ester-containing material, probably linseed oil, which had reacted with zinc white pigment or extender to form carboxylic acid salts (soaps). No inconsistencies were found between the materials used for the subject paintings and the Thomson reference panels. National Research Council of Canada researchers compared a Tom Thomson metal estate stamp, also owned by the National Gallery of Canada, with the estate stamp impressions on the panels using a high precision optical coordinate measuring machine (laser scanner). Simulated images of the metal estate stamp and the impressions in the panels were superimposed on a computer monitor to determine whether there were any discrepancies. The images gave a near perfect match. (AATA Nos: 2005-54549 and 39-3243; Abstractor: Ian N.M. Wainwright)

Paper deals with the main features of different types of white paint, used in painting. It briefly follows the history of pigments, their chemical and pictorial qualities, and explains the advantages and disadvantages of each of the white paints that have been set in the contemporary pictorial practice. Attention is paid to their onomastics, because the text aims to explain the meaning of the popular names of paints, used routinely by artists.
KEYWORDS: colors, paints, names, pigments, white, painting, Kremserweiss, Zinkweiss, Titanweiss

This paper presents highlights from the recent paint study at the George Reid House in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. Findings show that despite numerous structural changes, a small group of architectural elements belong to the earliest history of this eighteenth-century dwelling, probably dating to the period when the house was owned by Hugh Orr, a prosperous Williamsburg blacksmith, and his wife, Catherine, from c.1740-88. Finishes from this period include verdigris-greens, Prussian blues and a green paint which contains orpiment, the yellow arsenic sulphide whose synthetic form was also known as King's Yellow. In the parlor, orpiment was also found combined with chrome yellow in an early-19th-century wood graining finish. These finds are significant as there are no published examples of orpiment/King's Yellow-based paints in American vernacular contexts.

OU\ /ERT: Phytophilia - Chlorophobia - Situated Knowledges / Phytophilie – Chlorophobie – Savoirs Situés

Exhibition/Exposition 18.10.2019 - 18.1.2020,
Emmetrop - Antre Peaux, Bourges/France
Commissariat: Jens Hauser & Aniara Rodado Production

Project supported by the European Union’s Creative Europe programme GREEN (Green Revisited: Encountering Emerging Naturecultures) in collaboration with Bandits-Mages and ENSA Bourges / Projet  soutenu par le programme Europe Créative de l’Union Européenne, GREEN (Green Revisited: Encountering Emerging Naturecultures), Avec la collaboration de l’association Bandits-Mages et l’ENSA de Bourges.

Communicating with plants, updating their rela- tionship with and knowledge of witchcraft, invent- ing eco-technical systems where humans become superfluous, dancing with phytoplankton, planting herbicide-resistant gardens or planting virtual trees to offset the CO2 footprint of our digital life, performing the sick body with organ or molecu- lar transplants, or synthesizing hyper-toxic green pigments, far from the images of the idealised pastoral nature... The OU\ /ERT artists open up debates around the pervasive greenness trope, get physically involved and bring plants and other symbiotic creatures into the limelight. Trans-species alliances that challenge anthropocentric claims in the age of ubiquitous greenwashing. Distrustful of green and superficial metaphors, they insist on the importance of situat- ed knowledges related to our chlorophyllous fellow organisms, essential for all other forms of life. / Communiquer avec le végétal, actualiser sa filiation avec les savoirs sorciers, inventer des systèmes éco-techniques où l’humain devient superflu, danser avec du phytoplancton, planter des jardins de résistance aux herbicides ou planter des arbres virtuels pour compenser l’empreinte du CO2 de notre vie numérique, engager le corps malade dans des per- formances avec des transplants d’organes ou moléculaires, ou encore synthétiser des pigments de cou- leur verte hyper-toxique, loin des images de la nature pastorale idéalisée... Les artistes de l’exposition OU\ /ERT s’engagent physiquement et mettent en scène les plantes et autres créatures symbiotiques. Des alliances trans-espèces qui défient les prétentions anthro- pocentriques à l’heure du greenwashing omnipré- sent. Méfiants à l’égard des métaphores vertes et superficielles, elles.ils insistent sur l’importance des savoirs situés en lien avec des organismes chlorophylliens, essentiels pour toutes les autres formes de la vie.

In  the  diagnostic  study  of  pictorial  artworks  it  is very  common  to  use  basic  technicalphotographs (TP) to observe the pictorial surface and the possible alterations thataffect the works of art. When dealing  with  paintings  on  canvas,  in  addition  to  visiblephotography  (VIS),  racking  light  imaging (RL) and transmitted light photography (TL)are usually added. These techniques are used especially by the restorers, because theyallow them to evaluate the state of the pictorial layer, (cracks, cupping, tenting,  paintlooses  and  other  alterations  in  the  support  are  easily  recognized  with  that  imagingproofs. In addition to TL the IRT is commonly used. It is an infrared photograph,captured around 1100nm made with the characteristic TL retro-lighting conditions.However,  these  are  techniques  to  which  art  historians  and  researchers  in  paintingstake  little advantage beyond a conservative scope, since there are very fewpublications in which, further than explaining this type of imaging there is also anexplanation on how to interpret these results, and what kind of precise conclusionsthey can offer.TL and IRT images can, in addition to provide allusive information to the state ofconservation, give some clues about the pictorial execution process. They allow theobservation of brushstrokes, their thickness, their ability to block light, while they alsopermit to observe hidden elements, pentimenti and  other  modifications.  Furthermore,when  the  two  types  of  transmitted  light  techniques  are performed together and theresults are compared, important differences in pigment behavior can be appreciated,as they are images obtained in two or different regions of the spectrum.This  article  proposes  an  essay  for  the  observation  through  both TL  and  IRT  of  thebehavior  of 63 historical pigments and lacquers, (some of them produced by KREMERor SENNELIER and others handcrafted by authors by following historical recipes.) All ofthem have been bound with oil, applied on a prepared cloth with a coat of a gessoground (animal sizewith carbonate and calcium's sulfate). The area where eachpigment has been painted, is divided in four stripes: one to four layers of pigment havebeen applied there, depending on the stripe. Underdrawing lines with differentmediums  have  been  previouslytraced  perpendicularly  to  the  stripes.  TL,  IR  and  IRT,have  been carried out using a full-spectrum camera, usual for multi-band studies.The aim of the paper is to evaluate the behavior of the pigments in the two regions ofthe spectrum, comparing  visiblephotographs  and  transmitted  photography.  The  finalobjective  is  to  understand aspects such as transparency and opacity, or ability to blockthe light, factors that will allow a greater systematization of this type of imaging.

The current interdisciplinary study of a funerary portrait has provided the first identification of a blue pigment on Palmyrene sculpture. The exceptional attestation of lapis lazuli on the examined portrait confirms the use of this highly valuable semiprecious stone in ancient polychromy, which was previously thought to be a later addition to the painter’s palette. Considering that the archaeological record contains numerous minor objects carved from lapis lazuli, there are astonishingly few known instances of its use as a pigment. This Palmyrene discovery is only the third known example from Antiquity

In this essay, I investigate the past of a group of people called Guachichiles, who suffered a demographic and cultural collapse, specifically from the so-called Chichimeca War. This work brings together some key evidence to analyze the knowledge these northern indigenous groups had regarding certain coloring materials and their uses, specifically for body and rock painting. Which dyes and pigments existed in this area at this time? Which uses did the Guachichil give to these materials? It is important to mention that, as far as I have been able to track down, the body colors used by the Guachichil has not been specifically studied since there are barely any references to them in written and visual sources. Nevertheless, in the present essay, texts and images have been thoroughly analyzed, which has made it possible to gather information fragments on this topic, gradually putting together a puzzle that is turning up incomplete and unfinished, just as those restorations of pottery and mural painting undertaken by archeologists and conservators. The ethnographic fieldwork is crucial to this research and brings to close the first part of Colors on the Skin, which offers a scientific overview of body color in Pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica.

We are indebted to the conservators ella hendriks and Kathrin pilz of the Van Gogh Museum and to Luuk struick van der Loeff and Margje Leeuwenstein of the Kröller-Müller Museum in otterlo for their help in taking paint samples and examining the paintings. We thank Maartje stols-Witlox of the university of amsterdam for her advice and help with the identification of sources for this article. Furthermore, we wish to thank Katrien Keune for analysing a number of the paint samples and johanna salvant (c2rMF) for putting her results at our disposal. it was Katrien who drew our attention to the fact that silicon, phosphorus and calcium are present as trace elements in some cobalt blue paints. the seM-edX analyses were largely carried out in collaboration with Kees Mensch of the shell technology centre in amsterdam, to whom we offer our heartfelt thanks. Finally, we are indebted to Luc Megens and Birgit reissland for their help in the writing of this essay.

Authors: M. Aceto, E. Calà, A. Agostino, G. Fenoglio, M. Gulmini, A. Idone, C. Porter, C. Hofmann,  C. Rabitsch, C. Denoël, Christian Förstel, A. Quandt.

The traditional knowledge concerning the use of Tyrian purple in Late Antique and Medieval purple codices-those precious biblical texts written with noble metal inks on parchment dyed or painted with purple colourants-is here updated in view of new analytical evidence. Recent literature reports the analysis carried out on some purple codices, suggesting that Tyrian purple has not, if ever, been used in their making. A large number of purple codices has been considered in this work to elucidate the nature of the purple colour. Results have been discussed within the frame of previous information, thus covering a vast majority of the purple codices presently identified. In most of the instances the use of less expensive dyes such as folium or orchil is suggested. Moreover, analytical results from a non-invasive spectroscopic approach have been definitely confirmed by micro-invasive surface-enhanced Raman analysis performed on micro samples of purple parchment taken from two 6th century codices.

A retrospective exhibition of Yves Gaucher's work was recently organized by the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal. This exhibition, which opened .in 2003, was the starting point for a research project on the studio painting materials of the artist. The three main aspects of the project were: to gather documentary information about the artist's technique, to develop a database of the materials found in his studio, and to analyze selected paint materials from the studio to determine their chemical composition. A total of 375 samples was taken from the studio, documented in a database, and archived for future use. Analysis of 36 of the purest materials was undertaken using scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction (XRD), and polarized light microscopy (PLM). The documentation and analysis provided information about the working methods and materials of the artist. Gaucher used a wide range of modern materials; three different types of acrylic media and a large number of pigments were identified. The pigments included organic compounds such as naphthol reds, Hansa yellows, and phthalocyanine green, among others. Inorganic materials included pigments such as cadmium reds and yellows, iron oxides, and ultramarine blue, as well as an unusual extender, nepheline syenite, a sodium potassium aluminum silicate.

In occasione del restauro del telero raffigurante "Il vescovo Anselmo che benedice le armi di Matilde di Canossa", opera dello Schivenoglia (1676-1758) conservata a Quingentole (Mantova), si propone un primo approccio per la comprensione della tecnica pittorica dell'artista.

ABSTRACT: This lecture (Part-2) continues the examination of Old Kingdom elite tombs, looking at (1) other types of middle-upper class tombs that emerge in Old Kingdom Egypt (i.e., rock-cut tombs; rock-cut mastaba tombs); (2) various reasons why such apparently “different” tombs emerge and whether they really are so different (i.e., identical components; non-structural elements); (3) ancient tomb robbing, robbers, and how some tomb builders/owners try to combat robbery (e.g., decoy chambers); (4) a brief discussion of changes in tomb design during the ED-Old Kingdom; (5) the sorts of texts and decoration (genres) found in middle-upper class tombs; (6) the artists and various techniques applied in decorating elite tombs (e.g., training; painting; relief work; stages; etc.); (7) the various ways in which Ancient Egyptian artists portrayed things (e.g., twisted profile; architecture); (8) the various types of decorative themes that emerged in Old Kingdom elite tombs; (9) the significance of the various decoration (genres) found throughout elite tombs (e.g., essential/key funerary elements [e.g., banquet scene] versus less crucial/non-essential things [e.g., daily life and other scenes]); (10) other things we can say about the elite tomb architecture, decoration, and their significance (e.g., nullifying potential dangers in decoration [depicting snakes without heads]; superstitions regarding completing funeral procession scenes); (11) the different types of elite burial chambers and examples of and changes in  decorated ones (versus mostly non-decorated ones); (12) some examples of non-royal sarcophagi (i.e., “stone coffins”: rectilinear boxes); (13) selected examples of non-royal, elite coffins (i.e., wooden, rectilinear boxes); (14) some "typical" mortuary furnishings (burial goods) found in elite tombs; and (15) the forms of and furnishings in middle class and lower class tombs and graves (only a brief summary to illustrate the burial practices of the bulk of Egypt's Old Kingdom populace).  The lecture ends with a series of text slides summarizing the main points from both parts 1-2 of the lectures on elite Old Kingdom tombs.  UPDATED: March 13, 2023. Much editing/formatting, plus some new images, and adding a selected set of sources (end slides)

თემის მიზანია ხელოვნებასთან დაკავშირებული, კერძოდ პიგმენტების ბუნების განხილვა. რამდენად საჭიროა მათი ისტორიის, წარმოშობის და დამუშავების შესახებ ცოდნა? იმისათვის რომ უკეთესად გავეცნოთ ხელოვნების ისტორიას, ცოდნა პიგმენტების შესახებ - ერთ-ერთი კავშირი, და ალბათ, უმთავრესი ნაწილია ამ სფეროში. პირველ რიგში განიხილვა თითო ფერთან იქნება დაკავშირებული, რომლის ელფერები დამოკიდებულის პიგმენტების დაფხვნის ხარისხსა და მათ წარმომავლობაზე. ასევე მრავალი მიზეზი არსებობს სხვადასხვა ელფერის კონკრეტული ფერის შესახებ, რასაც ამ სტატიაში გაეცნობით.

"The megalithic tomb at Montelirio is off the scale in more ways than one. As well as being the largest example of its type known in Spain, the burial goods secreted in its subterranean chambers are unsurpassed in both quantity and quality. Leonardo García Sanjuán reveals what the dead of Montelirio can tell us about Copper Age society."

Venice was renowned as a centre for the production of corrosive substances, including lead white. Documentary evidence illustrate the large extent of production and exportation of these substances. Sixteenth- and seventeenth-century commentators provide anecdotal evidence for the superior quality of Venetian lead white. Analysis of the pigment in cross-sections provides evidence for at least two grades of lead white and careful and extensive processing of the product.

S ome methods used by modem traditional-style artists for washing, settling, decanting, and depositing colors are not very consistent with ancient methods, and some are more precise than the ancient methods. In order to save time, some people have even begun to use a small-scale pulveriser to grind up the pigments.

This thesis aims to investigate the nature of the trade in blue pigments during the seventeenth century, through an examination of the works held in the Collection of the National Gallery in London. A description of the pigments available during the period, and their place of origin are explained in the second chapter. The third chapter focuses on
social and cultural impacts on the use of pigments, such as taste, religion and the art market. The fourth chapter examines the other elements that may influence the trade of pigments such as war, laws and even climate.

Background: The important trecento Florentine artist Giotto (c. 1266-1337) is renowned for his naturalistic and realistic works in tempera and fresco. His innovative paintng style involved painting expressive, emotive faces and use of pictorial devices for depicting space. This report focuses on the analysis of the materials and methods used in a panel in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, Madonna and Child (1310/1315). Results: Giotto used inky washes under thin layers of egg tempera paint. Yellow iron earth and lead tin yellow are present in the paint used to depict the lining of the Virgin's mantle. SEM-EDX of one of the yellow pigments confirmed it is lead tin yellow type II, PbSn 1-x Si x O 3. The ratio of colorant to the glassy phase indicates this material was produced for use as a pigment rather than as a glass. Ultramarine was not used in this painting, azurite is the blue pigment. The azurite used here does not contain elemental impurities, however malachite and the rare green–blue mineral mixite, BiCu 6 (OH) 6 (AsO 4) 3 (H 2 O) 3 , are found in the blue paint.

Art historians, conservators and restorers, have traditionally shown interest in knowingthe nature of the pigments of the art works they study. On the one hand, they areespecially interested in knowing how artworks are made. They search the presence ofcertain materials with purposes of expertise (to propose attributions or just toestimate their age). On the other hand, in the field of conservation there are otherinterests that prevail: to identify the pigments and their composition canhelp to guessthe possible  problems  that  a  piece  may  have,  or  it  can  serve  to  choose  the  propersolutions  for  such pathologies.  However,  when  studying  paintings,  both  kinds  ofprofessionals  have  to  deal  with limitations.  Neither  is  always  possible  to  co-work  withchemicals  or  physicals –who  can  led  the identification of materials with XRF, RAMAN,spectrometers or other instruments–, nor they have budget  or  resources  to  carry  outsuch  analysis.  Instead,  both  art  historians  and  conservators  work frequently with thephoto camera, which, at least, could help in some way to identify pigments. In the lastyears,  several  studies  dealing  with  multiband  imaging  applied  to  works  of  art  haveachieved successfully results with that purpose (Herrero et al. 2018: 5-15); (Cosentino2014: 2-12). Multiband analysis consists of series of images in different regions of thespectrum. A full spectrum camera is commonly used as main device due to itspossibilities to work within the UV range and also within the  IR  (300-1100nm).  Themultiband  analysis  (MBTI)  consists  of  a  series  of  photographs,  UVR, UVF, VIS, IR, IRR,IRF, IRFC, and, excluding the IRR, all the rest are done with that same device.
24Even ifthe diverse techniques which MBTI comprises have their own independent value,(specially IRFC), when they are used together they provide much more information, bycomparing the many results.  (Poldi;  Villa,  2006:  127-137);  (Cosentino  2014;  2016:  4-5)This  study  proposes  the observation  of  the  behaviour  of  20  historical  pigments  anddyes  throughout  the  spectrum,  in  the different  images  of  MBTI.  Some  have  been  usedsince  Antiquity,  and  others  incorporated progressively on the palette of painters, untilthe 18th century. They have been bound with oil, painted on a surface prepared withchalk-glue ground, similar to traditional preparation. They all have been previouslycharacterized with RAMAN. Then, they have been imaged in VIS, IR and UV ranges. Inorder to calibrate colours a modified AIC target has been used (Cosentino 2014: 3).Although  the  system  can  not  be  considered  precise,  (and  should  be  backed  with  somephysical  or chemical analysis before extracting definitive conclusions) it can help, at least to a first approach. It is a very economical, visual-based, non-invasive fast system.It serves to check the presence of some materials  (in  some  cases,  the  system  proves  tobe  almost  infallible).  Hence,  with  very  basic equipment, interesting results for arthistorians and conservators can be obtained.

Materials Matter, a new course at Binghamton University, draws chemistry and physics into conversation with archaeology, art history, and the history of science through an interdisciplinary focus on a particular class of materials—pigments. In its first iteration, co-taught by an archaeologist and a physicist, instruction focused upon all aspects of pigments, considering why pigments have color, their atomic bonding, ancient prices of pigments, and even how innovations in pigments influenced other industries, etc.
Class sessions stress humanities research methodologies alongside the quantitative and experimental methods of STEM fields, offering students early in their college career insights into processes and modes of research. Students made frescoes themselves to understand the chemical processes behind the creation of art, and made acrylic paints, while varying different additives, to understand the significance of each ingredient in the process. Students also learned how materials may be studied with experimental techniques such as x-ray fluorescence, x-ray diffraction, multispectral imaging, and electron microscopy, by analyzing pigments and artworks in Binghamton University’s Art Museum and in the Analytical and Diagnostics Laboratory.
This paper also highlights the work of the graphic designer who has been involved in planning this course from its inception. His work for Materials Matter is driven by the overarching goal of communicating complex chemical and physical processes by utilizing an integrative visual language. To this end, a graphical framework has been designed to bring into view all aspects of this course in a scalar manner, from the atomic level to the socio-cultural level, so that students can visually map the entire humanistic-scientific domain of one material as we focus upon it in different ways. An interactive student app is in development that integrates the various elements of this course using a scalar framework, in order to supplement lecture material and to provide interactive lab assignments.

Three types of black ink are attested in the textual sources pertaining to the manufacture of black pigments in the ancient Mediterranean: “carbon ink,” “mixed ink,” and “iron gall ink.” A discussion of the wellknown accounts by Vitruvius, Pliny, and Dioscorides is combined with a study of the formulae for black ink found in the Greek magical papyri and an examination of the textual evidence from Late Period Egypt and beyond. It is demonstrated that the ingredients mentioned in the texts were employed regularly in ancient Egyptian and Mediterranean pharmacology. Furthermore, it is argued that the soot and charcoal for “mixed inks,” meaning carbon inks that contain metalloids, were obtained as by-products of metallurgy, glaze and glass production. The article is supplemented by a glossary of selected Egyptian, Greek, Latin, Coptic, Arabic, and Syriac technical terms.

Il colore non è solo un fenomeno naturale, ma una costruzione culturale complessa (Michel Pastoureau) Una riconsiderazione dell'utilizzo del pigmento blu ricavato dal lapislazzuli, chiamato lungo la storia dell'arte occidentale anche oltremare o, più limitatamente, Lazur, necessita di alcune preliminari considerazioni circa le motivazioni dell'utilizzo del prezioso materiale. Non si può, infatti, non partire da una storia, per quanto schematica, della sua diffusione e da considerazioni circa la percezione e la valutazione di questo pigmento che lo fecero scegliere e utilizzare, anche a discapito di considerazioni economiche e di reperibilità, in base ad un apprezzamento artistico ed estetico, certo, ma forse anche simbolico e contenutistico. Ci è di aiuto, in questo campo, appoggiarci ad un esame delle parole che nelle diverse lingue hanno descritto e connotato il colore stesso, l'azzurro, prima ancora che il materiale. Questo approccio può aiutarci a ricostruire una storia quando manchino i dati materiali che la possano supportare 1 . La connotazione del vocabolario del colore risulta ad una analisi sistematica, sia geografica che diacronica, strettamente legata alle evoluzioni sociali ed ai meccanismi di produzione. Le parole che definiscono i colori non sembrano infatti tanto venire coniate per servire alla funzione descrittiva quanto a quella legata alla capacità tecnica di produrli e utilizzarli 2 . La concatenazione fra il termine descrittivo del colore 'azzurro' e il materiale lapislazzuli è attestata, in area occidentale, fin dal mondo greco, poiché uno dei tre termini usati per descrivere il colore è appunto κυάνεος, una parola che indica anche il lapislazzuli come pietra 3 . A questa interpretazione, in passato ostavano da una parte considerazioni legate alla collocazione remota delle miniere di lapislazzuli, dall'altra la valutazione che il processo complesso per l'estrazione del pigmento dalla pietra ne avessero limitato l'uso all'area strettamente persiana per il periodo antico; e che il suo impiego sistematico in occidente si fosse avuto solo a partire dal tardo XII o XIV secolo. Ugualmente la sua presenza nel mondo classico veniva ritenuta limitata alla pietra ed esclusivamente legata a decorazioni preziose. La sempre maggiore possibilità di indagare analiticamente sopravvivenze materiali ha invece permesso di rintracciare l'uso di lapislazzuli come pigmento in decorazioni dipinte, sia murali che di oggetti, in periodi sempre più antichi 4 . Allargandosi poi a considerare i paesi del Mediterraneo orientale, sempre per l'epoca antica, incontriamo una notevole attestazione di uso del blu di lapislazzuli, in ambito privilegiato, in Egitto. Il blu abbinato al bianco, per la rappresentazione degli dèi e della famiglia del faraone, è ben noto. Ad esempio i faraoni usavano barbe posticce, di colore azzurro-lapislazzuli, che voleva evidentemente creare un collegamento diretto fra la figura imperiale e il dio Ra dal colore dei capelli blu-azzurro. Anche per le popolazioni babilonesi e quelle ebraiche, il lapislazzuli era un colore sacrale, in combinazione spesso con l'altro grande materiale-colore connesso alla rappresentazione del divino: l'oro. In particolare si può citare come nel libro dell'Esodo, quando Mosè, Aronne e gli anziani salirono sul Sinai, "videro il Dio d'Israele. Sotto i suoi piedi c'era come un pavimento lavorato in trasparente zaffiro e simile per chiarezza al cielo stesso" (Esodo XXIV, 10). Anche gli dei indù delle popolazioni di ceppo indoeuropeo, Vishnu, Krishna e Shiva, hanno la pelle blu o talvolta nera, con un abbinamento, comune al mondo antico, tra blu e colore della notte 5 . Il colore azzurro, in generale, non entrò comunque nel novero di quelli più comunemente usati nell'area occidentale del Mediterraneo, in epoca antica, come elemento di illustrazione di una simbologia; e questo nonostante la disponibilità di molti altri possibili pigmenti che potevano sostituire il lapislazzuli, come il blu egizio (dai Romani definito caeruleum 6 ) o l'azzurrite; e, tra i coloranti, l'indaco e il guado (quest'ultimo in latino tradotto come vitrum o glastum). Questo nonostante si trattasse di materiali meno costosi, ma soprattutto le cui materie prime erano di più facile reperibilità e la cui fabbricazione più facile. Oltretutto, nel caso del guado e dell'indaco, i due coloranti erano anche utilizzabili come tintura per stoffe e quindi potenzialmente si presentavano come più convenienti dal punto di vista economico, in quanto polivalenti. È infatti assai importante sottolineare la valenza sociale del colore, non solo del blu, ma di ogni colore, concetto ormai approfonditamente sviscerato e sistematizzato, sia in chiave di storia delle idee che in chiave di storia sociale, grazie ai numerosi studi di Michael Pastoureau 7 . Particolarmente interessante e convincente è la trama di motivazioni che Pastoureau traccia, legando all'evoluzione della sensibilità ai colori nella civiltà occidentale il trasformarsi delle istanze ideologiche, i cambiamenti dei flussi commerciali e produttivi, le modificazioni dell'organizzazione della società e della produzione delle merci. Leggendo le serrate analisi di Pastoureau, che spaziano attraverso i secoli, si può riconoscere come il colore abbia acquistato, nelle diverse culture, un ruolo pubblico, civile, identitario. Per cui, ad esempio, le percezioni psicologiche e sociali del colore si sostanziarono nelle scelte araldiche, di bandiere e stemmi, tanto da identificarsi con una casa regnante e, per traslato, con un'intera popolazione. D'altro canto, anche il fatto che certi colori divengano discriminatori sociali (ad esempio il giallo, abbinato agli ebrei e percepito in molte epoche storiche come colore 'negativo', del tradimento) fa parte dello stesso sistema di attribuzione di motivazioni ideologiche e culturali ad un colore, senza alcuna possibile relazione con la fisica né del materiale che produce, per così dire, il colore, né con la percezione fisiologica di esso da parte dell'uomo.