Pigments



  • Red - A red oxide of iron, "hematite" was used (Stillman 14).

  • Orange - A mixture of red oxide and yellow clay might have been used.

  • Yellow- A naturally colored yellow clay containing ferric hydroxide (Stillman 19).

  • Green - Besides the commonly occurring grass stain, malachite produced a green color.

  • Blue - Copper carbonate was most likely used - probably azurite.

  • Indigo - Natural indigo could have been used to obtain this color.

  • Violet - The most precious color to the ancients, violet or purple, was obtained in very small quantities from shellfish. Many experiments were done to try to create an artificial purple.


    • Many prime examples of these pigments occur in the Roman baths. Sir Humphrey Davy examined a blue glass found at a Roman bath and found that he could reproduce it using 15 parts sodium carbonate, 20 parts powdered flint, and 3 parts of copper shavings. By this example one can tell that the ancients were very exact in their mixings.


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