The Technology of Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Red Lake Pigments

Jo Kirby, Marika Spring and Catherine Higgitt
Technical Bulletin Volume 28, 2007

Abstract 

Cochineal and, later, madder were the most important natural dyes used for red lake pigments in the 18th and 19th centuries. However, as a result of developments in the technology of the dyestuffs and in the processes involved in pigment making, 18th- and 19th-century lakes show important differences to those made from the same two colourants in earlier centuries.

Keywords

alizarin, alumina, brazilwood, carmine, cochineal, FTIR spectroscopy, garancine, HPLC analysis, Kopp’s purpurin, lake pigments, Lefranc et Cie, Lewis Berger and Company Ltd, madder, pseudopurpurin, purpurin, SEM–EDX analysis, starch, tin, Winsor & Newton

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To cite this article we suggest using

Kirby, J., Spring, M., Higgitt, C. 'The Technology of Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Red Lake Pigments'. National Gallery Technical Bulletin Vol 28, pp 69–87.
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/technical-bulletin/kirby_spring_higgitt2007

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