COMMERCIAL & REFERENCE CATEGORY
Historical & natural pigments
Mineral and historically significant colourants for conservation, restoration and specialist manufacture. Several historical pigments carry genuine toxicity, handling or regulatory constraints. We treat that as part of the specification rather than a footnote: each material below states its status, and where a hazardous pigment is not appropriate we identify the modern equivalent.
SAFETY NOTICE
Some historical pigments contain lead, arsenic, mercury or chromium compounds. Where such materials are supplied at all, they are supplied only to professional users, with the manufacturer’s safety data sheet, and subject to the regulatory requirements applicable at the destination.
| PIGMENT | COMPOSITION | STATUS | NOTE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural ultramarine | Lazurite (from lapis lazuli) | SOURCING ENQUIRY | Scarce and labour-intensive to purify; synthetic ultramarine is the practical substitute for most work |
| Azurite | Basic copper carbonate | SOURCING ENQUIRY | Can alter in some binders; conservation use requires compatibility assessment |
| Malachite | Basic copper carbonate | SOURCING ENQUIRY | Particle size strongly affects hue and covering power |
| Ochres & earths | Iron oxide minerals with clay | AVAILABLE FOR ENQUIRY | Stable, lightfast and the most practical historical family for volume work |
| Verdigris | Copper acetate compounds | REFERENCE ONLY | Historically important; chemically reactive and rarely appropriate for new work |
| Cinnabar / vermilion | Mercury sulphide | REFERENCE ONLY | Toxic. Discussed for documentation purposes; modern cadmium-free reds substitute |
| Lead-tin yellow | Lead stannate | REFERENCE ONLY | Lead compound. Educational and analytical context only |
| Realgar / orpiment | Arsenic sulphides | REFERENCE ONLY | Arsenic compounds. Identification and conservation literature only |
STATUS VALUES DESCRIBE HOW WE HANDLE AN ENQUIRY, NOT STOCK LEVELS. “REFERENCE ONLY” MEANS WE DISCUSS THE MATERIAL EDUCATIONALLY AND DO NOT OFFER IT COMMERCIALLY.
Conservation and restoration enquiries
Tell us the object, the binder system, the analytical evidence you are working from and the quantity. We will state what is obtainable and what should be substituted.