Harvard has a pigment library that stores old pigment sources, like the ground shells of now-extinct insects, poisonous metals, and wrappings from Egyptian mummies, to preserve the origins of the worldās rarest colors.
A few centuries ago, finding a specific color might have meant trekking across the globe to a mineral deposit in the middle of Afghanistan. āEvery pigment has its own story,ā Narayan Khandekar, the caretaker of the pigment collection, told Fastcodesign. He also shared the stories of some of the most interesting pigments in the collection.
āPeople would harvest mummies from Egypt and then extract the brown resin material that was on the wrappings around the bodies and turn that into a pigment. Itās a very bizarre kind of pigment, Iāve got to say, but it was very popular in the 18th and 19th centuries.ā
āCadmium yellow was introduced in the mid 19th century. Itās a bright yellow that many impressionists used. Cadmium is a heavy metal, very toxic. In the early 20th century, cadmium red was introduced. You find these pigments used in industrial processes. Up until the 1970s, Lego bricks had cadmium pigment in them.ā
Annatto
āThe lipstick plantāa small tree, Bixa orellana, native to Central and South Americaāproduces annatto, a natural orange dye. Seeds from the plant are contained in a pod surrounded with a bright red pulp. Currently, annatto is used to color butter, cheese, and cosmetics.ā
Lapis Lazuli
āPeople would mine it in Afghanistan, ship it across Europe, and it was more expensive than gold so it would have its own budget line on a commission.ā
Dragonās Blood
āIt has a great name, but itās not from dragons. [The bright red pigment] is from the rattan palm.ā
Cochineal
āThis red dye comes from squashed beetles, and itās used in cosmetics and food.ā
Emerald Green
āThis is made from copper acetoarsenite. We had a Van Gogh with a bright green background that was identified as emerald green. Pigments used for artistsā purposes can find their way into use in other areas as well. Emerald green was used as an insecticide, and you often see it on older wood that would be put into the ground, like railroad ties.ā
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