tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post695627937631164390..comments2023-06-13T08:29:39.914+00:00Comments on MAKING A MARK: A pigment conundrum for you!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-9862224184968116682011-08-31T08:42:50.388+00:002011-08-31T08:42:50.388+00:00Vivien - did the phials you saw have as many as th...Vivien - did the phials you saw have as many as this - with this sort of colour scheme? I think we have to explain the whole and not just that pigment was carried in glass phials in the past.<br /><br />Vivienne - did you see the update from Judy re china paint pigments?Making A Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13509483023337008890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-88966457817598832342011-08-31T08:18:39.547+00:002011-08-31T08:18:39.547+00:00I think there are too many tints to be oil paints ...I think there are too many tints to be oil paints and too few for pastels. The colours would suggest they are 20th century. Also there are no earth colours though they could well have been in another case. If they were either for oils or pastels then why numbered and not named? Also I am curious as to why all the phials seem to be full or nearly full. Just a suggesstion Katherine but why not email Cornellissen and ask?Viviennehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09469285436378751205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-76244322630555835392011-08-30T12:02:40.281+00:002011-08-30T12:02:40.281+00:00Another response from a reader of this blog
"...Another response from a reader of this blog<br /><br />"The pigment container looks very interesting. I think it dates from the days when artists mixed their own pigment with linseed oil to make oil paint. The great masters had students to grind the pigment for them. Ready mixed oil paint has only been available since about the 1880s (an art historian would know the exact date). Ready mixed paint made paint more transportable and made it easier to paint out of doors."Making A Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13509483023337008890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-22266637796875639842011-08-30T10:45:12.313+00:002011-08-30T10:45:12.313+00:00a message from Peter - who's the chap who boug...a message from Peter - who's the chap who bought these<br /><br />" Thank you so much, what a great network you have.<br /><br />Please pass on my thanks to your friends I tried to my self but its too early in the morning to work out how to set up an google account.<br /><br />Peter"Making A Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13509483023337008890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-9558698012778486042011-08-30T10:39:42.857+00:002011-08-30T10:39:42.857+00:00I agree that while they could be for ceramics - th...I agree that while they could be for ceramics - they could equally simply be pigments for mixing with oil (or water to create pastels).<br /><br />As has been said, and I know you know Cornellissens well, they are still available - and historically they were often carried like this.<br /><br />A while ago I visited the vaults of our local museum and gallery and one of the things I was shown was the plein air wooden box of Sir George Beaumont. It contained both glass vials and paper packages of powdered pigments and bottles of oils for mixing. This was from the 1850's. <br /><br />I don't know how old this box is that you are querying but it looks old?vivienhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16820836660470146799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-7256030865587784662011-08-30T08:17:06.353+00:002011-08-30T08:17:06.353+00:00Hello Katherine,
I have seen theses vials before a...Hello Katherine,<br />I have seen theses vials before and yes they are colour pigments that you can mix with oil for painting.<br /><br />I know that the ones I saw came from Cornelissen & son, artists' colourmen. You can still buy pigments from them, they are in London near the British Museum the link is <br />http://www.cornelissen.com/<br /><br />Pricey but the selection is great, thirteen different yellows. I think for the professional artist its a gem of a place.<br /><br />Best wishes <br /><br />Roger GregoryAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-88475522300508370582011-08-30T05:29:08.987+00:002011-08-30T05:29:08.987+00:00I have no idea....but loving most things old, I th...I have no idea....but loving most things old, I think this is very cool! Just love the way it folds to a box!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-62758772277494821572011-08-30T00:08:52.857+00:002011-08-30T00:08:52.857+00:00And I should have read all the comments first...And I should have read all the comments first...Kate (Cathy Johnson)https://www.blogger.com/profile/03296053923338246127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-42845699725032770062011-08-30T00:07:46.223+00:002011-08-30T00:07:46.223+00:00Possibly salesman's samples? The ancient drug...Possibly salesman's samples? The ancient drug store, now the museum in the next town, has a lot of powdered pigments in larger jars...<br /><br />Though J. Nijholt-Strong's suggestion sounds good too...a friend recently called from an antiques mall wanting to know if I wanted a set he'd found that had powdered pigments labeled somewhere as vitreous. I knew they were for painting on china...Kate (Cathy Johnson)https://www.blogger.com/profile/03296053923338246127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-37380061840829456562011-08-30T00:03:53.776+00:002011-08-30T00:03:53.776+00:00Forgot to say - the other thing that convinces me ...Forgot to say - the other thing that convinces me that this must be the answer is that china paints also provides an answer to the question of the weird palette. <br /><br />I'm guessing that the blue paints have already been exhausted and the glass phials chucked.Making A Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13509483023337008890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-7181216104710960162011-08-30T00:01:50.942+00:002011-08-30T00:01:50.942+00:00Well I was reading through, mentally saying to mys...Well I was reading through, mentally saying to myself "Yup - suggested that", "Yup - given him the link for them" until I got to Judy's post.<br /><br />Knowing Judy as I do I'd have said "Got it!" straight off. To have her answer backed up by Vivienne suggests we do indeed have an answer.<br /><br />For the record Peter bought this set this weekend in a second hand shop in Ashburton, Devon.Making A Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13509483023337008890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-70803266176338344742011-08-29T23:37:15.176+00:002011-08-29T23:37:15.176+00:00by the way, someone experienced in color mixing wo...by the way, someone experienced in color mixing wouldn't need many browns as they can mix colors opposite each other on the color wheel and make brown...Dorcashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00384391424354580227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-75926737530830208262011-08-29T23:35:12.093+00:002011-08-29T23:35:12.093+00:00Looks like powdered pigments for making your own p...Looks like powdered pigments for making your own pastels, I hear some artists like to do that as they can mix their colors so precisely and get exactly what colors they want. What a great find!Dorcashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00384391424354580227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-43976633305492568792011-08-29T22:56:02.534+00:002011-08-29T22:56:02.534+00:00Looks like porcelain (china) paints. They are only...Looks like porcelain (china) paints. They are only sold in powder form and some still come with cork stoppers. The reason for the mumbering could be from a set of paints used by a particular porcelain/china manufacturer.Viviennehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09469285436378751205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-35303405262294131632011-08-29T22:23:38.648+00:002011-08-29T22:23:38.648+00:00You might check with Winsor & Newton. Accordi...You might check with Winsor & Newton. According to their site, they at one time had salesmen who carried kits that contained samples of dry pigments: http://www.winsornewton.com/about-us/our-history/explore-our-museum/traditional-pigments-of-the-19th-century/Michael Chesley Johnson, Artist / Writerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17003530955203751138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-43048749893327199252011-08-29T22:19:48.316+00:002011-08-29T22:19:48.316+00:00What an interesting mystery! I don't know wha...What an interesting mystery! I don't know what it is, but I'd love to have something like that!Michael Chesley Johnson, Artist / Writerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17003530955203751138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-82154156614191917382011-08-29T21:50:47.968+00:002011-08-29T21:50:47.968+00:00Hi Katherine,
As someone who has a degree in the ...Hi Katherine,<br /><br />As someone who has a degree in the ceramic arts, I recognize those vials as containing China Paint colors - used for painting on china. In fact, I have some of the same glass vials of pigment with very similar lables on them...they last forever.<br /><br />The pigments are, for the most part, very fine grained so no further mulling is usually necessary. In order to paint on china with them, a pigment will be mixed with a heavy,thick oil (usually mixed with lavender oil) as a medium to then paint on an already glaze fired china plate, tea cup, etc. After the decoration is dried, the object is then fired again at a very low temperature, the oily medium burns out and leaves the painted decoration permanently adhered to the surface of the china object.<br /><br />I'm pretty certain that's what those vials are. My old professor used to have a smaller black leather case of those vials. I never had such a lovely thing as that...just an old tackle box. :D<br /><br />JudyJ. Nijholt-Stronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16121568666930792642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-58580469736380407762011-08-29T21:13:17.976+00:002011-08-29T21:13:17.976+00:00Hi there! I'm afraid I don't know the answ...Hi there! I'm afraid I don't know the answer (I'll tell you quickly so you don't get over excited!) but my suggestion would be you contact somewhere like the old Cornelissen shop in Great Russel Street, where they have so much knowledge about these things. Where on earth did you find them?? Hope you solve the mystery! <br />JulieJulie Douglashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12750152940761828189noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-71604583874518533032011-08-29T20:52:01.836+00:002011-08-29T20:52:01.836+00:00I can only think it must be powder pigment to be m...I can only think it must be powder pigment to be mixed for egg tempera painting, icon painting (which incorporates egg tempera), or possibly for making oil paint, since powder pigment is used both ways. It would be easy to dispense a little pigment onto a ceramic palette for mixing from these vials, add some egg yolk and distilled water and mix it into paint on the go, so it may also have been a way to transport pigment, and would have been ideal for an egg tempera painter who travels. Perhaps also an introductory pigment set, but old, yes, especially if there are no warning labels about the contents except numbers.Mona Diane Connerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02022399915344870046noreply@blogger.com