Mummy brown was a rich brown bituminous pigment, intermediate in tint between burnt umber and raw umber, which was one of the favorite colors of the Pre-Raphaelites.
Mummy brown was originally made in the 16th and 17th centuries from white pitch, myrrh, and the ground-up remains of Egyptian mummies, both human and feline, one London colourman claiming that he could satisfy the demands of his customers for twenty years from one Egyptian mummy. It fell from popularity in the early 19th century when its composition became generally known to artists. It was also considered extremely variable in its composition and quality, and since it contained ammonia and particles of fat, was likely to affect other colours with which it was used.
Mummy brown was produced up into the 20th century until the supply of available mummies was exhausted. via and
I'm guessing when it reached the point they had to grind up the mummy of grandpa Fred, the supply fell off rapidly.
ReplyDeletefirst un-un-unnormal thought i got of this story : "in germany they ran out of soap after the 2nd ww, because they were no longer allowed..."
ReplyDeletesorry
not correct
Oddly enough, this helps me understand where the color "blood red" comes from.
ReplyDeleteThe supply of mummies ran out...how did they go about procuring them in the first place?
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