Schmincke Horadam Artist Gouache - Ivory Black, 15 ml tube

Pigment Information

This color contains the following pigments:

PBk1-Aniline Black

PBk9-Ivory Black

Pigment Name

PBk1-Aniline Black

Pigment Type

organic, azine

Chemical Formula

Properties

Analine black was the first black dye used to color cotton.

Permanence

As a clothing dye, it has been reported to have excellent lightfastness.

Toxicity

Testing of analine black dye on rabbits has shown that it is not an skin or eye irritant.

History

Analine Black was discovered by Lightfoot in 1863. It has been used ever since as a black dye for coloring cotton.

Pigment Name

PBk9-Ivory Black

Pigment Type

charred animal bone

Chemical Name

carbon + calcium phosphate

Chemical Formula

C + Ca3(PO4)2 or C x CaPO4

Properties

Ivory Black is a cool, semi-transparent blue-black with a slight brownish undertone and average tinting strength. It mixes well with any color, and creates a range of dull greens when mixed with yellow. It has good properties for use in oil, can be slow to dry in oil form, and should never be used in underpainting or frescoing. Ivory Black is denser than Lamp Black.

Permanence

Ivory Black is very lightfast and has good permanence, though it is considered the least permanent of the major black pigments.

Toxicity

Ivory Black has no significant hazards.

History

Ivory Black is a carbon based black first named as Elephantium, and described in the 4th century BCE as produced by heating ivory scraps in clay pots to reduce the ivory or bone to charcoal. The deviation in names is because the more expensive varieties of this pigment were made by burning ivory, and the less expensive ones by burning animal bone. In the 19th century, the name Ivory Black was finally permitted to be applied to Carbon Black pigments made from bone. True Ivory Black is rare in modern times due to the protection of ivory, and the synthetic variety produced today was discovered in 1929. Bone Black is produced as an industrial pigment.