Orpiment Pigment

SKU: NAP-GROUP-9486963
PRICE RANGE: US$ 29.53 - US$ 127.83
FULL PRODUCT LINE

WARNING! CONTAINS ARSENIC. Please read the for cautionary statements.

Orpiment is yellow arsenic sulfide, usually described as a lemon or canary yellow or sometimes as a golden or brownish yellow. It is designated as brilliant yellow in Munsell notation 4.4Y 8.7/8.9. Our orpiment is made from natural mineral sources near Kadamdzhay in Kyrgyzstan or Hubei Province, China, and is an intensely bright pigment of crystalline particles.

Pigment Names
Mineral Names: Chinese: ci huang or shi huang (pinyin), tz'u huang or shih huang
English: orpiment
French: orpiment
German: Rauschgelb, Operment
Italian: orpimento
Japanese: shiō, kiō, sekiō
Russian: аурипигмент
Spanish: oropimente
Artificial Pigment Names: English: king's yellow
French: juane royal, orpin artificiel
German: Königsgelb
Russian: желтый мышьяк
Synonyms: English: arrhenicum, arsenic trisulfide, arsenikon, auripigment, auripigmento, auripigmentum, jalde, operment, oropiment, yellow arsenic
French: arsenic jaune, arsenic sulfuré jaune
German: Arsenblende, Arsenikon, Auripigment, Gelbe Arsenblende
Greek: studied the mechanisms of deterioration in orpiment. Several medieval painting guides do not recommend mixing orpiment with lead white, red lead, or verdigris. However, it must also be noted that it has been identified in paintings mixed with indigo, red iron oxide, azurite, Prussian blue, green bice (artificial malachite), and bice (smalt). It cannot be applied to wet plaster and hence is not recommended in wet fresco painting techniques. Oil Absorption and Grinding

No data has been published on the oil absorption properties of orpiment. It isn't easy to grind because of its micaceous structure. For this reason, it is often relatively coarse. Adding ground glass to the pigment has been suggested to facilitate grinding and dispersion in linseed oil.

Toxicity

The toxicity of arsenic sulfide pigments has been known for years. Extreme caution must be used when handling the dry orpiment pigment and in any soluble form to avoid inhaling the dust or ingesting it.


Pigment: Orpiment

Pigment Information
Color: Yellow
Colour Index: Pigment Yellow 39 (77085, 77086)
Chemical Name: Arsenic(III) Sulfide
Chemical Formula: As2S3
ASTM Lightfastness Rating
Acrylic: Not Rated
Oil: Not Rated
Watercolor: Not Rated
Properties
Density: 3.49 g/cm3
Hardness (Mohs): 1.5–2.0
Refractive Index: nα = 2.400 nβ = 2.810 nγ = 3.020