What does red ochre look like? It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colours produced by this pigment, especially a light brownish-yellow.
What is the color of ochre?
It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colours produced by this pigment, especially a light brownish-yellow. A variant of ochre containing a large amount of hematite, or dehydrated iron oxide, has a reddish tint known as "red ochre" (or, in some dialects, ruddle).
What is the difference between red and purple ochre?
Purple ochre is identical to red ochre chemically but of a different hue caused by different light diffraction properties associated with a greater average particle size. Brown ochre, also FeO(OH), (goethite), is a partly hydrated iron oxide.
What is the meaning of red ocher?
"Red ocher" redirects here. For the indigenous people of North America, see Red Ocher people. Ochre ( / ˈoʊkər / OH-kər; from Ancient Greek: ὤχρα, from ὠχρός, ōkhrós, pale), or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. [1]
Where is ochre found in nature?
The clay hills of Roussillon, Vaucluse, in Provence have been an important source of ochre pigment since the 18th century. Yellow and red ochre pigment was used in prehistoric and ancient times by many different civilizations on different continents.
What color is red ochre?
Red ochre is a muted shade of reddish-orange with the hex code #913831, an earthy tone inspired by red ochre pigment. That pigment, along with others like umber and sienna, has been used in paintings since prehistoric times.
Where is red ochre found?
Where is ochre found? Ochre occurs naturally in rocks and soil — essentially in any environment where iron minerals have pooled and formed, Pettitt said. "It can be found in valley edges, eroding out of cliffs [or even] in caves eroding out of the bedrock," Pettitt told Live Science.
What is another name for red ochre?
Names for Red Ochre:Alternative names:iron oxide mixed with different quantities and qualities of clay and other minerals is called red bole, cinabrese. Artificial variety: mars redWord origin:The name "Red Ochre" comes from Greek ochros = yellow, pale yellow.3 more rows
What is red ochre used for?
Ochre is used as an adhesive. Its powder is an effective aggregate in resin adhesives to mount tools onto handles or shafts. Evidence of it being used in this way is found in the Middle Stone Age. It was also used to tan hide.
Is red ochre toxic?
non toxic. Ocher is not considered toxic, but care should be used in handling the dry powder pigment to avoid inhaling the dust.
Can we eat red ochre?
After being mined, red ocher is pounded and ground down into a type of powder, which can be used raw or after being cooked with vinegar.
How do you identify ochre?
ochre, a native earth coloured with hydrated iron oxide. It varies in colour from pale yellow to deep red, brown, and violet. There are two kinds: one has a clayey basis, while the other is a chalky earth. The former variety is in general the richer and purer in colour of the two.
How do you get red ochre?
Limonite, a mineraloid containing iron hydroxide, is the main ingredient of all the ochre pigments. Hematite is a more reddish variety of iron oxide, and is the main ingredient of red ochre. When limonite is roasted, it turns partially to the more reddish hematite and becomes red ochre or burnt sienna.
Why was red ochre used in burials?
There are several theories as to why ochre was used in some Stone Age graves. Some believe that the function of the red ochre was to mark the grave so that no one accidentally dug down into it afterwards. Others believe that the ochre could have been used to tan or colour the skin clothes that the buried people wore.
What rock does red ochre come from?
Hematite makes red ochre and limonite makes yellow ochre. So, the chemical weathering of deep Earth minerals, like olivine and pyroxene, and their rocks, creates red and yellow-coloured iron oxide mineral pigments as a by product.
Where can I get ochre?
Ochre is extracted with stone and wooden tools as rock particles or compressed clay, which is then crushed and mixed with a fluid such as water, saliva, blood, the fat of fish, emu, possum or goanna – or occasionally orchid oil - to form a fixative so that pigment can be painted on rock, weapons, ceremonial objects and ...
What colours go with ochre?
Grey is one of the most popular choices to pair with ochre – light grey will really bring out the vibrancy, while darker greys will offer a subdued and sophisticated finish. If you're wanting something a little more dramatic, there's no shade of blue that ochre doesn't complement.
Why was red ochre used in burials?
There are several theories as to why ochre was used in some Stone Age graves. Some believe that the function of the red ochre was to mark the grave so that no one accidentally dug down into it afterwards. Others believe that the ochre could have been used to tan or colour the skin clothes that the buried people wore.
What did aboriginals use ochre for?
Ochres are primarily natural pigments and minerals found in the soil, or even in charcoal. These natural pigments (colours) were originally used to depict Dreamtime stories and maps. They were used either in body painting, rock painting, on artefacts and sometimes even on sand.
When was red ochre discovered?
The history of red ochre Red ochre in pigment form is known to have been used to decorate the body or bones in burial rituals during Palaeolithic times 350,000 BC, but in 2008 archaeologists found in Blombos Caves east of Cape Town in South Africa what has been described as the first ever “painting kit”.
What type of rock is ochre?
At its simplest, ochre is defined as an earthy deposit predominantly composed of metal-rich oxides or oxide-hydroxides. By far and away, iron ochres are the commonest, but ochres of other metallic elements such as cobalt, nickel, copper etc. can also form.
Where did red ochre come from?
In classical antiquity, the finest red ochre came from a Greek colony on the Black Sea where the modern city of Sinop in Turkey is located .
What is the pigment of ochre?
Earth pigments. Ochre is a family of earth pigments, which includes yellow ochre, red ochre, purple ochre, sienna, and umber. The major ingredient of all the ochres is iron (III) oxide-hydroxide, known as limonite, which gives them a yellow colour. Yellow ochre ( Goldochre) pigment. Yellow ochre, FeO (OH)·nH.
What is ocher pigment?
Ochre ( / ˈoʊkər / OH-kər; from Ancient Greek: ὤχρα, from ὠχρός, ōkhrós, pale), or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment which is a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown.
How is ochre made?
He invented a process to make the pigment on a large scale. First the clay was extracted from open pits or mines . The raw clay contained about 10 to 20 percent ochre. Then he washed the clay to separate the grains of sand from the particles of ochre. The remaining mixture was then decanted in large basins, to further separate the ochre from the sand. The water was then drained, and the ochre was dried, cut into bricks, crushed, sifted, and then classified by colour and quality. The best quality was reserved for artists' pigments.
What is the difference between yellow and purple ochre?
Red ochre, Fe. 2O. 3, takes its reddish colour from the mineral hematite, which is an anhydrous iron oxide. Purple ochre is identical to red ochre chemically but of a different hue caused by different light diffraction properties associated ...
How much ochre is in clay?
First the clay was extracted from open pits or mines. The raw clay contained about 10 to 20 percent ochre. Then he washed the clay to separate the grains of sand from the particles of ochre. The remaining mixture was then decanted in large basins, to further separate the ochre from the sand.
What is the word for clay coloured with iron oxide?
The word ochre also describes clays coloured with iron oxide derived during the extraction of tin and copper.
What is ochre pigment?
Her work has appeared in scholarly publications such as Archaeology Online and Science. Ochre (rarely spelled ocher and often referred to as yellow ochre) is one of a variety of forms of iron oxide which are described as earth-based pigments. These pigments, used by ancient and modern artists, are made of iron oxyhydroxide, ...
Where is ochre found?
Ochre is very common on archaeological sites worldwide. Certainly, Upper Paleolithic cave art in Europe and Australia contain the generous use of the mineral: but ochre use is much older. The earliest possible use of ochre discovered so far is from a Homo erectus site about 285,000 years old.
What is the role of ochre in human evolution?
Spanish paleontologist Carlos Duarte (2014) has even suggested that using red ochre as a pigment in tattoos (and otherwise ingested) may have had a role in human evolution, as it would have been a source of iron directly to the human brain, perhaps making us smarter. The presence of ochre mixed with milk proteins on an artifact from a 49,000-year-old MSA level at Sibudu cave in South Africa is suggested to have been used to make the ochre liquid, probably by killing a lactating bovid (Villa 2015).
How much iron oxyhydroxide is in ochre?
Getting Red from Yellow. Ochre contains a minimum of 12% iron oxyhydroxide, but the amount can range up to 30% or more, giving rise to the wide range of colors from light yellow to red and brown.
What are natural pigments made of?
Before the 18th and 19th century, most pigments used by artists were of natural origin, made up of mixtures of organic dyes, resins, waxes, and minerals.
Where was ochre discovered?
By 250,000-200,000 years ago, Neanderthals were using ochre, at the Maastricht Belvédère site in The Netherlands (Roebroeks) and the Benzu rock shelter in Spain.
When was ochre used in a burial?
Ochre is often associated with human burials: for example, the Upper Paleolithic cave site of Arene Candide has an early use of ochre at a burial of a young man 23,500 years ago .
Overview
Ochre , or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colours produced by this pigment, especially a light brownish-yellow. A variant of ochre containing a large amount of hematite, or dehydrated iron oxide, has a reddish tint known a…
Earth pigments
Ochre is a family of earth pigments, which includes yellow ochre, red ochre, purple ochre, sienna, and umber. The major ingredient of all the ochres is iron(III) oxide-hydroxide, known as limonite, which gives them a yellow colour.
• Yellow ochre, FeO(OH)·nH 2O, is a hydrated iron hydroxide (limonite) also called gold ochre.
Historical use in art and culture
Yellow and red ochre pigment was used in prehistoric and ancient times by many different civilizations on different continents. Evidence of the processing of ochre to a lesser extent, in Africa and Europe has been dated by archaeologists to 300,000 years ago, evidence of use in Australia is dated to 50,000 years ago, and new research has uncovered evidence in Asia that is dat…
Modern history
The industrial process for making ochre pigment was developed by the French scientist Jean-Étienne Astier in the 1780s. He was from Roussillon in the Vaucluse department of Provence, and he was fascinated by the cliffs of red and yellow clay in the region. He invented a process to make the pigment on a large scale. First the clay was extracted from open pits or mines. The raw clay contained about 10 to 20 percent ochre. Then he washed the clay to separate the grains of san…
In heraldry
Ochre, both red and yellow, appear as tinctures in South African heraldry; the national coat of arms, adopted in 2000, includes red ochre, while (yellow) ochre appears in the arms of the University of Transkei.
In Popular Culture
A reddleman named Diggory Venn was prominently described in Thomas Hardy's 1878 novel entitled The Return of the Native.
See also
• Falu red
• Female cosmetic coalitions
• Iron(III) oxide
• List of colors
• List of inorganic pigments
External links
• Pigments through the ages
• A recipe for red ochre paint.
• Aboriginal Art Online Use of ochres in traditional Aboriginal art.
• National Museum of Australia Collection of ochre samples.
Prehistoric and Historic Uses
Natural Earth Pigments
- Before the 18th and 19th century, most pigments used by artists were of natural origin, made up of mixtures of organic dyes, resins, waxes, and minerals. Natural earth pigments like ochres consist of three parts: the principle color-producing component (hydrous or anhydrous iron oxide), the secondary or modifying color component (manganese oxides within umbers or carbonaceou…
Getting Red from Yellow
- Ochre contains a minimum of 12% iron oxyhydroxide, but the amount can range up to 30% or more, giving rise to the wide range of colors from light yellow to red and brown. The intensity of color depends on the degree of oxidation and hydration of the iron oxides, and the color becomes browner depending on the percentage of manganese dioxide, and red...
How Old Is Ochre use?
- Ochre is very common on archaeological sites worldwide. Certainly, Upper Paleolithic cave art in Europe and Australia contain the generous use of the mineral: but ochre use is much older. The earliest possible use of ochre discovered so far is from a Homo erectussite about 285,000 years old. At the site called GnJh-03 in the Kapthurin formation of Kenya, a total of five kilograms (11 …
Ochre and Human Evolution
- Ochre was part of the first art of the Middle Stone Age (MSA) phase in Africa called Howiesons Poort. The early modern human assemblages of 100,000-year-old MSA sites including Blombos Caveand Klein Kliphuis in South Africa have been found to include examples of engraved ochre, slabs of ochre with carved patterns deliberately cut into the surface. Spanish paleontologist Carl…
Identifying The Sources
- The yellow-red-brown ochre pigments used in paintings and dyes are often a mixture of mineral elements, both in their natural state and as a result of deliberate mixing by the artist. Much of recent research on ochre and its natural earth relatives has been focused on identifying the specific elements of a pigment used in a particular paint or dye. Determining what a pigment is …
Sources
- Bu K, Cizdziel JV, and Russ J. 2013. The Source of Iron-Oxide Pigments Used in Pecos River Style Rock Paints. Archaeometry55(6):1088-1100.
- Buti D, Domenici D, Miliani C, García Sáiz C, Gómez Espinoza T, Jímenez Villalba F, Verde Casanova A, Sabía de la Mata A, Romani A, Presciutti F et al. 2014. Non-invasive investigation of a pre-His...
- Bu K, Cizdziel JV, and Russ J. 2013. The Source of Iron-Oxide Pigments Used in Pecos River Style Rock Paints. Archaeometry55(6):1088-1100.
- Buti D, Domenici D, Miliani C, García Sáiz C, Gómez Espinoza T, Jímenez Villalba F, Verde Casanova A, Sabía de la Mata A, Romani A, Presciutti F et al. 2014. Non-invasive investigation of a pre-His...
- Cloutis E, MacKay A, Norman L, and Goltz D. 2016. Identification of historic artists' pigments using spectral reflectance and X-ray diffraction properties I. Iron oxide and oxy-hydroxide-rich pigme...
- Dayet L, Le Bourdonnec FX, Daniel F, Porraz G, and Texier PJ. 2015. Ochre Provenance and Procurement Strategies During The Middle Stone Age at Diepkloof Rock Shelter, South Africa…
