Synthetic arsenic sulfides in Japanese prints of the Meiji period

Luo, Yanbing; Basso, Elena; Smith, Helmut Walser; Leona, Marco

doi:10.1186/s40494-016-0087-0

Cited by 17 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 13 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The peak centered at 471 cm −1 is characteristic of free sulfur. The artificial orpiment spectra agreed well with previously published work [8,17].…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 82%

“…On average, the arsenic and sulfur-containing particles had an arsenic content of 47.5 ± 4.0 wt% and a sulfur content of 52.6 ± 4.0 wt%. The measured arsenic and sulfur content, and in particular, the excess amount of sulfur is strongly indicative of artificial arsenic sulfide [17,18]. Trace amounts of copper were also detected in the particles shown, and no As 2 O 3 was detected on the paper fibers.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previously published studies discuss a shift in the usage of natural to artificial arsenic sulfides as a yellow pigment during the late Edo period, but do not define an exact time period of this shift [15,16]. Recent work from Luo et al demonstrates the exclusive use of artificial arsenic sulfide as a yellow pigment for Japanese woodblock prints dated between 1864 and 1895 [17]. The authors cite the earliest known reference to artificial arsenic sulfide production in Japan, dating to 1846, where Takamatsu describes heating arsenical ore with sulfur to produce a yellow pigment [18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Natural and synthetic arsenic sulfide pigments in Japanese woodblock prints of the late Edo period

2018

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We recently described the use of an artificial arsenic sulfide pigment in Japanese woodblock prints from the Meiji period : we now expand on our previous work by investigating arsenic sulfide pigments used in Japanese woodblock prints of the late Edo period (1615-1868) and early Meiji period. The series of eight prints A Tour of the Waterfalls in Various Provinces (Shokoku Taki Meguri), by Katsushika Hokusai, issued between 1833 and 1834 is known to have been reproduced from entirely new blocks at some point during the late Edo or early Meiji periods. The two sets, original and copies are characterized by visually distinct color palettes as well as several differences in the image. Two such sets in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art were analyzed with particular attention to the yellow, orange, and green printed areas. X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, Raman microspectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy revealed the use of natural orpiment in the original set and of artificial arsenic sulfide pigments in the reproduction set. In addition, the reproduction set features extensive use of ultramarine blue, the synthetic equivalent to lapis lazuli. This pigment, available commercially in Europe from 1830 onward has been documented in Japanese art so far only in a handful of late Edo period paintings. The results of our comparative analysis further highlight differences in pigment use between Edo and Meiji periods, and point to arsenic sulfide pigments as useful markers for the date of original production for popular prints of the Edo period.

show abstract

“…The peak centered at 471 cm −1 is characteristic of free sulfur. The artificial orpiment spectra agreed well with previously published work [8,17].…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Natural and synthetic arsenic sulfide pigments in Japanese woodblock prints of the late Edo period

2018

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…While wear in the keyblock can give important indications on the relative chronology of production of individual impressions of the same print, pigment use is a valuable source of information towards dating and authenticating artifacts [4][5][6][7]. This approach has previously been applied to Japanese woodblock prints, using pigments such as synthetic ultramarine blue or orpiment as well as organic colorants as dating markers [3,[8][9][10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence of early amorphous arsenic sulfide production and use in Edo period Japanese woodblock prints by Hokusai and Kunisada

Vermeulen

Leona

2019

Herit Sci

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study explores the evolution of the manufacturing process of artificial arsenic sulfide pigments in Edo-period Japan through the analysis of three impressions of the same print dated from the 1830s and attributed to Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), and one from 1852 and attributed to Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Colorants in the yellow and green areas of the four prints were investigated by means of non-invasive and microanalytical techniques such as optical microscopy, fiber optic reflectance spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. While the pigments in the green and yellow areas are similar throughout the set of prints-Prussian blue, indigo (for the Hokusai prints) and orpiment were identified-optical microscopy and Raman spectroscopy highlighted some variations in the orpiment used in the green areas of the prints. Two of the Hokusai prints present bright yellow particles of larger size and lamellar morphology, identified by Raman spectroscopy as natural orpiment. The third print presents an admixture of bright yellow natural orpiment particles with a smaller number of orange-yellow particles shown by Raman to be partially amorphous arsenic sulfide. Small bright yellow particles identified as fully amorphous arsenic sulfide pigments by Raman were found throughout the green areas of the Kunisada print. Although supported by Japanese historical sources, local production of artificial arsenic sulfide in the early nineteenth century was not previously documented. The simultaneous presence of both crystalline and amorphous domains in a single pigment particle in some of the Hokusai prints suggests that natural orpiment was used as primary source of arsenic for the production of a low grade artificial pigment. The pigment found in the Kunisada print, by contrast, was obtained from arsenic oxide (or arsenolite) and sulfur though a dry-process synthesis, as shown by the sulfur excess, signs of heat treatments and fully amorphous nature of the pigment. These findings set the earliest dates for both the ore sublimation process and the arsenolite dry process, and are of foremost importance to understand the evolution of the amorphous arsenic sulfide production in Edo-period Japan and its introduction in the palette of Japanese woodblock prints.

show abstract

“…1 PB is also a chronological marker since it was introduced in the Japanese woodblock printing process at the end of the 1820s. Few analytical studies were conducted on such artworks [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] but the common use of indigo and PB in Japanese paintings, alone or mixed together, has been observed. [10][11][12] The majority of the studies conducted on 19th century ukiyo-e have also identified or have traced the presence of PB in blue colors as the primary or as in mixtures to obtain different shades of blue, green, and violet.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A blue can conceal another! Noninvasive multispectroscopic analyses of mixtures of indigo and Prussian blue

Biron

Mounier

Bourdon

et al. 2019

Color Research & Application

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Blue colors were sparsely used in the first colored Japanese ukiyo-e prints but became predominant during the 19th century, mainly due to the integration of the synthetic Prussian blue in the palette of the printers around 1830. For a long time, researchers have assumed that the traditional Japanese organic blue colorants such as indigo were substituted by cheaper Prussian blue. Some analytical studies conducted on such artworks showed evidence of the common use of indigo and Prussian blue in Japanese paintings, alone or mixed together. Recent measurements carried out on bluish areas of an ukiyo-e designed by Utamaro showed the simultaneous use of the two pigments. However, if visible reflectance spectroscopy suggested the single use of Indigo, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) also indicated the presence of Prussian blue.These results question about the possible identification of all the pigments of a colored mixture by using a single analytical technique. Without using FTIR spectroscopy, the Prussian blue would not have been detected, whereas on infrared spectra the expected specific bands ascribed to indigo are not identified. The objective of this work is to investigate mixtures of pigments, using noninvasive spectroscopic techniques in order to assess their limits of detection. Fluorimetry, hyperspectral imaging, and infrared spectroscopies have been performed on three color charts made of indigo, Prussian blue, and mixtures of them at different proportions of matter. The results emphasize the systematic identification of Prussian blue thanks to infrared spectroscopy, whereas the identification of indigo, mixed with Prussian blue, appears to be more challenging. K E Y W O R D Sblue pigments, fluorescence, hyperspectral imaging, infrared spectroscopies, Japanese ukiyo-e prints

show abstract

Synthetic arsenic sulfides in Japanese prints of the Meiji period

Cited by 17 publications

References 13 publications

Natural and synthetic arsenic sulfide pigments in Japanese woodblock prints of the late Edo period

Natural and synthetic arsenic sulfide pigments in Japanese woodblock prints of the late Edo period

Evidence of early amorphous arsenic sulfide production and use in Edo period Japanese woodblock prints by Hokusai and Kunisada

A blue can conceal another! Noninvasive multispectroscopic analyses of mixtures of indigo and Prussian blue

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About