Here one is!
“Is the red coloring under the south wall a spill from the mural’s artist?” June 21
Takamatsuzuka (from the end of the 7th/early8th century) is currently undergoing a dismantling in order to preserve the wall murals, which are national treasures. On the 21st (of June), the Agency for Cultural Affairs discovered a red spill on the floor stone under the south wall mural stone, which had been removed. Cinnabar (水銀朱) was used as the coloration pigment. Thanks to Charles (see comments) for the heads-up!
Leading excavators are suggesting that the artist, on the many ins and outs of his workspace, accidentally knocked over his reservoir of “paint,” causing the stain. The coloration has been found in three areas, the largest being 2.4 cm long and 1.6 cm wide. After they had discovered the coloration, tests were run and the results pointed to mercury being a component of the red “paint.” Interesting, huh?
Here’s the original text (also available farther down the blog):
南壁石の下から赤色顔料＝壁画描いた画工がこぼす？－高松塚
6月21日17時32分配信 時事通信
国宝壁画保存のため石室解体中の高松塚古墳（奈良県明日香村、7世紀末～8世紀初頭）で、文化庁は21日、取り外した南壁石の下の床石に、赤色の顔料と して使われた水銀朱が付いているのを見つけたと発表した。発掘担当者は「壁画を描いた画工が、石室に出入りする際にこぼしたのではないか」とみている。
担当者によると、水銀朱は3カ所にあり、最大で縦2．4センチ、横1．6センチ。15日に南壁石を取り外した後、床石に赤くなった部分があったため分析したところ、水銀の成分が検出されたため、水銀朱と判断した。
More translations and updates coming soon!
I believe this pigment is mercuric sulfide, also known as cinnabar. It was a common pigment in ancient times because it was a naturally occurring mineral.
Comment by Charles — August 3, 2007 @ 4:52 am |
Interesting! If you’re correct that it’s cinnabar, then it’s of no surprise. Cinnabar has a long history in Japan. Since you knew the answer to my question, I’m curious–are you fluent in Japanese? I’m only so far down that long road towards competence, but it’s reassuring to see others that have already made it.
I just checked my 日本考古学用語辞典 and found that 朱 by itself is cinnabar. 水銀朱 (すいぎんしゅ, I presume) would also be simply cinnabar?
A helpful link: http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&stype=1&dtype=2&p=%E9%8A%80%E6%9C%B1
Do you suppose “baked mercury” or “refined mercury” would be a good name for the cinnabar in question?
Comment by nagaeyari — August 3, 2007 @ 5:02 am |
Yes, I am somewhat fluent Japanese, although my knowledge of this pigment comes through my studies of art history. I am not sure how to translate cinnabar precisely into Japanese, I found several odd jukugo in wwwjdic, (丹砂, 辰砂, 丹朱) but alas, my Japanese art history dictionary is packed away and inaccessible, it would have settled the issue definitively. I recall seeing some J Art dictionary resources online but I haven’t relocated them, or anything that would answer the question. I suspect the Japanese author picked 水銀朱 because he was not familiar with any other terms for the pigment.
If you need an English word, I suppose nothing is more accurate than cinnabar. Sometimes this pigment is called vermillion, but that usually refers to the non-mercuric pigment that replaced cinnabar once people discovered how toxic it was.
Comment by Charles — August 3, 2007 @ 4:23 pm |
Great, thanks for your helpful reply! I’d like to keep that information handy — remembering it in the future will be useful.
Comment by nagaeyari — August 3, 2007 @ 4:40 pm |