Cyprus Raw Umber Medium Dispersion

As low as $13.20
In stock
Only %1 left
SKU
261-42
Cyprus Raw Umber Medium aqueous pigment dispersion is a fine, reddish-brown powdered pigment from Cyrpus.

Our Cyprus Raw Umber Medium is a deep, reddish-brown powdered pigment from Cyprus. Umbers are mineral pigments that can be used in all mediums, such as tempera, oil and watercolor, and are obtained from natural earths colored by the oxides of iron and manganese.

Rublev Colours Aqueous Dispersions are pigments dispersed in water ready to be mixed with water-based mediums. These dispersions are especially made for use with traditional painting mediums, such as egg tempera, casein tempera, fresco, watercolors and distemper (glue tempera). They are also ideally suited for use with gesso to make toned grounds for drawing and painting. Pigment dispersions from Rublev Colours contain only naturally-derived ingredients, in addition to pigment and water, making them ideally suited for traditional mediums. Unlike other pigment dispersions that are typically made for acrylic medium, Rublev Colours Aqueous Dispersions do not contain coalescent solvents, artificial dispersing resins and other additives that interfere with natural mediums. Aqueous Dispersions make preparing traditional mediums easy; you do not have to hassle with powders, grinding pigments in medium and calculating binder ratios to make water-based paint. They make adding the right amount of paint binder, such as egg yolk, a no brainer because the right amount of water is already contained in the dispersion, simply add egg yolk.

Pigment Names
Common Names:English: umber
French: terre d'ombre
German: Umbererde
Italian: terra d'ombra
Russian: умбра
Spanish: tierra de sombra
Alternate Names:English: raw umber
French: ombre naturelle
Nomenclature:
Common name | Primary mineral | Source
Umber | Goethite | Tamasos, Cyprus


Origin and History
Brown earths have been known since prehistoric times, and were mentioned in the earliest painting treatises. However, the name umber did not appear until the 16th century. Sixteenth century Italian painting treatises used the term terra d'ombra, which was translated as umber for a type of brown earth. The name is likely derived from ombra, Italian for "shadow," because the pigment was useful for dark or shadow areas. Writers of the 17th century mentioned calcining umber before use and the term burnt umber entered literature around this time. The term raw umber was not commonly used in English treatises before the 19th century. The name umber was frequently used for organic brown pigments in the 18th and 19th centuries, while brown iron oxides were referred to as brown ocher. Today, the name is most often associated with brown earths composed primarily of iron and manganese oxides. In the 17th century, Turquet de Mayerne made the first association of umber with manganese containing iron oxide pigments by describing the drying properties of umber and the fact the color became brown-red by burning.

Historically, European sources of brown earths (goethite) were mined throughout many regions of Europe. The dark brown umbers, containing 45% to 70% iron oxide and 5% to 20% manganese dioxide, were originally extracted from the northern Italy, but are now mined primarily in Cyprus. Other sources of umber were found in England, France, Germany and later in the United States.

Source
Iron oxides earth pigments are an important group of inorganic pigments derived from natural minerals. Iron oxide pigments are yellow, red and brown, but artists know them as ochre, sienna, red oxide and umber. Unlike manufactured pigments, the color of natural iron oxide pigments varies with the composition of the particular segment of earth from which they come. The color of these pigments is derived from three constituents: the principal coloring ingredient, secondary coloring ingredients and a base. The combination of these ingredients produces the particular color of the earth. The innumerable forms and variations in which these ingredients can combine result in the wide range of possible yellows, reds and browns. Principal coloring ingredient: Iron oxide is the principal color producing ingredient in the earth. The properties of the particular iron oxide present in the earth determines its color. The nature of the iron oxide found in the deposit, rather than its percentage, is critical to the resulting earth color. Most rock contains some iron oxide. Those bearing the least amounts are limestone. white clay and colorless kaolin. Those containing the highest amounts are the rocks from which metallic iron is extracted. Secondary coloring ingredients: Calcite (calcium carbonate), pyrolusite (manganese oxide) and quartz (silica) are some common accessory minerals that affect the specific color of natural iron oxides. Manganese oxide, for example, enriches the brown in umbers. Base: Nearly all iron oxides have a clay base. Clay is the weathered product of silicate rocks and is extremely varied in composition. As a result, it has numerous effects on the earth's color.

Umber is a yellowish brown to greenish brown mineral pigment used in tempera, oil and watercolor, obtained from natural earths colored by the oxides of iron and manganese. Just as with sienna, the chemical composition of umber is closely related to its iron oxide content. What makes umber different is the increased content of manganese. Other substances naturally occurring in umber, include clay, talc, and calcium carbonate, do not affect its color greatly. Umbers with the highest tinting strength are those with the highest content of iron and manganese. Some of the finest umber comes from Cyprus and may contain up to 16% manganese oxide. German umber typically contains 1-2% manganese, English umber 7%, and umber from the Russian and Ukraine about 4% manganese.

Our umber is from deposits in the Tamasos area of central Cyprus. It is finely ground and has a light reddish-brown masstone. It has excellent tinting strength and good covering power.

Tinting Strength
As demonstrated in experiments conducted by K.I. Tolstikhinoy, the chromacity of natural iron oxide and clay pigments are closely related to the iron oxide content, and from a mineralogical point of view -- the content of goethite. Thus, with the content of iron oxide less than 23%, luminosities of the tone of pigment compose 40-50%, the purity of tone 60-70%. With the content of the iron oxide from 22 to 74%, luminosities of tone varies in interval of 25-40%, the purity of tone from 70 to 85%, and with the content of the iron oxide more than 75%, luminosity is located in interval of 18-25%, the purity of tone 83-90%.

Pigment Characteristics
A characteristic of pigments containing goethite is their ability to change color when heated. Heating umber causes the hydrated iron oxide to give up water and with the resulting dehydration darken in shade while its tone intensifies. At temperatures exceeding 300° C yellow and brown pigments acquire red-brown tones. The most intensive red tones are obtained as a result of calcining goethite at a temperature between 500-600° C. The change in color is directly related to the dehydration of goethite and its transformation into hematite. Prolonged heating at high temperatures causes another change into a mineral of dark gray color -- magnetite. Roasting umber gives a pigment of black-brown color known as burnt umber.

Permanence and Compatibility
Umber does not react with other pigments and is effectively used in fresco, oil, tempera and watercolors. It is considered to be permanent with medium to excellent tinting strength and high opacity. It does not react with solvents, and is indifferent to alkalis, but is partially soluble in acids.

Oil Absorption and Grinding
Umber moderately absorbs oil when dispersing it in this medium. The oil absorption ratio is 25–35 parts by weight of linseed oil to 100 parts by weight of pigment. If the measurement were grams, umber would require 25 to 35 grams of linseed oil to grind 100 grams of pigment to form a stiff paste. Due to its manganese content, umber hastens the drying of oil, and forms a good, flexible film.

Toxicity
Umber is considered non-toxic, however, manganese, a constituent of umber, is considered moderately toxic, so care should be exercised when handling the dry powder pigment so as not to inhale the dust.

Rublev Colours Pigment: Cyprus Raw Umber Medium
Rublev Colours Pigment: Cyprus Raw Umber Medium

Pigment Information
Color:Brown
Colour Index:Pigment Brown 7 (77492)
Chemical Name:Iron Oxide Hydroxide
Chemical Name:α-FeOOH
ASTM Lightfastness Rating
Watercolor:I
Properties
Density:3.3–4.3
Hardness:5.0–5.5
Refractive Index:nα=2.260 nβ=2.393 nγ=2.398



More Information
SKU261-42
BrandRublev Colours
VendorNatural Pigments
Processing TimeUsually ships the next business day.
ColorBrown, Umber
Pigment TypeInorganic, Earth, Natural
Here are items you recently viewed during your visit of Natural Pigments Recently Viewed
No recently views items
Clear All
Cyprus Raw Umber Medium Dispersion
Copyright © 2024-present Natural Pigments, Inc. All rights reserved.