A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c20.s1.68

c20.s1.68

The blue was ordinarily obtained from powdered lapis lazuli, imported from Badakshān, but indigo blues appear in early book illustrations of Hindu subjects. The reds used were cinnabar, vermilion, or cochineal.² The yellow was chrome, and other colours were made up by mixing these. Gold was freely used in the form of gold-leaf, and also as a wash of which the Indians had the secret.³ The Persians applied an admirably transparent varnish made of sandarac and linseed-oil, mixed as a paste and dissolved in either petroleum or highly rectified spirits of wine.⁴ Probably the Indians used all the Persian appliances with some additions and modifications, but the ascertainment of full details would require special expert study and hardly repay the trouble.