Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c11.s10.8

v1.c11.s10.8

The pigments found on polychrome and painted pottery are black, white, red, yellow and green. The black is carbon, the white implies gypsum and lime. The red and yellow are the well-known ochres. The green is free from copper, owing its colour to an iron silicate indicating terre verte. Lumps of ‘green earth’ (glauconite) which occurs in cavities in the Deccan Trap have been found at Mohenjo-Daro and it is very probable that this material was employed as pigment, after necessary purification.