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Ivory Black

Synonyms: Ivory Black, Noir D'Ivoire, Elfenbeinschwartz

Waste ivory, in the form of turnings, shavings, and sawdust, if charred in closed vessels, leaves a black residue, which, however, consists essentially of bone-earth (calcium carbonato-phosphate), stained by the presence of a few per cents. of carbon. On exposure to the air, ivory black absorbs, not only the gases of the atmosphere, but also a very considerable proportion of moisture. On this account ivory black, just previous to its being ground in oil, should always be thoroughly dried. As this substance has a strong decolourizing power when placed in contact with moist organic pigments, it is better adapted for use in oil painting than with water colours. This decolourizing property belongs also to the animal blacks obtained by charring horn and bone shavings - products which are frequently substituted for genuine ivory black. Sir Charles Eastlake tells us that in a collection of specimens of water-colour tints inserted in the Mayerne manuscript the 'hartshorn' black, made from cornu cervinum, remains very intense.

Ivory and bone black are perfectly permanent black pigments; the latter is quite free from the bluish tinge which characterizes most of the vegetable charcoals. Both are better adapted for oil than for water-colour painting, for which vine black is preferable.


Last Update: 2011-01-23