Poppy seed oil
Description
A naturally, colorless, transparent drying oil obtained from the ripe seeds of the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) native to the western Mediterranean region. Poppy seed oil contains the following fatty acids: linoleic (62-72%), oleic (10-30%), palmitic (9-10%), stearic (1.5-2.5%) and linolenic (0-5%) (Serpico and White 2000). Manufactured poppy seed oil comes primarily from India, Russia, France and Asia Minor. Cold pressed poppy oil is nearly colorless, but the hot pressed oil is reddish. Poppy oil dries slower than linseed oil, but it yellows less, so it was sometimes used with white pigments starting about the 17th century. It produces a soft, rubbery paint film with a long wet-in-wet work time that was popular with Impressionist painters. Thick layers of poppy oil paint films tend to wrinkle and crack on aging.
Synonyms and Related Terms
Papaver somniferum; poppy-seed oil (AAT); huile d'oeillette (Fr.); huile de pavot (Fr.); aceite de adormideras (Esp.); olio di papavero (It); poppy oil; poppyseed oil; opium oil
Other Properties
Saponification number = 190-195 Iodine number = 140-158 Acid number = 1-10
| Density | 0.924-0.926 |
|---|---|
| Refractive Index | 1.469-1.477 |
Additional Information
M.Serpico, R.White, "Oil, fat and wax" in Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology, P.Nicholson, I.Shaw (eds.), Cambridge University Press, 2000, p. 390-429.
Sources Checked for Data in Record
- The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998
- G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 564
- Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993
- R. J. Gettens, G.L. Stout, Painting Materials, A Short Encyclopaedia, Dover Publications, New York, 1966
- Ralph Mayer, A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques, Harper and Row Publishers, New York, 1969 (also 1945 printing)
- Encyclopedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com
- M. Doerner, The Materials of the Artist, Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1934
- Reed Kay, The Painter's Guide To Studio Methods and Materials, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1983
- Thomas B. Brill, Light Its Interaction with Art and Antiquities, Plenum Press, New York City, 1980
- Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technologies, Paul Nicholson, Ian Shaw (eds.), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2000
- Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000