Sarcocolla

Description

A water soluble plant exudate obtained from the Astragalus sarcocolla plant native to Iran. Sarcocolla gum was occasionally used in 18th and 19th century English recipes for watercolor paints but has not been used in modern times (Mayer 1969).

Synonyms and Related Terms

Astragalus sarcocolla; sarcolla; sarcocola (Esp.); sarcocolla (It)

Resources and Citations

• R. J. Gettens, G.L. Stout, Painting Materials, A Short Encyclopaedia, Dover Publications, New York, 1966 Comment: plant = Penaea sarcocolla

• R.Mayer, The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques, Viking Press, New York, 1981 Comment: plant = Astragalus sarcocolla

• Ralph Mayer, A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques, Harper and Row Publishers, New York, 1969 (also 1945 printing)

• Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000