Shell white

Description

A white pigment made from ground seashells, eggshells or fish bones. Early examples of shell white as a pigment have been found in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, and later in Europe and Japan. Shell white is made by crushing, then boiling the shells sometimes with a small addition of Quicklime. The Calcium carbonate powder is then pulverized and dried to form a very pure, white, opaque pigment. Commercially prepared shell white began about 1916-1919.

Synonyms and Related Terms

calcium carbonate; eggshell white; egg shell white; oyster shell white; oyster white (AAT); gofun (Jap.); k'o fên (Chin.); pearly white

Physical and Chemical Properties

• Reacts with acids to evolve carbon dioxide

Resources and Citations

• R. Gettens, E. West Fitzhugh, R.Feller, "Calcium Carbonate Whites", Artists Pigments, Vol. 2., A. Roy ed. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1993.
• R.D. Harley, Artists' Pigments c. 1600-1835, Butterworth Scientific, London, 1982
• Dictionary of Building Preservation, Ward Bucher, ed., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York City, 1996
• R.Feller, M.Curran, C.Bailie, 'Identification of Traditional Organic Colorants Employed in Japanese Prints and Determination of their Rates of Fading', Japanese Woodblock Prints, Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, Oberlin, 1984
• Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000