Yellow lake

Description

A nonstandardized term that was originally used for transparent yellow lake pigment formed from oak bark extract (Quercitron) precipitated on Alum or Chalk. This quercitron based yellow lake pigment was used in the 17th century often in mixtures with blue to produce a dark green. It was not lightfast. More recently the name has also been given to synthetic organic colorants of similar color.

Synonyms and Related Terms

quercitron lake; flavine lake; laca amarilla (Esp.); laca amarela (Port.); laque jaune (Fr.);

Risks

• Sensitive to UV radiation and alkalis.

Resources and Citations

• R. J. Gettens, G.L. Stout, Painting Materials, A Short Encyclopaedia, Dover Publications, New York, 1966

• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 609

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

• Thomas B. Brill, Light Its Interaction with Art and Antiquities, Plenum Press, New York City, 1980

• Book and Paper Group, Paper Conservation Catalog, AIC, 1984, 1989

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