Yellow ocher

Eros sculpture
MFA# 1979.477

Description

FTIR (MFA)

Raman (MFA)

XRD

SEM

EDS

XRF

A natural yellow earth mineral primarily composed of goethite (iron hydroxide) or limonite (hydrated ironoxide) and clay. Yellow ochers, ranging in color from cream to brown, occur naturally throughout the world and have been used as a pigment since prehistoric times. Synthetically produced yellow ocher pigment, introduced at the end of the 18th century, is sold under the name of Mars yellow.

Synonyms and Related Terms

yellow earth; Pigment Yellow 43; CI 77492; goethite; limonite; jarosite; yellow ochre; iron ocher; ocre jaune (Fr.); earth yellow; Mars yellow; gold ochre; raw sienna; French ochre; raw umber

Physical and Chemical Properties

• Composition = FeO(OH) or Fe₂O₃^.H₂O
• Mohs Hardness = 5.0 - 5.5
• Density = 3.3 - 4.3 g/ml
• Soluble in mineral acids. Insoluble in water and ethanol.
• Color= yellowish to reddish to dark brown
• Orthorhombic crystals occurring in prisms
• Fibrous structure.
• Perfect cleavage in one direction.
• Fracture = uneven.
• Luster = adamantine to dull.
• Streak = yellow to brown

Additional Images

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  Yellow ocher
  Forbes pigment 258

• 

  Yellow ocher, pale
  Forbes pigment 589

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  Yellow ocher at 100x (visible light left; UV light right)

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  Yellow ocher at 500x

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  Yellow ocher at 200x polarized light

Resources and Citations

• Ruth Siddall, 'Mineral Pigments in Archaeology: Their Analysis and the Range of Available Materials' Minerals Vol 8, p. 201 (2018). Link
• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 558
• Reed Kay, The Painter's Guide To Studio Methods and Materials, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1983
• Ralph Mayer, A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques, Harper and Row Publishers, New York, 1969 (also 1945 printing)
• Michael McCann, Artist Beware, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York City, 1979
• Dictionary of Building Preservation, Ward Bucher, ed., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York City, 1996
• Pigments Through the Ages: Yellow ochre
• Wikipedia: Ocher Accessed March 2026
• CHSOS: Spectra (Reflectance, XRF, Raman, FTIR) for Yellow ocher