Did you know... Mummy Brown?

Lunatyc does a Cleopatra
Pen and ink sketch by Estelle Rocca-Serra

Still touring the world and making incredible discoveries!

Did you know Mummy Brown?

Very popular with the Pre-Raphaelites, this rich brown pigment was originally produced from the remains of Egyptian mummies, both human and sacred animal.

Urgh!

The ancient Egyptians used aromatic herbs, resins and asphaltum to embalm bodies, a nice little recipe to preserve them from decay. When the remains where found during excavation of the burial grounds, someone - no one seems to know who (or maybe dare to say who?) - had the very strange idea of grinding this brown mixture of decayed bandages, arteries and bones into a fine powder to use as a pigment.

Due to its popularity a large number of mummies were imported into Europe and this pigment was still very common until 1925, but is not in use anymore.

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