DID YOU KNOW…
Did you know? The Eerie Pigment Made from Ancient Mummies?
Until the early 20th century, a popular paint pigment called 'Mummy Brown' was literally made from ground-up mummified human and feline remains. Artists valued its rich, translucent brown hue for centuries.
The macabre ingredient wasn't a secret; apothecaries and artists knew its origin, with some mummies even being sold for medicinal purposes before being ground into pigment. Its unique color derived from the bitumen and resins used in the mummification process, giving it a distinctive warm, reddish-brown ideal for shadows and flesh tones. However, as ethical concerns grew and the supply dwindled, compounded by the pigment's inconsistent quality and tendency to crack, its use gradually faded, with artists like Edward Burne-Jones reportedly burying his tube upon learning its true nature.
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