Jain Journal 1970 04

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 26

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JAIN JOURNAL
Red Lead (sindūra). It was used by West Indian painters, specially in the paper period miniatures for yellowish red. The colour was prepared by roasting white lead in open air till it attained deep colour. According to Silparatna, the red lead was ground for half a day in water and the process was repeated for 24 hours after 5 days. Then it was kept in a suitable receptacle. The nim gum was used as a medium with it.
Vermilion or Crude Cinnabar (hingola). This mineral when ground yields a bright red. The crude cinnabar is throughly levigated in a mortar with the help of sugarated water or lime juice which is a better substitute. Then the cinnabar is allowed to settle and the yellowish water is carefully drained off. The process is repeated fifteen times, or even more, to obtain purest cinnabar. It is again levigated with sugarated water or lime juice and gum, and, after being thoroughly mixed, it is formed into tablets and dried.
Realgar or Red Arsenic (manahšilā). This brilliant red was very rarely used in medieval West Indian miniatures. It is a first cousin of the orpiment and is also a sulphide of arsenic. It yields as beautiful an orange yellow as the orpiment. According to Silparatna realgar (manahšilā) was reduced to fine powder and then used as colour.
Red Lake (lākšā-rasa). The word red lake as applied to pigments, is derived from a material known as lacca, from which lake pigment were prepared. What was ordinarily known as lacca, is, however, not known. It may, however, be surmised that the material was dark red incrustation of resin which is produced on certain kinds of trees by certain kinds of insects. This resin is the source of shellac. If the crude material is boiled in water containing a little alkali, the colouring matter is dissolved in water and sold as lac-dye. The colour which lac-dye can be made to produce are quite voilet.
Pothi. A variety of Indian lake was also obtained from the dark red berries of the poi plant.
Kermes. The kermas seems to have been used on a small scale in the palm-leaf miniatures, though in the miniatures on paper its use seems to have been general. Though the Sanskrit texts on painting do not mention kermes as a colouring material, some very interesting information about krmirāga or Carmine is obtained from Jaina literature. Commenting on the gāthā 567 of the Bhagavati Ārādhanā, Asadhar observes that in the Sanskrit commentary and glosses, krmirāga was an