Mummy Brown: The art world's most morbid medium (yikes)

https://www.winsornewton.com/blogs/articles/mummy-brown

Informed by a sample of Mummy Brown from the Winsor & Newton archive, we uncover the pigment’s bizarre and unsettling history, from its origins to its eventual fall from grace.

Legend has it that artist Edward Burne-Jones buried a paint tube of Mummy Brown pigment in his garden when he uncovered its chilling source: the remains of Egyptian mummies.

A rather eerie source of brown pigment originates in the medieval period. During this time, a macabre medical practice included grinding the remnants of exhumed Egyptian mummies for use. Some mummified corpses contained bitumen. And this rich, sticky type of petroleum was believed to have medical powers.

It was much later that a pigment was made from this substance. During the 16th and 17th centuries, mummified humans – and even mummified cats – were excavated and ground into powder. This was combined with myrrh and white pitch to produce a brown pigment. Its transparent qualities meant it was a perfect medium for glazes, shading and flesh and hair tones.