Pigments through the Ages - Manufacture Recipes

How Lead-tin yellow is made:

Artificial variety of pigment	Lead-tin yellow (type II) is produced by fusing lead, tin, and quartz compounds at about 800° C, yielding a yellow lead glass pigment that is ground and screened through a fine mesh.

In the lab
Materials needed:	PbO or PbO₂ or Pb₃O₄ (minium) and SnO₂
Safety (MSDSs):	Tin(IV) oxide, lead(II) oxide, lead(IV) oxide, (at Fisher Scientific)
Method:	Mixture of three parts lead oxide(PbO, PbO₂, or minium) and one part tin oxide(SnO₂) is heated at temperatures between 650 and 800°C. Lower temperatures yield a more orange color, higher temperatures yield more lemon-hued colors. Some types of lead-tin yellow are prepared in molten glass.

Making lead-tin yellow in the laboratory


Starting materials		The mixture of tin(IV) oxide and minium is being homogenized

The reaction mixture prior to heating	The reaction mixture is being put into the preheated oven	The finished product