/ ka • chuh • neel / Carmine (Cochineal and Kermes)	Jump to pigmentMadder lake (alizarine)AzuriteBone blackBrown ochreCarmineCadmium orangecadmium yellowCerulean BlueCalcium carbonate whitesCharcoalcobalt blueCobalt greencobalt violetCobalt yellowChrome orangechrome yellowcopper resinateEgyptian blueEmerald greenGreen earthIndian yellowIndigolead whiteLemon yellowmalachiteNaples yellowOrpimentlead tin yellowPrussian bluerealgarred leadRed ochresmalttitanium dioxideUltramarineUmbraVan Dyke brownverdigrisvermilionviridianYellow ochrezinc white

1.  Overview     2. History of use     3. Making the pigment     4. Technical details

About the chemical structure:          Chemical name: Carminic acid, kermesic acid Formula: 3D model: grey = carbon, red = oxygen, white = hydrogen Refractive index: about 1.6

A swatch of Carmine (Cochineal and Kermes) paint:

How can you identify Carmine (Cochineal and Kermes)?          Chemical identification: n/a Spectra: Raman spectra (pdf file download; at University of Florence, Italy) IR spectra carminic acid (at: Integrated Spectral Data Base System for Organic Compounds, Japan)   Usage and handling:          Permanence: Toxicity: poor non toxic   Literature:             Artists’ Pigments A Handbook of Their History and Characteristics, Vol. 1, L. Feller, Hrsg., Cambridge University Press, London 1986, p. 255-284 Fleming, S. "The Tale of the Cochineal: Insect Farming in the New World." Archaeology, 36, no. 5 (1983), pp. 68-69, 79. Cochineal und Karminsäure, Neue Zürcher Zeitung 11.12.1996 Pigmentlexikon

Other purples         (intro) - Carmine - cobalt violet