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5. Colored earth pigments


Clay cup with pigments, Pompeii
 
The frescoes that adorned homes in Pompeii owe much of their success to the plaster, carefully prepared with great skill. Perfectly smooth and adherent to the underlying wall, with a high mechanical resistance, they offered the decorator an opportunity to express his art to the utmost.

The pigments found in Pompeii were contained in clay cups, in powdered form and divided by color: laboratory analyses have made it possible to identify white, green, blue, and red earth pigments.
     
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