Book review: Colouring the Past—On colour in archaeological research

The book, Colouring the Past. The Significance of Colour in Archaeological Research, is an anthology discussing various aspects of colour from an archaeological viewpoint. This article presents some of its main topics and discusses a few issues more in length. One starting point for this is the criticism on Berlin and Kay's theory of basic color terms and the Munsell Book of Colors that is launched in some of the articles in the book. The article concludes in summing up some areas where archaeologists and color researchers from other fields could have a mutual interest of further exchange. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 33, 327–334, 2008.     

A novel method for assessing the chromatic integration of architecture in the Ksourian landscape of M'zab Valley,Algeria

Ksour are original architectural models of fortified villages located in the north of Africa. They offer, through their urban and natural visual sceneries, specific visible features that we name them Ksourian Landscapes. The present research, accordingly, addresses an investigation; relying on a new methodic perspective, of the chromatic character of the Ksourian landscape of M'zab valley in Algeria which is listed as an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Using the Natural Color System (NCS), a natural palette (NP) has been conducted; encapsulating 12 representative colors from the natural landscape of the site in congruence with a second palette (human settlements palette), which includes around 16 colors from the urban landscape of the Mozabite Ksour. The primary purpose of this research article aims at identifying perceptual similarities between the two palettes after comparison; which relies upon the NCS nominal identities (blackness [s], whiteness [w], chromaticness [c], yellowness [y], and redness [r]); and the NCS relation identities (hue [φ], saturation [m], delta [δ], and beta [β]). Graphical representations of these comparisons are demonstrated in the NCS triangle and the NCS 3D color space. We have demonstrated through our experimental outcomes the strong chromatic integration of the urban settlements in their natural landscape, the original chromatic character as being a constituent of the heritage values of the Mozabite Ksourian landscape, as well as its possible use in the urban restoration processes.     

Chromaticity changes of inorganic pigments in Chinese traditional paintings due to the illumination of frequently‐used light sources in museum

Optical radiation can cause permanent damage to the color of Chinese traditional paintings, which have extremely high responsivity in the museum illumination. In order to obtain quantitative influence laws of artificial illumination on inorganic pigments in Chinese traditional paintings and provide basis for choosing light sources, a long periodic illumination experiment was carried out to examine how prolonged exposure of three light sources (tungsten halogen, metal halide and white light emitting diodes), frequently‐used in museums, affect the chromaticity of five inorganic pigments [azurite (blue), cinnabar (red), orpiment (yellow), ancient graphite (black), clam shell powder (white)], commonly used in Chinese traditional paintings. Through the experiment, we found that the illumination causes a color change to inorganic pigments, and the degree of which is related to the photochemical stability of pigments and the high energy shortwave radiation in the light source spectrum. We also obtain the color change laws of the five pigments and the quantitative relationships of color damage for different painting types. These results can provide data basis for related research on Chinese traditional painting illumination and choice basis for light sources in museum lighting designs.     

Science and sensibility: Chemistry and the aesthetics of color in the early nineteenth century

Chemistry is an essential but neglected source of scientific rationales for artistic color theory in Britain between 1830 and 1850. This article compares and contrasts the work of two chemists who were also aestheticians: George Field (1777–1854) and Michel Eugène Chevreul (1786–1889). Their color theories are placed in the context of their work in two streams of chemical science then current: a speculative chemical philosophy of natural powers and empirical experimental analysis. In mid-century, as design theorists such as Owen Jones (1809–1874) and Richard Redgrave (1804–1888) attempted to place artistic color theory on an objective basis, they combined the results of these two approaches and applied them to decorative coloring. This article argues that this abstract, arbitrary approach to color then passed to Victorian fine art by way of decorative painting, pattern design, and book illustration. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Advances in the science and technology of paints, inks and related coatings: 2005

Summary  This review summarises the developments in adhesion, VOC emissions, coatings, transparent conductive coatings, hybrid organic-inorganic coatings, UV curing, biocidal coatings, paints, weathering, wood coatings, surface treatment of concrete, metal corrosion, pigments, film formation, printing, modelling fluid flow in printing, dot gain and inkjet printing reported inSurface Coatings International Part B: Coatings Transactions,88, 2005.