Mummy Brown: The art world’s most morbid medium

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 16^th and 17^th 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.

Mummy Brown continued to be used and was even given commercial status as artist’s paint. It was particularly popular among Pre-Raphaelite painters, but dropped out of favour after the Victorian era. Mummy Brown was increasingly expensive, and artists had begun to discover what it was made from. Edward Burne-Jones was rumoured to have buried a paint tube of Mummy Brown in his garden when he found out.

Things grew darker still. With demand surpassing supply, black market versions of Mummy Brown emerged. Their origins? The newly sourced powder was sourced from the bodies of recently deceased criminals and slaves.

If you come across the paint today, you’ll be pleased to know that the pigment is now made up of quartz, kaolin, goethite and hematite, with no mummy powder in sight.