Natural Rock Pigment / Set of 4 Colors including Ultramarine Purple "Kyoto Ebisuya Release" Showa Retro Test Tube Set ~27g

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● About Early Showa Period Test Tube Ultramarine Blue, Light Ultramarine Blue, and Roasted Ultramarine Blue

Ultramarine blue is a very expensive pigment, and it is assumed to be natural. Artificial ultramarine blue did not become widely available until after World War II, so ultramarine blue from the early Showa period is basically considered natural.

〇 About this product
This is an iwa-enogu (Japanese mineral pigment) that belonged to a Japanese painter who passed away 20 years ago at the age of 100. Most of them were sold in test tubes with cork stoppers in the early Showa period, and most of them are natural iwa-enogu.

〇 Features of this 3-color set: Ultramarine blue is mainly derived from azurite, and was classified into light ultramarine blue, roasted ultramarine blue, dark ultramarine blue, and purple ultramarine blue depending on the particle size and firing process. The purple ultramarine blue from the Showa retro era in this set is rare as very few examples exist today.

Purple Ultramarine Blue refers to ultramarine blue that takes on a purplish hue through firing.
Light Ultramarine Blue is made by crushing and elutriating the raw material, azurite, and separating it by particle size.
Roasted Ultramarine Blue is a variation obtained by firing natural ultramarine blue (mainly derived from azurite). It is a common classification in the art material system of the early Showa period, and is positioned as a calm blue with a purplish hue among ultramarine blues.

〇 About authenticity
All three bottles have a double red line label on a white background, proving they were sold by Kyoto Ebisuya at the time. At the same time, test tubes from the Showa retro period themselves are proof of natural materials.

〇 What the containers and labels prove: In the early Showa period, the form of the container and label itself was evidence of natural ultramarine blue.
At that time, they were often put into glass bottles or ceramic jars, and paper boxes or plastic containers were rarely used.

〇 Label printing style: Many labels were printed using letterpress or had a handwritten feel, with the manufacturer's name (Hokkodō, Kisshō, etc.) prominently displayed. Since artificial ultramarine blue had not yet become widespread, there was no need to explicitly write natural.

〇 Price: Labels on other containers from the same period indicate a price of 4,000 yen per ryo (approximately 37.5g). This means the current equivalent price could be considerably high.

The photos and description are all that is provided. Please examine them carefully before purchasing. We look forward to your order.