| Gamboge | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Color coordinates | |
| Hex triplet | #E49B0F |
| sRGBB (r,g,b) | (228, 155, 15) |
| HSV (h,s,v) | (39°, 93%, 89%) |
| CIELChuv (L,C,h) | (69, 92, 48°) |
| Source | Maerz and Paul[a] |
| ISCC–NBS descriptor | Strong orange yellow |
| B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) | |
Gamboge (/ɡæmˈboʊʒ,-ˈbuːʒ/gam-BOHZH, -BOOZH)[1] is a deep-yellowpigment derived from a species of tree that primarily grows in Cambodia.[2] Popular inEast Asianwatercolor works, it has been used across a number of media dating back to the 8th century.[2]: 144 Easy to transport and manipulate into a durable watercolor paint, gamboge is notable for its versatility as a pigment in how it has been used in paintings, printing of books, and garment dyes,[3] including the robes of Buddhist monks.[4] Gamboge is toxic to humans, and is potentially deadly in larger doses.[citation needed] Due to its toxicity and poor lightfastness, gamboge is no longer used in paints, though limited use continues in other contexts. Though used in a number of different contexts, Gamboge is known not to react well with citric acid surfaces[clarification needed] therefore making it unsuitable for frescos and with white lead.[2]: 147 For its popularity, Gamboge has not been extensively identified in works of art from any time period; the few instances wherein art historians have attempted to identify whether or not the pigment was used in a given work have confirmed its widespread use and its longevity as staple within watercolor painting particularly in eastern art.[5]: 170
Gamboge's first recorded use dates back to the 8th century during which time it appeared inJapanese art.[5]: 170 Some historians speculate small shipments of the pigment were able to be distributed in European contexts due to the occasionalover-land trade journeys made from Asia to Europe. Gamboge would become much more accessible beginning in the 17th century as shipping grew in popularity as a method of transporting goods from Asia to Europe.[3] It was around this time that Gamboge's popularity in watercolors grew tremendously.[citation needed]
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The pigment is derived from the gum of a species of evergreen of the familyGuttiferae which grows in southeast Asia, primarily Cambodia and Thailand.[2]: 149 In fact, Gamboge gets its name from a now-antiquated name forCambodia,Camboja, though it was also referred to asgama gitta in some 17th century European color manuals.[3]: 106 The pigment is extracted fromGuttiferae trees through a process of cutting several deep incisions into the tree's trunk thus allowing the resin to bleed out into pre-mounted bamboo canes used as receptacle to initially catch and later transport the product.[5] The practice of collecting Gamboge inbamboo cane was so widespread and recognizable that the pigment was often referred to as “pipe Gamboge” for how it conformed to the cylindrical shape of the receptacle.[5]: 170
There was a brief shortage of the pigment during the 1970s and 1980s due to trade restrictions placed on theKhmer Rouge regime.[6]: 220–221 It was during this time that shipments of the gum which makes Gamboge were found to contain bullet casings and other impurities which tainted the pigment.[6]: 220–221
While Gamboge is best known for its use in artwork, it does have a secondary function as a laxative. In small doses it can cause watery feces while large doses have been reported to cause death.[6]
Gamboge is most often extracted by tappinglatex (sometimes incorrectly referred to assap) from various species of evergreen trees of the familyClusiaceae (also known asGuttiferae). The tree most commonly used is the gamboge tree (genusGarcinia), includingG. hanburyi (Cambodia andThailand),G. morella (India andSri Lanka), andG. elliptica andG. heterandra (Myanmar).[5]: 170 The orange fruit ofGarcinia gummi-gutta (formerly calledG. cambogia) is also known as gamboge or gambooge.[7]
The trees must be at least ten years old before they are tapped.[8] The resin is extracted by making spiral incisions in the bark, and by breaking off leaves and shoots and letting the milky yellow resinous gum drip out. The resulting latex is collected in hollowbamboo canes.[9] After the resin is congealed, the bamboo is broken away and large rods of raw gamboge remain.[10]
Once extracted from the trees in which it is found, Gamboge resin has a brownish-yellow color.[2]: 143 Once ground, the resin takes on a deep yellow color.[2] Artists sometimes combinedPrussian blue with gamboge to create green; they also mixed it withburnt sienna to make orange.[5]: 170
Gamboge was most commonly used in watercolor painting.[2]: 145
Gamboge is highly sensitive to light.[2]: 145 It is known to react poorly with lime surfaces and, as such, is deemed unsuitable forfrescos.[5] Gamboge is also known to react withwhite lead.[5]
Gamboge has not been extensively identified in works of art from any time period; many analyses of paintings simply identify the presence of "organic yellow" without distinguishing between different organic yellow pigments.[2]: 152–153
Gamboge has been identified as the underlying gold paint in the Maitepnimit Temple in Thailand as well as having featured in the Medieval Armenian Glajor Gospel.[5] Though not authenticated, it has also been noted thatRembrandt may have used the pigment in a few of his works and that it appears inJ. M. W. Turner's color box.[2]: 153
The wordgamboge comes fromgambogium, theLatin word for the pigment, which derives fromGambogia, the Latin word forCambodia.[11] Its first recorded use as a colour name inEnglish was in 1634.[12]
