chapter 11 Making verdigris (from copper) Pera fazer azinhafre mui fino Figure 1 Main steps in the making of verdigris ‘In order to make very fine verdigris, take very thin At the same time, in the interface between the metal leaves* of copper and moisten them in very hot and surface and the acidic solution, the electrons provid- strong vinegar. And put them in a pot leaning on its ed by copper oxidation reduce atmospheric oxygen, side, and smear the mouth of the pot with honey and producing water: cover it with potsherds, and bury it under the manure + - O2(g) + 4H + 4e → 2H2O(l) of large animals, and let it stand there for thirty-one days. And after these days take the pot out and you Acetic acid, a weak acid, in solution establishes an acid-base equilibrium: will find verdigris, and scrape it with a spatula. And if you want to make more, repeat as directed, and you → - CH3COOH (aq) ← CH3COO (aq) + H+(aq) will have good verdigris.’ [1]. Therefore, the acetate ions bind to the copper cati- *in Portuguese Strolovich transliterates as ‘toma folhas de cobre ons, producing insoluble copper acetates. muito delgadas e moles’. Cu0 + 2CH COOH + ½ O → Cu(CH COO) .H O Reproduction 3 2 3 2 2 These copper acetates may differ in their acetate to The surface of a leaf of copper foil was cleaned with hydroxide component ratio and degrees of hydra- sandpaper and immersed in strong, pre-heated at tion. These variations have impact on the colour, in 60 – 70° C and filtered vinegar, pH ≈ 3, for 10 min. the sense that they can produce different shades of It was then placed inside a pot of clay, sealed (with blue and green [3-7]. clay), and the board was coated with honey. In our experimental conditions, only the formation of the neutral copper acetate Cu(CH COO) .H O, was The sealed pot was carefully put inside a larger clay 3 2 2 observed. pot, covered with potsherds, and let stand for 31 days buried in horse manure or in sand. Key aspects After the 31 days, the pot was carefully opened, and Reaction stoichiometry: The electrolytic corrosion of the leaves were found covered with verdigris. the copper leaves occurs in a proportion of one mole of copper per two moles of acetic acid, however we Rationalisation / Chemical reactions should consider more complex reactions, as dis- cussed above. When copper or copper alloys are exposed to acetic acid solutions (such as vinegar), in a closed vessel, Corrosion of copper leaves: For the redox reaction of the surface of the metal is corroded, due to the oxi- copper it is important to leave the copper foil in con- dation of copper [2]: tact with air to improve the production of verdigris, as opposed to submerging the copper in the acetic Cu(s) → Cu 2+ (aq) + 2e- acid solution. Missing / Obscure indications Verdigris in Portuguese medieval illuminations Amount of vinegar: The recipe says to ‘moisten’ the Green is an important colour in Portuguese medi- thin leaves of copper foil in ‘very hot and strong vin- eval illuminations, particularly a certain deep green egar’. The moistening suggested in the treatise ap- named bottle green (‘verde garrafa’ in Portuguese), pears to be insufficient to oxidize the entire surface which is based on synthetic copper proteinate [3,4], of the copper foil; it is possible that the information Fig. 2. According to some authors [10], copper pro- on a vinegar deposit, to be included in the vessel teinates may have been formed in the course of along with the copper, is missing. time, as a reaction between verdigris and a proteina- ceous binder, meaning that this copper proteinate Type of vinegar: In this recipe the vinegar is de- was not intentionally made. In our case studies, con- scribed as ‘strong’, but no other description is given. sidering the consistency of the colour values and the Strong could mean a high concentration of acetic absence of a heterogeneous surface, which could acid and thus a strong smell and a lower pH. Dur- sign the presence of solid state reaction(s), we do ing our experiments, several types were tested, such not think this to be probable. as commercial white and red vinegars (pH = 2.5) and oak-matured homemade vinegars (pH = 3). The best Works cited results were achieved with a 50-year-old homemade [1] Strolovitch, D. L. 2010. ‘O libro de komo se fazen vinegar [3,4]. as kores das tintas todas (Translation)’, in L.U. Afon- so (Ed.), The Materials of the Image, 3-27. As Maté- Sealing method: The exposure to high acetic acid rias da Imagem. Lisboa: Campo da Comunicação. concentration in the gas phase is important for the reaction yield. Thus, the sealing of the pot should be [2] Scott, D. A. 2002. Copper and Bronze in Art. Cor- very efficient (to concentrate acetic acid in the gas rosion, colorants, conservation, Los Angeles: The phase), which is not clear on the recipe. Getty Conservation Institute. [3] Miguel, C., Claro, A., Lopes, J. A., Melo, M. J. Comments 2009. ‘Copper pigments in medieval Portuguese Il- Vinegar is only introduced for moistening the copper luminations: green, blue, greenish blue or bluish leaves. To improve the reaction yield, vinegar must green?’, in E. Hermens and J. H. Townsend (Eds.), be available on the bottom of the pot to corrode the Sources and Serendipity - Testimonies of Artists' copper foil, otherwise only the non-flat areas and the Practice, 33-38. London: Archetype Publications. borders and cracks of the copper leaves will accu- [4] Miguel, C. 2012. Le vert et le rouge: A study on mulate small amounts of vinegar and, therefore, the the materials, techniques and meaning of the green verdigris will be produced in small restricted areas. and red colours in medieval Portuguese illumina- There are other recipes from that period, such as the tions, PhD thesis, FCT-UNL. ones found in treatises like Mappae Clavicula or De [5] Andrés, M.S., Sancho, N., Santos, S., de la Roja, diversis artibus, which suggest the continued expo- J.M. 2012. ‘Verdigrís. Terminologia y recetas de sure of the copper leaves to vinegar vapours. Our preparación’, in M. del Egido, S. Kroustallis (Eds.), experiments suggest that a higher yield is obtained Fatto d’Archimia. Los pigmentos artificiales en las from the continued exposure to vinegar vapours técnicas pictóricas, 197-234. Madrid: Ministerio de than by moistening or immersion. Educación, Cultura y Deporte. Villena Arts Gráficas. Horse manure: Animal manure was most likely used [6] Andrés, M.S., de la Roja, J.M., Santos, S., San- to maintain moisture and a certain temperature in- cho, N. 2012. ‘Patrones de identificación del verdi- side the pot, once its decomposition occurred [8]. grís: elaboración a partir de la reproducción de rec- This would promote the corrosion of the copper foil. etas antiguas’, in ibid. Temperature could be a critical issue in cold climates. [7] Chaplin, T.D., Clark, R.J.H., Scott, D.A. 2006. Honey: This hygroscopic ingredient may improve the ‘Study by Raman microscopy of nine variants of oxidation of the copper foil by increasing the contact green-blue pigment verdigris’, Journal of Raman area between the metal foil and the acetic acid. Spectroscopy, 37: 223-229. Figure 2 Examples of bottle-green in Portuguese medieval manuscripts, from left to right: Santa Cruz 20 Legendarium, f. 86; Santa Cruz 1 Bible, f. 37; Lorvão 15, f. 5v; Alcobaça Legendarium 421, f. 218. [8] Bernal, M.P., Albuquerque, J.A., Moral, R. 2009. Smith, C.S., Hawthorne, J.G. 1974. ‘Mappae Clavic- ‘Composting of animal manures and chemical crite- ula: a little key to the world of medieval techniques’. ria for compost maturity assessment. A review’, Bi- Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, oresource Technology, 100: 5444-5453. 64(4): 1-128 [9] Gilbert, B., Denoël, S., Weber, G., Allart, D. 2003. Other ‘Analysis of green copper pigments in illuminated Afonso, L.U. 2010. ‘New developments in the study manuscripts by micro-Raman spectroscopy’, Ana- of O livro de como se fazem as cores das tintas’, in lyst, 128: 1213-1217. L.U. Afonso (ed.), The Materials of the Image, 3-27. [10] Ricciardi, P., Pallipurath, A., Rose, K. 2013. As Matérias da Imagem. Lisboa: Campo da Comu- ‘”It’s not easy being green”: a spectroscopic study nicação. of green pigments used in illuminated manuscripts’, Kühn, H. 1970. ‘Verdigris and Copper Resinate’, Analytical Methods, 5: 3819-3824. Studies in Conservation, 15: 12-36. Further reading Matos, D.M. 2011. The Ms. Parma 1959 in the con- text of Portuguese Hebrew illumination. Master the- Written Sources sis, Lisbon: Faculdade de Letras, Universidade de Blondheim, S. 1928. ‘An old Portuguese work on Lisboa. manuscript illumination’, Jewish Quarterly Review Strolovitch, D. 2005. Old Portuguese in Hebrew 19: 97-135. Script: convention, contact, and convivência, 116- Clarke, M. 2009. ‘Writing recipes for non-specialists 184, PhD dissertation, Cornell University. c. 1300: The Anglo-latin secretum philosophorum, Tétreault, J., Cano, E., van Bommel, M., Scott, D., Glasgow MS Hunterian 110’, in E. Hermens and J.H. Dennis, M., Barthés-Labrousse, M.-G., Minel, L., Townsend (Eds.), Sources and Serendipity. Testimo- Robbiola, L. 2003. ‘Corrosion of copper and lead by nies of Artists’ Practice, 50-64. London: Archetype formaldehyde, formic and acetic acid vapours’, Stud- Publications. ies in Conservation, 48(4): 237-250. Hawthorne, J.G., Smith, C. 1963. Theophilus. On di- Main collaboration: vers arts. New York: Dover. Juliana Buse and Catarina Miguel Appendix Verdigris characterisation: synthesised following ‘The book on how to make colours’, Chapter 11 Colour Table 1 Colour coordinates, Lab*, for verdigris paint reconstructions using two different binders (arabic gum and parchment glue) applied over filter paper and parchment.