Orpiment, Quiruvilca Mine, La Libertad, Peru
Orpiment, As2S3, is a common monoclinic arsenic sulfide mineral. Orpiment is an orange to yellow mineral that is found worldwide, and occurs as a sublimation product in volcanic fumaroles, low temperature hydrothermal veins, hot springs and as a byproduct of the decay of another arsenic mineral, realgar. Orpiment was an important item of trade in the Roman Empire and was used as a medicine in China although it is highly toxic. It was also used as a fly poison and to poison arrows. Orpiment was ground, processed and used for centuries as a pigment in painting and for sealing wax, being one of the few clear, bright yellow pigments available to artists up until the 19th century. Orpiment presented problems, however, such as its extreme toxicity and its incompatibility with other common pigments like lead and copper-based substances such as verdigris and azurite. The use of orpiment as a pigment material ended almost entirely with the advent of the cadmium yellows and the various dye-based colors of the 19th century.
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Keywords: arsenic, crystal, crystals, la, libertad, mineral, minerals, orpiment, peru, pigment, quiruvilca, rocks, specimen, specimens, sulfide, toxic, yellow
