Attic ochre

[2]: 49 Attic bright yellow clay was considered to be of particularly high quality; it was homogeneous, had no inclusions, and held the surface perfectly, even to the point of appearing a slight shine when smoothed, which made a favorable impression.

Already by the first century BC, this pigment was considered very rare in Rome, since the veins had been worked out to a large extent in the previous period.

It included white (melinium), yellow (atticum, Attic ochre), red (sinopis pontica) and black (atramentum) paints.

[7]: 7 The high cost and lack of Attic ochre forced us to look for recipes for simulating its color using artificial means.

[4] Attic ochre is homogeneous and well-tanned, it has a provocatively bright light yellow color, reminiscent of the solar spectrum or even lighter.

Unlike the bright yellow ocher, Attic clay is light orange to reddish brown in color and often contains small mica sparkles.