Minium (pigment)

[2] During the Roman Empire, the term minium could refer either to the pigment made from ground cinnabar or to the less expensive red lead.

The name came from the river Minius in Iberia (now forming part of the Spanish-Portuguese border and known as Miño or Minho), located near the main Roman cinnabar mines.

It was known in the Han dynasty (200 BC – 200 AD) under the name "cinnabar of lead" (ch'ien tan), The process of manufacturing it was described in a Chinese manuscript of the 5th century.

[8]: 32 Red lead provides good body and hiding power in oil due to its high density and fine texture.

The orange color on these works has generally been well preserved because the paintings were mounted on scrolls and subsequently rolled up and protected (as seen in Three Actors Playing a Scene from the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington).

[9] Rouge was the next most visible element, with minium being used as a cheap, bright, and easy to make ingredient for female cosmetics to create a blush.

Oil based red lead paints are used to protect ships, railroad cars and all sorts of steel constructions from corrosion.

Minium bonds with iron creating a protective oxide layer that resists corrosion even in salt water.

The Códice del Escorial (1272–1284) from Spain. Medieval manuscripts often used red-orange minium pigment in the letters of the text and for small illustrations, called miniatures.
Three Actors Playing a Scene , Torii Kiyonobu I. The red-brown robe of actor, lower right, is darkened red lead.