Vermilion (sometimes vermillion)[1] is a color family and pigment most often used between antiquity and the 19th century from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide).

It is synonymous with red orange, which often takes a modern form, but is 11% brighter (at full brightness).

[2] The name originated because it had a similar color to the natural red dye made from an insect, Kermes vermilio, which was widely used in Europe.

[4][5] The term cinnabar is used in mineralogy and crystallography for the red crystalline form of mercury sulfide HgS.

Greek philosopher Theophrastus of Eresus (371–286 BC) described the process in De Lapidibus, the first scientific book on minerals.

Italian Renaissance artist Cennino Cennini wrote: "If you were to grind it every day, even for 20 years, it would keep getting better and more perfect.

To remove the sulfur, these crystals were treated with a strong alkali, washed, and finally ground under water to yield the commercial powder form of the pigment.

"[12] Newer research indicates that chlorine ions and light may aid in decomposing vermilion into elemental mercury, which is black when in finely dispersed form.

[17][18] The first documented use of vermilion pigment, made with ground cinnabar, dates to 8000–7000 BC, and was found at the neolithic village of Çatalhöyük, in modern-day Turkey.

In China, the first documented use of cinnabar as a pigment was by the Yangshao culture (5000–4000 BC), where it was used to paint ceramics, to cover the walls and floors of rooms, and for ritual ceremonies.

[19] The principal source of cinnabar for the ancient Romans was the Almaden mine in northwest Spain, which was worked by prisoners.

They send it to Rome in its natural condition, under seal, to the extent of some ten thousand librae (Roman pounds thus 3289 kg) a year.

[17] Vermilion was also used by the native peoples of America, to paint ceramics, figurines, and murals, and for the decoration of burials.

The most dramatic example of vermilion use in the Americas was the so-called Tomb of the Red Queen, located in Temple XIII, in the ruins of the Mayan city of Palenque in Chiapas, Mexico.

The body and all objects in the sarcophagus were covered with bright red vermilion powder made from cinnabar.

[22][23][19] The technique for making a synthetic vermilion by combining sulfur and mercury was in use in Europe in the 9th century, but the pigment was still expensive.

Vermilion was also used by painters in the Renaissance as a very vivid and bright red, though it did have the weakness of sometimes turning dark with time.

[24]By the 20th century, the cost and toxicity of vermilion led to its gradually being replaced by synthetic pigments, particularly cadmium red, which had a comparable color and opacity.

The sap or resin of the tree, called urushiol, was caustic and toxic (it contained the same chemical compound as poison ivy), but painted onto wood or metal, it hardened into a fine natural plastic, or lacquer surface.

The shade of the color can vary from dark to light depending upon how the pigment is made and how the lacquer was applied.