The Cornwall Museum Archive

Exploring The Museum's Archive 

Lucy explored the museum’s research collection, bequeathed by Lesley Nash, a Cornish mineral dealer and collector active in the late 20th century. 

Materials 

Copper carbonate minerals : Azurite & Malachite

Methodology

She carefully examined 60 boxes of lower-grade mineral specimens, previously offered for sale in the museum shop, to identify materials suitable for processing into natural pigments. Among her discoveries were specimens of azurite and malachite from County Galway, Ireland, which could be transformed into vibrant blue and green pigments. The azurite & malachite pigments were produced from these samples and used to paint the dentals above the door to the mineral gallery. She hand mixed these pigments with binders supplied by Rose Of Jericho Ltd to Crete breathable heritage paints on the architectural plasterwork.

Grinding azurite to reduce the particle size so that it can be used as a colourant in paint. 

Processing of azurite, malachite & iron oxide pigments. 

Wet serving the azurite to isolate a purer sample.

Azurite, malachite & iron oxide pigments alongside the raw untreated rock containing the minerals from Ireland. 

Detail of Azurite, malachite & iron oxide pigments. (above)

Detail of the azurite, malachite and iron oxide pigments that feature in the pigment display. (1/2)

Detail of the azurite, malachite and iron oxide pigments that feature in the pigment display. (2/2)