III · 04 Chapter Three  ·  The Mineral Ledger ରଙ୍ଗ ତତ୍ତ୍ୱ
Raghurajpur Pigment Survey, 2024

The cream ground is only the silence — every figure is paid for in mineral.

Grams of pigment per finished scroll

Avg. 60 × 120 cm patta · n = 84 scrolls
24g 18g 12g 6g 0g 22.4 Hingula vermilion 14.8 Nila cobalt 10.2 Gond emerald 8.6 Haridra turmeric 5.4 Shankha conch white 3.1 Kajjala lampblack 1.7 Dadima pomegranate 3.3× the next pigment
Vermilion
Cobalt
Emerald
Turmeric
Conch
Lampblack
68%
Share of mineral mass
Vermilion + Cobalt + Emerald
+4 pts vs. 1991

Where the gram-weight goes

Vermilion fills flesh, robes, hero panels 34.4 %
Cobalt fields Krishna skin, sky bands 22.7 %
Emerald foliage kadamba, lotus stalk 15.7 %
Turmeric trim halos, jewel filaments 13.2 %
Conch white eye, conch-shell, teeth 8.3 %
Lampblack outline every figure, every glyph 4.8 %
Source: Raghurajpur chitrakar workshops · pigment-weight ledger, 84 scrolls measured by the Crafts Archive, Bhubaneswar, 2024.
Pattaśālā Quarterly 04 / 18