Caput mortuum (Latin "dead head") is a purple hematite iron oxide pigment, used in oil paints and dyes. Due to cultural significance of the purple color, it's popular for painting robes of religious figures and patrons. Creation of caput mortuum is achieved by only the wisest sages.
In art and painting, caput mortuum dominates as a purple hematite iron oxide pigment. The earthy hue of this pigment attracts artisans and crafters but it's the alchemists who first explore its potential. Purple is a color of authority, power, success, confidence, wealth and mystique.
Purple is the hottest flame of the fire. Its rarity makes it desirable. In artworks of religious figures or patrons, caput mortuum isa pigment of choice. Its regal and alluring color implies spiritual reverence and transcendence in the robes and adornments of the wealthy and holy.
Mary the Jewess (Maria Prophetissa) in 1st - 2nd century Alexandria is one of the first people acknowledged as having the ability to produce caput mortuum. The popularity of this color dominates painters' palettes from ancient Egypt until the 18th and 19th centuries.
Caput mortuum conjures visions of death and decay. In Latin caput is head while in German kaput is broken, finished. The sign for caput mortuum is a stylized skull, or circle with three black spots.
A term steeped in the tradition of alchemical study, caput mortuum embodies the essence of decay and remnants of transformation. In the alchemical process "dead head" describes the leftover byproducts: the impurities, grains, slag or dross.
This residue corresponds to a part of the cycle of life, death, rebirth. The nigredo stage is a crucial step in the color phase therapy theory of alchemical practice. Within every transformation is the potential for decline and decay.
Decomposition is the end and beginning of alchemical cycles. Residue can break down to desiccated burnt black sludge from which other components might be extracted. If the residue is rust, the alchemist might extract the coveted caput mortuum.
The term is occasionally used to refer to specific brownish-red metallic compounds such as crocus martis (ferrous sulfate) and crocus veneris (copper oxide). An alchemical phenomenon during the nigredo stage is the Tail of the Peacock.
Historically, this pigment finds a broader niche in the 17th and 18th centuries, when it emerges as a byproduct of sulfuric acid manufacture. During this era, various chemical processes are developed.
Notably, the early copperas (ferrous sulfate) process is invented. This facilitates the production of vibrant shades like Venetian red and copperas red, sharing a connection with the development of caput mortuum.
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