The World's Rarest Colours

2,500 of the world’s rarest pigments are housed at the Harvard Art Museums. An Atlas of Rare and Familiar Colour visually and anthropologically excavates the Forbes Pigment Collection in perfectly color-coded chapters.

"From a single vial we can discover how artists worked, what their favored materials and methods were, and the process that was undertaken in order to create a single perfect color. Ultramarine, a deep and vivid blue, was a pigment made from lapis lazuli mined in Afghanistan: it was once more precious than gold. An early sage green sent many to an early grave."

More: iGNANT.com