The restoration and conservation work undertaken at Trefler’s studio requires a unique array of tools and materials to tackle the varied objects that come to us.  While each department tends to lean more heavily on its own specialized tools, there is one incredibly versatile material that all of Trefler’s artists rely on daily. This material is the pigment. 

From decorative arts, to painting, to works on paper and furniture; pigments allow our experts to do a myriad of things. Our artists are able to camouflage breaks and cracks in porcelain, in-paint missing portions of paintings and even craft the perfect custom finish on furniture refinishing using pigments.  No matter what needs fixing, pigments are key to almost every project. 

Laura Sheehan-McDonald, Trefler’s Vice President and  expert in color matching and decorative painting, explains that she relies on this invaluable asset daily at her work bench. For the last fifty years, the vast pigment collection at Trefler’s has evolved and today continues to grow to include some of the more common hues and some very rare and difficult to come by. 

A pigment is essentially a dry solute which is dissolved in water to create a substance like paint, stain, or dye. Dyes are often comprised of organic compounds like dried herbs or vegetable coloring, (think of Turmeric), whereas pigments are often created by dissolving inorganic compounds like minerals into water or another liquid carrier.

Throughout history, pigments have been developed from a wide variety of sources, some more creative than others. Royal Blue for example, was once the product of lapis lazuli, and vermilion, widely used in paintings by old masters such as Titian, was derived from a mercury compound. While many pigments were the product of experimentation of more commonplace minerals and inorganic compounds, others came from a variety of creative, and often quite unusual sources. 

One particular shade of yellow, known as Indian yellow, was made from the urine of cows exclusively fed a diet of mangoes. The production of this particular pigment was later deemed animal cruelty, and subsequently banned in Europe.

Because of people’s curiosity and attraction to creating art and objects with vibrant color, pigments have enjoyed use across almost every trade imaginable. The arts, fashion, consumer goods, technology, engineering, and even industrial food production have been directly shaped by development and application of pigments.