Amajor restoration of thefirst floor of the RoyalPavilion was carried out from

the late 1970s until the mid-1990s.The intention behind the restorationwas to present the entire building asa complete Regency design, asGeorge IV, his architect and hisdesigners intended.

The restoration was carried out alongside majorrepairs to the fabric of the building, duringwhich fragments of original decoration werefound in situ. These, along with stored originalitems, were sampled so that the pigments usedcould be identified. This was done not only toinform the restoration process, but to increaseour knowledge and understanding of Regencydecorative painting practice.

Frontispiece from George Field’s 'Chromatography', London, 1841Hand-coloured copper-plate etchingCollection Alexandra LoskePhotograph by Jim Pike, 2013, for the Royal Pavilion

Our thanks are due to the organisations and individuals that have helped us:

Catherine Hassall, Paint Analysis

English Heritage

Allyson McDermott, Historic Interiors

National Gallery, London, Scientific Department: Rachel Morrison, Dr David Peggie, Dr Ashok Roy, Marika Spring, Ann Stephenson-Wright

Peter Mactaggart, Mac & Me

Royal Pavilion & Museums, Conservation Department: Jon Latham, Anne Sowden; Booth Museum of Natural History: Dr Gerald Legg

University of Southampton, School of Chemistry: Charlotte Beard, Alistair Clark, Dr Robert Hughes, Professor Mark Weller

The following table is a record of thepigments that have been discoveredin the Royal Pavilion. It details theobjects that have been analysed andthe methods used.

This material has been written and compiled by Janet Brough, Paintings Conservator, Royal Pavilion &Museums, July 2013.

Colour in the Regency Period

Identification of Regency pigmentsused in the original decorations of the Royal Pavilion

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Colour Object sampled, dateof manufacture, andoriginal location

Image of object Analysis method,acknowledgements, sampleidentification

Further examples with similarpigment characteristics

Red transparent(Carmine) Cochineal

Fragment of original canvasborder to murals, c.1820,Banqueting Room

Red spot of crown, c.1815,North Gallery

Fragment of yellow dragonpaper, c.1820, Bow Rooms

North window bead,c.1820, North Bow Room

High performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) by Dr David Peggie, National GalleryScientific Department (report no. 070213)2013. Also Scanning Electron Microscope(SEM) by Alistair Clark, University ofSouthampton (sample no. 1) 2006

Pigments with similar characteristics havebeen found in many other items, as in theMusic Room murals, over silver in theBanqueting Room bells and high levelornaments, and in the lilac shadow of theSaloon wallpaper

Red opaque(Vermilion) Mercuricsulphide

Visible and polarised light microscopy by Janet Brough, Royal Pavilion & MuseumsConservation Department 1989

Pigments with similar characteristics havebeen found in original paper from the RedDrawing Room, the Music Room murals, theSouth Gallery Kylins, the pink colouring in theSaloon wallpaper, and many other items

Yellow (ChromeYellow) Lead chromate

Allyson McDermott c.1987 Pigments with similar characteristics havebeen found in other items, as in the yellowareas of the Music Room murals

Yellow (ChromeYellow) Lead chromate

Visible and polarised light microscopy, Janet Brough, Royal Pavilion & MuseumsConservation Department, and PeterMactaggart (slide no. 2) 1989. Also scanningElectron Microscope with X Ray Diffraction(SEM/XRD) by Ashok Roy, National GalleryScientific Department 1996 page

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Colour Object sampled, dateof manufacture, andoriginal location

Image of object Analysis method,acknowledgements, sampleidentification

Further examples with similarpigment characteristics

Yellow (Turner'sPatent Yellow) Leadoxychloride

Yellow under blue bambooborder in painted canvasdecorations, c.1815, NorthGalleries

Yellow scales on Kylin,c.1815, South Galleries

Kylin, c.1815, SouthGalleries

Architrave of door, c.1815(painted blue lines onsecond layer of pink teawood graining), BowRooms

Visible and polarised light microscopy, Janet Brough, Royal Pavilion & MuseumsConservation Department, and PeterMactaggart (North Gallery no. 2) 1989

Yellow (Turner'sPatent Yellow) Leadoxychloride

Visible and polarised light microscopy, Janet Brough, Royal Pavilion & MuseumsConservation Department, and PeterMactaggart (South Gallery no. 3) 1989. AlsoSEM/XRD by Ashok Roy, National GalleryScientific Department 1996

Blue (Blue Verditer)Copper carbonate

Visible and polarised light microscopy, Janet Brough, Royal Pavilion & MuseumsConservation Department, and PeterMactaggart 1989

Pigments with similar characteristics havebeen found in many other items, as in theSouth Gallery columns and marbled bases andthe sky ceilings in the Saloon

Blue (Blue Verditer)Copper carbonate

Visible and polarised light microscopy, Janet Brough, Royal Pavilion & MuseumsConservation Department, and SEM/XRDby English Heritage (Bow/Ar/1) 1992

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Colour Object sampled, dateof manufacture, andoriginal location

Image of object Analysis method,acknowledgements, sampleidentification

Further examples with similarpigment characteristics

Blue (Blue Verditer)Copper carbonate

Blue distemper wallpaperfragment (L-shapedsection), c.1815, SouthGalleries

Painted canvas decorations,dragon, c.1815, NorthGallery

Fragment of silver and bluewallpaper, probablyoriginal, c.1817,Banqueting Room

Dado paper green, c.1820,Kings Apartments

Visible and polarised light microscopy, Janet Brough, Royal Pavilion & MuseumsConservation Department, and PeterMactaggart (South Gallery no. 1) 1989

Blue (Prussian Blue)Ferric ferrocyanide orsimilar compound

Visible and polarised light microscopy, Janet Brough, Royal Pavilion & MuseumsConservation Department, and PeterMactaggart (North Gallery no. 4) 1989

Pigments with similar characteristics havebeen found in many other items, as in the blueareas of the Music Room murals, SouthGallery columns and bases, and in the Saloonwallpaper

Blue (Prussian Blue)Ferric ferrocyanide orsimilar compound

SEM/XRD by Alistair Clark and CharlotteBeard, Southampton University School ofChemistry (07/BR/02 no. 2) 2006

Green opaque(copper based,possibly GreenVerditer)

SEM/XRD by Alistair Clark and CharlotteBeard, Southampton University School ofChemistry (07/KA/01 no. 4) 2006

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Colour Object sampled, dateof manufacture, andoriginal location

Image of object Analysis method,acknowledgements, sampleidentification

Green transparent(Verdigris) Copperacetate

Dragon claw green oversilver, c.1815, originallocation not known

Hand-painted dragonwallpaper, transparentgreen border to exportoils, c.1820, Red DrawingRoom

Fragment of original silverand white wallpaper,c.1820, from under thepapier mâché architrave,west side, north door,Saloon

Dado paper, mixed withgreen, c.1820, KingsApartments

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR), SEM/EDX. Gas chromatography andmass spectrometry (GCMS) established thatthe medium included sandarac, by RachelMorrison, National Gallery ScientificDepartment (nos. 1 and 2) 2013

Green transparent(weakly diffracting,possibly a dye)

SEM by Alistair Clark, SouthamptonUniversity School of Chemistry (no. 1) 2006

White (Whiting)Calcium carbonate, notof shell origin

Light and polarised light microscopy;Catherine Hassall (report no. A950, samplenos. 12.5.01; 12.5.02; 12.5.03) 2012 and Jon Latham, Royal Pavilion & MuseumsConservation Department

White (zinc white)Zinc oxide

SEM/XRD by Alistair Clark and Charlotte Beard, Southampton UniversitySchool of Chemistry 2006

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