Umber

The shade is a natural brown earth pigment which contains iron oxide and manganese oxide. In its natural form it is called raw shadow. When charred, the color becomes hotter and is known as a burnt tone. Its name derives from umber or terra umbra, the Italian name of the pigment. Umbria is a mountainous region in central Italy where the pigment was originally mined. The word may also be related to the Latin word umbra, meaning “shadow”. Hue is not an exact color, but a range of different colors, from medium to dark values, from greenish to reddish hues. The natural color of the earth depends mainly on the levels of iron oxide and manganese in the clay. Shadow pigments contain between five and twenty percent manganese oxide, which explains their darker, less saturated color than the related sienna pigment. Commercial eyeshadow pigments vary in color depending on where they come from and how they are processed. All the pigments marketed under the name “Umbra” do not contain natural earths; some contain synthetic oxides of iron and manganese. Natural amber-containing pigments are usually identified by the generic color index name PBr7 (pigment brown 7). pigment samples

• Limonite or hydrated iron oxide is the basic ingredient of ocher, sienna and amber pigments.
• The presence of a large amount of manganese makes amber darker than ocher or sienna.
• Raw amber or natural amber pigment comes from Umbria, Italy.
• Another sample of a natural shade pigment.