Zinc Iron Chromite Orange Pigment

Description

Zinc Iron Chromite Orange (PBr33) is a handmade single-pigment zinc iron chromite brown-orange spinel pigment. Built on a mixed-oxide spinel structure of zinc, iron, and chromium, it forms an extremely stable mineral matrix. It produces a warm, earthy orange-brown with a rich rust-terracotta undertone and a deep, natural masstone. Compared to organic oranges this pigment is lower in chroma and more mineral, offering a grounded, architectural orange-brown rather than a synthetic or overpowering hue.

In use, Zinc Iron Chromite Orange gives a controlled, robust color ideal for brick, tile, rooftops, terracotta, timber, dried leaves, earth, and warm shadows in landscape and figurative work. It has moderate to strong tinting strength with a semi-opaque to opaque character, allowing it to cover solidly in masstone while still producing luminous, earthy veils of color in thinner layers. It mixes beautifully with yellows for sunlit ochres and golden browns, with reds for deep tile and brick tones, and with blues, blacks, and other earths for a wide range of rich neutrals, shadow browns, and muted, natural oranges that stay clear rather than muddy.

This spinel pigment is chemically inert, heat-resistant, and highly resistant to acids and alkalis, which makes it suitable across a wide range of binders and mediums. In artist's colors it offers a dependable, mineral orange-brown that can function as a primary warm earth on the palette, an alternative to iron oxide browns, or a key mixer for historically inspired, architectural, and landscape palettes.

History

Zinc iron chromite browns and oranges were developed in the 20th century within the ceramic and industrial color industries as extremely durable mixed-metal oxide pigments. By firing zinc, iron, chromium, and related compounds at high temperatures, chemists produced stable spinel and related structures with warm brown to orange hues that could withstand demanding kiln conditions and harsh outdoor exposure.

These pigments were first used in tiles, porcelain, architectural ceramics, powder coatings, and industrial finishes, where they were prized for their lightfastness, chemical resistance, and weathering stability. As interest in mineral-based, ceramic-origin pigments grew among artists and paintmakers, Zinc Iron Chromite Brown (PBr33) and its warmer orange-leaning variants began to appear in artist paints as robust, low-chroma earth colors with excellent permanence. Today Zinc Iron Chromite Orange is appreciated by painters who want a stable, architectural orange-brown with a distinctly mineral character and a long record of technical reliability.

Pigment Information

Pigment Type: Synthetic (Inorganic) zinc iron chromite spinel brown-orange

Suitable Mediums: Watercolor, Oil, Tempera, Acrylic, Encaustic, Cold Wax, Casein, Milk, Swedish Flour, Lime / Fresco, Ceramics

Lightfastness: Best

Opacity: Semi-opaque to opaque

Other Names: Zinc Iron Chromite Orange, Zinc Iron Chromite Brown, Mixed Oxide Brown (PBr33)

Color Index Code: PBr33