New Research on the Origin of Mosaic Gold

Abstract

This article examines the origins of the golden pigment known as mosaic gold (SnS2), formed through the sublimation of tin with mercury, sulphur, and ammonium chloride. It explores the textual transmission of mosaic gold from the earliest known written testimonies, as well as the earliest material remnants of the pigment during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Additionally, the study introduces and analyses two new recipes from an earlier date: one comes from the Greek treatise known as the Anonymous of Zuretti; and the other from the Latin alchemical work attributed to pseudo-Avicenna, De anima. The analysis of these new recipes allows for a better understanding of the origin of the pigment and its connection with the medieval alchemical tradition inherited from the Arabic world. Based on these testimonies, the study proposes a new hypothesis about the origin, development, and etymology of mosaic gold.