Gamboge
Gamboge was a transparent yellow made from the resin of the Garcinia tree. It was used in east Asian art since at least the 8th century, and it became popular with European watercolour painters from the 17th century. It was prone to fading over time, and today the colour is made with lightfast pigments.


Buddha Amoghasiddhi with Eight Bodhisattvas, ca. 1200–50, distemper on cloth, 68.9 x 54 cm, 27 1/8 x 21 1/4 in, Purchase, Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Philanthropic Fund Gift, 1991, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

