Paint palette

Two oyster shells, re-used as paint palettes. These still contain paint residues of red pigment. XRF (X-Ray Fluorescence) analysis identified the presence of mercury in the pigment, indicating that it is natural cinnabar (mercury ore) or artificial vermillion. The shells were found in a ditch in the monastic cemetery on the site of the Augustinian priory of St Mary Merton, which was excavated by archaeologists between 1976 and 1990.
The priory was founded in 1117 and became one of the most influential in medieval England. It was closed in 1538 during King Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries. Priory buildings were demolished and over 3000 tons of its stonework were taken to be re-used in the construction of the king’s palace of Nonsuch nearby. The paint palettes are evidence of the priory’s monks painting manuscripts or walls. Creating beautiful religious manuscripts was a common activity at monasteries and Merton Priory had a reputation for the excellence of its scholarship.
Illuminators and scribes ground their own pigments or purchased the ingredients in a prepared form from a stationer or apothecary. Various additives were used to modify colour, texture and opacity, and prepared mixtures were kept in oyster shells which were not only plentiful in medieval London, but could be easily cleaned, stacked, stored and transported. Several of these palettes, retaining traces of pigments, have been recovered from monastic sites in and around London.