"To put it simply, pigments give color to paint. They are generally made from chemicals and mixed with a "binding agent" such as egg, oil, animal fat, water or synthetic resin to make paintable liquids. Unfortunately, most of the time, art objects and their pigments are delicate by nature. Painting conservators are responsible for the preservation, and future stabilization, of these works of art. Therefore they must have an intimate knowledge of the historical and scientific background all of pigments in use both today and in past generations. This book is an essential purchase for all painting conservators and conservation scientists dealing with paintings and painted objects. It provides the first definitive manual dedicated to optical microscopy of historical pigments. This book is based on years of painstaking research into the visual and optical properties of pigments. Groundbreaking and comprehensive, the Pigment Compendium is a major addition to the study and understanding of historic pigments."