Literary notes about malachite (AI summary)
Literary authors have long invoked the color malachite as a vivid symbol of lush, arresting green hues that evoke both nature’s splendor and refined artistry. In several works, malachite is not merely a mineral but a descriptor for a unique green tone—its natural, earthy brilliance is compared to enviable features, as when a character’s features are likened to “the beautiful blue, just the shade of malachite” ([1]), or when scenes are rendered “as green as malachite” ([2]). The pigment itself appears in artistic recipes and descriptive passages, such as formulations for enamel mixtures that include malachite green ([3], [4]), while other texts evoke its luxurious visual quality in decorative contexts through phrases that position malachite alongside other sumptuous colors ([5], [6], [7], [8], [9]). In doing so, literature transforms malachite from a mere mineral into an emblem of natural opulence and aesthetic allure.
- But the admiration of all were his legs and claws, as he kept them so clean, and they were a beautiful blue, just the shade of malachite.
— from The Bird Hospital by Caroline Crowninshield Bascom - The green-stone is embedded in and streaked with a deep olive grey, but in places is as green as malachite.
— from In a Syrian Saddle by A. (Ada) Goodrich-Freer - Celadon.— Enamel light blue 1 part Malachite green 1 part Flux
— from Henley's Twentieth Century Formulas, Recipes and Processes - Then, too, there is malachite green, purple, and Armenian blue.
— from The Ten Books on Architecture by Vitruvius Pollio - The green colour is either the natural green ore (malachite), or an oxide or artificial carbonate.
— from Forged Egyptian Antiquities by T. G. Wakeling - Chrome-Green ( chromium-viridis ), a dull green color, nearly intermediate between malachite green and sage green.
— from Toadstools, mushrooms, fungi, edible and poisonous; one thousand American fungi How to select and cook the edible; how to distinguish and avoid the poisonous, with full botanic descriptions. Toadstool poisons and their treatment, instructions to students, recipes for cooking, etc., etc. by Charles McIlvaine - These were, with few exceptions, covered with a crystalline layer resembling green malachite or blue azurite and were quite illegible.
— from The Preservation of Antiquities: A Handbook for Curators by Friedrich Rathgen - Russian Green.— Malachite green 10 parts Enamel yellow 5 parts Majolica white 5 parts Flux No. 8 (see previous formula) 2 parts Grind only.
— from Henley's Twentieth Century Formulas, Recipes and Processes - Malachite is a green opaque mineral whose color indicates a salt of copper.
— from Birds and Nature, Vol. 12 No. 3 [August 1902]Illustrated by Color Photography by Various
