Internet Colors - Set of 1035

Cinnabar Color 192 - #E34234

Cinnabar (red mercury (II) sulfide (HgS), native vermilion), is the common ore of mercury. Cinnabar is generally found in a massive, granular or earthy form and is bright scarlet to brick-red in color.

Cinnabar has been mined since the Neolithic Age. During the Roman Empire it was mined both as a pigment and for its mercury content, and it has been the main source of mercury throughout the centuries. Cinnabar is still being deposited at the present day from the hot waters of Sulphur Bank Mine in California and Steamboat Springs, Nevada.

The most popularly known use of cinnabar is in Chinese carved lacquerware, a technique that apparently originated in the Song Dynasty.