Uranium pigment in tilework

[Paul Ferguson]

"In what may be the first-ever use of uranium in Iran, yellow pigment created from uranium oxide ("(oksid-e uran") was used frequently in Qajar tilework. The oxide was imported from Europe and sold to artisans by alchemists ("meshshaq"). The pigment fluoresces under UV light."

Paper here:

‘WE MUST SEND YOU A SAMPLE’—A PERSIAN–EUROPEAN DIALOGUE: INSIGHTS INTO LATE NINETEENTH-CENTURY CERAMIC TECHNOLOGY BASED ON CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF TILES FROM THE ETTEHADIEH HOUSE COMPLEX, TEHRAN, IRAN"

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/p....2020.0015


Hat-tip: Esfandyar Batmanghelidj

https://x.com/yarbatman/status/1875281873339056524