About this product This product was acquired from a Japanese-style painting artist who passed away 20 years ago at the age of 100. All three items are natural mineral pigments in test tubes, released by Kyoto Ebisuyagazai in the early Showa era. 〇 Ultramarine (Gunjō) 16.58g Made from azurite, it exhibits a beautiful indigo color and has been used as a pigment (rock ultramarine) since ancient times. "Ultramarine was very precious and expensive, so until the advent of paint stores, it was considered a 'national treasure,' and required excavation and handling permits from the powerful figures of the time, such as Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. By allowing artists to manufacture and use the pigment, the flamboyant culture of the Azuchi-Momoyama period flourished, and the Maeda clan of Kaga also used it to demonstrate their wealth, using ultramarine walls in architecture." (From Yukari Maeda's blog) 〇 Baked Ultramarine (Yakigunjō) 19g This is ultramarine that has been fired to change its color. Firing results in a slightly subdued blue or grayish-blue hue, which was favored in classical Japanese paintings. Because it undergoes further processing even among natural ultramarines, it is highly rare. 〇 White Ultramarine (Shirogunjō) 3.66g This is ultramarine that has been fired to become a pale, whitish-grayish blue. In the early Showa era, it was distinguished as "baked ultramarine" and "white ultramarine," and was favored in classical Japanese paintings. It was further processed from natural ultramarine, making it rare, and its price was among the highest for ultramarine. The No. 10 size of white ultramarine was favored for producing a soft, pale blue to grayish-blue hue. Total: 39g 〇 Collector's Value Not just ultramarine, but rare pale blue-toned ultramarine due to the baking process, making it highly valuable to collectors. 〇 Label Value The "Kyoto Ebisuyagazai" red double-line label bottles enhance the value as a certificate and historical material. ・Red letter label with red double lines = early Showa era to the first half of the 1950s. ・Black letter label with red single line = late 1950s to the 1960s and later. 〇 Bottles from the early to mid-Showa era They have very high "historical value" in the collector's market. 〇 Test tube packaging: A small-portion sales format that was distributed in the early Showa era. It combined preservation and portability, allowing artists to purchase small amounts. There are almost no listings of a set of three items: "natural ultramarine" and related "white ultramarine, baked ultramarine" as Showa retro items, making them highly valuable as historical materials and rare. The photos and descriptions are all that is provided, so please examine them carefully before purchasing.