Umber

a kind of earth used as a pigment in painting. The name is related to the Latin umbra, meaning shade. In its native condition umber has an olive color. It is opaque; it mixes well with oil; it wears well and associates readily with other coloring materials. When raw umber is roasted to drive out moisture a trace of iron present asserts itself and turns the pigment red. Raw umber gives a greenish yellow color to a house or painting; burnt umber produces a deep reddish brown. The best quality is a clay exported from Cyprus under the name of Turkish umber. A cheaper substitute is manufactured at Cologne from brown lignite coal. See Sienna; Painting