A
kolinsky sable-hair brush (also known as ''red sable'' or ''sable hair brush'') is a fine
artist
An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...
s'
paintbrush.
The hair is obtained from the tail of the
kolinsky (''Mustela sibirica''), a species of
weasel rather than an actual
sable
The sable (''Martes zibellina'') is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kaza ...
. The "finest" brushes are made from the male hair only, but most brushes have a mix of about 60/40 male-to-female hair. Kolinsky bristles tend to be pale red in colour with darker tips. The weasel is not an animal that is raised well in captivity, and is generally isolated to the geographical region of Siberia. Due to this difficulty in harvesting the hair, and the fact that other natural and artificial bristles are not comparable in quality, these bristles are rare and expensive.
Kolinsky sables are usually used in watercolour brushes. Lesser grades of kolinsky sables are also frequently used in oil painting, and sometimes for glazing in acrylics.
Due to their exceptional ability to be finely shaped, kolinsky sable brushes are highly prized in the
dental ceramics
Dental porcelain (also known as dental ceramic) is a dental material used by dental technicians to create biocompatible lifelike dental restorations, such as crown (dentistry), crowns, bridge (dentistry), bridges, and Veneer (dentistry), veneers. E ...
industry, where they are used to hand-tint the ceramic appliances for a realistic appearance.
Beginning in 2013, shipments to the U.S. of kolinsky hair brushes were halted and in some cases seized by the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service due to the kolinsky's inclusion in the international
CITES agreement.
See also
*
Camel-hair brush
A camel-hair brush is a type of paintbrush with soft bristles made from natural hairs, usually squirrel. Actual camel hair is not a suitable material, although historically camel was used for ancient Chinese ink brushes (and for camel hair cloth). ...
References
Painting materials
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