amber

amber. A fossil resin derived from various trees, found in many parts of the world but mainly on the southern shores of the Baltic; it has been used in art to make jewellery, decorative items, and small-scale sculpture, and also perhaps as an ingredient of some varnishes. Amber is usually yellow, but many other colours are found and it varies greatly in opacity. It has been used since prehistoric times, notably in amulets because it was believed to have magical properties (it becomes charged with static electricity when rubbed on the hair). Although it is easy to carve, it can be brittle and skill is needed to prevent fracturing. The golden age of amber carving was the 16th and 17th centuries, and the most famous of all works in the medium was a room lined with amber commissioned by Frederick I of Prussia in 1701. It was originally installed in Schloss Charlottenberg, Berlin, but following Frederick's death in 1714 it was presented to Peter the Great of Russia in 1717 and reconstructed in the Great Palace (or Catherine Palace) at Tsarskoye Selo (now Pushkin), near St Petersburg. The room was looted by the Germans in the Second World War and has never been recovered, but a replica was unveiled in 2003 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the founding of St Petersburg; a team of craftsmen took more than 20 years to produce it.

Amber has also been used to make a dark, slow-drying varnish, but it is doubtful if it has been used much, if at all, in painting (when medieval writers refer to it in recipes they may be confusing it with other resins).