Showa era · refined · warm · austere

Pompeian Red & Mineral Gray

Plate 30 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Pompeian Red, Mineral Gray.

Pompeian Red

#ab2439

Mineral Gray

#a2b0ad

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About this combination

Combination 30 of 348 in Wada's six-volume 1933 work. A two-colour pairing of Pompeian Red, Mineral Gray, as documented in the original plates.

Historical context

Plate 30 of Wada's 348 anchors Pompeian Red and Mineral Gray in the red family — a 2-colour grouping with a refined, warm, austere character, recorded in Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations (six volumes; Seigensha Art Publishing 2010 reprint), and in the public domain by age. Its strongest pairing — Pompeian Red on Mineral Gray — reaches a contrast ratio of 3.07:1, usable for large text but not body copy, so it reads best in decorative blocks rather than text pairings.

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Taking Pompeian Red & Mineral Gray off the screen

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  • ...onto paper

    Start here if the palette gets printed. Screen colour and ink colour are not the same colour, and this is the deck that translates between them.

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  • ...onto a screen you can trust

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  • ...by hand

    Start here if you are mixing it. Wada's plates were flat printed colour; gansai pans are the closest everyday medium to them.

    Listed on Amazon as Kuretake GANSAI TAMBI Watercolor Paint Set 24 Colors II - Art Nouveau

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Questions about Pompeian Red & Mineral Gray

What colors are in the "Pompeian Red & Mineral Gray" palette?
Pompeian Red & Mineral Gray contains 2 colors: Pompeian Red (#ab2439), Mineral Gray (#a2b0ad). From Sanzo Wada's "A Dictionary of Color Combinations" (1933).
When was the "Pompeian Red & Mineral Gray" palette created?
This palette is from Sanzo Wada's 1933 reference work "A Dictionary of Color Combinations" (Seigensha Art Publishing 2010 reprint). The source work is in the public domain.
What style or era does the "Pompeian Red & Mineral Gray" palette belong to?
Pompeian Red & Mineral Gray is associated with the showa era and emphasizes red tones. Plate 30 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Pompeian Red, Mineral Gray.
Can I use the "Pompeian Red & Mineral Gray" palette in my own design?
Yes. The source palette by Sanzo Wada (1933) is in the public domain. This page's curation and metadata are CC BY 4.0 licensed — attribution to colorcombinations.org appreciated but not required for the colors themselves.

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