Jacques Herbin - Cornaline d’Egypte

Jacques Herbin - Cornaline d’Egypte - ink drop

Cornaline d’Egypte, was the 2018 addition to Jacques Herbin’s 1798 series of silver shimmer inks. Cornaline (or cornelian) is a semi-precious gemstone ranging from a light, pale orange to a deeper, rusty orange-brown. It has a long association with royalty in the form of seals and amulets. Muhammad wore a cornaline signet ring seal, and accordingly, it remains popularly worn by Muslims to this day. Jacques Herbin’s Cornaline d’Egypte is a great match to the gemstone, but there is a deeper, connection between the name and the ink. While on campaign in Egypt, Napoleon Bonaparte found a cornaline amulet. Believing that the amulet brought him the protection of good luck, he carried it with him for the rest of his life. Jacques Herbin honors both the beautiful stone, and its Napoleonic association with this lovely ink.

Jacques Herbin - Cornaline d’Egypte - ink swatch card

It's a gorgeous ink on paper, ranging from a lighter sunset orange to a deep, reddish orange-brown. It shades nicely, varying across its full spectrum under ideal circumstances. As part of the 1798 line, it’s imbued with a satin-smooth, silver shimmer. This gives the ink a creamy lushness that lends a potent sophistication to the iron-rich, burnt orange.

As a writing ink, it performed very well. Strokes were razor sharp with no feathering at all on the usual papers. It didn’t handle cheap copy paper as well, with moderate feathering, and slight bleed-through. Stick to better papers, and you will be rewarded! Drying times were very average at 15-20 seconds on coated papers, and 30-35 on uncoated.

Jacques Herbin’s Cornaline d’Egypte is a beautiful, lush, high-quality ink. I love it, and I’m sure that you will, too!

October 2020