Essential oil. It is obtained from the distillation of lavender flowers and is more or less yellowish in colour with an acute odor. Essentially consisting of linalool, it finds use in medicine (as an anesthetic, a antispasmodic and a diuretic) and, above all, in the perfume industry. In painting techniques, as paraffin oil, it may be used both as a diluent and in the preparation of varnishes for retouching. |
note: Gheroldi Vincenzo, Ricette e ricettari. Tre fonti per la storia delle tecniche delle arti alla Biblioteca Queriniana di Brescia (sec. XVI-XVII), Brescia, Comune di Brescia 1995. |