Orpiment, also known as ″yellow arsenic blende″ is a deep-colored, orange-yellow arsenic sulfide mineral. It is found in volcanic fumaroles, low-temperature hydrothermal veins, and hot springs and may be formed through sublimation.
Orpiment was one of the few clear, bright-yellow pigments available to artists until the 19th century. its use as a pigment ended when cadmium yellows, chromium yellows and organic aniline dye-based colors were introduced during the 19th century.

Orpiment was traded in the Roman Empire and was used as a medicine in China, even though it is very toxic. It has been used as fly poison and to tip arrows with poison. Because of its striking color, it was of interest to alchemists, both in China and Europe, searching for a way to make gold. It also has been found in the wall decorations of Tutankhamun's tomb and ancient Egyptian scrolls, and on the walls of the Taj Mahal. For centuries, orpiment was ground down and used as a pigment in painting and for sealing wax, and was even used in ancient China as a correction fluid.