The paint pigment, which makes a striking blue colour highly valued by artists, is believed to date back to around 900AD and is said to be the earliest of its kind in the world.
The 1,100-year-old pigment, which could still produce colour, was discovered buried underground in an excavation of an artist’s studio in Dunhuang, China.
It will now go on display at the V&A museum in London this autumn, where studio equipment will be reconstructed according to a 14th century art manual.
Dr Hongxing Zhang, curator of the Masterpieces of Chinese Painting exhibition, said it could be the “earliest surviving example of paint in the world”.
He added the show was the largest and most ambitious of its kind anywhere in the world, with most paintings ever from 700AD to 1900 displayed together.
Detail of Nine Dragons (1244) by Chen Rong (V&A)
The exhibition is made up of around 70 pieces of work collected from around the globe, with some pieces being shown in Europe for the first time.
It includes a 14m-long scroll painting, one of the longest in the world, and another just 10cm wide. One painting shows a group of women playing football before the practice of foot binding was introduced, while others focus on the natural world, blossom in snow and astronomy.
The exhibition, which opens on October 26, is intended to document the progress of Chinese painting from 700 onwards, beginning with an exploration of the art of temples, tombs and Buddhist liturgies.
Martin Roth, director of the V&A, said a number of the “magnificent masterpieces” were national treasures which had never before left Asia.
“It is an honour to present this once-in-a-lifetime experience of seeing the greatest examples of Chinese painting together and understanding how they were created,” he said.