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The Kolinsky is a weasel-like critter about fifteen inches long with a large bushy tail of about eight to ten inches. It lives in Siberia and northern China, usually along rivers in forest areas. Highly prized for its fur, the Kolinsky has been trapped since the mid sixteenth century.

Kolinsky fur is the most desirable in the fur industry (as well as the most expensive) -- and the very best hair for artists' watercolor brushes. The animal's fur is a reddish-brown and the hairs structure varies considerably from summer to winter. It is the winter coat, with its great qualities from being grown in very cold climates, that is so sought.

The very best Kolinsky brushes are made with hair from the tail of the male animal's winter coat. Kolinskys must be trapped in the wild as opposed to raised on fur farms as Mink are today. Manufacturers obtain the hair for their brushes from hair dealers who, in turn, get hair in a rough state (pelts, tails, etc.) through the fur industry. Also, the fuss and expense of bringing Kolinsky hair into the U.S. is no small matter. The Kolinsky is on the endangered species list, requiring very special paper work for U.S. Customs and the Fish and Wildlife Agency, not to mention special licenses and fees. All of this makes Kolinsky brushes expensive.

Scanning a Kolinsky hair from root to end, its diameter becomes larger near the middle, and then tapers off to a fine point at the end. When many of these hairs are set together in a bundle to make an artist brush, the bulges add to form a distinctive "belly." An artist's extremely fine control of color is attributed to this belly. The other, equally important characteristic of a Kolinsky brush, is its ability to always snap back to a fine point. No brush compares with the Kolinsky for control and resilience; it is the ultimate in artist brushes!

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