1/2 oz Gum Dammar Resin Incense Dammar gum is obtained from the Dipterocarpaceae family of trees in India and East Asia, principally those of the genera Shorea, Balanocarpus, or Hopea. Most is produced by tapping trees; however some is collected in fossilized form from the ground. The gum varies in colour from clear to pale yellow, while the fossilized form is grey-brown. Dammar gum is a triterpenoid resin, containing a large number of triterpenes and their oxidation products. Many of them are low molecular weight compounds (Dammarane, Dammarenolic acid, Oleanane, Oleanonic acid, etc), but dammar also contains a polymeric fraction, composed of polycadinene.[1] It is used in foods, as either a clouding or a glazing agent, in the making of incense, varnishing and in other processes. Dammar was first introduced as a picture varnish in 1826 and is commonly referred to as Damar varnish. Damar varnish is commonly used in oil painting, both during the painting process and after the painting is finished.[2] (The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques) The name is a Malay word meaning "resin" or "torch made from resin". There are two further types of Damar, besides the gum: "Mata kucing" ("cat's eye") is a crystalline resin usually in the form of round balls. "Batu" ("stone") is the name given to the stone or pebble-shaped opaque damar collected from the ground.