Egyptian Blue Pigment
Egyptian Blue was a pigment that was used in ancient Egypt for thousands of years. It is considered to be the first synthetic pigment.
The first recorded use of "Egyptian blue" as a color name in English was in 1809 CE.
Ancient Egyptians held color blue in very high regard and were eager to present it on media and in a variety of forms.
They also desired to imitate semiprecious stones, turquoise and lapis lazuli, which were valued for their rarity and stark blue color.
Use of naturally occurring minerals such as azurite to acquire this blue was impractical, as these minerals were rare and difficult to work.
Therefore, to have access to large quantities of blue color to meet demand, Egyptians needed to manufacture pigment themselves.
Earliest evidence for use of Egyptian blue, identified by Egyptologist Lorelei H. Corcoran of The University of Memphis, is on an alabaster bowl dated to late pre-dynastic period or Naqada III (3250 BC), excavated at Hierakonpolis and now in Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
In the Middle Kingdom (2050–1652 BC), it continued to be used as a pigment in decoration of tombs, wall paintings, furnishings, and statues.
By the New Kingdom (1570–1070 BC), itbegan to be more widely used in production of numerous objects.
Its use continued throughout the Late period and Greco-Roman period, only dying out in 4th century AD, when the secret to its manufacture was lost.
No written information exists in ancient Egyptian texts about manufacture of Egyptian blue in antiquity.
It was first mentioned only in Roman literature by Vitruvius during 1st century BC.
He refers to it as caeruleum and describes in his work "De Architectura" how it was produced by grinding sand, copper, and natron, then heating the mixture, shaped into small balls, in a furnace.
Lime is necessary for the production as well but probably lime-rich sand was used.
In excavations at Amarna, Lisht, and Malkata at the beginning of 20th century, Petrie uncovered two types of vessels that he suggested were used in antiquity to make Egyptian blue: bowl-shaped pans and cylindrical vessels or saggers.
In recent excavations at Amarna by Barry Kemp (1989), very small numbers of these "fritting" pans were uncovered, although various remaining pieces of Egyptian blue 'cake' were found.
It allowed identification of five different categories of Egyptian blue forms and vessels associated with them: large round flat cakes, large flat rectangular cakes, bowl-shaped cakes, small sack-shaped pieces, and spherical shapes.
In 1930s, archaeologists excavated a number of objects related to production of Egyptian blue at Qantir, such as Egyptian blue cakes and fragments in various stages of production, providing evidence that Egyptian blue was actually produced at site.
These Egyptian blue 'cakes' possibly were later exported to other areas around the country to be worked, as scarcity of finished Egyptian blue products existed on site.
Egyptian blue cakes were found at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham, a Ramesside fort near Libyan coast, indicating in fact that cakes were traded, and worked at and reshaped away from their primary production site.
Egyptian blue was found in Western Asia during the middle of 3rd Millennium BC in the form of small artifacts and inlays, but not as a pigment.
It was found in the Mediterranean area at the end of the Middle Bronze Age and traces of tin were found in its composition suggesting use of bronze scrap instead of copper ore as the source of copper.
During Roman period, use of Egyptian blue was extensive, as a pot containing the unused pigment was found in 1814 in Pompeii.
It was also found as unused pigment in tombs of a number of painters.
Etruscans also used it in their wall paintings. Chinese blue has been suggested as having Egyptian roots.
Later, Raphael used Egyptian blue in his Triumph of Galatea.
