Egyptian blue: modern myths, ancient realities
Amalie Skovmøller|Cecilie Brøns|Maria Louise Sargent
Colours containing bright and saturated blue hues were popular for painterly effects in most of the Mediterranean cultures dating from Bronze Age to fall Roman Empire. Pigments providing desired produced precious minerals such as azurite lapis lazuli, but also came pigments by merging other naturally occurring sources. This large group synthetically-generated frits is referred Egyptian blue. a calcium copper tetrasilicate compound, synthetic pigment made heating compound (such powdered limestone sand rich carbonate) together with quartz (fig. 1), although based on cobalt are known, so far mainly Egypt “Amarna-blue”). The hue ranges saturated, almost black light blue, bluish-green, purple, each being dependent materials employed its production manufacturing process. Its material properties crystal-like, resembling finely shattered glass. It saturation brightness (which can be enhanced secondary heating), it has relatively low covering power. seems have ceased widely applied sometime after empire, which added certain mystery it.
Journal of Roman Archaeology