The research paper will look at the historical timeline of Egyptian blue, and its past, present, and

future use. Egyptian blue had many different names depending on the historical context and

country. “In Aegean, a Mycenean word kuwano in the Linear B tablets may have meant

Egyptian blue” (Panagotki, 2015). Homer an ancient Greek writer, in his poem Odyssey, used

the word kyanos and that might have meant Egyptian Blue. As, Egyptian blue was common

during the Bronze age in Aegean and lapis luzuli was rare. Another Greek writer, Theophrastus

mentioned kyanos as having a natural and synthetic form. The former meaning lapis luzuli and

the latter meaning Egyptian Blue (Panagotki, 2015). Egyptian blue was thought to be first

introduced in ancient Egypt around 2600 BCE and the pigment found its way to the Roman

Empire (McCouat, 2018). However further studies have shown that Egyptian Blue was present at

the end of the pre-dynastic era, making it one of the oldest synthetic pigments (Corcoran, pp. 41,

2016). The evidence of Egyptian Blue in the pre-dynastic period came from a ancient olive oil

container(Wiedemann & Berke, 1991). In addition another discovery was made through the

exvaction of Hierakonpolis (traces of egyptian blue was found on a bowl), the bowl was given to

King Scorpion (3100 BC). One of the only blue pigments that was available during that time was

called lapis lazuli. This pigment was very expensive and was situated in Afghanistan and since

blue pigment was very rarely seen in nature, the Egyptians decided to create Egyptian blue

themselves (McCouat, 2018). Egyptian blue was used for wall art, coffins, wood, and objects

like pots, and beads (McCouat, 2018). It was the first synthetic pigment and was often used in 4th

dynasty Egypt to the Roman Empire period. Egyptian blue was the common color until the 4th

century CE, as is was widely used during the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms, ancient Greece,

ancient Mesopotamia, and during the Ptolemaic period. Beginning with the fall of the Roman

Empire and after the 4th century, blue pigment disappeared from popular culture (Panagopoulou,
Karanasios, & Xanthopoulou, 2015). One of the last instances of Egpytian Blue being used

before vanishing was shown by Lazzarini (1982), he indicated that Egyptian Blue was found in a

Roman fresco from 9th century AD. The Egyptian blue was poorly made, in comparison to the

way Romans created it, thus Lazzarini (1982) assumed it must have been imported. The pigment

was thought to vanish from ancient texts for eight hundred years, from 1000 until the excavations

of Pompeii in 1814, but this was not the case as researchers found Egyptian blue on a painting

done by Giovanni Battista Benvenuto (1524) (Jørgensen, Sanyova, Rask, Sargent, &

Therkildsen, 2011). According to Morgan’s translations of De architectura, the essential

ingredients of Egyptian blue or as the Romans called it caeruleum, is copper, natron, and sand

(Morgan, 1914). In the book, Marcus Vitruvius (Roman author, 80 BC- 15BC) describes the

process it takes to create Egyptian blue. Once one has the three ingredients, one must mix them

together to create a mixture, and then it is rolled together to form a ball, then put into a jar.

Lastly, once the mixture is in a jar, the jar is put into an oven at a specific temperature, and the

heat combined with the mixture creates Egyptian blue (Morgan, 1914). The remarkable thing

about Egyptian blue was, the pigment was the same across the 3000 years in which it was

popularized (Wiedemann & Berke, 2001). This shows how skilled Egyptians and the Romans

were at chemistry. They figured out how to heat the mixture of components at just the right

temperature, without any technological advancements. This is especially impressive considering

the fact that Egyptian Blue had to be made below 1050 °C, since Egyptian blue over 1050 °C

would be unstable (Jaksch, Seipel, Weiner, & Gorsey, 1983) The three ingredients of Egyptian

blue were proven to be correct, as an excavation was done in Pompeii, 1814, where it was

revealed that the ingredients of Egyptian blue were sand, copper, and natron (same ingredients

Vitruvius mentions) (McCouat, 2018). However, Vitruvius missed one ingredient that was
present in the rediscovery of Egyptian blue, and that was calcium (with lime). Panagopoulou,

Karanasios, and Xanthopoulou (2015) think that Vitruvius did not mention calcium, because the

sand Egyptians utilized to create Egyptian blue had enough calcium in it. Egyptian Blue has

several other functions such as, when light is shined on it, it can emit infrared radiation, which is

a wavelength that the human eye cannot perceive, but it can be noticeable through some cameras.

Moreover, the emission of the infrared is so strong and long lasting, when a camera is flashed it

can find infrared lights, even when the Egyptian blue has worn off and becomes discoloured

(McCouat, 2018). Similar examples of Egyptian blue were identified in the statue of Iris, a

messenger goddess, her belt was originally thought to have no visible colour, but it is blue

(identified with help of infrared imaging), the statue of Horus, and the Parthenon in Athens. The

radiation from Egyptian blue is identical to the beams emitted in tv remotes, or car door locks

(Choi, 2013). A potential use of Egyptian Blue can be, used along with dye for new medical

imaging procedures, since infrared can go through the skin of humans more efficiently than

ultraviolet radiation.

The color of this pigment is a result of its crystal, and its mineral name is cuprorivaite.

Egyptian blue had many different names depending on the historical context and country. “In
Aegean, a Mycenean word kuwano in the Linear B tablets may have meant Egyptian blue”
(Panagotki, 2015). Homer an ancient Greek writer, in his poem Odyssey, used the word kyanos
and that might have meant Egyptian Blue. As, Egyptian blue was common during the Bronze age
in Aegean and lapis luzuli was rare. Another Greek writer, Theophrastus mentioned kyanos as
having a natural and synthetic form. The former meaning lapis luzuli and the latter meaning
Egyptian Blue (Panagotki, 2015).

Moreover, it will look at the origin of the pigment, how it evolved, and the different names that
were associated with Egyptian blue depending on the different cultures
Conventional wisdom of most scholars is that Egyptian blue first became prominent during 2600
BCE, however archeological evidence shows that it was used prior to that, during .

References

H. G. Wiedemann., & H. Berke. (2001). Chemical and physical investigations of Egyptian blue

and Chinese blue and purple. Proceeding of The Conference: The Polychromy of Antique

Sculptures and the Terracotta Army of the First Chinese Emperor, Xian, pp. 154–170

McCouat, P. (2018). Egyptian blue: The colour of technology. Retrieved from

http://www.artinsociety.com/egyptian-blue-the-colour-of-technology.html

Panagopoulou, A., Karanasios, K., & Xanthopoulou, G. (2016). Ancient Egyptian blue

(cacusi4o10) pigment by modern solution combustion synthesis method. Eurasian

Chemico-Technological Journal, 18(1), 31-37. https://doi.org/10.18321/ectj390