How did the ancient Egyptians use the blue color?
EGYPTIAN BLUE,
THE MOST KNOWN ARTIFICIAL PIGMENT
Egyptian blue, also known as calcium copper silicate, is one of the first artificial pigments used by man.
The oldest known example of a beautiful pigment dates back to about 5,000 years ago and was found on a tomb painting made during the reign of Ka-Sen, the last pharaoh of the first dynasty. However, others claim that the earliest evidence of the use of Egyptian blue appeared during the Fourth Dynasty and the Central Empire, some 4,500 years ago. In the New Kingdom, however, Egyptian blue was widely used as a pigment and was also found in sculptures, tombstones, and sarcophagi. In addition, Egyptian blue was used to make glazed pottery known as Egyptian majolica.
According to Egyptian belief, blue is the color of the sky and thus the color of the universe. It was also associated with water and the Nile, so blue was the color of life, fertility, and rebirth.
One natural blue object that the Egyptians had access to was the lapis lazuli: a dark blue semi-precious stone that could be ground to dust, though it was a luxury item, and had to be imported from Afghanistan. It is therefore not very surprising that the Egyptians tried to produce a synthetic pigment to replace the blue lapis lazuli.
Egyptian blue production has spread beyond Egypt’s borders over time and can be found throughout the Mediterranean. Egyptian blue is found in many Greek and Roman objects, including statues of the Parthenon in Athens and murals in Pompeii. Despite its widespread use in art, Egyptian blue has fallen out of use, and its method of production has fallen into oblivion as the Roman era came to an end.
إرسال تعليق