Ancient Egyptian Pigments Gets a Second Chance to Shine
February 22, 2013
Feast your eyes on ancient Egyptian art, and chances are you’ll be dazzled by its bright blue accents. Historians believe Egyptians got hooked on the color when they used lapis lazuli, a semiprecious stone from Afghanistan, to tint everything from frescoes to their eyelids. Since lapis was hard to come by, they sought artificial means of creating a bright blue hue and discovered calcium copper silicate, made by mixing and heating limestone, sand and copper. Later dubbed Egyptian blue, the vibrant chemical compound was manufactured in powder form at specialized factories where raw materials and ceramic vessels have since been unearthed.
