Egyptian blue, also known as calcium copper silicate (CaCuSi4O10 or CaO·CuO·4SiO2), is a pigment used by Egyptians for thousands of years. It is considered to be the first synthetic pigment. The pigment was known to the Romans by the name caeruleum. Vitruvius describes in his work '"De architectura" how it was produced by grinding sand, copper and natron and 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. After the Roman era, Egyptian Blue fell from usage and the manner of its creation was forgotten.
The ancient Egyptian word wedjet signifies blue, blue-green and green.
The first recorded use of Egyptian blue as a color name in English was in 1809.
Read more about Egyptian Blue: Definition, History and Background, Composition and Manufacture, Sources, Archaeological Evidence, Connections With Other Vitreous Material and With Metals, Occurrences Outside of Egypt, See Also
Famous quotes containing the words egyptian and/or blue:
“What was I saying? An Egyptian king
Once touched long fingers, which are not anything.”
—Allen Tate (1899–1979)
“There were ghosts that returned to earth to hear his phrases,
As he sat there reading, aloud, the great blue tabulae.
They were those from the wilderness of stars that had expected more.
There were those that returned to hear him read from the poem of life,
Of the pans above the stove, the pots on the table, the tulips among them.
They were those that would have wept to step barefoot into reality....”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)