Scientists Recreate Mysterious Color of Egyptian Gods. It Was a Symbol of Immortality
Egyptian blue – the color of gods and immortality was created 5 thousand years ago and remained a mystery for centuries. Now, the oldest synthetic pigment in the world has returned thanks to scientists.
A team of researchers led by Washington State University , in collaboration with the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Institution , has achieved the impossible. Scientists have recreated one of the oldest synthetic pigments in human history – Egyptian blue.
A precious pigment once reserved for pharaohs and ancient elites has returned after more than 5,000 years.
Tutankhamun's funeral mask with blue pigment / ShutterstockEgyptian blue is the first synthetic pigment created by man – its origins date back to around 3100 BC . It was used as an alternative to expensive minerals such as lapis lazuli or turquoise . It was used to decorate monumental statues , coffins, wall paintings and ceremonial artifacts. In ancient Egypt, it symbolized heaven, deities and eternal life – it was a carrier of spiritual meaning.
Luxor, Valley of the Kings in Egypt, Egyptian Paintings Chamber, Including Shades of Egyptian Blue / Unsplash, Axp PhotographyThe pigment was created from a mixture of available minerals: silicon dioxide , copper , calcium and soda . We know that it was fired in kilns at temperatures reaching 1000 degrees Celsius. It was a substance with an extremely durable structure and deep color, dominated by cuprorivite - a mineral with a blue tint.
The great return of the ancient colorDespite its popularity, the technology of producing Egyptian blue disappeared during the Renaissance, and its formula was forgotten for centuries. Thanks to modern research, the pigment has returned. What's more, with almost identical chemical and optical properties.
The WSU team developed 12 different pigment recipes. The experiments included different ratios of ingredients and firing lengths—from one to 11 hours—with precise control over the cooling process.
Hieroglyphic carvings and paintings on the interior walls of the ancient Egyptian temple at Dendera / ShutterstockThe greatest discovery was that the intense blue color did not require a hundred percent presence of cuprorivite . Only 50 percent of the coloring ingredients were enough to achieve a similar effect. The ancients could intuitively use chemical phenomena that we understand today thanks to advanced spectroscopic analysis and microscopy.
Interestingly, the pigment exhibits unique physical properties, such as near-infrared photoluminescence , which makes it useful in modern art conservation and... forensic techniques.
Egyptian Pigment on Display in PittsburghSamples of the recreated pigment are on display at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh , as part of a new exhibition devoted to ancient Egypt.
