title: The invention of blue and purple pigments in ancient times.
abstract: This tutorial review examines manmade blue and purple pigments appearing in antiquity. They were obtained by chemical synthesis from mineral starting materials and refer to chemical compounds: Egyptian Blue (CaCuSi4O10), Han Blue (BaCuSi4O10) and Han Purple (BaCuSi2O6), Maya Blue (x.indigo.(Mg,Al)4Si8(O,OH,H2O)24) and Ultramarine Blue (Na,Ca)8(AlSiO12)(S, SO4,Cl). The Egyptian and Chinese copper-based pigments are assumed to have been developed independently and are presumably an outcome of the historical developments in glazing techniques. A technology transfer from Egypt into China cannot be fully excluded but, based on the facts acquired up to now, looks less probable.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland. hberke@aci.unizh.ch
authors.forename: Heinz
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Berke
mesh_terms: D001154:Art / Q000266:history*; D004396:Coloring Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000266:history*; D049690:History, Ancient; D049691:History, Medieval; D015394:Molecular Structure
chemical_list: D004396:Coloring Agents