Egyptian Blue Pigment - a lost treasure of history … Egyptian Blue is a pigment that was used in ancient Egypt for thousands of years. It is considered to be the first synthetic pigment. The first recorded use of "Egyptian blue" as a color name in English was in 1809 CE. Is a pigment. Ancient Egyptians held the color blue in very high regard and were eager to present it in many media and in a variety of forms. They also desired to imitate the semi-precious stones turquoise and lapis lazuli, which were valued for their rarity and stark blue color. Using naturally occurring minerals such as azurite to acquire this blue was impractical, as these minerals were rare and difficult to work. Therefore, to have access to large quantities of blue color to meet demand, Egyptians needed to manufacture pigment themselves. The earliest evidence for the use of Egyptian blue, identified by Egyptologist Lorelei H. Corcoran of The University of Memphis, is on an al...
