La production du bleu égyptien durant l’époque hellénistique et l’Empire romain (IIIe s. av. J.-C.-Ier s. apr. J.-C.)

Egyptian Blue Pellets from the First Century BCE Workshop of Kos (Greece): Microanalytical Investigation by Optical Microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy-X-ray Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy and Micro-Raman Spectroscopy

“…It is known, however, that cobalt was used as a colouring agent for the production of blue glass and glaze in Egypt since the mid-second millennium BCE, and the source of cobalt is considered to be a type of cobaltiferous alum from the Kharga and Dakhla Oases of the Western Desert in Egypt [76]. Cobalt-based blue glazes have been identified in blue faience glazes from the coeval third century BCE to the third century CE workshop of Memphis [77], which has also been identified as an Egyptian blue production site [17,29,31]. When observed macroscopically, Sample 17 has a less saturated colour compared to Sample 13, indicating a different production process (Figure 2).…”

“…Archaeological evidence suggests that during Hellenistic and Roman times, which witnessed an increased need for pigments for wall paintings, the demand for Egyptian blue rose [1]. However, despite the numerous archaeological finds that demonstrate the broad applications of Egyptian blue, material evidence of Egyptian blue production is scarce [29]. In the Graeco-Roman world, it has been suggested that Egyptian blue manufacturing sites can be identified in Memphis in Egypt [17,30,31] and Cumae, Liternum, and Puteoli in central Italy [32][33][34].…”

Making and working Egyptian blue – a review of the archaeological evidence

“…Petrie already assumed that the crucibles were stacked on top of each other inside the kiln and then sealed together with clay (Petrie, 1911). This assumption is based on the presence of EB adhered to the underside of some of the crucible bases and an excessive layer of clay on their rims, as shown by Cavassa (2018). Analysis of crucibles revealed the use of non-calcareous iron-rich Nile silt as the main material for their production (Hatton, 2005: 153;Tite and Hatton, 2007), with a lime-rich white slip layer applied on the interior side of the crucibles.…”

“…The presence of EB cakes/pellets at a given site provides only indirect information regarding their origin, and might just as well be indicative of transport, storage, or local processing of the pigment. Therefore, we propose to take the presence of crucible fragments as the only type of archaeological material directly involved in the EB production that can be considered a decisive criterion for the identification of a primary EB production site (Cavassa, 2018). Unsuccessfully produced cakes/pellets also have diagnostic value, as it is unlikely that such materials were traded and travelled long distances (Kostomitsopoulou Marketou, 2019).…”

Synchrotron Radiation-Based Micro-XANES and Micro-XRF Study of Unsuccessfully Produced Egyptian Blue from the Late Hellenistic Production Site of Kos (Dodecanese, Greece)

“…Egyptian blue (EB) is often described as the first artificially produced material used as a pigment. − First occurring in Egypt in the 4th millennium BCE, the use of EB quickly spread throughout the ancient Mediterranean world, becoming the main blue pigment of the artist’s palette until the 4th century CE. , In the Aegean, EB has a long history of use, being the main blue pigment from the 2nd millennium BCE . In most cases, however, EB is considered an imported material, indicating trade with the known Egyptian and Italian production sites . Despite the broad application of EB in ancient Greek polychromy, , evidence for the production in the Aegean is so far limited to a late Hellenistic (1st century BCE) site on Kos, where several EB pellets were found in the context of a metallurgical and pigment workshop. , …”