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

Kovalev, I.; Rodler, Alexandra S.; Brøns, Cecilie

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2023.105772

Cited by 8 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…EB was rst used in ancient Egypt around 3300 − 3200 BCE as an alternative to the precious lapis lazuli stone (Shortland 2012). Due to its durability and its bright blue colors, it quickly gained widespread popularity, becoming the main blue pigment used for millennia in the Mediterranean and Western Asian regions (Kovalev et al 2023). Very popular in Rome as caeruleum, EB was widely used in Roman frescoes reaching possibly its highest diffusion at the end of the rst century CE (Nicola et al 2023).…”

Section: Egyptian Bluementioning

confidence: 99%

Real-time identification and visualization of Egyptian blue using modified night vision goggles

Nicola,

Gobetto,

Bazzacco

et al. 2024

Preprint

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The possibility to use light in the visible spectrum to induce near-infrared luminescence in some materials, particularly Egyptian blue and related pigments, offers a significant advantage in terms of their detection. Since 2008 this property has been exploited to reveal their presence even in tiny amounts on ancient and decayed surfaces, using a technical-photography method. This paper presents a new type of imaging device that enables real-time, easy, and inexpensive identification and mapping of Egyptian blue and related materials. The potential of the new tool is demonstrated by showing its effectiveness in detecting Egyptian blue within some prestigious sites: a) Egyptian findings at Museo Egizio, Turin, b) underground Roman frescoes at Domus Aurea, Rome, and c) Renaissance frescoes by Raphael, Triumph of Galatea and Loggia of Cupid and Psyche, at Villa Farnesina, Rome. The device is based on night vision technology and allows an unprecedented fast, versatile, and user-friendly approach. It is employable by professionals including archaeologists, conservators, and conservation scientists, as well as by un-trained individuals such as students or tourists at museums and sites. The overall aim is not to replace existing photographic techniques but to develop a tool that enables rapid preliminary recognition, useful for planning the work to be carried out with conventional methods. The ability to immediately track Egyptian blue and related pigments, through real-time vision, photos, and videos, provide also a new kind of immersive experience (Blue Vision) and can foster the modern use of these materials in innovative applications and future technologies.

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Section: Egyptian Bluementioning

confidence: 99%

Real-time identification and visualization of Egyptian blue using modified night vision goggles

Nicola,

Gobetto,

Bazzacco

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Se trata de un compuesto de sílice, cal y cobre, conocido como "azul egipcio". La fórmula de este pigmento sintético, quizá el más antiguo que conocemos (Riederer 1997;Pages-Camagna et al 1999;Hatton et al 2008), nos ha llegado gracias a la receta que nos legó Vitruvio en su Architectura (Criado Portal et al 2011), donde detalla cómo se realizaba en Alejandría fundiendo sílice, calcio, cobre y otras sustancias; como es natural, según el propio proceso de fabricación, las proporciones de los diferentes ingredientes, la temperatura a la que se somete la fusión, en torno a los 900/1000ºC, o la capacidad y estructura del horno donde se lleva a cabo el proceso, la tonalidad puede variar (Kovalev et al 2023). En el caso que nos ocupa, el azul es de gran intensidad por el mayor componente de azurita, cuando por norma general suele utilizarse un azul más suave que se asemeja a la tonalidad celeste.…”

Section: Análisis De Los Pigmentosunclassified

A los pies de la diosa. Contexto y análisis de la escultura de mármol griego documentada en el patio del yacimiento tartésico de Casas del Turuñuelo (Guareña, Badajoz, España)

Celestino Pérez,

Rodríguez González,

Gutiérrez García

et al. 2024

Complutum

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En este trabajo presentamos los resultados de los análisis arqueométricos realizados a un fragmento de escultura de mármol documentado en el patio del yacimiento de Casas del Turuñuelo (Guareña, Badajoz) durante los trabajos realizados en el año 2017. Estos análisis han permitido confirmar que el mármol procede de las canteras del Pentélico (Atenas, Grecia), lo que la convierten en la escultura de mármol griega más antigua, hasta la fecha, de la arqueología peninsular. Su estudio ha permitido además recuperar los restos de policromía y caracterizar los pigmentos empleados. Por último, se presenta el contexto arqueológico e histórico de la pieza objeto de estudio, así como sus posibles paralelos.

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Real-time identification and visualization of Egyptian blue using modified night vision goggles

Nicola,

Gobetto,

Bazzacco

et al. 2024

Rend. Fis. Acc. Lincei

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The possibility to use light in the visible spectrum to induce near-infrared luminescence in some materials, particularly Egyptian blue and related pigments, offers a significant advantage in terms of their detection. Since 2008, this property has been exploited to reveal the presence of those pigments even in tiny amounts on ancient and decayed surfaces, using a technical-photography method. This paper presents a new type of imaging device that enables real-time, easy, and inexpensive identification and mapping of Egyptian blue and related materials. The potential of the new tool is demonstrated by its effectiveness in detecting Egyptian blue within some prestigious sites: (a) Egyptian findings at Museo Egizio, Turin; (b) underground Roman frescoes at Domus Aurea, Rome; and (c) Renaissance frescoes by Raphael, Triumph of Galatea and Loggia of Cupid and Psyche, at Villa Farnesina, Rome. The device is based on night vision technology and allows an unprecedented fast, versatile, and user-friendly approach. It is employable by professionals including archeologists, conservators, and conservation scientists, as well as by untrained individuals such as students or tourists at museums and sites. The overall aim is not to replace existing photographic techniques but to develop a tool that enables rapid preliminary recognition, useful for planning the work to be carried out with conventional methods. The ability to immediately track Egyptian blue and related pigments, through real-time vision, photos, and videos, also provides a new kind of immersive experience (Blue Vision) and can foster the modern use of these materials in innovative applications and future technologies.

show abstract

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

Cited by 8 publications

References 79 publications

Real-time identification and visualization of Egyptian blue using modified night vision goggles

Real-time identification and visualization of Egyptian blue using modified night vision goggles

A los pies de la diosa. Contexto y análisis de la escultura de mármol griego documentada en el patio del yacimiento tartésico de Casas del Turuñuelo (Guareña, Badajoz, España)

Real-time identification and visualization of Egyptian blue using modified night vision goggles

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