RECENTLY IDENTIFIED EGYPTIAN PIGMENTS

Abstract

ABSTRACTSOn several bowls from Nubia (1600 b.c.) and on one canopic jar (New Kingdom) huntite, a calciummagnesium‐carbonate CaCO3. 3MgCO3 was identified by means of X‐ray diffraction and infra‐red absorption techniques. Vases from the Amarna period (1370 b.c.) are decorated with a blue paint, which proved to be cobalt‐blue. Copper chloride atacamite was used on limestone reliefs from Thebes‐West but the green frit chrysocolla occurs more frequently on Egyptian objects as is mentioned in literature.