Lump of Blue Paste
New Kingdom
This small lump is Egyptian blue, a synthetic pigment made from sand, lime, an alkali such as potash or natron, and a copper compound. The components were mixed together and heated in a furnace, producing blue lumps like this one, which could be ground into a pigment. The lump was in a wooden box (36.3.199) together with a bead, a piece of rock salt, and five berries. The box belonged to the burial of an elderly woman (for her coffin, see 36.3.184).
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