What makes ultramarine so vibrant? The answer lies in the unique chemistry of lapis lazuli. Deep within this rare Afghan stone, sulphur atoms interact with surrounding minerals to create one of the mo
Can someone explain why my right to privacy is being violated in your country?
All of you are the witness that my rights and freedom from experimentation and torture are regularly violated in Russia. Here me and an elderly woman, suffering because no one is taking action. I demand that we talk about this openly and I'll keep asking until I get a full information.
I went to college years ago at the turn of the century with an Egyptian girl who knew how to make lapis lazuli when grounded up.
It was a whole process her father did and yes the pigments were used in paintings but like Indigo could also be used to dye clothing.
Her father used it for cosmetics. They made it for like a type of eyeliner similar to Kohl.
He claimed that the vivrant blue color was used in ancient pharoahs jewelry, wall paintings inside the pyramids, etc.
But he didnt grind it up the way they are doing it. He had a huge rock like a mill stone with a miniature donkey and they mixed it with a bit of oil bit it stayed powdery.
The oil made the blue more vibrant.
He would then add pearl powder or mother of pearl to create different shades of blue.
The Phoenician color pigment is Tyrian Purple, a highly coveted, ancient dye extracted from the mucus of Murex sea snails (such as Murex brandaris and Murex trunculus). Because it required crushing around 12,000 mollusks to produce just 1.5 grams of the pigment, it was worth more than its weight in gold and became universally associated with royalty.
Nice video. I wasn't aware previously about the sulfur content of the stone. I also didn't know that oil and wax were the ingredients added to make paint. Thank you for sharing this information.
Just a health and safety note: you you should absolutely wear a mask or respirator when grinding lapis lazuli. The process generates fine rock dust that can be hazardous to your respiratory system. Inhaling dust from any raw mineral can cause long-term lung irritation.
Wear a properly fitted, NIOSH-approved dust mask (such as an N95 or higher) to prevent inhaling fine particles. In addition to a mask, wear chemical safety goggles and disposable gloves to protect your eyes and skin from irritation.
Lapis lazuli is a complex rock containing lazurite, calcite, and pyrite. The golden flecks of pyrite contain sulfur, which can cause respiratory reactions if breathed in as a fine dust.
Whenever possible, artists recommend working with the stone wet (on a mulling slab with water) or using a liquid binder to turn the rock into a paste. This drastically reduces the amount of airborne dust. Ensure you are working in a well-ventilated space or using exhaust ventilation to keep dust from lingering in the air. 👍🤓
I worked for Reckitt & Colman in Hull. One division was Reckitt Colours who made ultramarine by heating a mixture of clay, sulphur and some other ingredients in a kiln for three weeks to produce the ultramarine. Sparrows roosted in the roof of the warehouse and sometimes looked very blue when they emerged. The plant was sold to Holiday pigments who, I believe, still have a plant operating in Comine in France. The site in Hull was sold on again and then closed in 2008, though the now cold chimney still towers over the city. It is the bluest blue I have ever seen and it is difficult to describe.
Have you done one on the colour purple? 💜 More specifically, the celebrated Tyrian purple derived from the Murex sea snail? 🐌
It would make for a fascinating narrative: beginning with the painstaking extraction of the dye, then tracing how this singular luxury underpinned the prosperity of Phoenicia and transformed Tyre into the Dubai of the Bronze and Iron Ages. From there, one could explore the prophetic rebuke of Ezekiel 28, the rise of Carthage as Tyre's most illustrious daughter-city, the sieges associated with Nebuchadnezzar II and, later, Alexander of Macedon, before concluding with the epic struggle of the Punic Wars.
It is one of those rare threads of history in which a single colour illuminates commerce, empire, prophecy, conquest, and civilisation itself.
To draw in a younger audience, you could even show intriguing parallels with House Lannister, the fabulously wealthy, golden-haired rulers of the Westerlands, whose ancestral seat at Casterly Rock rests upon immense gold mines, and whose reputation for political calculation, commercial influence, and unflinching ruthlessness is as formidable as their fortune.
The echoes are striking. Like Tyre and Sidon, the great m
Yes, making ultramarine pigment is a total pain. Very glad I found a local producer who imports the raw stone and makes the pigment and the final paint himself. Ultramarine used to literally worth its weight in gold. Now it’s a lot less expensive than gold but still very expensive compared to synthetic paint
Bro is speaking like you might offend the ancestors 🤌🤌
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All of you are the witness that my rights and freedom from experimentation and torture are regularly violated in Russia. Here me and an elderly woman, suffering because no one is taking action. I demand that we talk about this openly and I'll keep asking until I get a full information.
It was a whole process her father did and yes the pigments were used in paintings but like Indigo could also be used to dye clothing.
Her father used it for cosmetics. They made it for like a type of eyeliner similar to Kohl.
He claimed that the vivrant blue color was used in ancient pharoahs jewelry, wall paintings inside the pyramids, etc.
But he didnt grind it up the way they are doing it. He had a huge rock like a mill stone with a miniature donkey and they mixed it with a bit of oil bit it stayed powdery.
The oil made the blue more vibrant.
He would then add pearl powder or mother of pearl to create different shades of blue.
Wear a properly fitted, NIOSH-approved dust mask (such as an N95 or higher) to prevent inhaling fine particles. In addition to a mask, wear chemical safety goggles and disposable gloves to protect your eyes and skin from irritation.
Lapis lazuli is a complex rock containing lazurite, calcite, and pyrite. The golden flecks of pyrite contain sulfur, which can cause respiratory reactions if breathed in as a fine dust.
Whenever possible, artists recommend working with the stone wet (on a mulling slab with water) or using a liquid binder to turn the rock into a paste. This drastically reduces the amount of airborne dust. Ensure you are working in a well-ventilated space or using exhaust ventilation to keep dust from lingering in the air. 👍🤓
It would make for a fascinating narrative: beginning with the painstaking extraction of the dye, then tracing how this singular luxury underpinned the prosperity of Phoenicia and transformed Tyre into the Dubai of the Bronze and Iron Ages. From there, one could explore the prophetic rebuke of Ezekiel 28, the rise of Carthage as Tyre's most illustrious daughter-city, the sieges associated with Nebuchadnezzar II and, later, Alexander of Macedon, before concluding with the epic struggle of the Punic Wars.
It is one of those rare threads of history in which a single colour illuminates commerce, empire, prophecy, conquest, and civilisation itself.
To draw in a younger audience, you could even show intriguing parallels with House Lannister, the fabulously wealthy, golden-haired rulers of the Westerlands, whose ancestral seat at Casterly Rock rests upon immense gold mines, and whose reputation for political calculation, commercial influence, and unflinching ruthlessness is as formidable as their fortune.
The echoes are striking. Like Tyre and Sidon, the great m