Lump of Blue Paste
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).
Artwork Details
- Title: Lump of Blue Paste
- Period: New Kingdom
- Dynasty: Dynasty 18
- Reign: Joint reign of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III
- Date: ca. 1479–1458 B.C.
- Geography: From Egypt, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Sheikh Abd el-Qurna, Tomb of Senenmut (TT 71), below, burial 2, in box, MMA excavations, 1935–36
- Medium: Paste
- Dimensions: L. 1 × H. 0.6 cm (3/8 × 1/4 in.)
- Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1936
- Object Number: 36.3.202
- Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art
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ca. 1390–1352 B.C.
ca. 1479–1425 B.C.
ca. 1390–1352 B.C.
ca. 1349–1330 B.C. or shortly thereafter
ca. 1479–1458 B.C.
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