Synthetic blue pigments: ninth to sixteenth centuries. I. Literature

AbstractThe technical literature of the Middle Ages abounds with recipes for the synthesis of blue pigments. The variations in these recipes are traced through manuscripts spanning seven centuries, and it is found that they fall into several categories depending upon the nature and the chemical form of the starting materials. In the case where the chief starting material is copper, there seems to be a chronological progression from the use of elemental copper to copper(II) to copper(II) plus complexing agents.