An Analysis of Blue Pigments From the Greek Bronze Age

Samples of blue pigments from excavated wall-paintings at the great civilization centres of the Greek Bronze Age, Thera, Knossos, Mycenae, Pylos and Tiryns, have been analysed by the non-destructive methods of X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction and mineralogical microscopic examination. The results showed that two types of blue pigment were used, namely the well-known Egyptian Blue, and glaucophane, a sodium magnesium (or iron) aluminum hydroxide silicate, which occurs as a natural mineral on Santorini and Crete; glaucophane has been observed only in samples from Santorini and Knossos. The data available support the idea that, at least in Knossos, the use of glaucophane as a pigment was confined to the period of 1700–1500 B.C.