Ancient Blue, In the Book of Numbers, it is written
that God said to Moses: “Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that
they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments
throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of
each corner a cord of blue.”
[link to www.tabletmag.com]
Blue Colors in Ancient Egypt
Blue
(Ancient Egyptian name 'irtyu') was the color of the heavens, the
dominion of the gods, as well as the color of water, the yearly
inundation, and the primeval flood. Although Ancient Egyptians favored
semi-precious stones such as azurite (Ancient Egyptian name 'tefer') and
lapis lazuli (Ancient Egyptian name 'khesbedj', imported at great cost
across the Sinai Desert) for jewelery and inlay, technology was advanced
enough to produce the world's first synthetic pigment, known since
medieval times as Egyptian blue. Depending on the degree to which the
pigment Egyptian blue was ground, the color could vary from a rich, dark
blue (coarse) to a pale, ethereal blue (very fine).
In ancient
Egypt blue (irtyu) was the colour of the heavens and hence represented
the universe. Many temples, sarcophagi and burial vaults have a deep
blue roof speckled with tiny yellow stars.
As blue is also the
colour of water and hence the colour of the Nile and the primeval waters
of chaos (known as Nun). As a result the colour blue was associated
with fertility, rebirth and the power of creation. Blue glass or faience
hippopotami were a popular symbols of the Nile and the creator god Amun
was often depicted with a blue face. According to myth, the hair of the
gods was made of precious Lapis Lazuli (khesbedj). A number of Pharaohs
imitated the god and were depicted in art with blue faces or hair.
In
painting the ancient Egyptians made blue pigments out of a number of
minerals, including azurite (tefer) and copper (bia). However, the most
famous and prized pigment was "Egyptian blue" (irtyu) which was made by
boiling quartz (silica) with copper (in the form of malachite), calcium
carbonate and natron. This was expensive and tricky to make, but
produced a beautiful deep blue colour which was very popular.
The blue depths of water personified the female principle, while sky
blue was associated with the male principle. The color blue is
associated with water, sky, all heavenly gods, fidelity, and
faithfulness. For example, blue flowers, such as forget-me-nots and
violets, symbolize faithfulness. According to an old English custom, a
bride wears blue ribbons on her wedding gown, a blue sapphire in her
ring, and tiny flowers of blue speedwell are part of the bouquet. But,
in the English language, blue sometimes refers to sadness. The phrase
"feeling blue" is linked to a custom amongst old sailing ships. If a
ship loses her captain, she would fly blue flags, when returning to home
port. In German, to be "blue" (blau sein) is to be drunk. Blue is the
color of truth, serenity and harmony, and it is good for cooling,
calming, reconstructing and protecting. Also, it is the color of
electricity and spiritual energy. In ancient Egypt, there was no basic
color term for "blue". Lapis lazuli was called hsbdj, and then the term
was extended to mean, secondarily, the color "blue" (Robins 2008).The
so-called "Egyptian blue" (jrtjw, hsbdj) (Wb. I, 116, 10-11) was made
combining iron and copper oxides with silica and calcium. This produced a
rich color, however it was unstable and sometimes darkened or changed
color over the years. The gods were said to have hair made of lapis
lazuli, a blue stone. Blue was associated with Amun-Ra, and sometimes
with Osiris. The skin of the Egyptian god Amon was rendered blue.
Originally, Amon was the deification of the concept of air, one of the
four fundamental concepts of the primordial universe. Amon means "the
Hidden One," as the air and the wind cannot see by the eyes. He was
originally depicted as a frog-headed god and his invisibility was
represented by the color blue, the color of the sky. Also, Ptah, Horus,
Khnum, Re-Horakhty and Nuit were all often depicted with blue bodies. In
the scenes of the "Opening of the Mouth" ceremony, the mummy and Anubis
both have blue hair. In general, gods too liked showing themselves in
beautiful attire. One divine epithet was "He, who is clothed in blue
linen" (Hornung 1994: 659). Blue was symbolic of the sky and of water.
In a cosmic sense, this extended its symbolism to the heavens and of the
primeval floods. In both of these cases, blue took on a meaning of life
and rebirth. It was naturally also a symbol of the Nile, fertile
fields, crops, offerings and fertility in general. The phoenix, which
was a symbol of the primeval flood, was patterned on the heron. Herons
naturally have a gray-blue plumage. However, they were usually portrayed
with bright blue feathers to emphasize their association with the
waters of the creation. Amon was often shown with a blue face to
symbolize his role in the creation of the world. By extension, the
pharaohs were sometimes shown with blue faces as well when they became
identified with Amon. Baboons, which are not naturally blue, were
portrayed as blue, only to emphasize their connection to Thoth, which
symbol was an ibis, represented as a blue bird.
According to ancient Egyptian mythology the hair of the gods was made of precious Lapis Lazuli (khesbedj).
Some of the Pharaohs imitated the gods and were depicted in art with blue faces or hair.
Amun
was the Egyptian god of the air, sun and the sky. Originally, Amun was
depicted with red-brown skin. However, following the Amarna period and
the religious revolution involving the god Aten, his cult revived and he
was painted with blue skin, symbolizing his association with air and
primeval creation.
Hapi was the Egyptian god of fertility and
the Egyptian Nile god who was believed to bring the silt to the banks of
the River Nile. One of his titles was "Lord of the River Bringing
Vegetation". The blue-colored skin of Hapi was symbolic of the River
Nile and its associated crops and fertility.
Other gods
associated with the River Nile were Khnum the guardian of the River
Nile, Satet, the goddess of the annual inundation and Anuket, the
goddess of the cataracts. Together these three gods were referred to as
the Elephantine Triad.
The color blue represented royalty and
stones of this color which included lapis lazuli and turquoise were the
most prized of all gemstones.
Blue was often paired with gold in Egyptian royal regalia and jewelry.
The Royal Vulture Crown consisted of a falcon feather headdress with its wings spread round her head in the act of protection
The Nemes was the name of the blue and gold striped head cloth worn by the pharaohs as a ceremonial headdress.
The
Flail held by the king or Pharaoh symbolized the role as provider of
food for the people. The crook symbolized the role as the 'shepherd' of
the people
The Khepresh was the blue crown that was worn by Pharaohs in battle
Lapis
lazuli had to be imported from Afghanistan. The dark colored Lapis
lazuli stone was often used to create the eyes on the statues of the
ancient Egyptian gods and the death masks of pharaohs.
The magic
Lapis lazuli stone represented rebirth and regeneration. The name
derives from Lapis the Latin word for 'stone' and Lazuli from the name
of a place where the gemstone was originally mined. It was believed to
inspire courage.
The blue-green Feldspar stone was a symbol of
fertility and was believed to bring good luck to the wearer. It was also
the favored stone for the papyrus scepter amulet which was placed
around the neck of the deceased on the day of the funeral.
The
design of amulets created using magic stones were believed to harness
different magical powers and the protection of various gods and
goddesses.
[link to www.mummies2pyramids.info]
[link to www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk]
[link to upload.wikimedia.org]
[link to terraeantiqvae.com]
Blue
was used for the hair of gods (specifically lapis lazuli, or the
darkest of Egyptian blues) and for the face of the god Amun – a practice
which was extended to those Pharaohs associated with him.
Turquoise
(Ancient Egyptian name 'mefkhat'), a particularly valued green-blue
stone from the Sinai, also represented joy, as well as the color of the
sun's rays at dawn. Through the deity Hathor, the Lady of Turquoise, who
controlled the destiny of new-born babies, it can be considered a color
of promise and foretelling.
[link to africanhistory.about.com]
Fabric
found near the Dead Sea may be the color of tekhelet, God’s chosen
color. The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) has announced in a press
release that 2,000-year-old indigo fabric found near the Dead Sea was
dyed using a technique that may have also produced tekhelet, God’s
chosen color in the Bible. The research was conducted by Dr. Na’ama
Sukenik of the IAA.
Blue tzitzit and murex dye
In the
Bible, a shade of blue called tekhelet was God’s chosen color for the
ancient Israelites. Tekhelet drapes adorned Solomon’s Temple, and
tekhelet robes were worn by Israel’s high priests. According to Baruch
and Judy Taubes Sterman in “The Great Tekhelet Debate—Blue or Purple?”
in the September/October 2013 issue of BAR, even ordinary Israelites
“were commanded to tie one string of tekhelet to the corner fringes
(Hebrew, tzitzit) of their garments as a constant reminder of their
special relationship with God” (Numbers 15:38–39). The tradition of blue
tzitzit still exists today.
But what was the actual color of
ancient tekhelet and blue tzitzit? Was it a shade of blue or was it
closer to purple? Blue tzitzit and tekhelet-colored fabrics were widely
worn and traded throughout the ancient Mediterranean, but by the Roman
period, only the emperor could wear tekhelet. By the seventh century
C.E., with the Islamic conquest of the Levant, the tekhelet’s source and
method of manufacture were lost.
A century ago, Isaac Herzog,
who would later become Israel’s first chief rabbi, researched tekhelet
for his dissertation. He concluded that blue in the Bible was a bright
sky-blue derived from the secretions of a sea snail, Murex trunculus.*
This species was known to produce a murex dye the color of dark purple.
Decades after Herzog’s death, chemist Otto Elsner proved that murex dye
could in fact produce a sky-blue color by exposing the snail secretions
to ultraviolet rays during the dyeing process. Sky-blue tzitzit, then,
could be made with murex dye.
THIS BLOG ATTEMPTS TO SHOW HOW SCIENCE IS CATCHING UP WITH REVEALED RELIGION
THIS BLOG IS AN ATTEMPT TO PUT ALL THE COOL STUFF THAT I BUMP INTO ABOUT THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST AND EVENTS THAT LEAD UP TO IT INTO ONE LOCATION.
THE CONTENTS WILL BE FROM AN LDS PERSPECTIVE. IF YOU DISAGREE WITH ANYTHING IN HERE, I DO NOT PARTICULARLY CARE TO ARGUE, UNLESS YOU CAN ADD TO THIS BODY OF WORK. I HAVE AN OPEN MIND, THAT IS WHY I READ STUFF FROM ALL DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES AND SEEK LEARNING FROM THE BEST BOOKS. I JUST AM NOT HERE TO ARGUE ABOUT IT - BUT TO PUT IT OUT THERE WHERE OTHERS CAN PERUSE/PURSUE IT. I TAKE PARTICULAR INTEREST IN HONEST SEEKERS OF TRUTH AND BELIEVE THAT SCIENCE IS REVEALED RELIGION'S BEST ALLY. YOU WILL SEE ALOT OF TOPICS IN THIS BLOG THAT SHOW SCIENCE BACKING - AND SLOWLY CATCHING UP WITH - REVEALED RELIGION.
ENJOY!!
THE CONTENTS WILL BE FROM AN LDS PERSPECTIVE. IF YOU DISAGREE WITH ANYTHING IN HERE, I DO NOT PARTICULARLY CARE TO ARGUE, UNLESS YOU CAN ADD TO THIS BODY OF WORK. I HAVE AN OPEN MIND, THAT IS WHY I READ STUFF FROM ALL DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES AND SEEK LEARNING FROM THE BEST BOOKS. I JUST AM NOT HERE TO ARGUE ABOUT IT - BUT TO PUT IT OUT THERE WHERE OTHERS CAN PERUSE/PURSUE IT. I TAKE PARTICULAR INTEREST IN HONEST SEEKERS OF TRUTH AND BELIEVE THAT SCIENCE IS REVEALED RELIGION'S BEST ALLY. YOU WILL SEE ALOT OF TOPICS IN THIS BLOG THAT SHOW SCIENCE BACKING - AND SLOWLY CATCHING UP WITH - REVEALED RELIGION.
ENJOY!!
Have you read into Mayan Blue? My parents went on an lds cruise to Central American and were introduced to it. My dad told me about being shown blue handprints placed on the inside of the temple doors on the ceiling. I would love more info.
ReplyDelete