The Color Blue in Ancient World

choi

Natalie Angier, Blue Through the Centuries: Sacred and Sought After. New York Times, Oct 23, 2012.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/2 ... d-sought-after.html
("In ancient China, chemists created blue pigments by blending copper with heavy elements like barium, lead and mercury. Unfortunately, those same heavy elements were often brewed into popular — and ultimately toxic — elixirs. 'It’s said that 40 percent of the Chinese emperors suffered from heavy-element poisoning,' Dr [Heinz] Berke [of University of Zurich] said")

Note:
(a) lapis lazuli
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapis_lazuli
(section 2 Etymology)
(b) The article says, "The Mesoamericans invented the third of the three great blues of ancient civilization [besides Egyptian blue and China's copper with heavy elements], a vivid and durable pigment called Mayan blue that scientists recently suggested could be a mix of indigo plant extract, a clay mineral called palygorskite, and resin from the Maya’s sacred incense, copal.
(i) indigo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigo
(India is believed to be the oldest center of indigo dyeing in the Old World)
(ii) palygorskite
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palygorskite
(section 1 Name)
(iii) copal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copal

(c) navy blue
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navy_blue
(Navy blue got its name from the dark blue (contrasted with white) worn by officers in the British Royal Navy since 1748 and subsequently adopted by other navies around the world)

See the color in the top horizontal bar of the table.