The Cyprus Institute

Colour is precious, and for millennia, the desire for colour has driven human ingenuity. Many of the early colour terms in the Egyptian language are related to valuable colourful materials. As early as in the 4th millennium BCE, Egypt witnessed the invention of the first synthetic colours—Egyptian blue and faience—created to satisfy a longing for vibrant, lustrous and enduring hues. But the truly remarkable ‘colour turn’ in this region took place some two thousand years later, in New Kingdom Egypt (NK: c. 1550–1070 BCE), when there is an explosion of new types of polychromatic substances and effects, creating a world abounding in vivid hues, patterns and combinations of the exotic and precious. Glass, polychrome faience, and Egyptian blue are combined into completely new colourful objects of an often very complex nature, combining various materials and techniques.

This round table will discuss the interconnections between colour, culture and crafts in this period. The round table will discuss the relationships between various aspects of colour in this period and interconnections of these aspects. This includes the scientific study of what these colourful materials are made of, how they are produced, where and by whom. We also ask what coloured substances can tell us about past cognition, behaviour and culture. What knowledge was necessary to produce them and how is this practical knowledge reflected upon in contemporary texts? How did the advent of new materials shape the way people spoke and wrote about colour? Finally, colourful objects some of which are amongst the most iconic archaeological finds not only from Pharaonic Egypt such as the mask of Tutankhamun. How does technology influence these objects and how do the objects in turn influence the perception and experience of colour?

These questions will be discussed to highlight the exceptional character of this phase of the Egyptian culture and to demonstrate the potential of an interdisciplinary, multi-perspective approach to the study of colour and colourful materials of this period. Such an approach has the potential to offer deep insights into the complex interrelations between technology, knowledge, innovation and human cognition in history.

The participants are leading scholars in their fields which allow for such a multi-perspective view and ideas coming in from a variety of standpoints.

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