Egyptian Blue

Siba Sahabi is what is known as a ‘poetic designer’, from her base in Amsterdam Siba seeks to translate cultural heritage into contemporary design. What interests her is how different cultures can influence each other, and by this create something new.

For this project, Blue Alchemy, Siba delves into the past, and in particular the very first man-made pigment. ‘Egyptian Blue’ was created as early as 2600 BC, the ancient Egyptians longed for a way to produce an equivalent to lapis lazuli, a highly expensive and rare stone and so made this pigment from silica, lime, copper and alkali.

It was a hit straight away, spreading through Mesopotamia, Greece and to the edges of the Roman Empire. A now forgotten process, Siba revives the colour in her recent work. Her ‘vases’ are reminiscent of classical forms but are created from coiled stripes of felt. Glass tubes inside mean they can function the traditional sense.

This blue really does have a depth that draws you in, you can see why ancient civilisations were so taken with it. I like how she references the potteries of the past but with the comparably new material of felt. Something I would normally associate with ‘Fuzzy Felts’ and making farm scenarios at playtime!

Originally found at Yellow Trace.