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).
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.
