Han blue

English

Etymology

Han +‎ blue From being a blue pigment last used during the Han Dynasty.

Noun

Han blue (uncountable)

1. A pigment made from barium copper tetrasilicate (“BaCuSi₄O₁₀”), an artificial blue pigment, used by ancient Chinese for over 2 millennia before dying out at the end of the Han dynasty; one of the few alternates to azurite in ancient times.

Synonyms

• Chinese blue

Coordinate terms

• azurite
• Egyptian blue (the first artificial pigment, and of chemical similarity to Han blue)
• Prussian blue (the first artificial pigment widely used in the modern world; not an ancient pigment)

Related terms

• Han purple

Anagrams

• unhable