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Ultramarine is famous for having been the most expensive pigment for a thousand years. First used in 6th century Afghanistan, made for the naturally occurring mineral known as lapis lazuli. What if the process to produce synthetic lapis lazuli had been discovered earlier?

Egyptian Blue

The ancient Egyptians held the colour blue in very high regard and were eager to present it on many media and in a variety of forms. They also desired to imitate the semiprecious stones lapis lazuli, which were valued for their rarity and stark blue colour. Use of naturally occurring minerals, such as azurite, to acquire this blue, was impractical, as these minerals were rare and difficult to work. Therefore, to appropriate the large quantities of blue colour the Egyptians sought, it was necessary for them to manufacture the pigment themselves.

It has also been found at Ayanis fortress in eastern Turkey. The Egyptians developed a wide range of pigment varieties, including what is now known as Egyptian blue, which was the first of its color at the time of its development. No written information exists in ancient Egyptian texts about the manufacture of Egyptian blue in antiquity, and it was only first mentioned in Roman literature by Vitruvius during the first century BC.
He refers to it as coeruleum and describes in his work De architectura how it was produced by grinding sand, copper, and natron, and heating the mixture, shaped into small balls, in a furnace. Lime is necessary for the production, as well, but probably lime-rich sand was used. Theophrastus gives it the Greek term κύανος (kyanos, blue), which probably originally referred to lapis lazuli.
After the fall of the roman empire this knowledge was lost and not rediscovered until the beginning of the 19th century.

Synthetic Ultramarine

The beginning of the development of ultramarine blue, artificial was known from Goethe. In about 1787, he observed the blue deposits on the walls of lime kilns near Palermo in Italy. He was aware of the use of these glassy deposits as a substitute for lapis lazuli in decorative applications. He did not, however, mention if it was suitable to grind for a pigment. The blue deposits were also taken from the Saint Gobain glassworks by M. Tessäert who found them in a soda furnace. Tessäert was reportedly the first to suggest to the Societé d'Encouragement pour L'Industrie Nationale that a method for making a synthetic ultramarine should be investigated. He gave his blue samples to Vauquelin. In 1814, Vauquelin published his findings that the blue masses were similar in composition to the costly lapis lazuli in the Annales de Chimie LXXXIX, "Note sur une couleur bleue artificiale analogue a l'outremer". In 1824, the Societé d'Encouragement offered a prize of six thousand francs to anyone who could produce a synthetic variety.

Questions

First could the Romans have stumbled upon the process of making synthetic ultramarine, given their knowledge of Egyptian blue production?

Second if this is possible what effects could such a discovery have?

wikipedia: Egyptian blue

Sources

http://www.webexhibits.org/pigments/indiv/history/ultramarine.html

https://books.google.de/books?id=ONIPAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA385&lpg=PA385&dq=1814,+Tassaert&source=bl&ots=J_PGlTbCdf&sig=LgFKfP5kGjXckzpzqc9GSmp0IC4&hl=de&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjTlvnbsbfNAhWDXBQKHTDuD_UQ6AEIJTAA#v=onepage&q=1814, Tassaert&f=false
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