For the medieval Christian, opening an illuminated religious text was like opening a window into the sacred. These lavishly decorated books contained teachings of the church and helped deepen the beliefs of the faithful. The luxurious materials used in their creation glittered in the light, offering an elevated spiritual experience.
A brilliant blue pigment known as ultramarine, a color often associated with holiness and royalty in art, was reserved for special features of this artwork — such as the robe of the Virgin Mary. Derived from the lapis lazuli stone mined only in Afghanistan, the pigment was once considered more precious than gold.
Now, researchers say they’ve discovered one of the most prized pigments in art history in a peculiar place — in the dental plaque of a woman buried at a monastery at the Church of St. Peter in Dalhaim, Germany around 1000-1200 AD. The researchers say the find represents the “earliest direct evidence that religious women in Germany used ultramarine pigment,” challenging gendered ideas about the role of women in creating one of the highest forms of art in medieval times.
