Egypt Color Palette

The palette

• Lapis Lazuli

  ≈Cobalt Dusk Clear

  #1F4287Click to copy

  Lapis lazuli from Badakhshan (Afghanistan), jewelry and inlay

  AaWhite text 9.60:1 · AAA

• Gold Leaf Yellow

  ≈Saffron Tone Pure

  #FCC72EClick to copy

  Hammered gold; Nubian sand

  AaBlack text 13.35:1 · AAA

• Malachite Green

  ≈Teal Dusk Vivid

  #3D9970Click to copy

  Copper carbonate, Sinai mines

  AaBlack text 5.99:1 · AA

• Hematite Red

  ≈Scarlet Dusk Bright

  #A8201AClick to copy

  Iron oxide tomb-wall pigment

  AaWhite text 7.28:1 · AAA

• Linen Cream

  ≈Apricot Pearl Clear

  #EDE0C8Click to copy

  Bleached Nile flax

  AaBlack text 16.10:1 · AAA

• Kohl Black

  ≈True Gray Ink

  #0E0E0EClick to copy

  Galena (lead sulfide) eye paint

  AaWhite text 19.30:1 · AAA

• Papyrus Tan

  ≈Apricot Tone Soft

  #C1A36FClick to copy

  Cyperus papyrus reed paper

  AaBlack text 8.74:1 · AAA

Cultural context

Ancient Egyptian palette is documented across 3,000 years of preserved tomb walls and papyri: lapis lazuli (imported from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, a luxury stone for jewelry and inlay — the painted blues are mostly synthetic Egyptian blue), malachite green for fertility and resurrection, ochre yellow as a stand-in for gold leaf, hematite red for the king. The supporting palette includes the cream of Nile linen, the deep black of kohl eye-paint, and the warm brown of papyrus reed. Modern Egyptian design pulls from both this antiquity and the saturated turquoise of the Mediterranean coast.

Suits

Copy as CSS

:root {
  --lapis-lazuli: #1f4287;
  --gold-leaf-yellow: #fcc72e;
  --malachite-green: #3d9970;
  --hematite-red: #a8201a;
  --linen-cream: #ede0c8;
  --kohl-black: #0e0e0e;
  --papyrus-tan: #c1a36f;
}

Further reading

• Egyptian blue, the synthetic pigment (Wikipedia)

More regional palettes