Author: [[Michel Pastoureau]]
[[Sapphire]] is a truly celestial stone. Its Blue, often compared to that of the sky, is said to have healing powers. Throughout the Orient it is believed to protect against bad luck. Ancient and medieval texts sometimes confuse sapphire and lapis lazuli, attributing to the latter the powers of the former.
The proper method-at least in the first phase of analysis-is to proceed as do paleontologists ( who must study cave paintings without the aid of texts): by extrapolating from the images and the objects themselves a logic and a system based on various concrete factors such as the rate of occurrence df particular objects and motifs, their distribution and disposition, the relationships between upper and lower registers, between left and right, back and front, center and periphery.
The historian must approach this history from two directions. On the one hand, he must try to define the chromatic sphere as it existed for past cultures, by taking into account all the elements that made up this sphere: names and definitions of colors, the chemistry of pigments and dyeing techniques, manners of dress and the social codes they express, color’s place in daily life and material culture, rules and regulations pertaining to color, and the meanings given to it by the church, scientific theories, and art. The potential areas for research and reflection are numerous and pose a great many questions. On the other hand, the historian should also employ a diachronic perspective focused on a single culture, permitting him to study specific practices, codes, and systems of color as well as the losses, mutations, innovations, and combinations that affect the observable aspects of color’s history.