Bice
A historic blue or green pigment once made from copper minerals
Bice is a pigment that appears as either blue or green, with its name coming from the French word for dark-coloured. Traditionally, it was made from basic copper carbonates like azurite or malachite, though other minerals and mixtures were sometimes used. Bice was widely used in European painting and decoration, especially in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Share on WhatsAppOpen in the lab
- Bice can be blue or green, depending on its mineral source
- The name comes from the French word for dark-coloured
- Historic bice was made from azurite (blue) or malachite (green)
- Bice was used in British painting and decoration in the 16th and 17th centuries
- Later versions used manufactured pigments like blue verditer and smalt
What colour is Bice?
Bice is a pigment that can be either blue or green, depending on its source. Its shades range from dark blue to dark green, and the term itself comes from French words for these colours. What sets bice apart is its mineral base, usually copper carbonates, which gives it a rich, opaque appearance. The pigment was valued for its depth of colour and was available in several grades, especially in historical painting.
Where does Bice come from?
The name 'bice' comes from the French 'bis', which means dark-coloured. In French, 'vert bis' refers to dark green and 'azur bis' to dark blue. The pigment's history is closely tied to European art and decoration, especially in Britain during the 16th and 17th centuries. Early bice was made from minerals such as azurite for blue and malachite for green, with later versions using manufactured or mixed pigments as natural sources became scarce or expensive.
How is Bice made?
Traditional bice pigments were prepared from basic copper carbonates, mainly azurite for blue and malachite for green. Sometimes, ultramarine or other minerals were used. Later, green bice could be made by mixing blue cobalt glass with yellow orpiment. As natural azurite became costly, substitutes like blue verditer and smalt replaced it in painting and decoration.
Where Bice is used
Bice was widely used in painting and architectural decoration, especially in Britain. Records from the 16th century mention its use on stone crosses, palace interiors, and by court painters. It was available in several grades, which affected its price and quality. The pigment was known for being difficult to remove from surfaces, as noted in literature.
Blue around the world
What the blue family means from country to country.
Lapis lazuli has been mined in the mountains of Badakhshan for more than six thousand years. Ground to powder it gave ultramarine, the costliest blue in European painting.
Royalty and powerSacred and holyAweSource: Lapis lazuliThe chadari is a full-length covering for women with a mesh panel over the eyes. In Kabul and the north it is most often a light blue.
Protection and healingSource: BurqaThe blue band of the flag stands for the wish of the Armenian people to live under peaceful skies. The red above it is for the highlands and the struggle to survive.
Politics and protestHopeSource: Flag of ArmeniaThe flag is sky blue, white and sky blue, created by Manuel Belgrano in 1812. National teams are called the Albiceleste, the white and sky blue.
Politics and protestPrideSource: Flag of ArgentinaBoca Juniors play in blue and gold. The club's story is that in 1907 it took the colours of the flag of the next ship into port, which was Swedish.
Festival and celebrationPrideSource: Boca JuniorsTo be true blue is to be honestly and loyally Australian. The phrase is older than the country, but Australians have made it their own.
Politics and protestTrustSource: True Blue (John Williamson song)Shades and relatives of Bice
Bice includes both blue and green forms, depending on the mineral used. Blue bice was often made from azurite, while green bice could be malachite or a mixture of other pigments. Later, blue verditer and smalt were used as substitutes for blue bice, and green bice could be made from glass and orpiment. The term may sometimes cause confusion with similar copper-based pigments.
Colours that go with Bice
Harmonies are worked out from the value #2072AF. Contrast ratios follow the WCAG 2 formula.
Questions people ask about Bice
What colour is bice?
Bice can be either blue or green, depending on the mineral used to make the pigment. Blue bice was usually made from azurite, while green bice was often made from malachite or mixed pigments.
Where does the name 'bice' come from?
The name 'bice' comes from the French word 'bis', meaning dark-coloured. In French, 'vert bis' means dark green and 'azur bis' means dark blue.
What was bice made from?
Bice was traditionally made from basic copper carbonates such as azurite for blue and malachite for green. Other materials like ultramarine, blue cobalt glass, and yellow orpiment were also used in later mixtures.
How was bice used?
Bice was used in painting and architectural decoration, especially in Britain during the 16th and 17th centuries. It was valued for its rich colour and was available in several grades.
Is bice still used today?
Bice is mainly of historical interest now. As natural sources became expensive or scarce, it was replaced by manufactured pigments such as blue verditer and smalt.
Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Bice", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). Rang rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. The swatch is an approximation: named colours are not fixed standards, and every screen shows them a little differently. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-03.
More of the blue family
All of blue
Blue
Lapis lazuli
A deep blue stone prized for jewellery and the source of ultramarine pigmentColour named from nature 路 馃嚘馃嚝 Afghanistan +5
#6A5DFF
Indigo
A deep blue named for the dye once exported from IndiaNamed shade 路 馃嚠馃嚦 India +5
Blue
Azurite
A deep blue copper mineral once prized as a pigment and gemstonePigment 路 馃嚝馃嚪 France +5
Blue
Woad
A blue dye once vital to Europe's textile trade, made from the leaves of a flowering plantDye 路 馃嚝馃嚪 France +3
Blue
Indigo
A deep blue dye from plants, now mostly made synthetically and known for colouring denimDye 路 馃嚠馃嚦 India +5
Blue
Methylene blue
A synthetic blue dye and medicine first made in 1876Dye
#120A8F
Ultramarine
A deep blue pigment once made from lapis lazuli, prized for centuries in artPigment 路 馃嚘馃嚝 Afghanistan +2
#003153
Prussian blue
A deep blue pigment first made in Berlin in the early 1700sPigment 路 馃嚡馃嚨 Japan