Zaffre
A deep blue pigment once made by roasting cobalt ore
Zaffre is a strong blue pigment created by roasting cobalt ore, resulting in impure cobalt oxide or arsenate. It was used in the Victorian era for colouring glass and making smalt, and the name first appeared in English in the 1550s.
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- Zaffre is a deep blue pigment from roasted cobalt ore.
- It was used to colour glass and make smalt in the Victorian era.
- The name first appeared in English in the 1550s.
- Zaffre is made from impure cobalt oxide or arsenate.
What colour is Zaffre?
Zaffre is a deep, intense blue pigment. Its colour is rich and dark, clearly set apart from lighter blues by its depth. The pigment stands out for its strong, almost electric blue tone, which comes from the cobalt compounds it contains. Zaffre is not a pure chemical but a mixture, and its shade can vary slightly depending on how it is made.
Where does Zaffre come from?
The name 'zaffre' (also spelt 'zaffer') first appeared in English in the 1550s. It comes from a time before modern chemistry, when alchemists and early scientists produced colours from minerals. Zaffre was made by roasting cobalt ore, which was then used for various blue pigments and glass stains.
How is Zaffre made?
To make zaffre, cobalt ore is roasted, producing an impure form of cobalt oxide or cobalt arsenate. Sometimes, quartz is included in the process. The result is a blue pigment that is not a single chemical, but a mixture. The exact shade depends on the materials and method used.
Where Zaffre is used
During the Victorian era, zaffre was valued for its ability to colour glass blue and to make smalt, another cobalt-based pigment. It was mainly used in art and ceramics, especially for blue glass and decorative finishes.
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 Zaffre
Zaffre is closely related to smalt, another pigment made from cobalt compounds. The two can be confused, but smalt is usually a glassy blue powder, while zaffre is the intermediate product used to make smalt or to stain glass directly.
Colours that go with Zaffre
Harmonies are worked out from the value #0014A8. Contrast ratios follow the WCAG 2 formula.
Questions people ask about Zaffre
What colour is zaffre?
Zaffre is a deep, intense blue. Its shade is strong and dark, created from cobalt compounds.
Where does the name 'zaffre' come from?
The name 'zaffre' (also spelt 'zaffer') was first recorded in English in the 1550s, during the era of alchemy.
How is zaffre made?
Zaffre is made by roasting cobalt ore, resulting in impure cobalt oxide or arsenate. Sometimes quartz is used in the process.
What was zaffre used for?
Zaffre was used to colour glass blue and to make smalt, another blue pigment, especially in the Victorian era.
Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Zaffre", 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.
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