Gladstone wasn't aware that the Greeks and other ancient peoples used brightly coloured paints on their statues and buildings. Because articles like the linked

Gladstone wasn't aware that the Greeks and other ancient peoples used brightly coloured paints on their statues and buildings. Because articles like the linked one keep coming up, I've just submitted on HN an article from the British museum about the extensive findings of "Egyptian blue" on the Parthenon: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9972478 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9972478 This shows that Lapis lazuli was available throughout the Mediterranean, not just Egypt. Cobalt was used to colour glass during the Bronze age: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uluburun_shipwreck https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uluburun_shipwreck The Mycenaeans used blue glass for necklace pendants: http://www.cmog.org/artwork/necklace-glass-pendants-and-faience-beads http://www.cmog.org/artwork/necklace-glass-pendants-and-faie... The colour blue has also been found in mosaics and paintings unearthed at Pompeii: http://www.pompeionline.net/pompeii/painting.htm http://www.pompeionline.net/pompeii/painting.htm When examining the existing ancient literature to extrapolate on colour perception, it's important to remember that only a minuscule fraction of ancient literature survives to this day.