Robin egg blue, also called eggshell blue or robin's-egg blue, is a
shade
Shade, Shades or Shading may refer to:
* Shade (color), a mixture of a color with black (often generalized as any variety of a color)
* Shade (shadow), the blocking of sunlight
* Shades or sunglasses
* Shading, a process used in art and graphic ...
of
teal (a
blue-green color), approximating the shade of the eggs laid by the
American robin
The American robin (''Turdus migratorius'') is a migratory bird of the true thrush genus and Turdidae, the wider thrush family. It is named after the European robin because of its reddish-orange breast, though the two species are not clos ...
, an abundant
songbird
A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 5,00 ...
of
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
. The egg pigment is
biliverdin
Biliverdin (from the Latin for green bile) is a green tetrapyrrolic bile pigment, and is a product of heme catabolism.Boron W, Boulpaep E. Medical Physiology: a cellular and molecular approach, 2005. 984–986. Elsevier Saunders, United States. ...
, a product of the breakdown of
heme
Heme (American English), or haem (Commonwealth English, both pronounced /Help:IPA/English, hi:m/ ), is a ring-shaped iron-containing molecule that commonly serves as a Ligand (biochemistry), ligand of various proteins, more notably as a Prostheti ...
.
The first recorded use of ''robin egg blue'' as a color name in
English was in 1873, though earlier references in English to colors similar to that of robin's eggs were made as early as 1844. The "robin's egg" glaze appeared during the
Yongzheng Emperor
The Yongzheng Emperor (13 December 1678 – 8 October 1735), also known by his temple name Emperor Shizong of Qing, personal name Yinzhen, was the fourth List of emperors of the Qing dynasty, emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the third Qing em ...
’s reign (1722-35) in China, and
Yixing
Yixing () is a county-level city administered under the prefecture-level city of Wuxi in southern Jiangsu province, China, and is part of the Yangtze Delta, Yangtze River Delta. The city is known for its traditional Yixing ware, Yixing clay ware t ...
potter Hua Fengxiang made works with "robin's egg" glaze.
Variations
Tiffany Blue
Tiffany Blue is the
trademark
A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...
ed name for the light medium tone of robin egg blue associated with
Tiffany & Co., the
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
jewelry company.
See also
*
Eggshell (color)
References
Shades of cyan
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