Cobalt blue
Cobalt blue in impure forms had long been used in Chinese porcelain, but it was independently discovered as a pure alumina-based pigment by Louis Jacques Thénard in 1802. Commercial production began in France in 1807. The first recorded use of "cobalt blue" as a color name in English was in 1777. The leading world manufacturer of cobalt blue in the 19th century was Benjamin Wegner's Norwegian company Blaafarveværket ("blue colour works" in Dano-Norwegian). Germany was also famous for production, especially the blue colour works ("Blaufarbenwerke") in the Ore Mountains of Saxony.
Pigment
Two of the first synthetic pigments were white lead (basic lead carbonate, (PbCO)Pb(OH)) and blue frit (Egyptian Blue). White lead is made by combining lead with vinegar (acetic acid, CHCOOH) in the presence of CO. Blue frit is calcium copper silicate and was made from glass colored with a copper ore, such as malachite. These pigments were used as early as the second millennium BCE Later premodern additions to the range of synthetic pigments included vermilion, verdigris and lead-tin-yellow.