ultramarine [M17th] The brilliant bright blue pigment ultramarine originally came from lapis lazuli, a rock brought from Afghanistan that was more precious than gold. Latin ultramarinus meant ‘beyond the sea’, and forms descended from it became the name for the pigment in most European languages. It was not until the early 18th century that a reliably fast, and much cheaper, alternative deep blue was discovered by accident by a man called Diesbach who lived in Berlin. This was then the capital of Prussia, and so the colour became known as Prussian Blue.