Lapis
Lazuli
Lapis lazuli (/ˈlæpɪs
ˈlæzjuːli/, /-ˈlæzjuːlaɪ/), or lapis for
short, is a deep blue metamorphic rock
used as a semi-precious stone that has
been prized since antiquity for its
intense color. As early as the 7th
millennium BC, lapis lazuli was mined in
the Sar-i Sang mines, in Shortugai, and
in other mines in Badakhshan province in
northeast Afghanistan. Lapis was highly
valued by the Indus Valley Civilisation
(3300–1900 BC). Lapis beads have been
found at Neolithic burials in Mehrgarh,
the Caucasus, and even as far from
Afghanistan as Mauritania. It was used
in the funeral mask of Tutankhamun
(1341–1323 BC).
At the end of the Middle Ages, lapis
lazuli began to be exported to Europe,
where it was ground into powder and made
into ultramarine, the finest and most
expensive of all blue pigments. It was
used by some of the most important
artists of the Renaissance and Baroque,
including Masaccio, Perugino, Titian and
Vermeer, and was often reserved for the
clothing of the central figures of their
paintings, especially the Virgin Mary.
Today, mines in northeast Afghanistan
and Pakistan are still the major source
of lapis lazuli. Important amounts are
also produced from mines west of Lake
Baikal in Russia, and in the Andes
mountains in Chile. Smaller quantities
are mined in Italy, Mongolia, the United
States, and Canada.
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