Magnificent Lapis Lazuli from Sar-i Sang
An outstanding lapis lazuli stone mined, cut and polished in Afghanistan. This piece was brought out of the country by someone who had been working there. It was offered to us by one of our suppliers in South Africa.
Some of the world's finest lapis lazuli comes from the Sar-e Sang (or Sar-i Sang) mines in the Kuran Wa Munjan District of Afghanistan.
Sar-e Sang is known by locals as Mahdani Lojward which means lapis lazuli mines in Dari, a modern dialect of Persian spoken in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan is home to some of the world's oldest lapis lazuli and material supplied to Ancient Egyptian pharaohs came from mines still being worked today.
Sadly we have not bought lapis lazuli from Afghantistan for some years because it has been classed as a "conflict mineral".
This highly polished lapis lazuli stone in terms of quality is the finest grade we have ever had as part of our collection. It's a truly magnificent piece that deserves pride of place in any collection of rocks and minerals. We bought it during one of our first buying trips to South Africa in 2010.
See our original photo in full size drop by our page on Flickr.
