Lapis Lazuli: Properties, Facts and Photos
Lapis lazuli is a deep blue metamorphic rock composed primarily of the mineral lazurite, with calcite and pyrite commonly present. This article explores what it is, where it comes from, the origin of the name, its history and the use of the pigment ultramarine.
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Contents 1. What is Lapis Lazuli? |
What is Lapis Lazuli?
Lapis lazuli is a deep blue metamorphic rock that has been prized for its colour and rarity for thousands of years. It has been used for jewellery, carvings, decorative objects, and pigments since ancient times, and remains one of the world's most recognisable blue stones.
Lapis lazuli can only be found in a small number of locations because very specific geological conditions are required for it to form. This limited distribution has allowed historians and archaeologists to trace ancient trade routes, as lapis was transported vast distances.
Lapis lazuli is classified as a rock, not a mineral, because it's an aggregate of several different minerals. The most important is lazurite, which is responsible for the stone’s characteristic deep blue colour.
The golden flecks often seen in lapis lazuli are crystals of pyrite scattered through the rock. Although lazurite is a recognised mineral, it usually occurs as fine-grained masses within lapis lazuli.
Well-formed individual crystals of lazurite have been documented, but are extremely rare. White calcite is commonly present. Other associated minerals vary between deposits and include diopside, sodalite, haüyne, dolomite, forsterite and phlogopite mica.
The highest quality lapis lazuli often shows scattered pyrite and minimal white calcite. Raw mineralogical specimens are sometimes labelled as lazurite because lazurite is the dominant mineral.
Where Does Lapis Come From?
Most of the world's lapis lazuli comes from the Sar-e-Sang deposit in the Kokcha Valley, Badakhshan Province, northeastern Afghanistan.
Sar-e-Sang is a historic mining area with multiple mines and underground tunnels. Lapis lazuli has been mined there for at least 6,500 years.
The Sar-e-Sang mines are amongst the world’s oldest worked mines. They're located high up on steep slopes in the Hindu Kush Mountains, and are reached by narrow mountain trails.
Other important sources of lapis lazuli include the Lake Baikal region of Siberia and Chile. Research published in 2000 found that some Chilean material approached the quality of fine lapis lazuli from Afghanistan.
The stone is also mined in a few other countries, but in relatively small quantities.
On the Mohs scale of hardness, lapis lazuli ranges from 5 to 6, depending on the minerals present.
Source of the Pigment Ultramarine
Ultramarine is a vibrant and highly prized deep blue pigment. Historically, it was produced by grinding lapis lazuli.
The name 'ultramarine' comes from the Latin 'ultra mare', meaning "beyond the sea", referring to the arrival of the pigment from far away lands.
To create the ultramarine pigment, the lapis stone was crushed into a fine powder and combined with a mixture of resin, wax and other materials to prepare it for extraction. The mixture was then worked in an alkaline solution to separate the blue pigment from other minerals in the stone, such as calcite and pyrite.
The result was a rich blue pigment, but the process was lengthy and costly, making ultramarine extremely expensive.
The pigment was used in art for centuries, particularly in paintings, and was once said to be more valuable than gold. Its use declined following the introduction of a synthetic alternative in the nineteenth century, produced by Jean-Baptiste Guimet.
Some stories suggest that Michelangelo's 'The Entombment' was left unfinished because ultramarine was prohibitively expensive or in short supply. The National Gallery claims that it was because he returned to Florence in 1501.
The Italian painter Raphael, known for his frescoes in the Vatican, is known to have painted a layer of ultramarine over a base layer of azurite. This technique has been identified in the Virgin’s blue cloak in The Madonna of the Pinks.
The Meaning of Lapis Lazuli
The name 'lapis lazuli' combines the Latin word 'lapis', meaning 'stone', with the medieval Latin 'lazuli', a form of 'lazulum'. The latter came through Arabic 'lāzaward' from Persian 'lājevard', a name for lapis lazuli.
Although the name is sometimes interpreted as 'stone from the sky' or 'stone from heaven', this is not a secure literal translation. Its recorded linguistic history traces it through earlier names for the stone.
The name reflects a history of borrowing between languages, although the Persian word cannot be established as the name used by the stone’s earliest miners and traders.
Although not related to the meaning of lapis lazuli, the golden inclusions of pyrite have been likened to stars in the sky due to their bright, shimmering appearance against the stone's deep blue colour.
Related words include 'azul', meaning blue in Spanish and Portuguese, and the English 'azure'. For Spanish 'azul', the Royal Spanish Academy traces a possible route through Arabic to Persian.
History of Lapis Lazuli
Lapis lazuli has a long and fascinating history. It's one of the oldest and best-known gemstones. It was highly sought after by some of the earliest civilisations, including those of Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt.
The stone was often carved into amulets and talismans for jewellery and was also used in religious ceremonies.
Objects carved from lapis lazuli have been found in Egyptian tombs dating to before 3000 BC. Artefacts were also discovered in King Tutankhamun’s tomb. His funerary mask, dating to around 1323 BC, is one of the most famous objects decorated with lapis lazuli.
The gold mask is inlaid with lapis lazuli, white quartz, obsidian, turquoise, amazonite, carnelian, coloured glass and faience.
The excavation team's original object cards, including notes made when the king's mummy was unwrapped in 1925, can be viewed online in the Griffith Institute's Tutankhamun archive.
In his work 'On Stones', the ancient Greek philosopher Theophrastus described a stone called 'sappheiros' with gold-like specks.
Several centuries later, the Roman author and naturalist Pliny the Elder described a blue, opaque stone called sapphirus that also featured gold-like specks. These descriptions are believed to refer to lapis lazuli and its inclusions of the mineral pyrite.
Pliny also discussed 'cyanus' and described it as sometimes containing golden dust. The name 'cyanus' is the Latin form of the Greek 'kyanos', meaning blue. In Pliny's account, it's believed to be azurite, although the name was also used for an artificial blue pigment made in Egypt, known today as Egyptian blue.
The ancient use of sappheiros and sapphirus can cause confusion when reading historical texts, but both are believed to be lapis lazuli.
Pliny considered sapphirus unsuitable for engraving because of crystalline material within it. His description does not identify those inclusions specifically as pyrite.
The Romans adopted the word 'sapphirus' from the Greek 'sappheiros'.
In ancient Egypt, lapis lazuli had religious and funerary significance. The Grand Egyptian Museum describes the sun god Re as having a body of gold and hair of lapis lazuli, an association reflected in Tutankhamun’s funerary mask.
The Book of Exodus states 'sappir' was one of the twelve precious gemstones in the breastplate of the Jewish high priest. Sappir is commonly identified as lapis lazuli in this context.
During excavations of the royal graves in the ancient Sumerian city of Ur, artefacts featuring gold, silver and gemstones were discovered. Many exhibited exceptional craftsmanship, skill and artistry.
The wide range of materials indicates the presence of huge wealth and an extensive network of trade. This is apparent because many of the stones and metals are not found in the region.
Sumer was located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq. It was home to one of the earliest civilisations. More than 6,000 lapis lazuli objects, including beads, seals, and carvings, were found in the royal tombs at Ur.
Lapis lazuli from Afghanistan travelled along ancient trade routes to Mesopotamia, including the city of Ur, as well as to Egypt and the Indian subcontinent.
The bull's head in the Bull-Headed Lyre pictured below is made from gold with a beard of lapis lazuli. It was found in a grave traditionally called the King’s Grave, during the joint expedition of the British Museum and University Museum to Ur in 1928.
A fine example of ancient Sumerian art, the Penn Museum dates the head to about 2450 BC.
The lapis stone necklace in the adjacent photo comes from the same location.
The pictures link to an interesting collection of photos of the Bull-Headed Lyre from Ur.
Article Pictures
The lapis lazuli at the top of our article: Courtesy of James St. John.
The article on the pigment ultramarine links to the original article.
The Chilean lapis lazuli tumbled stones are from our collection.
The funerary mask of King Tutankhamun is in the Grand Egyptian Museum, Giza.
Lapis lazuli: From Summers Place Auctions.
Pop-up photos
The snow quartz tumbled stones are from our collection.
Calcite, azurite, turquoise, amazonite, pyrite, azurite: Courtesy of Stan Celestian. Diopside: Courtesy of The Arkenstone. Haüyne: Courtesy of Géry Parent.
The photos in our article and the links for the pop-up photos link to the original image on Flickr. You may only be able to view them if you join. Joining Flickr is free, with no additional charges.
