Discovering Lapis Lazuli

Lapis Lazuli has been a highly valued stone for many thousands of years. Lapis Lazuli is known for its blue colour. The first part of the name is the Latin Lapis, meaning stone. The word "lazuli" comes from the Persian/Arabic lazhward or blue (as in "azure"). Together the name means "blue stone" or stone of azure.

Lapis Lazuli is a polymineral rock composed mainly of the blue silicate mineral lazurite along with gold colored pyrite (fool's gold) and whitish calcite. Lapis Lazuli is formed through contact metamorphism of particular forms of limestone, mainly the blue lazurite. The beautiful blue of the lazurite occurs due a charge transfer between sulfer atoms contained in the rock.

Lapis Lazuli is rare and only found in only a few places including Chile, Baffin Islands, United States, Siberia, and Afghanistan, where it occurs in large deposits. The best quality material contains less calcite and pyrite. An opaque stone, Lapis Lazuli takes a beautiful polish. It has always been fashioned as beads and cabochons, carved into exquisite articles of ornament, or used in inlays and mosaics.

First mined in the remote Kokcha Valley of Badakhshan, Afghanistan 6,000 years ago. These mines still produce the best quality of Lapis Lazuli. The stone was exported to the ancient civilizations of Egypt, and Sumer where it was used as ornamental stone and in jewelry. It was later traded throughout the East and into Europe.

The mining of Lapis Lazuli remains quite primitive. Huge fires are built on the rocks, then water is thrown on them. The sudden cooling of the rocks causes them to split up so they can be readily be excavated. The yield, however, is small, and the price even for exceptionally fine specimens is low. With the market value rising, security is increased at the mines, where miners are routinely chained to the walls of the mineshafts while they work.

In ancient times, Lapis Lazuli was known as Sapphirus, which is the name that we use today for the blue corundum variety of Sapphire. Greeks spoke of an ancient sapphire which was included with gold, and this was unmistakenly Lapis. Pliny refers to Sapphirus as a stone sprinkled with specks of gold. A similar reference can be found in the in Job 28:6. Traditon says that the Ten Commandments were carved on tablets of Sapphire, and, as mentioned, it is believed that this and other references to Sapphire in the Bible is actually Lapis Lazuli. Lapis Lazuli was also one of the stones in the 'Breastplate of Judgement' of Aaron, described in the Bible in Exodus 28:15-30. Ezekiel 1:26 describes God's throne appearing to be Lapis Lazuli.

During the Middle Ages and up until the 19th century, ground Lapis Lazuli was mixed with oil and used as a pigment and paint to create the colour ultramarine, which literally meant "beyond the sea" as it was brought from far away by ship. This semi-precious mineral was usually used for artworks of great importance such as the funeral mask of Tutankhamen and the decoration of the Taj Mahal. The grand old masters of the Renaissance chose it to color the garments of Christ and the Virgin Mary, despite the fact that the Lapis Lazuli cost more than gold. It wasn't until 1828 that a substitute was made for this costly pigment. There are castles which still have columns and wallpanels covered in this lustrous stone.

As an ancient gem, Lapis Lazuli has a facinating history. Lapis Lazuli was frequently used for jewelry of both decorative and symbolic nature. It was a popular choice for amulets and was said to be the stone of rulers and to represent power. Here is some of the symbolism and lore associated with this fascinating stone.

Lapis Lazuli represents "Friendship" & "Truth".

Lapis is the traditional birthstone for December and may be given as a gem on the 7th and 9th wedding anniversary.

Some ancient cultures actually valued Lapis Lazuli as much as or more than gold.

Some believed that dreaming of Lapis would foretell love that would be forever faithful.

A variety of medicinal properties have been attributed to Lapis Lazuli over the centuries, when ground, it was used as a tonic. It was thought to be used as a cure for melancholia even as late as the sixteenth century. And the Romans even believed it to be an aphrodisiac.

Lapis Lazuli was believed to give good judgement and insight, enhance wisdom, and stimulate inner vision and promote peace of mind.

Ancient Egyptians used ground up Lapis Lazuli as an early form of eye shadow.

The celestial hue of Lapis Lazuli was thought to be appropriate for use as a memorial offering, such as a scarab or talisman, to aid in their heavenward journey in the afterlife in ancient cultures of Peru, Egypt, and China.

It was believed by some that wearing Lapis Lazuli would protect the wearer from evil. A saying of the ancient Sumerian priests states. "He who carries with him into battle an amulet of Lapis carries with him the presence of his god."

Legend tells that the 10 Commandments were carved on stones of Lapis Lazuli.

A large mass of lapis lazuli was found in one of the Inca graves of Peru by Senor Emilio Montes, and was exhibited by him in the Centennial Exhibition of 1913. With the exception of one corner that has been chipped off, the block is of symmetrical form, the dimensions being, in inches, 24 x 14 x 9, and the weight 312 pounds. The smoothed surface gives evidence of careful and fairly successful polishing by the native lapidaries. This exceptionally fine specimen of lapis lazuli is now in the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.

The excavation of the Royal Cemetery of Ur in the 1920s by renowned British archaeologist C. Leonard Woolley, in a joint expedition by the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania Museum, revealed a treasuretrove containing many Lapis Lazuli artifacts. Among them were a Lapis and gold bull-headed Lyre from the "King's Grave". A famed "Ram in the Thicket" statuette of a goat of Gold, silver, Lapis Lazuli, copper, shell, red limestone, and bitumen was also found. In the tomb of Queen Puabi was an ornate diadem of thousands of small Lapis Lazuli beads with gold pendants of animals and plants on a table near her head. An elaborate headdress of gold leaves, gold ribbons, strands of Lapis Lazuli and carnelian beads was also found. Another discovery was of an exquisite cosmetic box with an inlaid lid made of silver, Lapis Lazuli, and shell.

You may view these latter items at: http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu/specex/ur/ur.htm