Lapis Lazuli

the stone that became a color

Lapis Lazuli rough specimen on dark stone
Provenance
Sar-e-Sang, Afghanistan — one valley, six thousand years
Mineral family
A rock of lazurite, calcite and pyrite stars
Hardness
Mohs 5–5.5 — worn with a little care
Energy
Intuition — The night-chart frequency — direction written in deep blue.
For six thousand years nearly every piece of true lapis on Earth has come from one Afghan valley. Ground to powder it became ultramarine — the pigment worth more than gold, rationed to the robes of the Virgin in Renaissance paint. Tutankhamun’s mask wears it; Vermeer’s skies are made of it.
“Ultramarine — the noblest of colors, ground from the noble stone.”Cennino Cennini · Il Libro dell’Arte, c. 1400
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