Metamorphic rock containing lazurite, prized for its intense blue color

Lapis lazuli

Lapis lazuli

Lapis lazuli (<a href="/en/British_English" title="British English" class="wl">UK</a>: <a href="/en/Help:IPA/English" title="Help:IPA/English" class="wl">/ˌlæpɪs ˈlæz(j)ʊli, ˈlæʒʊ-, -ˌlaɪ/</a>; <a href="/en/American_English" title="American English" class="wl">US</a>: <a href="/en/Help:IPA/English" title="Help:IPA/English" class="wl">/ˈlæz(j)əli, ˈlæʒə-, -ˌlaɪ/</a>), or lapis for short, is a deep-blue <a href="/en/Metamorphic_rock" title="Metamorphic rock" class="wl">metamorphic rock</a> used as a <a href="/en/Gemstone" title="Gemstone" class="wl">semi-precious stone</a> that has been prized since <a href="/en/Ancient_history" title="Ancient history" class="wl">antiquity</a> for its intense color. As early as the <a href="/en/7th_millennium_BC" title="7th millennium BC" class="wl">7th millennium BC</a>, lapis lazuli was mined in the <a href="/en/Sar-i_Sang" title="Sar-i Sang" class="wl">Sar-i Sang</a> mines,<a href="#cite_note-Ashok_Roy_2009-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;">[1]</a> in <a href="/en/Shortugai" title="Shortugai" class="wl">Shortugai</a>, and in other mines in <a href="/en/Badakhshan" title="Badakhshan" class="wl">Badakhshan</a> province in modern northeast <a href="/en/Afghanistan" title="Afghanistan" class="wl">Afghanistan</a>.<a href="#cite_note-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;">[2]</a> Lapis lazuli artifacts, dated to 7570 BC, have been found at <a href="/en/Bhirrana" title="Bhirrana" class="wl">Bhirrana</a>, which is the oldest site of <a href="/en/Indus_Valley_civilisation" title="Indus Valley civilisation" class="mw-redirect wl">Indus Valley civilisation</a>.<a href="#cite_note-:0-3" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 3;">[3]</a> Lapis was highly valued by the Indus Valley Civilisation (7570–1900 BC).<a href="#cite_note-:0-3" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 3;">[3]</a><a href="#cite_note-4" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 4;">[4]</a><a href="#cite_note-5" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 5;">[5]</a> Lapis beads have been found at <a href="/en/Neolithic" title="Neolithic" class="wl">Neolithic</a> burials in <a href="/en/Mehrgarh" title="Mehrgarh" class="wl">Mehrgarh</a>, the <a href="/en/Caucasus" title="Caucasus" class="wl">Caucasus</a>, and as far away as <a href="/en/Mauritania" title="Mauritania" class="wl">Mauritania</a>.<a href="#cite_note-bc1995-6" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 6;">[6]</a> It was used in the <a href="/en/Tutankhamun's_mask" title="Tutankhamun's mask" class="mw-redirect wl">funeral mask of Tutankhamun</a> (1341–1323 BC).<a href="#cite_note-7" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 7;">[7]</a>

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<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt7">Metamorphic rock containing lazurite, prized for its intense blue color</div>
<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1066479718" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles mw:Transclusion">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-header,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-subheader,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-above,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-title,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-image,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-below{text-align:center}</style><div class='mobile-collapse'><header class="mobile-collapse-header mobile-collapse-btn">Quick facts: Composition... ▼</header> <table class="infobox mobile-collapse-element"><caption class="infobox-title">Lapis lazuli</caption><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-subheader notheme" style="background-color: #cddeff"><a href="/en/Metamorphic" title="Metamorphic" class="mw-redirect wl">Metamorphic rock</a></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><a href="/en/File:Lapis-lazuli_hg.jpg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:Lapis-lazuli_hg.jpg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Lapis-lazuli_hg.jpg/250px-Lapis-lazuli_hg.jpg" decoding="async" data-file-width="2214" data-file-height="1826" data-file-type="bitmap" height="206" width="250" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Lapis-lazuli_hg.jpg/375px-Lapis-lazuli_hg.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Lapis-lazuli_hg.jpg/500px-Lapis-lazuli_hg.jpg 2x" alt="Lapis-lazuli_hg.jpg"></a><div class="infobox-caption">Lapis lazuli in its natural state, with <a href="/en/Pyrite" title="Pyrite" class="wl">pyrite</a> <a href="/en/Inclusion_(mineral)" title="Inclusion (mineral)" class="wl">inclusions</a> (specimen from <a href="/en/Chile" title="Chile" class="wl">Chile</a>)</div></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header notheme" style="background-color: #ededed">Composition</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data">mixture of minerals with <a href="/en/Lazurite" title="Lazurite" class="wl">lazurite</a> as the main constituent</td></tr></tbody></table> <footer class='mobile-collapse-footer mobile-collapse-btn'>Close ▲</footer></div>
By the end of the <a href="/en/Middle_Ages" title="Middle Ages" class="wl">Middle Ages</a>, lapis lazuli began to be exported to Europe, where it was ground into powder and made into <a href="/en/Ultramarine" title="Ultramarine" class="wl">ultramarine</a>, the finest and most expensive of all blue <a href="/en/Pigment" title="Pigment" class="wl">pigments</a>. Ultramarine was used by some of the most important artists of the <a href="/en/Renaissance" title="Renaissance" class="wl">Renaissance</a> and <a href="/en/Baroque" title="Baroque" class="wl">Baroque</a>, including <a href="/en/Masaccio" title="Masaccio" class="wl">Masaccio</a>, <a href="/en/Perugino" title="Perugino" class="mw-redirect wl">Perugino</a>, <a href="/en/Titian" title="Titian" class="wl">Titian</a> and <a href="/en/Vermeer" title="Vermeer" class="mw-redirect wl">Vermeer</a>, and was often reserved for the clothing of the central figures of their paintings, especially the <a href="/en/Virgin_Mary" title="Virgin Mary" class="mw-redirect wl">Virgin Mary</a>. Ultramarine has also been found in <a href="/en/Dental_tartar" title="Dental tartar" class="mw-redirect wl">dental tartar</a> of <a href="/en/Middle_Ages" title="Middle Ages" class="wl">medieval</a> <a href="/en/Nuns" title="Nuns" class="mw-redirect wl">nuns</a> and <a href="/en/Scribes" title="Scribes" class="mw-redirect wl">scribes</a>.<a href="#cite_note-8" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 8;">[8]</a>

Lapis lazuli ʊli, ˈlæʒʊ-, -ˌlaɪ/; US: /ˈlæz əli, ˈlæʒə-, -ˌlaɪ/), 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, By 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. Ultramarine 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. Ultramarine has also been found in dental tartar of medieval nuns and scribes. 