One of my collections is little carved stone turtles, one of which made of lapis lazuli is seen here in the foreground. Lapis lazuli, or lapis for short, is a deep blue semi-precious stone prized since antiquity for its intense colour. Lapis lazuli was mined in the Sar-i Sang mines and in other mines in the Badakhshan province in northeast Afghanistan as early as the 7th millennium BC. Lapis beads have been found at neolithic burials in Mehrgarh, the Caucasus, and even as far from Afghanistan as Mauritania.
At 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. It 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.
Today mines in northeast Afghanistan and Pakistan are still the major source of lapis lazuli. Important amounts are also produced from mines west of Lake Baikal in Russia, and in the Andes mountains in Chile. Smaller quantities are mined in Italy, Mongolia, the United States and Canada.
This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Through my Lens meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.
Thank you for this interesting post.
ReplyDeleteLove your history of turtles and the lapis turtle is brilliant in blue. My husband was in a YMCA organization called Y Indian Guides when our sons were young and their clan was "The Turtle Clan." My husband slam on the brakes if he sees a turtle in the road. He gets our of the car and puts the turtle in a safe place. Not kidding. LOL
ReplyDeleteHappy Blue Monday.
Jeanne
Lapis Lazuli -you remind me on a Lapis Lazuli stone I purchased, planning to fit it in a necklace ...and haven't done... yet. Thanks for the reminder. Hope you show one time more of your collection. Many thanks for sharing my favorite color to paint with ALL SEASONS! Have a great week:)
ReplyDeleteHow cute and what a pretty color blue that is.
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