| The beautiful blues
in paintings from the Renaissance are thanks to the blue of
lapis lazuli, the blue rock loved by the ancients, from Mesopotamia,
to Egypt, to Persia, to Greece and Rome. The ancient city
of Ur has a thriving trade in lapis as early as the fourth
millennium B.C. The name is international, from the Latin,
lapis, which means stone, and from the Arabic, azul, which
means blue. When lapis was first introduced to Europe, it
was called ultramarinum, which means 'beyond the sea'. Ground
lapis was the secret of the blue in ultramarine, the pigment
which painters used to paint the sea and the sky until the
nineteenth century. Lapis was also popular for inlays.
 The
columns of St Issac's Cathedral in Petersburg are lined
with lapis and the Pushkin Palace in Petersburg has lapis
lazuli paneling!
The Romans believed that lapis
was a powerful aphrodisiac. In the Middle Ages, it was thought
to keep the limbs healthy and free the soul from error,
envy and fear.
Lapis is a dark blue microcrystalline
rock composed primarily of the mineral lazurite. It often
sparkles with golden pyrite inclusions.
Lapis lazuli is still mined
at the deposits of the ancient world in Afghanistan. Lapis
is also mined in Chile. Small quantities are also produced
in Siberia, in Colorado in the United States, and in Myanmar.
Lapis lazuli is somewhat porous
and should be protected from chemicals and solvents. Warm
soapy water is the best way to clean it. Lapis is not very
hard at 5.5 and should be protected from other jewelry when
stored to avoid scratches.
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