Lapis Lazuli Beads
This attractive blue stone has been prevalent throughout human recorded history. Lapis Lazuli was mined in Afghanistan as far back as 7000 BC. Beads and small jewelry items have been found at Neolithic sites dating back to about 3000 BC in Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. One of the best known historical uses of lapis is the creation of the artist’s pigment known as Ultramarine. Perhaps the best-known painting to utilize this pigment is Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” and Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl With a Pearl Earring”. Lapis Lazuli is found where limestone or marble have been altered by contact metamorphism from hydrothermal activity.
