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|composition_secondary = A mixture of other minerals, often including pyrite
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'''Lapis lazuli''' ({{IPAc-en|UK|ˌ|l|æ|p|ɪ|s|_|ˈ|l|æ|z|(|j|)|ʊ|l|i|,_|ˈ|l|æ|ʒ|ʊ|-|,_|-|ˌ|l|i}}; {{IPAc-en|US|ˈ|l|æ|z|(|j|)|ə|l|i|,_|ˈ|l|æ|ʒ|ə|-|,_|-|ˌ|l|i}}), or '''lapis''' for short, is a deep-blue [[metamorphic rock]] used as a [[Gemstone|semi-precious stone]] that has been prized since [[ancient history|antiquity]] for its intense color. Originating from the Persian word for the gem, ''lāžward'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=lapis lazuli |url=https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/lapis-lazuli?q=lapis+lazuli |access-date=6 April 2024 |website=Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary}}</ref> lapis lazuli is a rock composed primarily of the minerals [[lazurite]], [[pyrite]] and [[calcite]]. As early as the [[7th millennium BC]], lapis lazuli was mined in the [[Sar-i Sang]] mines,<ref name="Ashok Roy 2009">David Bomford and Ashok Roy, ''A Closer Look- Colour'' (2009), National Gallery Company, London, ({{ISBN|978-1-85709-442-8}})</ref> in [[Shortugai]], and in other mines in [[Badakhshan]] province in modern northeast [[Afghanistan]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Moorey|first=Peter Roger|title=Ancient Mesopotamian Materials and Industries: the Archaeological Evidence|year=1999|publisher=Eisenbrauns|isbn=978-1-57506-042-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P_Ixuott4doC&q=Lapis+lazuli+++mines+in+the+Badakhshan&pg=PA86|pages=86–87|access-date=2020-11-08|archive-date=2015-10-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151003232804/https://books.google.com/books?id=P_Ixuott4doC&pg=PA86&dq=Lapis+lazuli+++mines+in+the+Badakhshan&hl=en&ei=sW6_TvWKBIKr8AOTn623BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&sqi=2&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAQ|url-status=live}}</ref> Lapis lazuli artifacts, dated to 7570 BC, have been found at [[Bhirrana]], which is the oldest site of [[Indus Valley civilisation]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Excavation Bhirrana {{!}} ASI Nagpur|url=http://excnagasi.in/excavation_bhirrana.html|access-date=2020-08-21|website=excnagasi.in|archive-date=2020-08-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804104933/http://excnagasi.in/excavation_bhirrana.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Lapis was highly valued by the Indus Valley Civilisation (3300–1900 BC).<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Sarkar|first1=Anindya|last2=Mukherjee|first2=Arati Deshpande|last3=Bera|first3=M. K.|last4=Das|first4=B.|last5=Juyal|first5=Navin|last6=Morthekai|first6=P.|last7=Deshpande|first7=R. D.|last8=Shinde|first8=V. S.|last9=Rao|first9=L. S.|date=2016-05-25|title=Oxygen isotope in archaeological bioapatites from India: Implications to climate change and decline of Bronze Age Harappan civilization|journal=Scientific Reports|language=en|volume=6|issue=1|page=26555|doi=10.1038/srep26555|pmid=27222033|pmc=4879637|bibcode=2016NatSR...626555S|s2cid=4425978|issn=2045-2322|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=DIKSHIT|first=K.N.|title=The Rise of Indian Civilization: Recent Archaeological Evidence from the Plains of 'Lost' River Saraswati and Radio-Metric Dates|date=2012|journal=Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute|volume=72/73|pages=1–42|jstor=43610686|issn=0045-9801}}</ref> Lapis beads have been found at [[Neolithic]] burials in [[Mehrgarh]], the [[Caucasus]], and as far away as [[Mauritania]].<ref name=bc1995>{{Harvcolnb|Bowersox|Chamberlin|1995}}</ref> It was used in the [[Tutankhamun's mask|funeral mask of Tutankhamun]] (1341–1323 BC).<ref>Alessandro Bongioanni & Maria Croce</ref>▼
▲'''Lapis lazuli''' ({{IPAc-en|UK|ˌ|l|æ|p|ɪ|s|_|ˈ|l|æ|z|(|j|)|ʊ|l|i|,_|ˈ|l|æ|ʒ|ʊ|-|,_|-|ˌ|l|i}}; {{IPAc-en|US|ˈ|l|æ|z|(|j|)|ə|l|i|,_|ˈ|l|æ|ʒ|ə|-|,_|-|ˌ|l|i}}), or '''lapis''' for short, is a deep-blue [[metamorphic rock]] used as a [[Gemstone|semi-precious stone]] that has been prized since [[ancient history|antiquity]] for its intense color. Originating from the Persian word for the gem, ''lāžward'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=lapis lazuli |url=https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/lapis-lazuli?q=lapis+lazuli |access-date=6 April 2024 |website=Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary}}</ref> lapis lazuli is a rock composed primarily of the minerals [[lazurite]], [[pyrite]] and [[calcite]]. As early as the [[7th millennium BC]], lapis lazuli was mined in the [[Sar-i Sang]] mines,<ref name="
By the end of the [[Middle Ages]], lapis lazuli began to be exported to Europe, where it was ground into powder and made into the pigment [[ultramarine]]. 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 [[Middle Ages|medieval]] [[nuns]] and [[scribes]], perhaps as a result of licking their painting brushes while producing medieval texts and manuscripts.<ref>{{cite web |title=Why a Medieval Woman Had Lapis Lazuli Hidden in Her Teeth |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/01/the-woman-with-lapis-lazuli-in-her-teeth/579760/ |first=Sarah |last=Zhang |publisher=[[The Atlantic]] |date=January 9, 2019 |access-date=May 9, 2020 |archive-date=May 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200508110154/https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/01/the-woman-with-lapis-lazuli-in-her-teeth/579760/ |url-status=live }}</ref>▼
▲By the end of the [[Middle Ages]], lapis lazuli began to be exported to Europe, where it was ground into powder and made into the pigment [[ultramarine]]. 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 [[Middle Ages|medieval]] [[nuns]] and [[scribes]], perhaps as a result of licking their painting brushes while producing medieval texts and [[Illuminated manuscript|manuscripts]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Why a Medieval Woman Had Lapis Lazuli Hidden in Her Teeth |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/01/the-woman-with-lapis-lazuli-in-her-teeth/579760/ |first=Sarah |last=Zhang |publisher=[[The Atlantic]] |date=January 9, 2019 |access-date=May 9, 2020 |archive-date=May 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200508110154/https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/01/the-woman-with-lapis-lazuli-in-her-teeth/579760/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
==History==
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Excavations from [[Tepe Gawra]] show that Lapis lazuli was introduced to [[Mesopotamia]] approximately in the late [[Ubaid period]], c. 4900–4000 BCE.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Herrmann |first=Georgina |date=April 1968 |title=Lapis Lazuli: The Early Phases of its Trade |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/iraq/article/abs/lapis-lazuli-the-early-phases-of-itstrade/56AE13DC2B65517140129A493FED4335 |journal=IRAQ |language=en |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=21–57 |doi=10.2307/4199836 |jstor=4199836 |issn=0021-0889}}</ref> A traditional understanding was that the lapis was mined some fifteen hundred miles to the east – in [[Badakhshan]]. Indeed, the [[Persian language|Persian]] {{lang|fa|لاژورد}} {{transl|fa|lāžavard/lāževard}}, also written {{lang|fa|لاجورد}} {{transl|fa|lājevard}}, is commonly interpreted as having an origin in a local place name.
From the Persian, the [[Arabic language|Arabic]] {{lang|ar|لازورد}} {{transl|ar|lāzaward}} is the etymological source of both the English word ''azure'' (via Old French ''azur'') and [[Medieval Latin]] {{lang|la|lazulum}}, which came to mean 'heaven' or 'sky'. To disambiguate, {{lang|la|lapis lazulī}} ("stone of {{lang|la|lazulum}}") was used to refer to the stone itself, and is the term ultimately imported into [[Middle English]].<ref name="
Mines in northeast Afghanistan continue to be a 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]] which is the source that the [[Inca]] used to carve artifacts and jewelry. Smaller quantities are mined in Pakistan, Italy, Mongolia, the United States, and Canada.<ref name="
==Science and uses==
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===Sources===
Lapis lazuli is found in limestone in the [[Kokcha River]] valley of [[Badakhshan]] province in north-eastern Afghanistan, where the [[Sar-i Sang]] mine deposits have been worked for more than 6,000 years.<ref name=
In addition to the Afghan deposits, lapis is also extracted in the [[Andes]] (near [[Ovalle, Chile|Ovalle]], [[Chile]]); and to the west of [[Lake Baikal]] in Siberia, Russia, at the Tultui lazurite deposit. It is mined in smaller amounts in [[Angola]], Argentina, [[Burma]], Pakistan, Canada, Italy, India, and in the United States in [[California]] and [[Colorado]].<ref name=
===Uses and substitutes===
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===In the ancient world===
{{Further information|Art of ancient Egypt#Lapis lazuli}}
[[File:Cult Image of the God Ptah MET DP142956.jpg|thumb|upright|Ancient Egyptian cult image of [[Ptah]]; 945–600 BC; lapis lazuli; height of the figure: {{convert|5.2
Lapis lazuli has been mined in Afghanistan and exported to the Mediterranean world and South Asia since the [[Neolithic]] age,<ref name="Moorey
Lapis was also used in ancient Persia, Mesopotamia by the [[Akkadians]], [[Assyria]]ns, and [[Babylonians]] for [[Cylinder seal|seals]] and jewelry. It is mentioned several times in the Mesopotamian poem, the [[Epic of Gilgamesh]] (17th–18th century BC), one of the oldest known works of literature. The [[Statue of Ebih-Il]], a 3rd millennium BC statue found in the ancient city-state of [[Mari, Syria|Mari]] in modern-day [[Syria]], now in the [[Louvre]], uses lapis lazuli inlays for the irises of the eyes.<ref name="
In ancient Egypt, lapis lazuli was a favorite stone for amulets and ornaments such as [[Scarab (artifact)|scarabs]]. Lapis jewellery has been found at excavations of the [[Predynastic Egypt]]ian site [[Naqada]] (3300–3100 BC). At [[Karnak]], the relief carvings of [[Thutmose III]] (1479–1429 BC) show fragments and barrel-shaped pieces of lapis lazuli being delivered to him as tribute. Powdered lapis was used as eyeshadow by [[Cleopatra]].<ref name=bc1995/><ref>[http://indianapublicmedia.org/amomentofscience/cleopatra-wear-makeup/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004224254/http://indianapublicmedia.org/amomentofscience/cleopatra-wear-makeup/|date=2013-10-04}} Moment of Science site, Indiana Public Media</ref>
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File:Bull LACMA M.71.73.4.jpg|A bovine with eyes decorated with lapis lazuli. [[Fertile Crescent]], [[Sumer|Sumerian]], 889-853 B.C.
File:Oriental Institute Museum. ORLY? (5948770604).jpg|[[Sumer]]ian bald clean-shaven male worshipper head, 2600–2500 BC; [[gypsum]], shell, lapis lazuli and [[bitumen]]; from [[Nippur]] ([[Iraq]]); Museum of the [[Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures]] (Chicago)
File:Necklace beads MET DP104225.jpg|Sumerian necklace beads; 2600–2500 BC; gold and lapis lazuli; length: {{convert|54
File:Necklace MET an33.35.47.jpg|Sumerian necklace; 2600–2500 BC; gold and lapis lazuli; length: {{convert|22.5
File:Scarab Finger Ring MET 26.7.755 top.jpg|[[Ancient Egypt]]ian scarab finger ring; 1850–1750 BC; lapis lazuli scarab set in gold plate and on a gold wire ring lapis-lazuli; diameter: {{convert|2.5
File:Conical seal MET vsz1999 325 097.jpg|Neo-Babylonian conical seal; 7th–6th century BC; lapis lazuli; height: {{convert|2.7
File:Plaque- Wedjat Eye MET 30.8.1053 view 2.jpg|Ancient Egyptian plaque with an [[Eye of Horus]]; 664–332 BC; lapis lazuli; length: {{convert|1.8
File:Lapis lazuli ring stone MET DP261442 (cropped).jpg|Greek or Roman ring stone; lapis lazuli; {{convert|2.1
File:Bead ornament with lapis lazuli MET sf951625color.jpg|Roman bead ornament; gold and lapis lazuli; {{convert|3
File:Lapis lazuli oval set in silver ring.jpg|20th century silver ring with polished lapis oval; {{convert|2
File:Elephant carved in lapis lazuli Length 7 cm arp.jpg|Elephant carved from lapis lazuli. Length {{convert|7
File:Lapis lazuli, Smithsonian Objects of Wonder.jpg|Large lapis lazuli specimen from Afghanistan's [[Hindu Kush]] mountains. [[National Museum of Natural History]] (Washington, D.C.)
</gallery>
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