Lapis lazuli Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Lapis lazuli
A polished specimen of lapis lazuli.
General
Category	Rock
Formula (repeating unit)	mixture of minerals
Identification
Color	Blue, mottled with white calcite and brassy pyrite
Mohs scale hardness	5–5.5
Luster	dull
Streak	light blue
Specific gravity	2.7–2.9
Refractive index	1.5
Other characteristics	The variations in composition cause a wide variation in the above values.

Lapis lazuli specimen (rough), Afghanistan

Lapis lazuli is a mineral, and a gemstone. It is formed as a metamorphic rock of the limestone type.

Lapis is famous for its beautiful blue colour: its name means "stone of blue". Lapis Lazuli has been used for many things. Its has been made into beads and used in jewellery since Prehistoric times. It can be carved into statuettes (little sculptures). The major use was as a pigment (colour) in artists' paint. During Medieval and Renaissance times, lapis was ground into powder, and mixed with oil. It was used as the colour for painting the sky, and blue clothes. It can be seen in the fresco paintings of Giotto and the tempera paintings of Fra Angelico.

Lapis lazuli is a metamorphic rock made from several minerals, but mainly Lazurite. Lazurite has been mined for over 6,000 years in Afghanistan. It is also mined at Lake Baikal in Siberia; at Mount Vesuvius in Italy; in Burma; Canada; and the United States.

Afghanistan was the source of lapis for the ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations, as well as the Ancient Greeks and Romans. During the height of the Indus Valley civilization about 2000 BC, the Harappan colony now known as Shortugai was established near the lapis mines.

In addition to the Afghan deposits, lapis has been extracted for many years in the Andes (near Ovalle, Chile), the Lake Baikal region of Russia; Siberia; Angola; Argentina; Burma; Pakistan; Canada; India; and in the USA in California and Colorado.

Alternatives

Lapis lazuli is commercially "synthesized" (actually simulated) by a chemical process, using artificial ultramarine and hydrous zinc phosphates. There are also various substitutes for lapis.

Hurlbut, Cornelius S.; Klein, Cornelis, 1985, Manual of Mineralogy, 20th ed., Wiley, ISBN: 0-471-80580-7

This piece of jewellery from ancient Egypt has the head of a ram and the body of a falcon. It has Lapis lazuli set in its wings.
This statuette carved in Lapis lazuli was possibly made in India.
In this fresco by Giotto, the blue background and robe of the Virgin Mary were painted using Lapis lazuli.

Images for kids

Lapis lazuli seen through a microscope (x240 magnification)
Ancient Egyptian cult image of Ptah; 945–600 BC; lapis lazuli; height of the figure: 5.2 cm, height of the dais: 0.4 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)
Crystals of lazurite (the main mineral in lapis lazuli) from the Sar-i Sang mine in Afghanistan, where lapis lazuli has been mined since the 7th Millennium BC
A polished block of lapis lazuli
Natural ultramarine pigment made from ground lapis lazuli. During the Middle Ages and Renaissance it was the most expensive pigment available (gold being second) and was often reserved for depicting the robes of Angels or the Virgin Mary
19th-century lapis lazuli and diamond pendant
Sumerian bald clean-shaven male worshipper head; 2600-2500 BC; gypsum, shell, lapis lazuli and bitumen; from Nippur (Iraq); Museum of the Oriental Institute (Chicago)
Sumerian necklace beads; 2600–2500 BC; gold and lapis lazuli; length: 54 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)
Sumerian necklace; 2600–2500 BC; gold and lapis lazuli; length: 22.5 cm; from the Royal Cemetery at Ur (Iraq); Metropolitan Museum of Art
Ancient Egyptian scarab finger ring; 1850–1750 BC; lapis lazuli scarab set in gold plate and on a gold wire ring lapis-lazuli; diameter: 2.5 cm, the scarab: 1.8 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Neo-Babylonian conical seal; 7th–6th century BC; lapis lazuli; height: 2.7 cm, diameter: 2.1 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Ancient Egyptian plaque with an Eye of Horus; 664–332 BC; lapis lazuli; length: 1.8 cm, width: 1.6 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Greek or Roman ring stone; lapis lazuli; 2.1 x 1.6 x 0.3 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Roman bead ornament; gold and lapis lazuli; 3 × 1.8 × 0.5 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
20th century silver ring with polished lapis oval; 2 x 2.4 x 1 cm
Elephant carved from lapis lazuli. Length 7 cm.
Large lapis lazuli specimen from Afghanistan's Hindu Kush mountains. National Museum of Natural History (Washington, D.C.)

Lapis lazuli facts for kids

Alternatives

Images for kids

See also