Lapis Lazuli

Ground lapis cost more than gold.

Ground lapis cost more than gold. It has been mined at Sar-e-Sang in Badakhshan for over six thousand years, out of the valley that supplied both Ur and Renaissance Europe. The brassy pyrite flecks separate it from every cheaper blue on the shelf, and dye lifts onto an acetone swab.

It cost more than gold.

Ground into ultramarine, it cost more than gold, which is why Renaissance contracts specified how much of it a painter was allowed. Sar-e-Sang in Badakhshan has supplied the same valley's stone for over six thousand years. The pyrite flecks are the difference from every cheaper blue.

Ultramarine cost more per ounce than gold.

Renaissance painters ground it into ultramarine, which cost more per ounce than gold and got used sparingly for exactly that reason. The same valley at Sar-e-Sang in Badakhshan has supplied it for six thousand years. Dyed material leaves colour on an acetone swab.

One valley has supplied this for six thousand years.

One valley in Badakhshan has been supplying this for six thousand years, first to Ur and later to Renaissance painters who ground it into ultramarine. The mask of Tutankhamun uses it. Waxed and dyed material leaves colour on an acetone swab, and soaking pulls both straight back out.

As pigment it cost more than gold, so painters rationed it.

Ground into ultramarine it cost more than gold, which is why Renaissance painters rationed it to the Virgin's robe. One valley at Sar-e-Sang in Badakhshan has supplied Ur, Egypt and Europe for six thousand years. The brassy pyrite specks separate it from every cheaper blue on the shelf.

An acetone swab takes the colour off if it was added.

Six thousand years of mining at Sar-e-Sang in Badakhshan, one valley supplying Ur and Egypt, and later the ultramarine that cost Renaissance painters more than gold. Modern material is routinely dyed and waxed to hide pale patches. An acetone swab takes the colour off if it was added.

Ultramarine cost Renaissance painters more than gold.

A rock rather than a mineral, mined at Sar-e-Sang in Badakhshan for over six thousand years, and the source of ultramarine, which cost Renaissance painters more than gold. The pyrite flecks separate it from every cheaper blue on the shelf. Dyed material leaves colour on an acetone swab.

One valley supplied Ur, Egypt and Renaissance Europe.

Mined at Sar-e-Sang in Badakhshan for over six thousand years, and that one valley supplied Ur, Egypt and Renaissance Europe, where ground lapis cost more than gold. The brassy specks are pyrite and they separate it from every cheaper blue on the shelf. Much of it is dyed and waxed to hide calcite.

One valley in Badakhshan, worked for over six thousand years.

Sar-e-Sang in Badakhshan has been worked for over six thousand years, and that one valley supplied Ur and Egypt and Renaissance Europe, where it was ground into ultramarine that cost more than gold. The brassy pyrite flecks separate it from every cheaper blue on the shelf.

One valley supplied Ur, Egypt and Renaissance Europe.

A rock rather than a mineral, mined at Sar-e-Sang in Badakhshan for over six thousand years. That one valley supplied Ur, Egypt and Renaissance Europe, where it was ground into ultramarine costing more than gold by weight. The pyrite flecks separate it from every cheaper blue on the shelf.

Contracts specified how much of it a painting would use.

A rock rather than a mineral: lazurite with calcite and pyrite in it, out of one valley in Badakhshan that has been worked for six thousand years. Ground into ultramarine it cost European painters more than gold, which is why contracts specified how much of it a commission would use.

Mary's robe is blue and almost nothing else is.

Ground into ultramarine it cost Renaissance painters more than gold, which is why Mary's robe is blue and almost nothing else in the picture is. One valley in Badakhshan has supplied it for six thousand years. Water and solvents pull dye and wax out of treated pieces, so wipe it dry.

Lapis Lazuli is carried for intuition, communication and clarity. A rock rather than a mineral, and one that has been mined at Sar-e-Sang in Badakhshan for over six thousand years, the same valley supplied Ur, Egypt and Renaissance Europe, where it was ground into ultramarine and cost more than gold.. Tradition links it to the third-eye, throat chakra.

Commonly dyed to deepen pale or grey material and to hide calcite, and frequently wax- or resin-impregnated. Dyed and waxed lapis leaves colour on an acetone-dampened swab.. Pyrite flecks plus a blue streak on unglazed tile. Sodalite has no pyrite and streaks white.. Commonly dyed to deepen pale or grey material and to hide calcite, and frequently wax- or resin-impregnated.

No. Lapis Lazuli dissolves or spalls in water. Dust it dry instead of soaking it, and keep it out of salt.