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Lapis lazuli
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{{short description|Metamorphic rock containing lazurite, prized for its intense blue color}} {{Distinguish|Lazulite}} {{For|the Fabergé egg|Lapis Lazuli (Fabergé egg)}} {{Redirect|Lazuli|other uses|Lazuli (disambiguation)}} {{Redirect|Lapis}} {{Infobox rock |name = Lapis lazuli |type = Metamorphic |image = Lapis-lazuli hg.jpg |image_size = 250px |caption = Lapis lazuli in its natural state, with [[pyrite]] [[inclusion (mineral)|inclusions]] (specimen from [[Afghanistan]]) |composition = [[Lazurite]] |composition_secondary = A mixture of other minerals, often including pyrite }} '''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="Bomford-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="excnagasi-2020">{{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="excnagasi-2020" /><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> 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>
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