Lapis Lazuli Mines

The Mines of Badakhshan

The finest lapis lazuli in the world has been mined for more than six thousand years in the remote mountains of Badakhshan, a region in northeastern Afghanistan. The most celebrated source is the Sar-e-Sang mine, a network of ancient veins carved deep into the rock. Smaller deposits, including Kuran wa Munjan, Bas Afghanistan, and sites along the Kokcha River, have supplied traders and artisans since antiquity.

Each mine produces slightly different material.

Sar-e-Sang is known for its saturated royal blue with golden pyrite. Kuran wa Munjan often yields lighter stones with beautiful white calcite marbling. These natural variations are part of the stone’s identity and help trace its origin through history.

Lapis mining remains one of Afghanistan’s most enduring cultural traditions, linking today’s miners to the ancient craftspeople who first discovered the stone.

The People and Their Craft

The People Who Shape the Stone

Lapis lazuli is more than a gemstone for Afghanistan. It is a source of livelihood for families in the high mountain villages. Generations of miners and craftsmen work with the stone, often using knowledge passed down through centuries. Their skill determines how the rock is cut, sorted, and prepared before it enters the global market.

In many villages, women also play an important role. They often transform small fragments of lapis into handmade beads, mosaics, jewellery, small carvings, and decorative artifacts. These cottage-industry workshops allow women to earn independent income, support their households, and preserve local artistry.

The lapis trade provides vital opportunities in regions where few other economic options exist. Every piece of stone that leaves Afghanistan carries with it the work, history, and resilience of the communities who shaped it.

Female Afghan jeweller working with lapis lazuli beads and gold settings.

A Positive Path Forward

Lapis in Today’s Afghanistan

Despite Afghanistan’s complex political landscape, the lapis industry continues to represent a point of stability, heritage, and economic hope. Local communities, traders, and artisans often speak about the stone as a symbol of pride — a natural treasure that connects Afghanistan to the wider world through culture, trade, and art.

International interest in Afghan lapis brings visibility to traditional craftsmanship and encourages fair, responsible trade. Many small cooperatives and community groups focus on safe work practices, transparency, and supporting families who rely on this centuries-old craft.

Lapis lazuli stands as a reminder that even in challenging times, Afghanistan has a rich cultural identity and an enduring contribution to global art and history. The story of this stone is ultimately one of human skill, continuity, and the belief in a brighter future.

Raw lapis lazuli specimen with blue lazurite, white calcite veins and golden pyrite flecks.

Physical Properties

The Composition of Lapis Lazuli

Lapis Lazuli is not a single mineral but a union of several. Its rich blue tone comes from lazurite, a rare sodium aluminium silicate sulphide that gives the stone its celestial hue. The small golden sparkles are pyrite, a form of iron sulphide that adds brilliance and depth. Calcite appears as white veining or pale patches, softening the colour and giving each stone a unique pattern.

The more lazurite a specimen contains, the deeper and purer its blue will be. High-grade lapis, rich in lazurite and low in calcite, produces the most luminous pigment — the intense ultramarine prized by artists since antiquity. In contrast, material with more calcite or less lazurite yields softer, greyish tones.

When lapis is ground and processed into pigment, the stone is carefully purified to separate the deep blue particles from lighter or colourless minerals. This refining process determines the quality of the resulting ultramarine: from coarse, stone-like powder to the radiant blue used by Renaissance painters.

Royal Standard of Ur mosaic panel with lapis lazuli inlay.

The Stone: Lapis Lazuli as Artifact

Long before it entered the palette of painters, lapis lazuli (Latin: lapis = stone, lazuli = blue) was prized as a gemstone and art-material. It is a deep-blue metamorphic rock, composed primarily of the mineral lazurite together with calcite, pyrite and other accessory minerals.

Its most famous ancient source is the mines at Sar‑e‑Sang in Afghanistan’s Badakhshan region. For millennia those mines yielded the richest blue material.

Archaeological evidence shows lapis being used as early as the 3rd millennium BC (and earlier) in Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Indus Valley — for beads, inlays, small sculptures and luxury objects.

Because of its rarity, rich hue, and association with distant trade routes, the stone itself was an object of value — used in royal tombs, high-status objects and religious contexts.

Names, Meanings & Symbolism

The legacy of lapis is encoded in language and symbol:

  • The Persian word lājward meant “lapis lazuli” and is the root of European words for “blue/azure” (e.g., azul, azure).
  • In Hebrew scripture the word sappīr (often translated “sapphire”) may in some contexts refer to lapis. Scholars propose that the “sapphire” of Exodus 24:10 is in fact lapis-blue stone from distant sources.
  • In Persian literature and art, blue carried connotations of the sky, of transcendence, of the unseen world. One researcher calls the “Blue Road” the path by which this colour travelled through Persian culture.

In all these cases, lapis-blue became more than a pigment or stone; it became a metaphor for otherness, for wealth, for the sacred.

Language carried the blue across cultures: from lajvard to azure.

Sacred Texts and Religious Significance

Across religions the blue of lapis found potent symbolism.

  • In the Judeo-Christian tradition: The description in Exodus 24:10 of “…and they saw the God of Israel; and under his feet was as it were a paved work of sapphire stone…” may evoke the deep-blue stone. The rarity of such stone helped lend it a heavenly connotation.
  • In Christian art, the richest blue pigments (made of lapis) were reserved for the robes of the Virgin Mary. This was both a spiritual and a material prestige signifier — the artist’s patron often had to purchase the pigment.
  • In Buddhism, the figure of the Medicine Buddha is sometimes called Vaidūrya-prabhā-rāja (King of Lapis Lazuli Light) — associating the blue stone with healing, clarity and inner transformation.
  • In Islamic and Persian art, while the stone is not explicitly named in Qur’anic text, the use of lapis-blue (and the term lajvard) in manuscripts, tilework and luxurious objects signals its sacred and high-status role. For example, the “lajvardina” ceramics of Ilkhanid Iran use a deep blue glaze named for lapis.

In each tradition, the stone or its colour becomes a bridge between material wealth, artistic expression and spiritual aspiration.

The Name of Lapis Lazuli in Ancient Egypt

New Kingdom ancient Egyptian lapis lazuli amulet necklace in gold and blue stone.

Hieroglyphic term: ḫsbḏ (transliterated khesbedj)

Meaning: the precious blue stone, lapis lazuli; also “blue” in general.

In ancient Egypt, the word khesbedj described the radiant blue of heaven and of the gemstone lapis lazuli itself.

When Egyptian scribes listed gemstones or sacred materials, khesbedj usually meant the imported stone, one of the most prized materials of the New Kingdom. Yet the same root could also mean blue as a color, used for cloth, glass, or faience imitating lapis.

Hieroglyphic dictionary page showing khesbedj used for lapis lazuli, blue cloth, and heavenly blue

Hieroglyphic variations and meanings

  • ḫsbḏ mꜣꜥt — “true lapis lazuli.” Used to stress genuine stone.
  • ḫsbḏ ȝryt — “artificial lapis lazuli.” A man-made blue glass or faience.
  • ḫsbḏ-ti — “bluish.” Describes color rather than the mineral.
  • ḫsbḏ — “lapis lazuli.” The stone itself in jewellery, inlay, or ritual contexts.
  • ḫsbḏ šmm — “to be blue, to shine like heaven.” Links the word with celestial light.
  • Mentions of “lapis lazuli of Babylon” suggest Egypt’s long-distance trade with the Near East.
Detail of Tutankhamun’s mask with lapis lazuli blue stripes and gold bands.

Cultural significance

For Egyptians, lapis was the color of divinity and eternal life.

It symbolized the sky, rebirth, and the sacred body of the gods. The epithet “the blue god” sometimes applied to Horus, connecting the stone’s hue to celestial power. When paired with gold in tomb art, lapis represented the union of sun and sky (eternal brilliance).

From Rock to Pigment: The Making of Ultramarine

The transformation of lapis lazuli into the pigment known as ultramarine was an alchemical-inspired craft, and the rarity of the rich blue made it among the most expensive pigments in history.

The process, in simplified form:

  1. The raw rock is ground into a fine powder.
  2. The powder is kneaded with melted wax, oils and resins (e.g., pine resin), then washed in lye or alkaline solutions to remove lighter and non-blue particles.
  3. The densest blue fraction (rich in lazurite) is recovered and dried, yielding a vivid deep-blue pigment.
  4. Because the yield was small and the labour intensive, the pigment’s cost soared. According to historical records, in the 14th–15th centuries in Europe it was more expensive than gold.

Artists and patrons developed entire systems around its handling: the pigment was reserved for sky, robes of central figures, and high-luxury commissions. Because of cost, many works used azurite or cheaper blues instead. The “ultra-marine” name comes from Latin ultra marinus = “beyond the sea,” reflecting the long journey of the stone to Western Europe.

Not all blue powders are pigments. Only purified lazurite becomes the true ultramarine that transformed the history of art.

  • Lapis Lazuli Powder

    Lapis lazuli in its raw powdered form is simply the crushed stone. It still contains all of its natural minerals: lazurite, calcite, pyrite and other inclusions that occur in the rock. Although the powder may appear blue, it is not yet a pigment. The colour is inconsistent, muted, and often greyish because the lighter minerals dilute the intensity of the blue.

  • Lapis Lazuli Pigment

    True ultramarine pigment is something entirely different. It is created by separating the lazurite particles — the component of the stone that is responsible for its deep, vibrant blue — from every other mineral inside the lapis. This purification process has been known for centuries and was refined by generations of artists and scientists. The more lazurite that is isolated, the richer and more luminous the final colour becomes.

  • Fra Angelico Cinnini Sticks Method

    During the Renaissance, the artist Fra Angelico used the laborious method described by Cennino Cennini, forming what are known as cennini sticks. The stone was processed through repeated kneading, heating and washing to extract the purest blue. It was an exhausting ritual of craftsmanship, but it produced the ultramarine that illuminated some of the greatest paintings in history.

  • De Mairo Extraction

    At De Mairo, we follow the same principle of purification but have developed our own technique that is far more efficient. It allows us to extract lazurite in high volumes without compromising quality, making us the only company in the world capable of producing gemstone pigments on this scale. Our work has been featured by Business Insider for selling some of the most valuable pigments on the planet.

    For those who wish to see how our modern interpretation of the Fra Angelico method works, we have documented the De Mairo cinnini-style extraction process. You can watch the full demonstration on Business Insider here:

    Watch the Extraction 

The Islamic & Persian Worlds of Blue

In the Islamic artistic sphere the influence of lapis lazuli appears in several intertwined dimensions: material, technique, linguistic, and symbolic.

  • The term lajvardina (from Persian lājvard) refers to a particular type of luxury over-glaze decorated stone-paste ceramic ware, characterised by a deep-blue ground and gilded ornamentation.
  • While many such ceramics ultimately used cobalt-based glazes (because true lapis pigment in glazes is rare), the name reflects the prestige and colour reference to lapis-stone. Researchers have found some examples where lapis was indeed used in the glaze.
  • Manuscript illumination and painting in Persian, Ottoman and Mughal traditions employed genuine lapis-derived ultramarine for important details (robes, skies, lapis-blue backgrounds). The colour conferred status and spiritual meaning.
  • The significance of blue — as symbol for sky, water, the infinite — is deeply embedded in Persian literary, architectural and craft traditions.

In sum, lapis didn’t merely supply a colour—it shaped a visual and material culture of luxury, spirituality and exchange across Persia and the wider Islamic world.

“In Persian hands, blue became an architecture of heaven.”

Gold and Lapis - Two core pigments of Tezhip

Tezhip, most commonly known as Illumination/Islamic Illumination, has a rich and long history which dates back to the fifteenth century, a period when Islamic Manuscript and Tezhip was gaining popularity. From this period onwards, Islamic Golden Age flourished profoundly with continuous developments and upgradation of techniques and tools. Previously, Miniature painting was widely used for illuminating both sacred and non-sacred texts. In present times, both Tezhip and Miniature are used simultaneously to add value to the books or manuscripts.

Tazhib Art by Mehwish Adhi Using Lapis Lazuli Pigment and Gold

Artist: Mehwish Adhi

Tezhip - Spirit of Islamic Art

What is noteworthy is the fact that Tezhip is Spirit of Islamic Art as it adds value to the written texts along with providing a mesmerizing spiritual journey to the reader or viewer. Other than texts with Tezhip, a Muzhebbe (Tezhip artist) can make a complete art piece - it is a masterpiece on its own. It can be rightly said that Islamic Arts is all about Nur (Light) and Jameel (Beauty) because this unique combination allows one to experience the glory of Allah. 

Like all other disciplines, Tezhip consists of various periods also known as eras such as Mamluk, Safavid, Bukhara, Seljuk, Ottoman, Qajar, Timurid and others. The differences in all of these periods are the color palettes, designs (leaves, flowers, motifs, rumi, panels, shamsa, borders and etc.) and the painting techniques.

Simanur_Uzun_Tazhib Art of illumination

Artist: Simanur Uzun

Gold and Lapis in Tezhip

Tezhip, derived from the Arabic word ذهب which means gold, means decorating with Gold in Persian, Arabic and Turkish. Gold and Lapis Lazuli/Lapis (some call it ultramarine) are the two key pigments which form the basis of any Muzhebbe work. Adding on, both of these elegant and classical materials enhance the historical importance and visual richness of the manuscripts and artworks. Gold, which is real, pure and authentic, gives a brilliant shine to the outlines and details. Concurrently, Lapis creates a vivid blue, highly valued pigment, complementing the gold ornamentation. When used together, they form beautiful and captivating patterns of floral designs, arabesques and geometric designs.

Diving deeper into the yet contrasting but to some extent beautiful relation between Gold and Lapis, it can be rightly said that Gold is the central element of Tezhip, Lapis has a vital but symbolic contrast in Tezhip. Gold is not limited only to decoration purpose; it symbolizes divine purity, enlightenment and light along with the eternal nature of the word ذهب (enriching the Quran).

While Lapis signifies blue color, this rich ultramarine shade symbolizes the divine truth, protection, calmness, stability and purity; giving a meaningful but stunning contrast to the elements of Gold.

Ali Reza Abasalt Tazhib Art of Illumination and Manuscript

Artist: Ali Reza Abasalt

Using Gold and Lapis in pure form

In alignment with traditional aspects of Tezhip, it is crucial that three aspects are taken into consideration; the materials (paper, brushes, gold and pigments) should be durable and premium, the design has to be original and it should represent purest and divine form of Islamic Art. When using Gold and Lapis, both need to be used in a balanced way so that Gold’s strength and Lapis’s calmness gives a soothing, calming and delightful feel to the viewers. 

All the materials used for making Gold and Lapis pigment have to be organic and free from any impurities because Tezhip pieces are well-known for their perseverance and longevity. If there is any granule or smallest particle in any of the pigments, then it can damage the durability of the artwork. Hence, Muzhebbes make sure that the materials used are of superior quality and in purest form.

One of the unique aspects of Lapis is that it gives a range of Ultramarine shades enhancing their complementing quality with different shades of Gold. Since Lapis color is rare to find in the gouache paints used by Muzhebbes, Ultramarine shade is used with other pigments to create a color which is somewhat close to Lapis. With the developments in the field of Tezhip, many pigment developers are trying to create a perfect Lapis color which can enhance the aesthetic appeal of the art pieces. Like Gold, Lapis with its authentic hue will give an edge to the masterpieces created in Islamic Art.

Symbolically, Gold and Lapis represent sky or heavens - pyrite flecks of Lapis are like the night sky lightened up by stars represented by Gold flecks. Both of these materials symbolize divinity, eternality and royalty. Hence, every Tezhip piece’s prime elements are Gold and Lapis which are the true representation of any artwork. It is crucial to have a good balance of both colors to show harmony, spirituality and fineness of Islamic Art.

Why It Cost More Than Gold

There are several overlapping reasons why ultramarine (made from lapis) came to cost more than gold in certain periods:

  • Raw material scarcity: high-quality lapis came almost exclusively from a few mines (e.g., Sar-e-Sang) and had to travel long overland trade routes into Europe.
  • Intensive processing: separating the pure deep blue lazurite fraction from the rock’s other minerals required repeated grinding, kneading with wax/resin, washing — a labour-intensive task.
  • Artistic/ritual use: Because so many pigments existed, but few matched lapis’s vividness and lightfastness, patrons reserved it for the most important works. The cost of pigment was often built into the commission.
  • Symbolic value: Beyond its cost, the use of lapis-based pigment signalled devotion, luxury, and status. In Marian iconography, for instance, the deep blue cloak of the Virgin signified honour, patronage, and spiritual elevation.

Together these factors made lapis-derived ultramarine not just a pigment, but a material of prestige, akin to gold in visual language.

Detail from Renaissance painting using ultramarine pigment.
Renaissance painting of Virgin Mary in ultramarine robe; pigment derived from imported lapis lazuli.

The Journey of Blue

From Afghan Mountains to Renaissance Art

The story of Lapis Lazuli is not only about geology but about the movement of culture across continents. From the remote highlands of northeastern Afghanistan, the stone began its long journey westward by caravan, river, and sea. It travelled through the great trade networks of the Silk Road, passing from merchants in Central Asia to the ports of Venice and Flanders, before finding its way into the studios of Europe’s greatest painters.

By the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the pigment made from lapis, known as Ultramarine—meaning “beyond the sea”—had become one of the most precious colours of the Renaissance. Artists reserved it for their most sacred subjects, especially the robes of the Virgin Mary. Its brilliance, rarity, and immense cost transformed it into a symbol of devotion, wealth, and the far-reaching connections between East and West.

Modern Science, Conservation & Provenance

In recent decades art conservation scientists have turned renewed attention to lapis/synthetic ultramarine by using techniques such as Raman spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence, ion-beam luminescence and more. These allow scholars to trace the provenance of the stone (which mine it came from) and the technique by which it was processed.

Some highlights:

  • Studies at the Rijksmuseum and Dutch institutions have shown the pigment in certain 17th-century paintings was heated to red-heat as part of the extraction.
  • Provenance work has shown lapis from Afghanistan, Siberia, Chile and Tajikistan has subtly different mineral-signatures, enabling trade-route reconstructions.
  • Conservation labs now know that, unlike many copper-based blues (which may fade or green), genuine lapis-based ultramarine is exceptionally durable in light- and oil-based media.

This ongoing science reinforces the value of the material not just in art-history but in material culture, global trade, and contemporary craft (such as De Mairo’s gemstone pigment practice).

Lapis lazuli pigments in different grades placed on history of art book displayed at Demairo

Continuing the Legacy

At De Mairo Studio we see ourselves as part of this long lineage. We source gemstone-grade lapis lazuli, apply traditional and ethical methods of pigment preparation, and offer those pigments to the gemstone-artist community.

In this way, the story of lapis doesn’t stop in the Renaissance — it continues in the studio today, where every small batch of pigment carries the memory of mountain, mine, art-history and craft.

Because this page is educational, we are not selling here; instead we invite you to explore the material, to ask questions, and to follow through to our main portal if you wish to engage further with our pigment work.

Explore De Mairo Studio

Further Reading

Artists’ Pigments, Volume 2 – Ultramarine (National Gallery of Art, 1993)

A definitive conservation study on ultramarine. This volume explains the mineral composition of lazurite, historical production recipes, and laboratory analyses of Old Master paintings. A cornerstone reference for pigment historians and conservators.

Fitzwilliam Museum – “Ultramarine and the Art of Blue” (Cambridge University Collection Notes, 2018)

A concise museum guide exploring how ultramarine was prepared and used by medieval and Renaissance painters. Includes high-resolution pigment microscopy and practical conservation insights from Cambridge’s conservation department.

Georgina Herrmann – The Early Phases of Lapis Lazuli Trade (Iraq Journal, 1968)

A pioneering archaeological study tracing lapis trade routes from Afghanistan to Mesopotamia and Egypt. Herrmann’s paper remains one of the most cited works on the ancient lapis trade network and early lapidary craftsmanship.

Abu’l-Qasim al-Kashani – Treatise on Ceramics (1301 CE, translated in 20th century)

A rare medieval Persian source detailing the making of glazes and overglaze colors. Describes the lajvardina technique and its relationship to lapis-inspired blues used in Kashan ceramics. Provides vital context for Islamic art’s color chemistry.

L.A. Purinton – “Materials and Techniques of Persian Painters” (Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, 1991)

Technical paper examining pigments and binders used in Persian and Mughal miniature painting. Identifies genuine ultramarine among the palette and compares it to synthetic alternatives.

GIA Gemological Institute of America – “Lazurite (Lapis Lazuli) from Afghanistan” (Gem & Gemology Reading List)

A gemological overview linking geology, mining history, and pigment use. Includes optical spectroscopy and mineralogical data confirming the dominance of Sar-e-Sang as the finest source for art-grade lapis lazuli.

Pliny the Elder – Natural History, Book 37

One of the earliest classical references to lapis lazuli, described as “sapphirus sprinkled with gold.” This description corresponds to lazurite with pyrite inclusions, providing a glimpse into how ancient Rome perceived the stone.

“Pigments Through the Ages – Ultramarine” (WebExhibits.org, maintained by the Institute for Dynamic Educational Advancement)

A museum-style online exhibition summarizing the chemistry, art history, and symbolic meaning of ultramarine pigment. Easy to read yet scientifically grounded—ideal for students and artists beginning pigment studies.

National Gallery (London) – “Ultramarine Blue: Materials and Techniques” (Learning Resource, 2016)

Explains why ultramarine was once more expensive than gold, how Renaissance painters used it, and how conservation scientists analyze its presence in masterpieces. Includes lab photos and restored paint cross-sections.

J. Fava – “Emergence, Evolution, and Abolition of Lajvardina Pottery” (Journal of Fine Arts Valiasr University, 2020)

Contemporary research on lajvardina ceramics, clarifying the relationship between lapis-derived terminology and cobalt-based glazes. Offers recent analytical evidence and cultural context from Iranian collections.

Every particle of blue once slept in stone—until an artist set it free.

Educational content curated by De Mairo Studio, August 2025. For questions about pigment, provenance, workshops or restoration please visit www.demairo.com.