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Lapis Lazuli
Lapis lazuli is found only in Afghanistan, where it has been mined for 6,500 years, and thanks to its scarcity and value as the source of the most intense blue, it has long been prized by artists.
Renaissance contracts frequently specified the amount to be used, and its value was a sign of the subject's importance - hence the Virgin Mary was generally shown wearing blue robes.
Here the celebrated intense blue is crossed by bands of white calcite, and dusted with flecks of golden pyrite. |