Lapis Lazuli Mosaic Bowl Round 13 cm

Lapis Lazuli Bowl 

weight approx 400 g 

size 13 cm round and 5 cm deep

Lapis lazuli has been mined for centuries from a locality still in use today in the remote mountain valley called Kokcha, Afghanistan. First mined 6000 years ago, the rock was transported to Egypt and present day Iraq and later to Europe where it was used in jewelry and for ornamental stone. Europeans even ground down the rock into an expensive powdered pigment for paints called "ultramarine". Today ultramarine is manufactured artificially. Although now not the only source of lapis, the source in Afghanistan still produces the finest quality material.