Lazurite ( (Na,Ca)8 (Al,Si)12O24(S,SO)4 ), is one of a number of related feldspathoid minerals, which occur in silica-poor igneous rocks collectively termed the Sodalite Group. Also part of the group are nosean (or noselite) along with a clacium-bearing type named Haüyne.
Sample of Haüyne from Mayen, Eifel Mountains, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Attribution: Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com
Lazurite is a major component of Lapis Lazuli (or stone of azure) which can be differentiated from Sodalite by the presence of small inclusions of pyrite (FeS2) giving it an attractive appearance.
Lapis Lazuli Image: Wikipedia.
It is said that the best Lapis Lazuli has been mined in the Badakhshan province of Afghanistan for a period of c.6,000 years, with other sources located in South America, Russia and India. It was employed as an aphrodisiac by the Romans, and as a treatment for a variety of ailments.
From around the 6th century A.D. Lapis Lazuli was ground for use as the pigment ultramarine. The brilliant blue permanent colour became much-prized during The Renaissance in Europe when it complemented the purest red vermillion and gold of egg-tempera religious paintings and illuminated manuscripts. Following a laborious extraction process in Afghanistan, the expensive pigment would be imported through the port of Venice. In 1508, the artist Dürer complained that 100 florins (approximately US$20,000) purchased barely a pound of ultramarine, making it more expensive than gold at the time.
Bacchus and Ariadne by Titian uses ultramarine for the robes. Image: Wikipedia.
October 2011 – Lazurite
Lazurite ( (Na,Ca)8 (Al,Si)12O24(S,SO)4 ), is one of a number of related feldspathoid minerals, which occur in silica-poor igneous rocks collectively termed the Sodalite Group. Also part of the group are nosean (or noselite) along with a clacium-bearing type named Haüyne.
Sample of Haüyne from Mayen, Eifel Mountains, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Attribution: Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com
Lazurite is a major component of Lapis Lazuli (or stone of azure) which can be differentiated from Sodalite by the presence of small inclusions of pyrite (FeS2) giving it an attractive appearance.
Lapis Lazuli
Image: Wikipedia.
It is said that the best Lapis Lazuli has been mined in the Badakhshan province of Afghanistan for a period of c.6,000 years, with other sources located in South America, Russia and India. It was employed as an aphrodisiac by the Romans, and as a treatment for a variety of ailments.
From around the 6th century A.D. Lapis Lazuli was ground for use as the pigment ultramarine. The brilliant blue permanent colour became much-prized during The Renaissance in Europe when it complemented the purest red vermillion and gold of egg-tempera religious paintings and illuminated manuscripts. Following a laborious extraction process in Afghanistan, the expensive pigment would be imported through the port of Venice. In 1508, the artist Dürer complained that 100 florins (approximately US$20,000) purchased barely a pound of ultramarine, making it more expensive than gold at the time.
Bacchus and Ariadne by Titian uses ultramarine for the robes.
Image: Wikipedia.