Name/Title
Lapis LazuliEntry/Object ID
2013.1.7Description
Chemical Composition: SiO2
Crystal System: Monoclinic System
Description: Common Name: Lapis Lazuli
Chemistry: (Na,Ca)8(AlSiO4)6(S,SO4,Cl)1-2.
Group: Silicates, Calcite, Sulfides
Location: Sar-e-Sang in Badakhshan, Afghanistan
Description: This specimen is polished on all sides. It shows distinct veins of pyrite throughout.
Physical Description:
Lapis lazuli (pron.: /'læp?s 'læzj?la?/ or /'læzj?li/ LAP-iss LAZ-zew-ly/lee,[1] Arabic: ??????? Persian: ?????? or ???????) (sometimes abbreviated to lapis) is a relatively rare semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense blue color.
Lapis lazuli was being mined in the Badakhshan province of Afghanistan as early as the 3rd millennium BC,[2] and there are sources that are found as far east as in the region around Lake Baikal in Siberia. Trade in the stone is ancient enough for lapis jewelry to have been found at Predynastic Egyptian and ancient Sumerian sites, and as lapis beads at neolithic burials in Mehrgarh, the Caucasus, and even as far from Afghanistan as Mauritania.[3]
Physical Description:
Lapis lazuli is a rock, largely formed from the mineral lazurite.[4]
The main component of lapis lazuli is lazurite (25% to 40%), a feldspathoid silicate mineral with the formula (Na,Ca)8(AlSiO4)6(S,SO4,Cl)1-2.[5] Most lapis lazuli also contains calcite (white), sodalite (blue), and pyrite (metallic yellow). Other possible constituents: augite; diopside; enstatite; mica; hauynite; hornblende, and nosean. Some lapis lazuli contains trace amounts of the sulfur-rich löllingite variety geyerite.
Lapis lazuli usually occurs in crystalline marble as a result of contact metamorphism.
Fracture: Conchoidal
Hardness: 7 Quartz
Luster: Waxy
Rock Type: Sedimentary
Specific Gravity: 2.65
Streak: Light Blue
Variety: Lapis lazuli is a rock, largely formed from the mineral lazurite.[4]
The main component of lapis lazuli is lazurite (25% to 40%), a feldspathoid silicate mineral with the formula (Na,Ca)8(AlSiO4)6(S,SO4,Cl)1-2.[5] Most lapis lazuli also contains calcite (white), sodalite (blue), and pyrite (metallic yellow). Other possible constituents: augite; diopside; enstatite; mica; hauynite; hornblende, and nosean. Some lapis lazuli contains trace amounts of the sulfur-rich löllingite variety geyerite.
Lapis lazuli usually occurs in crystalline marble as a result of contact metamorphism.
Lapis lazuli is a rock, largely formed from the mineral lazurite.[4]
The main component of lapis lazuli is lazurite (25% to 40%), a feldspathoid silicate mineral with the formula (Na,Ca)8(AlSiO4)6(S,SO4,Cl)1-2.[5] Most lapis lazuli also contains calcite (white), sodalite (blue), and pyrite (metallic yellow). Other possible constituents: augite; diopside; enstatite; mica; hauynite; hornblende, and nosean. Some lapis lazuli contains trace amounts of the sulfur-rich löllingite variety geyerite.
Lapis lazuli usually occurs in crystalline marble as a result of contact metamorphism.Collection
RAGM Mineral CollectionDimensions
Width
2-1/2 inDepth
2-1/8 inLength
5-1/8 inLocation
Location
Display Case
FS-3Room
Frieda Smith HallBuilding
Crater Rock MuseumCategory
ExhibitDate
August 18, 2023
