Lapis Lazuli Freeform, 4.5 Inch Polished Royal Blue Stone with Gold Pyrite and Calcite Banding, 1.6 lb Statement Piece

Deep royal blue, the real thing, with drifts of cream calcite running across it like cloud and a scatter of gold pyrite that catches whenever the light moves. About four and a half inches tall and one pound ten ounces in the hand, which is more than it looks. The polish is soft and satiny rather than glassy, so the blue reads as color rather than as shine.

Lapis has been the most wanted blue on earth for about six thousand years. It is the blue on Tutankhamun's burial mask. Ground and purified, it became ultramarine, the pigment Renaissance painters used more sparingly than gold and saved for the robes of the people who mattered most in the picture. For most of human history, if you wanted a blue that did not fade, this stone was the only answer there was.

A note on how it sits. It will stand on its flat base, but it is a freeform and it is not especially stable, so it is happiest on a shelf or against a wall where it will not get knocked. Somewhere it can be looked at rather than somewhere it gets brushed past.

Crystal lore holds lapis as the stone of the honest voice. It is the one they reach for when something true needs saying and the words keep coming out sideways, and it carries a long association with wisdom, with clear judgment, and with the kind of authority that comes from actually knowing rather than from performing. Keepers put it where they think and where they write. There is a reason it has been on the throats and crowns of people who had to be believed for six thousand years running.

This is the exact piece in the photographs and there is not another one like it.

Specifications
Stone, lapis lazuli with calcite and pyrite
Size, about 4.5 inches tall by 3 inches wide
Weight, 1 lb 10.6 oz
Finish, hand polished freeform, natural base

Natural stone will always vary. The calcite banding, the pyrite and the small surface characteristics are the record of how this piece formed and are part of the character of the piece rather than flaws.

Because natural minerals are delicate and can be damaged by the stress of shipping, we are unable to accept returns. If your item arrives damaged, please contact us within 48 hours with photos and we will make it right.