Carved Lapis
 |
 Vintage Antique Deco Carved Lapis 14k Earrings Pierced Mint  US $575.00
|
 1960s Carved Lapis 14k Yellow Gold Ring US $569.00
|
 VINTAGE 14K GOLD HAND CARVED LAPIS AZULE BAND RING US $525.00
|
The Original Blue Gemstone
Think of a blue gemstone and you a saphire might be your first choice. While saphires might be coveted for fashion jewelry, few people know that one of the oldest gemstones to be used in different cultures is lapis lazuli. Its beautiful deep blue was prized by pharaohs in ancient Egypt and continues to be prized today. The finest specimens are lightly dusted with minute flecks of golden pyrite, which identify the stone as genuine.
The most beautiful lapis lazuli comes from Afghanistan, where the mines which are worked today might well have been in operation to get the stones for the pharaohs. Lapis has also been found in the Andes, and to some extent in Russia, Angola, Burma, Canada and in California and Colorado in the USA, but no stone from these places is the vibrant intense blue of that from Afghanistan.
The ancient Egyptians favored lapis lazuli for amulets and the Assyrians and Babylonians used it for seals. Egyptian ladies used powdered lapis as eye shadow and the Romans thought it a powerful aphrodisiac. Artists using blue colors in Medieval Illuminated manuscripts and Renaissance paintings found the ultramarine tempera paint derived from lapis lazuli to be very expensive. When oil paint was introduced during the Renaissance, artists found that the beautiful blue was diminished when mixed with oil, so the use of ultramarine declined. Most artists today use synthetic versions of blue colors, but there are a few pigment companies that still produce the genuine ultramarine.
Lapis lazuli can polished to make beautiful jewelry, and can be carved into figurines, statuettes and vases. Near the Euphrates River in the lower regions of Iraq, the ancient Sumerian tombs yielded thousands of carved artifacts of lapis lazuli, and in parts of Afghanistan, artisan craftsmen are still using this beautiful stone.
Back to Denver and really big public art (cincinnati)
I wanted to get back to my trip to Denver the week before last and to the
amazing public art I saw. This is not namby pamby public art. It is bold, big
and makes a statement. When an addition to the Colorado Convention Center was
built, a number of pieces were commissioned for it but the most memorable by
far is Lawrence Argent's "I See What You Mean," a 40-foot tall blue bear
peering into the windowed facade, it paws lifted up against the windows and
its nose pressed on them. It was installed in 2005 and has become an icon -
you see it on postcards, t-shirts, mugs, etc. - and a tourist attraction. The
minute we spotted it on a t-shirt, we asked where we could find it and hurried
over. Argent describes it as a stylized version of native fauna. He also
references chain-saw sculpture in its faceted surface, which makes it appear
carved. It was fabricated from composite materials and coated in polymer
concrete dyed lapis luzuli blue.
A slew of large-scale pieces dot the museum district. They include Claes
Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen's "The Big Sweep" at ...
Carved Lapis Lazuli Signet Gold Pendant
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Comments are closed.