A gorgeous freeform carving of Lapis Lazuli, that stands upright for display in a custom lucite base. It is complete all around, polished to a fine degree. This piece has particularly fine color, the top saturation of royal blue that would have been, in past ages, broken down into dye and coloring agents for the blue color in many cultures, including for paintings and medieval manuscript illumination. While known since ancient (Biblical) times, the main body of the deposit has not been worked continuously and in fact has only produced a large volume at several times in the modern era, due to its remote location and lack of infrastructure for mining. Material of this quality is uncommon, and they are usually cut into a quantity of smaller objects. Supported in a custom molded lucite display base.
11¾ x 5⅞ x 5½ in. (30 x 15 x 14 cm.)
3.5 kg.