The bright blue pigment that is received from lapis lazuli is known as Ultramarine and it was brought to some European countries from Afghanistan. To extract ultramarine blue, the stone is pulverized until it begins to display ultramarine blue.

Two of many pieces of Lapis Lazuli bought in Afghanistan over the last 10 months. by violinsoldier.

It’s worth mentioning that lapis lazuli use as a pigment is not a gift of this modern age, as even in fifth and sixth century AD, some paintings have been found in different Afghan temples in which this pigment is quite prominent. Afghanistan is a country where Lapis Lazuli is mined more than any other country of the world. Similarly, the traces of this pigment can also be seen in ninth and tenth centuries Chinese paintings and some Indian wall paintings of twelfth and thirteenth century also found with this pigment.  In fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, Italian painters used the lapis lazuli pigment in their paintings.

Throughout the renaissance, different painters seemed quite consistent with the use of this pigment, but it was not the pigment in actual some other objects, as the pigment extracted from lapis lazuli was quite costly and most of the artists of that time couldn’t afford it in their paintings as it was one of the most costly materials for artists at that time.

Today, lapis lazuli original pigment is quite difficult to purchase, as it’s available only is some parts of UK on and off.  There are some painters who get that stone from a gem dealer and get the extract of this pigment by themselves.

But if you are also considering getting this pigment by hand, you must keep this fact in mind that it’s not easy to get this pigment by hand. The higher the quality of lapis is, the higher lazurite percentage is found in it. If the usual washing and grinding techniques are used for the extraction of these pigments, it can only produce a grayish blue powder that wouldn’t be quite up to the mark. During 13th century, some gemologists developed an improved process to extract the blue pigment. In this process the stone was used by mixing it with oils, resins and wax.

Under this process, the blue pigment began to achieve in the bottom of a vessel and most of the impurities and colorless crystals amassed in wax. This procedure is carried for three times and it was in the third extraction when only blue pigments could attain and that extraction was known as ultramarine ash.

Right now synthetic ultramarine pigment of the stone is also used and it is considered a less time consuming and less costly alternative of it. This synthetic pigment is developed by heating soda, sulfur, coal and furnaces. But one thing you must keep in mind that this synthetic ultramarine wouldn’t be as bright in color as the natural one.

The natural pigment of lapis can also be widely seen in ancient carvings, vases, jewelry boxes that were adorned with the pigment.