Ancient Babylonians and their south-of-the-Mediterranean neighbors, the Egyptians, could not get enough of this bright blue jewel. The Egyptians named it chesbet and usually included it on their list of VIP items to be paid to nations under the dominion of the great kingdom of the Nile. The Babylonians, who piled lapis lazuli high in their tributes to Egypt, had access to a plentitude of this stone because they were the earliest people to mine it—back in 4,000 B.C.!
Lapis lazuli was so holy to the Egyptians that the high priest himself worse a pendant of the blue stone in the shape of their goddess of truth, Mat. The Egyptians seemingly wished to swim in seas of lapis, as they used it daily— as adornment, for funeral masks and tools, and as an ingredient in their art, traditions that lasted for many generations into the future. Lapis has the unusual ability to hold its pigment even when it is ground up, which leads to what is perhaps my favorite of all the myriad and wonderful uses of lapis lazuli: eye makeup. Can you imagine getting ready for a big night out by painting your eyelids peacock blue with a very expensive lapis lazuli-laced eye shadow? I love the idea, and I’m sure Cleopatra did, too.
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