Handworked Lapis Lazuli Bowl, Afghani. Before the destruction unleashed in the late 20th.Century Civil War of Afghanistan, the main government assay offices for Lapis Lazuli lay in a central position in the city of Kabul. There one found, lined against the walls in room after room, large grey-green industrial safes, one after the other, each abrim with rocks of Lapis Lazuli, the rough of the fabled gemstone of Afghanistan, each safe containing what had been judged to be a particular grade of the gemstone.
The grading of these rocks of Lapis Lazuli was relatively basic, revolving about first, the colour, and second, the judgement as to how much colour there might be in a given rock chunk, as opposed to impurities, the naturally occurring pyrites and calcite inclusions so characteristic of the rough of mined Lapis Lazuli.
The grade of the Lapis Lazuli used in the creation of the above little bowl would have been down towards the bottom of the scale, for though it possesses a good base blue, it contains too many impurities for it to warrant cutting for jewellery.
Please note: the above bowl actually does possess a good base blue, much more lively than shown in the images above. The site’s images are not the work of a professional photographer, and the work with some colours, especially the deep blues of Sapphire and Lapis, often enough fail to do justice to the item at hand.