Lapis-lazuli on brass base

The most beautiful Lapis-Lazuli come from Badakhshan province in northern Afghanistan. In a narrow valley, covered with snow most of the year, mines have been operating for 6000 years! The Sumerians, then later the Egyptians appreciated this blue stone, as evidenced by the many blue statues and pearls that were found in the tombs of important figures. And all of them, like this one, came from the Afghan mountains. This piece has a thicker part at the base, alternating zones of white Calcite and blue Lapis.
The Lapis-Lazuli is a rock composed of 14 different minerals, the main one being the blue Lazurite. But also the Pyrite which adds these little golden touches in this intense blue sky.