Lapis Lazuli Necklace

More than four thousand years ago, deep beneath the earth of ancient Mesopotamia, lapis lazuli was already being transformed into extraordinary jewellery.

At the ancient city of Ur, craftsmen combined the brilliant blue stone with gold to create ornaments for members of Sumerian society.

One remarkable necklace, now preserved by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, dates to approximately 2600–2500 BCE.

The necklace consists of alternating elements of lapis lazuli and gold. Twelve blue lapis triangles sit beside eleven carefully constructed gold elements, creating a rhythmic contrast between intense blue stone and gleaming precious metal.

Yet perhaps the most remarkable part of the story lies far beyond Ur itself.

Lapis lazuli does not naturally occur in southern Mesopotamia. Its presence among the treasures of ancient cities therefore tells another story: one of merchants, journeys and connections between distant lands.

Related finds from Ur demonstrate that lapis lazuli travelled to Mesopotamia from the Badakhshan region of Afghanistan, while precious metals and other stones arrived through equally extensive networks. These materials were physical evidence of a connected ancient world in which rare treasures could travel hundreds or thousands of miles before reaching the hands of a craftsman.

Its extraordinary colour helped make lapis lazuli one of antiquity’s most recognisable luxury materials.

Thousands of years later, that combination of deep blue lapis and warm gold remains just as striking.

The Lapis Lazuli Necklace continues that visual tradition through a strand of natural 13 × 4 mm lapis lazuli beads, punctuated by faceted 4 mm golden hematite.

Not a reproduction of an ancient jewel, but a contemporary necklace inspired by the materials, colours and journeys that connected the ancient world.

A blue treasure carried across ancient lands.