What are the most famous lapis lazuli artifacts, and where can you see them?
The most famous lapis lazuli artifacts include Tutankhamun’s gold mask (Grand Egyptian Museum, Giza), the Standard of Ur and the Queen’s Lyre (British Museum, London), and the Ram in the Thicket and Queen Puabi’s headdress (Penn Museum, Philadelphia). The lapis in the ancient pieces most likely came from Afghanistan. Below are 20 objects, with dates and museums.
What are the most famous lapis lazuli artifacts?
Egypt: Tutankhamun’s gold mask, about 1323 BCE, where lapis lazuli forms the eyebrows, the make-up lines around the eyes and every other row of the broad collar. Far older is the Tôd Treasure, dated to the reign of Amenemhat II (about 1900 to 1865 BCE) and found at the temple of Montu at Tôd in 1936; the Louvre holds its share, lapis included. Ur, in southern Iraq: treasures from the Royal Cemetery of about 2600 to 2400 BCE, among them the Standard of Ur, the Queen’s Lyre with its lapis-bearded gold bull, the Ram in the Thicket and Queen Puabi’s headdress of gold leaves on strings of lapis and carnelian beads. Renaissance Florence: a flask built from five pieces of lapis to a design by Bernardo Buontalenti, probably carved by the Milanese carvers Gian Ambrogio and Gian Stefano Caroni. The Uffizi Galleries say its base bears the initials of Francesco I de’ Medici, and that the goldsmith Jacques Bylivelt delivered it, with enamelled gold mounts, on 16 March 1584. Russia: a lapis Easter egg attributed to Fabergé, about 1885 to 1890, which the Cleveland Museum of Art says opens to an enamelled yolk that holds an imperial crown.
Where is each famous lapis lazuli artifact today?
Grouped by origin: Egypt, Mesopotamia, Europe, Russia and China. Use the museum number to find each record online.
| Object | Date | Museum (number) | Which part is lapis |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Tôd Treasure, temple of Montu, Tôd, Egypt | About 1900 to 1865 BCE | Louvre, Paris (E 15128 to E 15318; listed as not on display) | Lapis pieces found with silver and gold objects |
| Pectoral of Sithathoryunet, Egypt | About 1887 to 1878 BCE | Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (16.1.3a, b) | Inlays, beside carnelian, turquoise and garnet |
| Tutankhamun’s gold mask, Egypt | About 1323 BCE | Grand Egyptian Museum, Giza (JE 60672) | The eyebrows, the make-up lines around the eyes and every other row of the collar; the blue headdress stripes are glass |
| Cult image of the god Ptah, Egypt | About 945 to 600 BCE | Metropolitan Museum of Art (2007.24) | The whole figure, 5.2 cm tall |
| Triad of Osorkon II, a gold pendant, Egypt | 865 to 830 BCE | Louvre (E 6204; listed as not on display) | The small column Osiris sits on |
| The Standard of Ur, Royal Cemetery of Ur, Iraq | About 2550 to 2400 BCE | British Museum, London (1928,1010.3), Room 56 | Mosaic pieces and borders, with shell and red limestone |
| The Royal Game of Ur, Iraq | About 2600 to 2400 BCE | British Museum (1928,1009.378), Room 56 | Thin inlaid strips |
| The Queen’s Lyre, from Puabi’s grave at Ur, Iraq | About 2600 BCE | British Museum (1928,1010.1.a) | The bull’s hair and beard, and its eyes, with shell |
| Queen Puabi’s headdress (wreath and frontlet), Ur, Iraq | About 2600 to 2450 BCE | Penn Museum, Philadelphia (B17709 and B17708) | Bead strings, with carnelian |
| The Ram in the Thicket, Ur, Iraq | About 2450 BCE | Penn Museum (30-12-702) | Parts of the goat, which is built of shell, lapis and gold |
| Bull’s head from the Great Lyre, Ur, Iraq | About 2450 BCE | Penn Museum (B17694B) | The curled beard |
| Statue of Ebih-Il, temple of Ishtar, Mari, Syria | About 2400 BCE | Louvre (AO 17551), Room 234 | The eye inlays, with shell |
| Cameo portrait of Cosimo I de’ Medici, Florence | About 1567 to 1569 | Metropolitan Museum of Art (38.150.13) | The whole cameo |
| Buontalenti’s lapis flask, Florence | 1583 to 1584 | Treasury of the Grand Dukes, Palazzo Pitti, Florence | Five pieces form the foot, body, neck and lid, in enamelled gold mounts |
| Snuffbox by the goldsmith Charles Ouizille | 1775 to 1779 | Louvre (OA 2133), Room 628 | Lapis set in gold |
| Bowl on tripod feet, Russia | About 1840 to 1850 | Walters Art Museum, Baltimore (41.239; not on view) | A thin lapis veneer over bronze |
| Lapis Lazuli Easter Egg, attributed to Fabergé, St Petersburg | About 1885 to 1890 | Cleveland Museum of Art (1966.436) | The egg, which opens to an enamelled yolk |
| Seated luohan in a grotto, China, Qing dynasty | 18th to 19th century | Metropolitan Museum of Art (02.18.917) | The whole carving, 18.1 cm high |
| Tripod with dragon, China, Qing dynasty | 18th century | Metropolitan Museum of Art (02.18.920) | The whole vessel |
| Lion and cub, China, Qing dynasty | 18th century | Metropolitan Museum of Art (02.18.922) | The whole carving |
Which museums are best for seeing lapis lazuli artifacts?
For the oldest lapis, go to London or Philadelphia. Sir Leonard Woolley dug the Royal Cemetery at Ur for a joint expedition of the British Museum and the Penn Museum, and the finds were divided with Iraq’s Department of Antiquities. The British Museum shows the Standard of Ur and the Royal Game of Ur in Room 56 (Mesopotamia 6000 to 1500 BC), but lists the Queen’s Lyre as not on display. In Philadelphia the Ram in the Thicket, Puabi’s headdress and the bull’s head of the Great Lyre are on display in the Middle East Galleries. The Met holds six of the twenty objects in our table, from Sithathoryunet’s pectoral to Qing dynasty carvings given by Heber R. Bishop in 1902. Its records place the pectoral in Gallery 111 and the cameo of Cosimo I in Gallery 536, but give no gallery for the Ptah or the three Qing carvings. The Louvre shows Ebih-Il in Room 234 and the Ouizille snuffbox in Room 628, but lists the Tôd Treasure and the Osorkon pendant as not on display and warns that its room data may be out of date. The Cleveland Museum of Art lists the Fabergé egg in gallery 211, while the Walters lists its Russian bowl as not on view. In October 2026 the Uffizi Galleries’ website also carried a notice of a temporary closure of the Treasury of the Grand Dukes, home of Buontalenti’s flask. Check the online records before you travel.
Where did the lapis lazuli in these artifacts come from?
For the ancient pieces, most likely from Afghanistan. Writing in the Penn Museum’s Expedition magazine, Lee Horne explains that lapis at Ur was more often used for small objects such as beads and plaques, and that it probably came from far-off Afghanistan. The Art Newspaper traces the lapis in Tutankhamun’s mask to the mountains of Badakhshan in Afghanistan, and notes that the mask’s obsidian pupils may have come from Ethiopia. For the Russian pieces, the Walters Art Museum says the stone was at first imported from Badakhshan, and that in 1785 rich deposits were also found in the valley of the Sluidianka River in south-eastern Siberia. Our lapis lazuli page covers the Badakhshan mines and the stone itself.
Is a famous lapis lazuli artifact solid lapis?
Often only in part. Howard Carter’s notes on Tutankhamun’s mask record lapis in the eyebrows, around the eyes and in every other row of the broad collar; the rest is gold with other inlays, such as obsidian pupils, quartz and green feldspar, and the blue stripes of the headdress are lapis-coloured glass. The Ur treasures are mosaics. The British Museum describes the Standard of Ur as hundreds of small pieces of shell, red limestone and lapis set into bitumen on a hollow wooden box that had disintegrated by the time it was dug up. On the statue of Ebih-Il, the lapis is in the inlaid eyes. The Walters’ Russian bowl is a thin lapis veneer over bronze. Other pieces are carved from solid lapis: the Met’s 5.2 cm Ptah, its cameo of Cosimo I and its Qing carvings. Buontalenti’s flask is five pieces of solid lapis held in enamelled gold mounts. Photos of many of these objects are in our gem museum, and our lapis lazuli page shows how to tell real lapis from dyed imitations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the Standard of Ur?
In the British Museum in London (registration number 1928,1010.3), on display in Room 56. It was made about 2550 to 2400 BCE and found in the grave of an unidentified king (PG 779) in the Royal Cemetery at Ur. No one knows what it was for; it may have been carried on a pole.
Is the Ram in the Thicket made of lapis lazuli?
Partly. The Penn Museum describes a goat, not a ram, standing on its back legs in a gold bush to feed on its leaves, formed of shell, lapis and gold over a wood and bitumen core. It was found with a near twin in grave PG 1237 at Ur, crushed flat by the soil above it, and had to be restored.
Is Tutankhamun’s mask made of lapis lazuli?
Only in places. The mask is gold, and lapis lazuli forms the eyebrows, the make-up lines around the eyes and every other row of the broad collar; the blue stripes of the headdress are glass. It is at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, catalogue number JE 60672.
Where did ancient lapis lazuli come from?
Most likely from Afghanistan. The lapis in Tutankhamun’s mask has been traced to the mountains of Badakhshan there, and the Penn Museum’s Expedition magazine says the lapis at Ur probably came from Afghanistan too.
Sources
- British Museum: The Standard of Ur, 1928,1010.3 (Room 56; PG 779; shell, red limestone and lapis set in bitumen on a hollow wooden box; division of finds with the Department of Antiquities of Iraq; the table also uses British Museum records 1928,1010.1.a, the Queen’s Lyre, not on display, and 1928,1009.378, the Royal Game of Ur, Room 56)
- Penn Museum: Ram in the Thicket, 30-12-702 (the table also uses Penn Museum records B17694B, the bull’s head of the Great Lyre, and B17708 and B17709, Puabi’s frontlet and wreath; all on display in the Middle East Galleries)
- Penn Museum, Expedition magazine: Ur and Its Treasures (Lee Horne, 1998; lapis at Ur probably from Afghanistan; the joint British Museum and Penn Museum expedition)
- Metropolitan Museum of Art: Pectoral and Necklace of Sithathoryunet, 16.1.3a, b (Gallery 111; the table also uses Met records 2007.24, 38.150.13, 02.18.917, 02.18.920 and 02.18.922)
- Louvre: Trésor de Tôd, E 15128 to E 15318 (not on display; the table also uses Louvre records E 6204, the Triad of Osorkon, AO 17551, Ebih-Il, and OA 2133, the Ouizille snuffbox)
- Griffith Institute, Oxford: Howard Carter archives, object 256a, the gold mask (JE 60672; cards 256a-1 to 256a-3 record lapis in the eyes, eyebrows and collar, and lapis-coloured glass in the headdress)
- The Art Newspaper: Four things you probably didn’t know about Tutankhamun’s mask (Garry Shaw, 2022; lapis eyebrows and eye make-up from Badakhshan; obsidian pupils possibly from Ethiopia)
- Antiquity: Truly Grand Egyptian Museum (Martin Odler, 2026; the museum opened in November 2025 with Tutankhamun’s gold mask on show)
- Uffizi Galleries: Flask, from designs by Bernardo Buontalenti, 1583 to 1584 (five pieces of lapis, probably carved by the Caroni, FM initials, Bylivelt’s mounts delivered 16 March 1584, Treasury of the Grand Dukes)
- Cleveland Museum of Art: Lapis Lazuli Easter Egg, attributed to Fabergé, 1966.436 (about 1885 to 1890; enamelled yolk holding an imperial crown)
- Walters Art Museum: Bowl on Tripod Feet in the form of an Incense Burner, 41.239 (lapis over a bronze base; Badakhshan and the 1785 Siberian deposits; not on view)
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