Among the wonders of the East, which were brought to Europe along trade routes since the beginning of historical times and are still highly valued today, is the lapis lazuli or lazurite, formerly known as Azul by the Arabs and called Sapphirus by Pliny. Lapis lazuli is classified as a semi-precious stone due to its beautiful blue color and rare occurrence, and it is used to create decorative and jewelry items. The usual Asian locations mentioned are vaguely referred to as Siberia, the small Bukhara, Tibet, and China. This volume describes natural and artificial ultramarine, its development in manufacturing, and many other details about these special minerals. This book is a careful reprint of the long out-of-print original edition from 1902.