Historic pigment stones in my collection: Azurite. A naturally occurring mineral found particularly in copper-mining areas of the world. It is often found with malachite, a green basic carbonate of copper. There is evidence that azurite has been used since the dawn of modern civilization, dating all the way back to the Fourth Dynasty in Egypt. For much of its history, azurite was used more frequently than ultramarine, despite ultramarine being held in higher esteem. During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, the two were closely related as azurite would often be used as an under-paint for ultramarine, possibly to lower costs as ultramarine was the more expensive pigment of the two. #azurite #historicpigments #naturalpigments #blue #manuelfernandez