Alina Blossom lapis and turquoise earrings

Description

Silver with lapis and turquoise

British Museum Alina selection, 2018

Inspired by the blossom motifs found on Afghan embroidery, these stylish and intricate silver earrings are made to be worn alone or to complement the other pieces in this collection.

Afghanistan was the source of lapis lazuli for the ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations, as well as the later Greeks and Romans.The best lapis lazuli is found in Badakhshan province in north-eastern Afghanistan and has been used for millennia in jewellery. The word lazuli is derived ultimately from the Persian lazhward, the name of a place where it was mined and which came to be associated with the stone and, eventually, with its colour.

Persia has been an important source of turquoise for at least 2,000 years its pure, “robin’s egg blue” color earned the highest prices on the world market.. It was initially named “pirouzeh” (victory) by the Persians and, later, “firouzeh.”. In Iranian architecture, the blue turquoise was used to cover the domes of palaces because its intense blue colour was also a symbol of heaven on earth. The western name for turquoise comes from the country, Turkey, which traded Iranian firouzeh with Europe.