This lapis lazuli mosaic serving dish was used to present dried fruits and candy and sweets to guests so that they had something to snack on while drinking their tea.
This lapis lazuli mosaic serving dish was used to present dried fruits and candy and sweets to guests so that they had something to snack on while drinking their tea.
Each stone had to be precisely cut and smoothed by hand to fit into the three dimensional design; this is not easy to do and takes a great amount of skill.
The base of the dish is made from one solid piece of lapis lazuli. This portion of the dish could have been made from brass or silver, but instead the original artist chose to use lapis lazuli. This was done to add beauty and value to the final piece.
This dish was owned by the royal family of Afghanistan, as they would have been the only ones who could afford such a valuable treasure at the time.
Approximately 30 pounds of high quality genuine afghan Lapis lazuli rocks from Panchshir was used to compete this piece.
