Lapis Lazuli can be found in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, Chile, Italy, Mongolia, United States and Canada. It is a rich blue metamorphic rock that gets its name from Latin word lapis which means stone and the Persian word lazhuward meaning blue. Lapis was being mined around Afghanistan as early as the 7th millennium BCE. It has always been one of the most sought after stones. Lapis was used to ornament the funeral mask of King Tutankhamun. It was one of the finest and most expensive blue pigments used by the most important artists of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. This stone is said to stimulate wisdom and good judgement; aids intellectual analysis; enhances memory; stimulates the desire for knowledge, truth, and understanding, and aids the process of learning.