"Lapis lazuli has been popular through most of recorded human history. Mining for lapis occurred in the Badakhshan Province of northeastern Afghanistan as early as 7000 BC. The lapis was used to make beads, small jewelry items and small sculptures. These have been found at neolithic archeological sites dating back to about 3000 BC in Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan."
Vincent van Gogh, Vermeer, Titian and many other painters painted the robe of Mary in lapis blue - ultramarine pigments, lapis ground for these purposes.