Liufengshan Mine  

Anhui Prov., China

Both Azurite and Malachite have historically held great importance in the art world as sources of pigments. Malachite- also known as Olympian Green- has most notably been found in the paintings of Egyptian tombs and in paintings produced throughout Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. It is one of the earliest green pigments used by humans. Azurite’s pigment was not commonly used until the Middle Ages, when the manufacture of the ancient synthetic pigment Egyptian blue was forgotten.