Term deriving from Lapis Hematite, a red coloured stone (see hematite), and considered a synonym to matita (Italian term for pencil). In time, both terms came to indicate a cylinder of graphite inserted into a wooden sheath. Cennino Cennini (end of the 15th Century) speaks of "lapis amatita," while Giorgio Vasari (1568) of "lapis rosso" and "matita" terms related to drawings of the latter colours. And Filippo Baldinucci (1681) speaking also of "lapis piombino," evidently made with graphite: "a type of artificial pencil made to serve for drawing and that is lead in colour."