In very ancient times as well as at the present day (if we admit that the anthrax of Theophrastus really was ruby and not a pyrope garnet), the ruby was the most valuable of all precious stones, the Greek writer stating that at the time he wrote, about 260 B.C., an exceedingly small specimen would sell for as much as forty gold pieces. His statement that these stones came from Carthage and Marseilles should not induce us to prejudge the question as to their real character, as many articles of Asiatic commerce were distributed from these parts, more especially from the great Carthaginian seaport.[705]
A variety of sapphire, having, to a certain extent, the coloration of the ruby, was called by natives of Ceylon in the sixteenth century nilacandi;[706] this might be rendered sapphire-ruby. These stones are purple-red by daylight, but artificial light kills the blue and they appear red. They are frequently called phenomenal sapphires or alexandrite sapphires.
Indian poetic fancy has connected the creation of sapphires in Ceylon with the fair maidens of that island.[707]
When the young Cingalese maidens sway, with the tips of their fingers, the stems of the lavali blossoms, then do the two dark blue eyes of the Daitya fall, eyes with a sheen like that of the lotus in full bloom.
Hence it is that this island, with its long sea-coast and its interminable forests of ketskas, abounds in magnificent sapphires, which are its glory.
The following pretty bit of Oriental imagery occurs in a Cinghalese poem on the deeds of Constantino de Sá, a Portuguese Captain-General. Here the poet, writing of a river that flowed through the island, calls it “that lovely stream, the Kaluganga, which meandered as a sapphire chain over the shoulders of the maiden Lanka.”[708] Lanka is a Cingalese name for Ceylon.
The depth of the coloration of sapphires and other stones was believed to indicate their degree of “ripeness,” the pale stones being “unripe.” As an illustration of this, Cardano instances a sapphire he had examined, a small part of which was blue, while the rest resembled a diamond. Specimens of this kind exist in several collections.[709] The writer has seen many that are dark blue when viewed from above, and almost white when viewed through the back. The Cinghalese lapidaries had very cleverly cut a crystal that was white, with a thin coating of blue, so that the blue was at the back, fully realizing the wonderful dispersive power of the sapphire, and that it would appear dark blue if viewed from above. The value was naturally only trifling compared with that of a perfectly even-colored gem.
Al-Berûnî (973–1048 A.D.) gives as the hues of the “red yakut” (ruby), pomegranate-colored safran (henna), purple, flesh-colored, rose-colored, and of the shade of a pomegranate blossom. Other colors of the yakut (corundum crystals) were yellow (Oriental topaz), gray, green (Oriental emerald), white (white sapphire), and black. A henna-colored yakut, if weighing one mitqal (about 24 carats), was valued at 5000 dinars ($12,500), if its weight was half as much, or about 12 carats, it was esteemed to be worth 2000 dinars ($4500), but for one weighing as much as 2 mitqals (48 carats) no definite price could be given, probably because of its great rarity and costliness.[710]
The Sanskrit name for the topaz, pita, signifies “the yellow stone.” This Sanskrit word is thought by many to be the original of the Hebrew pitdah, a stone of the high-priest’s breastplate. Another Sanskrit name is pushparaga, “flower-colored.”[711] It must be borne in mind, however, that these names refer not to our topaz but to yellow corundum, or Oriental topaz, as it has often been called.
A topaz of exceptional size is that known as the “Maxwell-Stuart Topaz”[712] from the name of the owner. It was brought from Ceylon to England with a lot of inferior rubies and sapphires for use in watchmaking, and was believed to be simply a piece of quartz. So little was it appreciated that when sold at auction it only brought £3 10s. ($17.50). When on closer examination its true quality became apparent, the owner decided to have it cut in brilliant form. The operation required twenty-eight days’ consecutive work, the diamond-wheel being used, and resulted in the production of a fine cut stone of a pure white hue, weighing 368³¹⁄₃₂ carats. When the cutting was partially completed, a “feather” became apparent that would have spoiled the table, but as it was still possible to reverse the position of table and culet, this was done, and the “feather” removed. At this time, in 1879, this topaz could lay claim to being the largest cut stone in existence, although its size is considerably surpassed now by that of the largest Cullinan diamond, 516½ carats.
The same exceptional position taken by jade among the Chinese is occupied by turquoise among the Tibetans; these are so emphatically primates among gem-minerals that the very name “stone” seems a designation unworthy of them, and as a Chinese would say, “it is jade, not a stone,” so would a loyal Tibetan exclaim of his favorite gem, “it is a turquoise, not a stone.” Another indication of the exceptional rank of turquoise in Tibet is that, as with the famous Oriental and European diamonds and also with some celebrated balas-rubies, certain of the first turquoises of Tibet have received individual names, such, for example, as “the resplendent turquoise of the gods” and “the white turquoise of the gods.” A tradition relates that the largest turquoise found up to that time was discovered in the eighth century A.D. by King Du-srong Mang-po on the summit of a mountain near the sacred Tibetan city of Lhasa.[713]
In 1613, Shah Abbas of Persia sent to Jehangir six bags of “turquoise-dust,” weighing in all some 23½ pounds Troy. However, the material proved to be of very inferior quality, for the jewellers searched in vain through the whole mass for a single stone fit for setting in a ring. Jehangir consoles himself with the reflection that “probably in these days turquoise-dust is not procurable such as it was in the time of Shah Tahmasp.”[714]
When the Syrian monarch Antiochus XIII visited Syracuse during the prætorship of Caius Verres, he bore with him many richly adorned vessels, some of them being of gold set with gems after the Syrian fashion. However, the finest of all was a wine-cup carved out of a single piece of precious-stone material. When this had once met the gaze of the greedy Verres, he did not rest until he had got it into his possession. To attain his end he resorted to a most ignoble stratagem. Professing his ardent admiration of this as well as of the other richly-adorned and finely-wrought vessels, Verres requested that they might be left with him for a short time so that he might contemplate them at his leisure, and might also have an opportunity to submit them to examination by his goldsmiths with a view to having some copies executed. Antiochus readily acceded to this request, but when after the lapse of a few days he wished to regain possession of his things, Verres put him off from day to day, on one pretext or another. Finally, as Antiochus refused to take the more than broad hints that the precious objects should be bestowed as gifts, Verres spread the rumor that a piratical fleet was on its way from Syria to attack Sicily, and forced Antiochus to leave the island that very day, retaining the borrowed vessels in spite of all remonstrances.[715]
That precious stones should be used to decorate the teeth seems a rather queer development of art, although the practice is not altogether unknown at the present day, when we hear now and again of diamonds being set in teeth to satisfy the vanity of some eccentric individual. In pre-Colombian times, however, there is abundant evidence that this strange form of personal adornment was by no means rare, several examples having been unearthed from burials in Ecuador, and evidence of the usage being offered by remains from Mexico and also from Central America. Among the Mayans here jadeite seems to have been the stone principally favored for this purpose, while in Mexico hematite has been met with in Oaxaca, turquoise in Vera Cruz, and at other places in the land, rock-crystal and obsidian.[716] For the insertion of the stones, the primitive dental artists carefully and skilfully cut or rubbed away the enamel from a section of the front part of the tooth to be decorated, and then applied the precious stone, cut to the required shape, as an inlay. The way in which this was done gives evidence of a remarkably high degree of skill in this line of work; in many cases an inlay of gold was used, instead of a precious stone, and it has even been conjectured that some of these gold inlays represent a kind of gold filling for the protection of the tooth. While this is open to question, the undoubted fact that new teeth were occasionally inserted to take the place of those which had fallen out or decayed, as shown in several specimens, might be regarded as corroborative of the broader assumption. The expert workmanship of these pre-Colombian “dental surgeons” is clearly manifested in the good condition of the teeth whence so much of the enamel had been removed, showing that the inlays must have been so closely adjusted that the tooth was effectively protected from the introduction of moisture.
One of the latest fashionable fads, suggested by the great variety of bright-colored costumes worn by the mondaines (and others) at the present day, is the selection and wear of jewelry set with stones of the same color as the striking gown. Thus with a costume of glowing red, the ruddy ruby would be chosen, a sky-blue costume would insure the wearing of the justly popular sapphire, dress of a golden-yellow hue would call for one of the shades of topazes, while the “new brown,” now so much in vogue, finds its complementary stone in topaz of a slightly darker shade. The grass-green costume would suggest one of the many beautiful shades of the tourmaline, and jewelry of the pink tourmaline would be appropriate to garments of this color. With their wonderful play of color, opals would accord with all varieties of hue in costume and might thus be worn with either of the other more especially matched stones.
An old account of the London trades and guilds, in writing of the jewellers’ art, makes the following statement regarding the qualifications of a jeweller, as appropriate to our own times as to any other.[717]
He ought to be an elegant Designer, and have a quick Invention for new Patterns, not only to range the stones in such manner as to give Lustre to one another, but to create Trade; for a new Fashion takes as much with the Ladies in Jewels as in anything else; he that can furnish them oftenest with the newest Whim has the best Chance for their Custom.