gems, ancient lapidaries, beryl, emerald, emerald lore

Schreiner examines the symbolic meanings and supposed virtutes of the emerald in classical, biblical, patristic, and medieval traditions, concentrating on an apparent contradiction in its symbolism: the stone could be associated both with Venus, erotic love, and sexuality and with virginity, chastity, and the Virgin Mary. He traces these divergent meanings through lapidaries, theological and literary sources, showing how the emerald’s greenness, beauty, purity, and traditionally attributed powers allowed it to acquire different and sometimes opposing allegorical meanings. Particular attention is given to Christian reinterpretations of earlier traditions, in which the emerald became an emblem of chastity and virginity while older associations with Venus continued to survive. The article illustrates how medieval understandings of gemstones combined inherited natural history, lapidary lore, theology, and symbolism rather than assigning stones a single fixed meaning.

synthetic beryl, emerald, gems

Describes synthetic emeralds produced by W. Zerfass in West Germany and Pierre Gilson in northern France, comparing their properties with Chatham and IG Farben synthetics. Lower physical constants and characteristic lace-like inclusions distinguish these products from natural emeralds, while differences in inclusions and ultraviolet response help identify their manufacturers. Comparative tables and detailed descriptions provide practical diagnostic criteria.

beryl, emerald, Sandawana, Zimbabwe, Rhodesia, gems

Describes the newly reported emeralds from Sandawana, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).

beryl, emerald, Rhodesia, Zimbabwe, Sandawana, gems

Describes the newly reported emeralds from Sandawana, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).

gems, beryl, emerald, Colombia, Muzo

Sarmiento Soto presents an economic-geological study of the Paipa–Duitama–Santa Rosa de Viterbo region of Boyacá, Colombia, describing the geology and mineral resources of the area. The study treats the stratigraphy and structure of the region and examines resources of potential economic importance. It also discusses the thermal springs of Paipa, considering both the geological and structural setting in which the springs occur and available chemical analyses of their waters and gases in assessing their origin. The work was originally prepared for Colombia’s Servicio Geológico Nacional in 1941 and subsequently published in the Compilación de los Estudios Geológicos Oficiales en Colombia.

gems, Arabic lore, history, Arabic mineralogy,

Edition of the Kapurthala Jawāhir-nāmah, based on a manuscript dated 1160 AH/1747. It treats diamond, yāqūt, ruby, emerald, pearl, turquoise, bezoar, amber, lapis lazuli, coral, carnelian, and jasper in that order and adds musk and rock crystal at the end. The entries describe such matters as the mines, properties, and values of the stones.

Beryl, emerald mines and mining Colombia. [from old catalog], gems

corundum, Sri Lanka.12, gems

AS SOON as a traveler sets foot on the shores of Ceylon he comes under the subtle charm of the land, and is quickly imbued with the feeling that it would be most incongruous if such a climate did not produce the most luxuriant foliage, the most beautiful flowers, the most luscious fruits; if such a soil did not give forth the most wonderful profusion and variety of precious stones; if such surrounding waters did not yield the most resplendent pearls. Ceylon has long been celebrated for its sapphires, rubies, cat’s-eyes, moonstones, opals, amethysts, carbuncles, and emeralds; but none of these, nor all of them combined, have given to the island the fame and the romantic setting that have been conferred on it by the product of the limpid waters that bathe its coral strands and sandy beaches. The poetic name of Ceylon today is “The Pearl on India’s Brow.” Colombo, the principal city of modern Ceylon, is a stopping place for all the steamers plying between Europe and Asia and Australia, and is therefore visited by thousands of tourists and travelers each year. But the pearl fishery is so remote from Colombo that not one visitor in ten thousand ever goes there. In Colombo a person sees only a fraction of the great pearl crop, of which more than 90 per cent—99 per cent in some years—goes to India; but this fraction is sufficiently seductive to the transient visitor to render uncertain the time and manner of his arrival home, for the pearl shops in Colombo are veritable magnets that irresistibly attract the contents of purse and wallet. The pearl fishery of Ceylon and of India and the Persian Gulf is of very great antiquity, and is thought to be the oldest established fishery now in existence. The Sinhalese records, going back to about 550 B.C., indicate that the fisheries were then well developed, and there is reason to believe that they flourished at least 500 years before. At a very early period the pearls brought the island into prominence abroad, and were in great repute in Rome at the time of Pliny, who, referring to Ceylon under the name of Taprobane, wrote that it was “the most productive of pearls of all parts of the world.” From the most remote period of which there is any record, it would appear that the pearl fishery played a very important part in the history of Ceylon, having had more or less direct and intimate relations with every important aspect of the civilization of the island. The information available clearly suggests that from the earliest times the fishery was conducted in much the same way as in our own day—the same methods of obtaining the pearl oysters, of handling the catch on shore, and of extracting the pearls. In the words of a local writer, “Ceylon is a place with a glorious past. Its once magnificent cities are now but a mass of crumbled and half-buried ruins; its native dynasty has passed away forever;”

gems, beryl, emerald, Colombia

This official report to the Colombian Senate records the findings of a special commission appointed to investigate matters concerning the nation’s emerald mines, particularly the important deposits of Muzo and Coscuez. It examines the administration and exploitation of the government-owned mines, their economic importance, production and sale of emeralds, revenues and expenses, and problems associated with illicit extraction and trafficking. The report provides contemporary evidence for Colombian government policy toward the emerald industry at a time when the state was attempting to regulate production and protect the value of its emeralds, and is an important primary source for the history of the Muzo and Coscuez mines.

gems, jewelry, corundum, quality.10, Morgan Collection, glyptic

Sinkankas: This very large, beautiful, and superbly produced book was manufactured from the finest materials as befitted the tastes and the pocketbook of J. Pierpont Morgan, and provides one of the finest collection catalogs of all time. Even more lavish is the de luxe version described below. The depicted and described objects fall into the following classes: jewels, portraits in wax, carved woodwork, rock crystal and glass, gold and silver plate, and others made from various precious materials, and the precious objects of Prince’s Gate. The gemologist will find the section containing rock crystal carvings and containers the most interesting for its discourses on the nature and occurrences of rock crystal, and the artisans responsible for the execution of a considerable number of the larger vessels and other objects made from quartz. The section on miscellaneous objects made from precious materials also contains interesting matter on gemstone objects made from cryptocrystalline quartzes, and also a sole example of carved jade. Elsewhere objects are made in part from pearl, nacre, amber, diamond, emerald, corundum, peridot, topaz, turquoise, etc. John Pierpont Morgan: b. Hartford, Conn., 1837; educated in Switzerland & Germany; entered the financial field 1856; formed own company 1895; formed United States Steel Corporation 1901. Eminent art collector, rare book collector, president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; benefactor of this and the American Museum of Natural History (Morgan Collection of Gems); d. NYC 1913. See Pierpont Morgan as Collector and Patron 1837–1913, New York: Pierpont Morgan Library, 1970, wrappers, 39 p., ill.