corundum, sapphire, Brazil, gems

corundum, ruby, Tanzania, gems

corundum, synthetic corundum.7, gems

jade, jadeite, fei cui, Burma, gems

Microscopic examination of 102 specimens of Myanmar fei cui documents variations in mineral composition, deformation, alteration, and their effects on gem appearance. Samples were selected to represent differences in colour, grain size, appearance, and categories recognized by Hong Kong dealers. Four petrographic types are described: essentially monomineralic material, crushed material, material altered to tremolite–actinolite, and kosmochlor-rich material, termed ureyite in the paper. The first consists predominantly of jadeite crystals with minor diopside and albite, has a granoblastic texture, and shows little evidence of alteration; specimens are generally white, occasionally lavender or pale green. Crushed material displays uneven grain sizes and mortar textures, with larger crystals surrounded by fine fragments generated by deformation. Increasing crushing produces textures ranging from coarse grains with narrow crushed margins to fine-grained aggregates containing isolated remnants of larger crystals. Electron-microprobe analyses distinguish chromium-free, colourless coarse jadeite crystals from chromium-bearing, green finer crystals, explaining some green patterns on white backgrounds. Alteration to tremolite and actinolite begins along jadeite cleavage planes and grain boundaries and progresses to extensive replacement by fibrous amphiboles. Slightly altered specimens contain approximately 15–20% amphibole, moderately altered material approximately 50–60%, and strongly altered material approximately 80–98%. Advanced alteration produces fibrous textures with residual jadeite and may be accompanied by muscovite, chlorite, and quartz microveins. Tremolite-rich specimens are white to grey, whereas actinolite-rich specimens are dark green and may display an oily polished lustre and greater transparency. The relatively rare kosmochlor-rich specimens are compact, opaque, dark to bright green aggregates containing approximately 90–95% kosmochlor, with chromite and other accessory minerals. Kosmochlor occurs in granular, short-prismatic, and fibrous forms and shows strong pleochroism. Intergrowths interpreted as exsolution lamellae of jadeite in kosmochlor suggest greater mutual solubility at higher temperature and pressure, followed by separation as conditions changed. Undulose extinction and replacement textures indicate deformation and alteration. At least two amphibole generations are recognized: a coarsely fibrous generation replacing kosmochlor and a finer generation forming cross-cutting or enclosing veinlets. No measured optical properties indicate aegirine, consistent with the chemical evidence. The study distinguishes solid-solution relationships between jadeite and kosmochlor from amphibole replacement of either mineral and concludes that mineralogical and textural differences influence colour, lustre, transparency, specific gravity, and gem quality.

corundum, Kenya.12, Tanzania.12, gems

gems, jade, jadeite, fei cui, Mesoamerica, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mayans, Olmecs, Aztecs, archaeology, history, archaeogemology, Pre-Columbian jade; Costa Rica; Maya; exchange; iconography, lapidary

“Like a mist in the night, the Maya appeared in this land more than three thousand years ago. They created a civilization that endured six times longer than the Roman Empire. They lived by a calendar equal to our own, developed the concept of zero in mathematics, predicted eclipses of the sun and moon, and traced the path of Venus with an error of only fourteen seconds per year” (W. E. Garrett, National Geographic Magazine). These are only a few facets of Maya genius, which also expressed itself in magnificent temple and pyramid architecture. Highly advanced agriculturalists, the Maya were also remarkable painters and sculptors — their bas-reliefs are especially well known — and demonstrated artistic abilities equal to those of the most accomplished civilizations elsewhere in the world. Today, more than one million Maya still speak their ancestral languages and preserve a rich heritage of cultural traditions, particularly in music, cosmology, mythology, and complex rituals rooted in the pre-Columbian past. Yet all of these treasures are now under threat, and greater awareness of their importance is urgently needed. The exhibition “Maya World” is therefore especially welcome, presenting a collection of objects of exceptional value. It arrives at an opportune moment, coinciding with the World Decade for Cultural Development proclaimed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 1988, as well as with the commemoration of the fifth centenary of the encounter between the Old World and the New. The exhibition also accompanies the launch of UNESCO’s “El Mundo Maya” project. Its message will help preserve the land of the Maya, so rich in history, living tradition, and natural beauty. Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico — all part of the Maya world — have continually worked toward this goal and have participated generously in the exhibition. Their shared heritage underlies their appeal to the international community to safeguard this legacy for future generations, so that their destiny may remain inscribed both in the memory of the past and in the life of the present.

gems, jade, jadeite, fei cui, Mesoamerica, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mayans, Olmecs, Aztecs, archaeology, history, archaeogemology, Pre-Columbian jade; Costa Rica; Maya; exchange; iconography, lapidary

Among the works of greatest importance for gaining an understanding of the pre-Hispanic history of Mexico are the Annals of Cuauhtitlan and the text known as the Legend of the Suns. Both were published by this Institute in 1945 under the title Codex Chimalpopoca. After that first edition was exhausted, the work was reprinted in 1975. Once again, to satisfy the wishes of the many readers interested in it, our Institute is bringing it back into print. Although earlier editions of these texts exist, the Spanish translation prepared by Don Primo Feliciano Velázquez represented a valuable contribution in many respects. It should be emphasized that, particularly following its publication, researchers of pre-Hispanic Mexican history were able to make much fuller use of the wealth of information contained in these ancient documents. This is not to suggest that further studies of these sources are unnecessary, nor that a new translation based on more recent advances in the study of Nahuatl language and culture is not desirable. Nevertheless, when preparing this third edition of Velázquez’s work, it was thought that the saying “the best is the enemy of the good” was applicable. In other words, although there are good reasons to hope for a superior future edition, the work already accomplished should not remain unavailable in the meantime. For the reader’s information, and also as a tribute to the memory of Don Primo Feliciano Velázquez, it seems appropriate to provide a brief account of his life and activities. He was born in Santa María del Río, San Luis Potosí, on 6 June 1860. A long-lived man, he died in the city of San Luis Potosí on 19 June 1953. After completing his humanities studies at the diocesan seminary in the state capital, he entered the School of Law, where he earned his law degree in 1890. Although he practiced law for a time, journalism and historical research eventually became his principal interests. A skilled and polished writer, he contributed to numerous newspapers and journals, both in the provinces and in Mexico City. In recognition of his literary abilities, he was elected a corresponding member of the Mexican Academy of Language. Licenciado Velázquez devoted himself with great diligence to the study of the Nahuatl language. Among other works, he prepared the Spanish translation of the texts published here, the Annals of Cuauhtitlan and the Legend of the Suns. He also translated the text attributed to Valeriano, the distinguished Indigenous disciple of Fray Bernardino de Sahagún, concerning the apparitions of the Virgin of Guadalupe. In addition, he specialized in regional history, consulting archives and compiling bibliographies relating to the history of San Luis Potosí. His publications on the history of his native region bear witness to his meticulous scholarship. In this field, at least two important works deserve mention: Collection of Documents for the History of San Luis Potosí, 4 vols. (San Luis Potosí, 1897–1899), and History of San Luis Potosí, 4 vols. (Mexico City, 1946–1948).

gems, history of gemology, Arabic mineralogy, spinel, Badakhshan

This interesting book by Wolfgang-Ekkehard Scharlipp, a lecturer at the Oriental Seminar in Freiburg, is the first comprehensive account of the earliest general and cultural history of the Turkic tribes which, united in a tribal confederation or steppe state of the “Heavenly Turks” (Göktürks), are first mentioned in historical sources (Chinese annals from 552) under the name T’u-küe. After a brief introduction outlining basic information on Turkic peoples following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the geographical terms Turkestan and Turan, the book proceeds to a chapter on Turkish prehistory, dealing with the Scythians and the Huns (Xiongnu). It emphasizes the historical significance of a unified Eurasian space in which successive steppe cultures of various nomadic peoples developed, and argues that the earliest Turkic steppe states—the First and Second Khaganates—can be seen as inheritors of the social, economic, political, and cultural structures of earlier steppe empires. Scharlipp repeatedly stresses that neither the Scythians nor the Huns were “Turks,” contrary to claims sometimes made by Turkish scholars; the Scythians are generally recognized as an Indo-European people, while the term “Huns” is understood not as an ethnic designation but as a political one, encompassing ethnically diverse groups, including some Turkic tribes.

gems, archaeology, archaeogemology, Russia, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Pontic, Black Sea, Scythia, Sarmatia

This report continues from the 1984 account, which surveyed archaeological activity in the then Soviet Union during the 1970s and in Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey throughout the 1960s and 1970s (AR 30, 1983–84, 71–97), while the eastern Black Sea region (Kolkhis and Iberia) has more recently been addressed by D.D. Kacharava in AR 37 (1990–91, 79–86), building on her earlier 1984 contribution (AR 30, 98–101), to which readers are referred for Kolkhian archaeological data; the first two-thirds of the 1980s saw intense archaeological work, scholarly conferences, and a substantial output of articles and monographs, but a foreboding development came in 1988 with the termination of Arkheologicheskiye Otkrytiya (AO), the annual compilation of archaeological discoveries for the year 1986, marking the end of the only comprehensive all-Union report on the year’s fieldwork and preliminary findings.

gems, imitation turquoise, Eilat Stone, feldspar/amphibole-bearing rock

A mottled blue-to-green gem material from Egypt, observed in Cairo and said to be sporadically collected by Bedouin tribespeople, was found to resemble the well-known copper-colored “Eilat stone” of Israel. Two cabochons—a 7.05-ct pear shape and a 3.29-ct oval—were semitranslucent with greenish blue and nearly black dark green areas, the former highly fractured and veined, and the latter containing metallic-luster inclusions. Additional inclusions of saturated greenish blue with lower diaphaneity and some brownish red (likely limonitic) staining were noted. Spot refractive index measured 1.54, and the gems appeared green through the Chelsea filter. The translucent zones fluoresced faint yellowish green under long-wave UV, while the material was inert to short-wave UV. Specific gravity values were 2.67 and 2.74. As standard tests were inconclusive, X-ray powder diffraction revealed the greenish blue areas to be feldspar and the dark green areas amphibole, though species were not identified. EDXRF analysis detected Al, Si, K, Ca, Ba, Mn, Fe, and Cu, with copper likely responsible for the blue coloration. The stones were thus identified as rocks composed of feldspar and amphibole, with other minor mineral components.