gems, early lapidaries, early gemology, early mineralogy

A Greek poem about stones, which is now at last published in a recension based on the best manuscripts, has long raised great doubts as to which author and period it should be attributed. That Orpheus was the author of our poem—no one now believes this after the excellent studies of Thomas Tyrwhitt. Indeed, Gesner claimed that both Proclus and Stobaeus had attributed the Lithica to Orpheus and often cited it in their works; but Tyrwhitt, referring to the Fabrician index of authors cited by Proclus, showed that Proclus never once mentions the Lithica, a point confirmed by Lobeck after repeated readings of Proclus’s commentaries (Aglaophamus vol. I, p. 377). As for Stobaeus, Tyrwhitt also rightly observed that the passages from the Lithica cited in his name were in fact added much later by Conrad Gesner, and today this is no longer in doubt. Since we do not know when the Greek compiler of the prose epitome of the Lithica lived, and since the author of the Compendium of Rhetoric (last edited by Walz in the sixth volume of Rhetores Graeci) did not flourish before the 15th century, we can name no one before John Tzetzes who attributed the Lithica to Orpheus. Yet Tyrwhitt rightly argued that a writer who assigned astrological, magical, epodic, and hymnic works all to one and the same poet—and who also frequently cited under Orpheus’s name the poem “On the Sacred Laws” by Maximus—was completely lacking in critical judgment. Once we recognize Tzetzes’s ignorance, Tyrwhitt’s suspicion seems unnecessary: that Tzetzes may have come across a book containing all these poems (Lithica, Dodecaeterides, Georgica) together, and, seeing the Epitymnidia—which, being inscribed to Musaeus, seemed attributable by convention to Orpheus—occupying first place, rashly and carelessly assumed that all the poems in the volume were by Orpheus. Slightly more plausible is Lobeck’s view (expressed in Aglaophamus II) that Tzetzes had heard of the Orphic poem On the Use of Stones, which is also mentioned by Suidas, and for that reason attributed the Lithica, included in the same volume as the Argonautica, to Orpheus. But however the matter stands, it is certain that there is nothing in the whole poem that tastes of the muse of that ancient Orpheus. Therefore, setting aside the fancies of Tzetzes and his pre-Tyrwhitt editors, let us proceed to determine more accurately the date of the anonymous author. In this effort, we will follow Tyrwhitt and begin with verses 67–74 of the Lithica, in which it is beyond doubt that the persecution of magical arts and their practitioners is being described. In the year 357, the first law of Constantius appeared: “He shall be punished with death who refuses obedience to our commands”—that is, “Chaldeans and Magi and others whom the common people call sorcerers because of the magnitude of their crimes.” A few years later (in 371), under Valens, the Christian rage against magicians flared even more violently. According to Ammianus Marcellinus (XXIX), their homes were marked, and often…

gems, Ceylon, Sri Lanka, colored stones, pearls, diamonds

A broad descriptive account of Ceylon, treating its geography, people, customs, history, and natural productions. Of gemological interest, the book includes chapters devoted to colored gemstones, pearls, and diamonds. Sachot discusses Ceylon’s mineral riches and the precious stones for which the island was long celebrated, while his treatment of the pearl fisheries describes the important banks off the northwest coast near Condatchy (Kondachchi), including the seasonal gathering of divers, merchants, and traders and the recovery and marketing of the pearls.

gems, Burma, Myanmar

A comprehensive two-volume official gazetteer of British Burma compiled under the authority of the colonial government, with Horace Ralph Spearman responsible for its preparation. Volume 1 provides a general history and description of the country, including geography, population, administration, commerce, agriculture, natural resources and social conditions; Volume 2 is arranged as a geographical gazetteer of towns, villages, districts and other localities. For gemological and mineralogical research, the work is useful for references to local mineral resources, mining and trade within nineteenth-century Burma, although it predates the British annexation of Upper Burma and therefore does not provide the later detailed treatment of Mogok and other Upper Burmese gem districts. It is an important primary source for the geography, economy and natural resources of British-controlled Burma in the late nineteenth century.

gems, turquoise, turquoise identification

A microscopic study by Hugo Bücking of turquoise from several localities, including Sinai, Nishapur, Steine in Silesia and Oelsnitz in Saxony. Bücking examined thin sections under the microscope and showed that turquoise, although macroscopically apparently amorphous, consists of extremely fine doubly refracting particles or short fibrous aggregates. He compares the microscopic structure of specimens from the different sources and also records changes in color produced by heating. The paper is an important early contribution to the petrographic and gemological study of turquoise, demonstrating that microscopic examination could reveal an internal structure not evident from ordinary visual inspection.

corundum, Australia.12, gems

An official geological report by Charles Smith Wilkinson on the mineral resources of New South Wales, containing observations made during his surveys of the colony’s mining districts. Of particular gemological interest are his notices of zircon and sapphire in the Oberon district, including the occurrence at Native Dog Creek, where sapphire was found in association with alluvial gold workings. This represents the earliest recorded discovery of sapphire in the Oberon area; later work established that sapphires and zircons are widespread in the district’s alluvial deposits. The accompanying map helps document the location of the mineral occurrences and early mining activity.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book

A practical and scholarly travel handbook to Egypt published by Karl Baedeker, combining route information with historical, archaeological, geographical and natural-historical descriptions. Volume 1, Unter-Aegypten bis zum Fayûm und die Sinai-Halbinsel, covers Lower Egypt, Cairo, the Nile Delta, the Fayum, Suez and the Sinai Peninsula, with detailed accounts of monuments, ancient sites, roads, accommodations and local conditions. Of particular gemological interest is the section on Sinai, which discusses the region’s ancient Egyptian mining districts and turquoise localities. The work is useful as a late nineteenth-century synthesis of contemporary European knowledge of Egypt and Sinai and as a record of the archaeological and mineral-producing sites accessible to travelers at the time.

gems, jade, jadeite, fei cui, serpentine, prehnite

A brief analytical study by Arthur Herbert Church of a carved Japanese stone that had been worked and sold as jade. Church chemically analyzed the material and showed that it was not true jade, but serpentine. The note is significant to the history of gemology because it documents an early scientific identification of a jade imitation or substitute from Japan and demonstrates the usefulness of chemical analysis in distinguishing serpentine from genuine jade materials.

corundum, inclusions.5, gems

A detailed continuation of Isaac Lea’s earlier studies of microscopic inclusions in gemstones and minerals. Drawing on an enlarged personal collection, Lea examines cavities, fluid inclusions and minute enclosed crystals in sapphire, ruby, spinel, emerald, beryl, zircon, moonstone and other gem materials. Of particular importance is his observation that fine sapphires commonly contain abundant acicular crystals and cavities; he relates the oriented needles directly to the intersecting bands that produce the star in asteriated corundum. He also describes inclusions in North Carolina corundum, Ceylon sapphires and spinels, emeralds containing fluid-filled cavities with enclosed cubic crystals, and other distinctive internal features, illustrating many of them on two plates. The paper is an important early contribution to gemstone microscopy and to the recognition of inclusions as diagnostic evidence of a gem’s internal structure and growth history.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book, early gemology, early mineralogy, Damigeron

Rose publishes and critically examines the Latin lapidary attributed to Damigeron, De lapidibus, an important late-antique text on stones and their supposed properties. The work describes numerous stones, giving their names, appearances, sources, and especially the magical, medicinal, protective, and divinatory powers attributed to them, including their use as amulets and engraved talismans. Rose’s edition compares manuscript readings and addresses textual and philological problems in an effort to reconstruct the surviving text and clarify its relationship to Greek and Roman lapidary traditions. The paper is an important source for the history of ancient and medieval gem lore and for understanding the transmission of beliefs concerning the occult and therapeutic properties of gemstones and minerals.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book, Central Asia, Xinjiang, nephrite, Khotan, Hetian

Richthofen examines the identity and location of the country and city called “Caindu” in Marco Polo’s account, comparing the Venetian traveler’s description with Chinese geographical and historical sources and with nineteenth-century knowledge of southwestern China. He analyzes Marco Polo’s itinerary, distances, place names, physical geography, and descriptions of local products in an attempt to identify Caindu with a specific region and settlement. Of particular gemological interest is Marco Polo’s description of precious stones and other mineral products associated with Caindu, which Richthofen considers alongside the geography and trade of the region. The paper forms part of nineteenth-century efforts to reconcile Marco Polo’s narrative with Chinese sources and modern geographical exploration.