gems, jade, Fischer-Book

A widely used natural-history textbook by the German physician and naturalist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, presenting the animal, plant and mineral kingdoms within a systematic framework. The mineralogical section describes and classifies earths, stones, salts, combustible minerals and metals according to contemporary knowledge, with attention to their physical characters, composition, occurrence and uses. Precious and ornamental stones are included among the mineral substances discussed. The work is useful for tracing late eighteenth-century mineral classification and gemstone terminology and for understanding the broader natural-historical context in which minerals and gems were studied before the emergence of modern mineralogy.

gems, jade, pyroxene jade, jadeite, fei cui, omphacite, kosmochlor, Mesoamerica, Guatemala, Olmec, Maya, Fischer-Book, Mexico

A mineralogical textbook by Andrés Manuel del Río, prepared for students of the Real Seminario de Minería in Mexico City and based principally on the mineralogical system of Abraham Gottlob Werner. The work presents methods for recognizing, describing and classifying minerals—then commonly termed “fossils”—according to their external and physical characteristics, with systematic descriptions of individual mineral substances. It was one of the earliest major mineralogical textbooks published in the Americas and played an important role in introducing Wernerian mineralogy into New Spain. Precious and ornamental stones are included within its systematic treatment, making the work valuable for tracing late eighteenth-century mineral and gemstone classification and terminology in Spanish America.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book

A short catalogue by the Danish naturalist and mineralogist Gregers Wad describing Egyptian mineral specimens in the collection of Cardinal Stefano Borgia at Velletri. Written in Latin, the work treats stones and mineral substances brought from Egypt and attempts to identify and classify them according to contemporary mineralogical principles. The specimens are discussed in relation to their physical characteristics and Egyptian provenance, linking mineralogical description with antiquarian interest in the materials used by the ancient Egyptians. The work is of value for the history of mineralogy and archaeometry as an early systematic study of Egyptian stones and minerals preserved in a European collection.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book

A multilingual natural-history dictionary compiled by Philipp Andreas Nemnich, designed to correlate the names of natural substances across numerous European and other languages. The work covers animals, plants and minerals, giving equivalent vernacular terms and variant names rather than serving primarily as a descriptive natural-history treatise. For gemological research, it is particularly useful for tracing historical names of gemstones, minerals and ornamental stones across different languages and identifying synonyms that appear in older scientific, commercial and lapidary literature. The Allgemeines Polyglotten-Lexicon der Naturgeschichte is therefore an important bibliographical and terminological aid for studying eighteenth-century mineral and gemstone nomenclature.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book

A systematic mineralogical treatise by Prince Dmitri Alexeievich Gallitzin (Golitsyn), intended to provide a concise and methodical means of describing and classifying minerals according to their observable characteristics. The work treats the external and physical properties used for mineral identification and applies them to individual mineral substances within the classificatory framework of late eighteenth-century mineralogy. Of particular gemological interest is the treatment of jade (p. 57), reflecting contemporary European attempts to characterize and classify a material whose mineralogical nature was not yet fully understood. The work is useful for tracing the development of systematic mineral description and gemstone nomenclature immediately before the major advances in chemical and crystallographic mineralogy of the nineteenth century.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book

Schuh: Rare. Edited by J.V. Degen [see note below]. From the editor's notes, it is learned that this book was privately printed for the friends and correspondents of Von Born, and limited to a total printing of 70 copies. Von Born was commissioned to prepare a catalog of the very fine mineral collection formed by Éléonore de Raab [see note below]. In the preface to the first volume, Von Born notes that this collection is one of the most complete of its kind. The specimens are described both by their exterior characteristics following Werner and by their chemical compositions in accordance with the theories of Lavoisier, Morveau, Fourcroy and Berthollet. Besides the typical information for each speciment described, the author includes many notes, comments, and references, showing that he was one of the ablest mineralogists of his day.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book, Natural history, Switzerland, Europe, Broken Bangle

A substantial essay on the classification of minerals, written by Albrecht Höpfner in the form of a letter to the mineralogist Dietrich Ludwig Gustav Karsten. Using the eighteenth-century term “fossils” for substances dug from the earth, Höpfner discusses principles for arranging and distinguishing mineral species and engages with contemporary systems of mineral classification. The paper is useful for understanding the transition from older descriptive schemes toward more systematic mineralogy based on observable properties and chemical composition. For gemological history, it provides context for how precious stones and related mineral substances were being incorporated into broader mineralogical classification at the end of the eighteenth century.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book, Indian lapidary

A geographical and historical account of India based on the extensive travels and observations of the Jesuit missionary Joseph Tiefenthaler, who spent several decades in the subcontinent. The work describes regions, cities, rivers, routes, political divisions, peoples, religions, customs, commerce and natural products, with particularly detailed geographical information on northern India and the Ganges basin. Tiefenthaler combined firsthand observation with information obtained from local informants and Indian and European sources. Of interest to gemological research are his notices of mineral resources, precious materials and regional trade. The work is an important eighteenth-century European source for the geography and natural and economic resources of India.

gems, jade, ruby, sapphire, spinel, Burma, Myanmar, Chinese trade with Burma

A local gazetteer of Yongchang Prefecture (永昌府), in western Yunnan, an important region on the routes connecting China with Burma and Southeast Asia. The work records the prefecture’s administrative geography, history, settlements, mountains and rivers, population, customs, products and other local information. Of particular gemological interest are its notices concerning jade and other valuable materials associated with the Yunnan–Burma trade, for which Yongchang was an important commercial and administrative center. The gazetteer is consequently a useful Qing-period source for studying the movement of Burmese jade and other commodities into southwestern China. Sun Laichen: Volumes 23, 25, and 26 of the 1785 edition by Xuan Shitao contain several memorials from Ming and Qing times that touch upon Ming- and Qing-Burmese relations, a number of poems and records by Ming poets regarding Burmese precious stones and other products, and a short account of a Burmese letter to the Ming during the late 16th century. Volumes 65 and 66 of the 1884 edition by Liu Yuke includes several other poems on Ming- and Qing-Burmese relations. There are altogether four editions of this work, and I have so far gained access to only the two mentioned above. The other two were compiled in 1702 and 1826, respectively.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book

Schuh: Scarce. Apparently, the first extensive book treating Belgium fossils and minerals. It is beautifully illustrated, with the thirty-two hand colored copperplates showing fossils and petrifications found in the vicinity of Brussels. Contained in the text are descriptions of various fossils and minerals found in the region.