gems, history of gemology, diamond, garnet, ruby, sapphire, emerald, pearl, high priest's breastplate, jade, lapis lazuli, jasper, malachite

Sinkankas: Utterly fascinating work in great detail and complexity, attempting to demonstrate the hand of God in every manifestation of the mineral kingdom. Lesser assembled an astounding fund of information culled from hundreds of ancient and modern sources and covering nearly every aspect of geology, mineralogy, paleontology, and gemology. So successful was he, and apparently so careful in his choices and interpretations, that the present work was very commonly quoted by later writers in earth sciences and mineralogy. It is divided into nine books, each with several parts and chapters. Book one explains fundamental interrelationships existing among the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. Book two concerns the origin and formation of rocks and minerals. Book three treats occurrences or deposits of mineral materials, including gemstones. Book four discusses the properties of minerals and stones. Book five addresses “precious” and “non-precious” stones, with pp. 343–66 treating precious stones, though restricted to a limited number of the better-known species and varieties, the stones themselves being apportioned among transparent, translucent, and opaque kinds, i.e., diamond, ruby, garnet, hyacinth, sapphire, amethyst, emerald, topaz, opal, and chrysolite as transparent stones, and translucent stones such as carnelian, sard, and other varieties of chalcedony; opaque stones include turquoise, malachite, jasper, lapis lazuli, and jade. This book also contains descriptions of some famous diamonds and other large and valuable gems, as well as data on the precious stones mentioned in the Bible. Also among the stones in this book are those that display remarkable inclusions, fanciful portraits or scenes, fossils, and crystals, and other curious, if not marvelous, mineral materials. Book six treats architectural and monumental stones, and also includes brief discussions of engraved gems, seals, and ringstones, with pp. 832–46 describing and speculating on the true identities of the gemstones in the vestments and breastplate of the High Priest, suitably illustrated with diagrams showing their positions and identities. Book seven concerns the misuse of stones, ostentatious display of gemstones, superstitious belief in their powers, the use of birthstones and planetary stones, and other topics of this nature. Book eight treats artificial stones of all kinds, including gemstones. Book nine concerns “works of wonder” in stone, e.g., Lot’s wife turned into a pillar of salt!

gems, jade, Fischer-Book

Contains information on many minerals, including jade, as follows: Of Jasper: Jasper is a stone with many varieties and colors, somewhat similar in nature to agate, except that it is not as hard. It is brought to us from the East and West Indies, Persia, Syria, and other places. However, as it has limited use in medicine, I will only mention that one should use only the beautiful green variety, marked with red spots inside resembling blood stains, which has earned it the name “blood jasper.” One should reject the counterfeit type, which is nothing but vitrification. The authentic choice is true Oriental jasper of the aforementioned color. It is valued for stopping bleeding, treating epilepsy, and is considered among the cordials. Green jasper is prepared in the same way as hyacinths and other precious stones. In folio, page 103, Part III. Of Jade: Jade is a greenish stone with grayish undertones, extremely hard and rare. It is little used in medicine but highly valued for crafting various objects that are greatly esteemed due to the difficulty of working with it. The Turks and Poles frequently use jade to make knife handles, saber hilts, cutlasses, and other items, which they adorn with gold filigree. Of the Nephritic Stone: The nephritic stone is a gray-colored stone, tinged with a slight blue hue, so that it is typically bluish-gray, dense, and greasy to the touch, like the talc of Venice. This stone is highly valued by certain individuals for the treatment of kidney stones; this is why it is so rare and sought after, due to its healing property when hung on the thigh. Those afflicted by kidney or bladder stones, which form in the kidneys, have given it the name “nephritic stone,” derived from the word nefros, meaning “kidney.” The costliness and rarity of this stone have led some to substitute it with a type of green marble called malachite. For this reason, they carve it in the shape of a bird’s head, as the Ancients believed that the true nephritic stone resembled bird heads or parrot beaks. The true nephritic stone comes from New Spain. In folio, page 103, Part III.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book

Charlevoix traces the history of Hispaniola from its Indigenous inhabitants and Columbus’s voyages through Spanish colonization and the establishment of French Saint-Domingue. Drawing particularly on Jean-Baptiste Le Pers’s manuscript memoirs and documents preserved in the French naval archives, he combines historical narrative with descriptions of the island’s geography, settlements and inhabitants. The work covers conquest, colonial government, missionary activity, buccaneering and conflicts among European powers in the Caribbean. Maps and plans illustrate the island and associated places. Its accounts of Indigenous society and material culture include representations of religious objects known as zemis. The two volumes preserve an extensive early eighteenth-century compilation of information about Hispaniola, shaped by the author’s Jesuit perspective and the documentary sources available to him.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book

Der auffrichtige Jubelier is an anonymous early eighteenth-century German handbook for jewelers dealing with precious stones, pearls, and the practical knowledge required in the jewelry trade. It discusses the principal varieties of gems, their characteristics, qualities, defects, and values, together with methods used to distinguish genuine stones from imitations and altered materials. The work also addresses aspects of buying, selling, and evaluating jewels, reflecting the practical concerns of contemporary merchants and craftsmen rather than purely mineralogical classification. It is of particular interest to the history of gemology because it documents the empirical methods, terminology, valuation practices, and commercial knowledge employed by German-speaking jewelers in the early eighteenth century.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book

Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas’s Historia general de los hechos de los castellanos en las islas i tierra firme del mar océano is an extensive official history of Spanish exploration and conquest in the Americas, covering events from 1492 to 1531. Drawing upon royal archives, reports, letters, and earlier chronicles, Herrera recounts the voyages of discovery, conquests of Mexico and other regions, encounters with Indigenous peoples, establishment of Spanish settlements, and the geography, customs, resources, and commerce of the New World. Of particular interest to gemologists are numerous references to gold, silver, pearls, emeralds, turquoise, greenstones, and other precious and ornamental materials encountered, traded, presented as tribute, or seized during the conquests. The work provides important evidence for European perceptions of Indigenous valuables and for the sources, uses, and circulation of precious materials in the Americas during the early colonial period, although Herrera wrote several decades after many of the events he describes.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book

Jean-Baptiste Labat’s Nouveau Voyage aux isles Françoises de l’Amérique is an extensive account of the French Caribbean based largely on the Dominican missionary’s residence and travels in the region from 1694 to 1706. Across six volumes, Labat describes the geography, natural history, peoples, agriculture, commerce, industries, fortifications, warfare, slavery, Indigenous communities, and colonial societies of Martinique, Guadeloupe, and neighboring islands. His detailed observations include plants, animals, minerals, manufacturing processes, commodities, and trading practices, combining firsthand experience with information gathered from other inhabitants and travelers. Of particular interest to gemologists are references to precious and ornamental stones, pearls, metals, and other mineral substances encountered or traded in the Caribbean, as well as Indigenous use of stone materials. The work is an important early 18th-century source for the natural resources and material culture of the Caribbean and for European perceptions of its mineral wealth.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book, amulets, talismans

Peter Friedrich Arpe’s De prodigiosis naturae et artis operibus is an early 18th-century scholarly examination of talismans, amulets, and objects believed to possess extraordinary natural or artificial powers. Drawing upon classical, medieval, Arabic, and early modern authorities, Arpe surveys writings on magical and protective objects and critically considers the claims made for their effects. Precious and engraved stones occupy an important place in these traditions, particularly gems bearing figures, symbols, astrological signs, or inscriptions and believed to confer protection, healing, good fortune, or other powers upon their owners. The work is of particular interest to historians of gemology for its treatment of magical gems and engraved talismans and for its extensive review of earlier lapidary and occult literature, documenting the persistence and scholarly reassessment of such beliefs in early 18th-century Europe.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book

Hans Sloane’s A Voyage to the Islands Madera, Barbados, Nieves, S. Christophers and Jamaica is an extensive two-volume natural history and travel account based principally on his visit to Jamaica in 1687–1689. The work describes the geography, climate, inhabitants, agriculture, commerce, plants, animals, medicines, and natural products of the Caribbean islands, accompanied by numerous detailed illustrations. Sloane combined firsthand observations and specimens with information obtained from local inhabitants, Indigenous and African knowledge, earlier authors, and colonial contacts. Of particular interest to gemologists and mineral historians are his notices of rocks, minerals, precious and ornamental stones, metals, pearls, and other natural materials occurring or traded in the Caribbean. The work provides important early evidence for European investigation and collecting of the region’s mineral resources and became a major contribution to 18th-century natural history.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book

Oliger Jacobaeus’s Museum regium, seu Catalogus rerum tam naturalium, quam artificialium is an illustrated catalogue of the royal Danish collection of natural and artificial curiosities preserved in the library of King Frederik IV at Copenhagen. The collection encompasses specimens from the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms together with antiquities, ethnographic objects, works of art, and other manufactured curiosities. Minerals, stones, metals, fossils, and related natural objects form part of the catalogue, reflecting the encyclopedic organization characteristic of seventeenth-century cabinets of curiosities. The work is an important source for the history of collecting, museums, and natural history in Denmark and documents the types of natural specimens and artifacts assembled and classified in a major European royal collection at the end of the seventeenth century.

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

Sinkankas: The most important poem, or hymn, for the gemologist is the Lithica, where in 770 lines the virtues of some thirty gems are set forth with considerable allusion to magic...From the content, the form, the viewpoint and the style of this poem, it is most apparent the composer could only have lived...before the Emperor Constantine and not long after Emperor Valentine."