corundum, history.1, gems, Arabic mineralogy

A German translation by Joseph von Hammer of selected portions of a medieval Persian lapidary by Muḥammad ibn Manṣūr, published in Fundgruben des Orients. The original work treats individual gemstones systematically under four headings: their physical characteristics, places of occurrence, value, and supposed occult or talismanic properties. Hammer deliberately translated principally the first two sections—description and sources—while omitting much of the material on prices and supernatural properties. The extracts discuss numerous precious stones and mineral substances and constitute an important early European presentation of medieval Persian gemological knowledge. The work is especially valuable for preserving information on historical gemstone terminology, characteristics and localities and for demonstrating the relationship between Persian and earlier Arabic lapidary traditions.