gems, early gem trade, Armenia, history

The book written on behalf of the Imperial Academy of Sciences contains a brief historical introduction dedicated to ancient medieval and oriental collections of lapidary stones a translation of three fragments of works on gems found by the author in the manuscript of the famous Armenian historian of the seventeenth century Arakel Tavrizhetsi (1590–1670) as well as the Armenian text of these fragments. Patkanov examines Armenian knowledge and terminology concerning precious stones in the seventeenth century, drawing upon Armenian manuscripts and lapidary traditions. He discusses the Armenian names of numerous gemstones and minerals, their supposed physical characteristics, colors, sources, varieties, values, and methods of identification, together with the medicinal, magical, and talismanic properties traditionally attributed to them. The study compares and explains terminology and preserves information derived from earlier Near Eastern and Armenian traditions concerning diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, pearls, turquoise, and other precious and ornamental materials. The work is an important source for the history of Armenian gemology and lapidary literature and for tracing the transmission of mineralogical and gemstone knowledge through the medieval and early modern Near East.