gems, travel and exploration, Asia, Africa, New World, Mexico, Peru, Americas

Ramusio’s monumental collection of travel literature brings together accounts of European voyages and geographical knowledge concerning Africa, Asia, the Americas, and the Indian Ocean world. Drawing on Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and other sources, it includes narratives by major travelers and explorers as well as Ramusio’s own geographical commentaries. Of particular gemological interest is the first volume, which contains Duarte Barbosa’s early-sixteenth-century account of the East Indies and their commerce, including descriptions of precious stones and the regions from which they were obtained. Barbosa associates the name of the balas ruby with Balax or Balassia (Badakhshan), the celebrated source of red spinel. The work is an important primary source for European knowledge of Asian geography, commodities, gem sources, and the international gem trade during the sixteenth century.