gems, ancient gems, glyptic, archaeology, archaeogemology, ancient history, Greek, Roman, engraved gems

If one supposes that, through an invasion of barbarism or through some cataclysm, the monuments of history had been destroyed; that traditions had been broken; that the knowledge of the ancient world had vanished from the memory of men; that books had perished; and that, from this shipwreck of human knowledge, nothing had been saved except an entire collection of engraved stones, coins, and medals, it might perhaps suffice, through the discovery of this single treasure, gradually to restore the vanished monuments, to reconnect the traditions, to rebuild learning, and to reconstruct history. Medals, coins, cameos, and intaglios are indeed books printed on metal or on hard stone; their descriptions are eloquent. Men and things are represented there by tangible images, patiently cut or boldly sculpted in relief; the inscriptions engraved upon them are concise, yet clear, eloquent, and decisive. Their testimony, finally, while not irrefutable, must appear more naïve and often more authentic and trustworthy than that of written history, when one considers that a moment and a stroke of the pen suffice to write an error or a lie, whereas so much labor and so many days are required to engrave them.

gems, early lapidaries, early gemology, early mineralogy, herbals, gems and healing, medicinal gems

This three-volume work, published in 1864–6, was edited by Thomas Oswald Cockayne (1807–73), a Cambridge graduate, much-published early member of the London Philological Society, and teacher of the philologists Walter Skeat and Henry Sweet. It is a collection of writings from pre-Conquest Britain on plants, medicine and the heavens, mostly in Old English with accompanying modern English translations. Vol. 1: Volume 1 begins with a substantial preface outlining the Anglo-Saxon reception of Greek and Latin medical texts. The main work in this volume is an Old English version of the late Latin Herbarium formerly attributed to Apuleius, augmented by material deriving from Dioscorides' De Materia Medica. The volume concludes with an Old English translation of the fourth-century Roman physician Sextus Placitus' writings on animal-derived medicines, and some short medicinal recipes in Old English and Latin taken from the fly leaves of manuscripts. Vol. 2: The preface of Volume 2 outlines evidence for early medieval British material culture, particularly foodstuffs, drink, fabrics and metals, and argues against dismissing the Anglo-Saxons and their contemporaries as 'primitive'. The Old English text in this volume is taken from a tenth-century manuscript in the Royal Collection, which Cockayne suggests may have belonged to the Abbot of Glastonbury. It is a careful and thorough compilation of remedies for conditions ranging from toothache to complications of pregnancy, and digestive problems to mental illness, and reveals the influence of Greek medical learning in the Anglo-Saxon world. Vol. 3: The preface of Volume 3 discusses questions including the identity of the Anglo-Saxon translator of Bede's De Temporibus and the similarities between Classical and medieval dream-interpretation and divination, and the Victorian penchant for spiritualism and astrology. The texts in this volume include remedies, charms and prayers for the sick, in Latin and Old English, lists of plant names, works on solar and lunar calendars and horoscopes, and explanations of the prophetic meaning of dreams. The volume ends with some historical fragments in Old English relating to monastic foundations.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book

Del Castillo provides a concise catalogue of the mineral species and varieties then known to occur in Mexico, assembling information on their identification and geographical distribution from specimens, earlier literature, and contemporary mineralogical investigations. Despite its brevity, the work represents an early attempt to inventory Mexico’s mineral resources according to systematic mineralogical nomenclature rather than merely their economic uses. Of gemological interest are occurrences of precious and ornamental materials among the minerals listed, providing evidence for the state of knowledge of Mexican gem and lapidary resources in the mid-nineteenth century. The catalogue is an early contribution by Antonio del Castillo, who later became one of Mexico’s leading geologists and mineralogists, and is useful for tracing the development of systematic mineralogy and mineral-resource documentation in Mexico.

gems, pearls, Ceylon, Sri Lanka, Gulf of Mannar

Steuart presents observations on Ceylon (Sri Lanka) drawn from thirty-eight years of residence and experience on the island, discussing its colonial administration, economy, agriculture, commerce, society, and historical development up to 1855. Of particular gemological interest is the appended account of the Ceylon pearl fishery, in which he discusses the celebrated pearl banks of the Gulf of Mannar, their history and administration, the pearl oyster, the organization and conduct of the fisheries, and the economic uncertainties caused by fluctuations in the oyster populations. The work provides a valuable firsthand perspective on one of the world’s historically most important sources of natural pearls and complements the contemporary scientific investigations of the Ceylon pearl oyster by E.F. Kelaart and others.

gems, jade, amphibole jade, nephrite, Khotan, Hetian, China, Xinjiang, Fischer-Book, Indian lapidary

Montgomery and Davies compile official information on the commerce, communications, products, and economic resources of the territories lying beyond the north-western frontier of British India, including Afghanistan, Kashmir, the Punjab frontier regions, and the trade routes leading toward Central Asia. Based largely on reports from political officers, merchants, travellers, and local informants, the volume describes principal markets, caravan routes, imports and exports, duties, currencies, and commodities moving between India, Afghanistan, Turkistan, Persia, and adjoining regions. Of particular gemological importance are references to precious stones and mineral products entering these trading networks, including the celebrated rubies or “Balas rubies” of Badakhshan, lapis lazuli, turquoise, and other valuable materials. The report is a useful primary source for reconstructing the mid-nineteenth-century Central Asian gem trade and the routes by which stones from Afghanistan and the Pamir-Badakhshan region reached the markets of British India.

gems, jade, Fischer, Central America, South America

This revised and expanded account of Nicaragua by American diplomat and archaeologist Ephraim George Squier describes the country’s geography, peoples, natural resources, antiquities, economy, political condition, and prospects for an inter-oceanic canal. Drawing on Squier’s travels and diplomatic service in Central America, it includes extensive observations on indigenous cultures and archaeological remains, with descriptions and illustrations of monuments, sculptures, pottery, stone implements, and personal ornaments. Of particular relevance to gemological and jade studies are references to pre-Columbian objects fashioned from valued green stones and other lapidary materials, as well as observations on Nicaragua’s mineral resources and indigenous use of stone. The volume is also important for documenting nineteenth-century interpretations of Central American antiquities before the development of modern archaeological methods. As a substantially revised, single-volume successor to Squier’s 1852 Nicaragua: Its People, Scenery, Monuments, and the Proposed Inter-oceanic Canal, it provides a useful early source for the archaeology, mineral resources, and material culture of Nicaragua.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book, bibliography, Mexico, Mesoamerica, Mayan, Aztec

Proja presents a critical and bibliographical study of Francisco Hernández’s Natural History of Mexico and of the complex history by which Hernández’s sixteenth-century investigations were edited by Nardo Antonio Recchi and subsequently published and augmented by members of the Accademia dei Lincei. He examines the surviving manuscripts, editions, editorial interventions, and circumstances surrounding the preparation of the celebrated 1651 Rerum medicarum Novae Hispaniae thesaurus, attempting to distinguish Hernández’s original material from the contributions of Recchi and the Lincean scholars. The study is valuable for establishing the textual history and transmission of one of the earliest major European scientific accounts of the natural products of New Spain. Of gemological relevance, Hernández’s work included Mexican minerals and stones alongside its much more extensive treatment of plants and animals; Proja’s bibliographical analysis therefore helps establish the provenance and authority of early European descriptions of indigenous Mexican mineral materials.

corundum, history.1, gems, glyptic, engraved gems

Sinkankas: This is King’s first book publication on a subject that he took up early in his career and pursued with single-minded persistence throughout his life. As a first effort, it leaves much to be desired, not because of a lack of information—which is still very useful—but because, as Vinet (1663) notes, it is very difficult to analyze. Faced with the wealth of data uncovered in his solitary studies at Cambridge, he crammed as much as he could into a single volume but failed to organize it well, resulting in a text that is often confusing to the reader. The introduction cites Goethe’s views on the usefulness of studying antique engraved gems and offers a short history of the glyptic art. Five engraved plates, praised by Vinet for their quality and fidelity to the originals, are inserted after the table of contents and explained in accompanying text, with many more single gems in wood engravings scattered throughout the book or used as head- or tailpieces. The first section of the text describes the materials of gems, including notes on minerals and rocks used and possible sources of rough, with some useful gemological information based on King’s research into Pliny’s Natural History and other ancient sources; it also includes remarks on pastes, gem impressions, and forms of gems. The second section explores art as displayed in gems, beginning with tests of antiquity and instruments used in engraving—helpful for determining age—and continues with essays on styles, symbolism, and subjects as assigned to various cultures over time. This section also contains diverse topics such as rings, “flexible glass,” names of artists, coin-dies, famous collections, and other fragments of knowledge that should have been better organized. The third section addresses the subjects depicted on gems, while the final section, another catch-all, considers the mystical virtues of gems and provides King’s English translation of Marbodeus’ celebrated poem on gemstones (pp. 391–417), along with a translation of parts of Orpheus’ poem on stones (pp. 420–426, passim), interspersed with descriptions of gemstones as given in Camillus Leonardus’ Speculum Lapidum (pp. 418–428, passim). The last part of this section includes a brief commentary on books concerning engraved gems, though it treats only a few of the most important; King would later publish a much larger bibliography in his Antique Gems and Rings. The appendix covers a variety of topics, including tools of the ancient engraver, the Sassanian alphabet, and notes on earlier statements in the text. The encyclopedic, albeit confused, nature of this work led A. Furtwängler (Die antiken Gemmen, vol. 3, p. 433) to be less than generous in his review, noting the “confusion” in this and subsequent works by King and suggesting that this initial treatise gave rise to all of King’s later books of the following decade, such as The Natural History, Ancient and Modern, of Precious Stones (1865), which developed from the gemstone section, and The Gnostics and Their Remains (1864, 1887), which stemmed from the mystical properties section. Furtwängler criticized the “dilettante” character of King’s works—crammed with unplanned information—but admitted that they still contain much that is worthwhile. Zazoff, in Gemmensammler, argues that Furtwängler went “too far” in his critique. Despite these adverse remarks, it remains true that King, more than anyone else, was the first English writer to assemble a major body of information on engraved gems in one place and was largely responsible for sparking interest in this branch of ancient art among readers in Britain and America.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book

Waitz’s Anthropologie der Naturvölker is an ambitious six-volume comparative study of the peoples and cultures of the world, combining physical anthropology, ethnography, linguistics, history, religion, and material culture. The series appeared between 1859 and 1872; after Waitz’s death in 1864 it was continued by Georg Gerland. Volumes 3–4, Die Amerikaner (1862–1864), are devoted to the indigenous peoples of the Americas, with Volume 4 treating Mexico, Central America, the Chibcha region, and Peru. Of particular relevance to gemological and jade studies are Waitz’s accounts of Aztec and other Mesoamerican material culture, including precious objects, ornaments, stoneworking, metals, and valued green stones, assembled from early Spanish chronicles and nineteenth-century archaeological and ethnographic scholarship. The work is useful for tracing how indigenous American uses of precious and ornamental materials were understood in European scholarship during the formative period of scientific anthropology and archaeology.

corundum, ruby, sapphire, Sri Lanka.12, heat treatments.6, gems, pearl, pearls, Ceylon

Tennent presents a comprehensive account of Ceylon (Sri Lanka), treating its physical geography, geology, natural history, history, antiquities, population, economy, and commerce. Based on his years in the colonial administration and extensive documentary research, the work contains substantial information on the island’s natural resources and traditional industries. Of particular gemological importance are descriptions of Ceylon’s celebrated precious stones—including sapphire, ruby and other corundum, cat’s-eye, spinel, garnet, zircon, and tourmaline—their occurrence, recovery from gem-bearing gravels, and aspects of the contemporary gem trade. Tennent also discusses pearls and the historically important pearl fisheries of the Gulf of Mannar, including the pearl oyster, fishing operations, and organization of the fisheries. The work is an important mid-nineteenth-century source for the history of Sri Lankan gemstones, gem mining, and pearl production.