Opening
THE BOOK OF THE PEARL
THE BOOK OF THE PEARL THE HISTORY, ART, SCIENCE, AND INDUSTRY OF THE QUEEN OF GEMS
BY GEORGE FREDERICK KUNZ, A.M., Ph.D. AND CHARLES HUGH STEVENSON, LL.M., D.C.L.
Orient pearls fit for a queen Will I give thy love to win, And a shell to keep them in. —The Faithful Shepherdess (1611)
NEW YORK THE CENTURY CO. 1908
Copyright, 1908, by THE CENTURY CO.
Published October, 1908
THE DE VINNE PRESS
TO
MARGARET, THE PEARL
AS A SLIGHT MARK OF APPRECIATION BY THE AUTHORS OF HER FATHER’S GENEROUS ENCOURAGEMENT OF SCIENCE, ART, ENGINEERING, TECHNOLOGY, AND LITERATURE
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XVII THE ABORIGINAL USE OF PEARLS, AND THEIR DISCOVERY IN 485 MOUNDS AND GRAVES
BIBLIOGRAPHY 517
INDEX 541
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
The Czarina of Russia Frontispiece
FACING PAGE
Ancient Chinese crown with pearls. Ancient Chinese pearl rosary. Chinese priests keeping guard over the tombs of the kings, in Mukden, where the crowns are preserved 4
Grecian pearl and gold necklace 8
Front cover of Ashburnham manuscript of the Four Gospels 16
Francis I, King of France, 1494–1547. Isabelle de Valois 19
(From photographs by A. Giraudon)
Maria Theresa (1717–1780), Queen of Hungary 24
Facsimile of title-page of decrees of Venetian Senate regulating the wearing of pearls 27
Lady Abinger. Mrs. Adair. Baroness de Forest. Hon. Mrs. Renard Gréville. Marchioness of Lansdowne. Lady Londonderry. Lady Wimborne 30
(From photographs, copyright by Lafayette, Ltd., London)
Venezuela shell. Panama shell 36
Shells from Venezuela with attached pearls. Exterior view of same. X-ray photograph of shell, printed through exterior of shell and showing encysted pearls 39
Mexican pearl-oyster with adherent pearl. Group of encysted pearls in shell of Australian pearl-oyster. Mexican pearl-oyster with encysted fish. Group of encysted pearls (oriental). Reverse of same group, showing outline of the individual pearls 42
Cross section of an irregular pearl, magnified 80 diameters. Cross sections of pearls, magnified 30 diameters. Thin section of mother-of-pearl, magnified, showing sponge borings which traversed the pearl shell. Structure of conch pearl produced by fracturing, magnified 80 diameters 53
Pearls from common clam of eastern coast of America. Pearl “nuggets” from the Mississippi Valley. Wing pearls from the Mississippi Valley. Dog-tooth pearls from the Mississippi Valley 55
Actual sizes of pearls from ⅛ grain to 160 grains 57
Brooches made of petal, dog-tooth, and wing pearls 58
Gray pearls in the possession of an American lady and brooch from Tiffany & Co.’s exhibit, Paris Exposition, 1900 60
Shell of pearl-oyster with attached pearl 68
Pinna or wing shell. Pearl-oyster of Ceylon 72
Shell and pearls of the common conch 76
Cargo boat in pearl fishery of the Persian Gulf. Huts of mats and palm leaves, the homes of the pearl fishermen at Menamah, Bahrein Islands, Persian Gulf 87
Agha Mohammed (1666–1725). Shah Sulaiman (1647–1694) 88
Arab pearl-divers at work in the Persian Gulf 90
His Imperial Majesty, Mohammed Ali, Shah of Persia 94
The “Prince of Pearls”; the late Rana of Dholpur in his pearl regalia 101
The late Maharajah of Patiala 108
Facsimiles of notices of pearl-fishing at Marichchikadde, in English and Cingalese 110–111
Unloading oysters from the vessels into the kottus at Marichchikadde, Ceylon. The pearling fleet on the shore at Marichchikadde, Ceylon. Hindu workmen preparing to drill pearls, Marichchikadde, Ceylon 115
Indian pearl merchants ready for business. Children of Persian pearl dealers 120
Street scene in Marichchikadde, the pearling camp of Ceylon. Return of the fleet from the pearl reefs to Marichchikadde, Ceylon 126
Pearls presented by the Imam of Muscat to President Van Buren 131
Necklace and earrings from the treasury of the Emir of Bohkara 136
Carved “Jerusalem Shell” from the Red Sea 142
Cap of State, from looting of summer palace, Pekin, in 1860 145
Fishing for the awabi (abalone) shells at Wada-no-hara, Japan 148
(From “The Burlington Art Magazine”)
Old print showing four methods of catching pearl-bearing mollusks 160
Madame Norischkine née Straudman. Duchesse Elizabeth (Constantin). (From a photograph by Ch. Bergamasco, St. Petersburg) (From a photograph by A. Pasetti, St. Petersburg) Daughter of General Sobelieff, first Countess Beauharnais 163
Scotch pearl rivers 167
Great Cameo Pearl 170
Dowager Czarina of Russia. Grand Duchess Vladimir. (From a photograph by Ch. Bergamasco, St. Petersburg) Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna 174
Miter of Patriarch Nikon 176
Panagia or ornament worn on the breast of a bishop in Russia 180
Russian Boyard ladies of the seventeenth century, showing caps and other ornaments of pearls 184
Pearl-divers of the Tuamotu Archipelago. Settlement of pearl fishermen at Hiqueru, Tuamotu Archipelago 197
Pearling boats at Hiqueru, Tuamotu Archipelago. Australian pearl-diver (armored) coming up from the depths 204
Opening pearl-oysters and searching for pearls, off the coast of Australia. Grading, weighing, and packing mother-of-pearl, off the coast of Australia 213
Moro boats, used among the pearl islands of the Malay Archipelago. Raft used for pearl-fishing in the Malay Archipelago 216
Pearling village, with youthful fishermen, Sulu Islands. Japanese diver in Dutch East Indies, come up to “blow” for a few minutes 220
Gray pearls from Lower California, and diamonds 228
Clara Eugenia, daughter of Philip II 237
The Adams gold vase 248
Negro pearling camp, on bank of an Arkansas river. Group of Arkansas pearl fishermen 254
Brooch, Renaissance style, set with baroque pearls, from American streams 259
Brooches and rings of fresh-water pearls from Wisconsin and Tennessee 262
Pearl-bearing unios 266
Pearling scene on White River, Arkansas. Pearling camp on upper Mississippi River 270
The evolution of buttons, made from Mississippi shells 275
Necklace of fresh-water pearls 276
Shell of pearl-bearing abalone 280
Shell of Dipsas plicatus, with attached metal figures of Buddha coated with nacre. Shell of _Dipsas plicatus_, with attached porcelain beads coated with nacre 286
Artificial rearing-ponds for the development of pearl-oysters on the Island of Espiritŭ Santo, Gulf of California. Trays containing small pearl-oysters prepared for placing at the bottom of artificial rearing-ponds 291
Japanese legend of the dragon and the pearl, idealized in Jade 302
Russian eikon of the Madonna 312
Pectoral cross of Constantine IX, Monomachus (1000–1054 A.D.) 321
Great pearl necklace of the French crown jewels 332
The Siamese Prince in full regalia 336
Half-pearls: lots of three different sizes. Brooch of half-pearls and onyx, United States, 1860 343
Pearl nose rings, Baroda, India. East Indian earring of strings of pearls and table diamonds. Grape pendants. Oriental pearls 345
Necklace containing 126,000 seed-pearls, Louis XVI period 346
Seed-pearls and gold; Chinese ornaments of the nineteenth century. Complete set of seed-pearl jewelry in original case 357
Persian princess and ladies in waiting 364
Facsimiles of the title-page and last leaf of an enactment abolishing duty on pearls, English Parliament, 1732 368
Pearl drilling 376
Pearl stringing 383
Necklace of seed-pearls, United States, Civil War period 389
Mother-of-pearl shell from Tahiti 390
Ladies’ sewing case and scissors inlaid with half-pearls; watches incrusted with half-pearls; snuff-box, ivory inlaid with fresh-water pearls; miniature surrounded by half-pearls 395
Evolution of a seed-pearl brooch. Seed-pearls, Indian strings. White horsehair for stringing 396
Facsimile of letter of M. Gaston Mogeaud, Director of the Louvre 398
Madame Thiers’s pearl necklace, bequeathed to the Louvre Museum, Paris 398
(From a photograph by A. Giraudon)
Antique ornaments of pearls 404
Tyszkiewizc bronze statuette of Aphrodite 407
Pearl earrings from Herculaneum and Pompeii 408
Antique pearl ornaments 410
East Indian necklace of pearls, table diamonds, glass beads, gold and enamel 413
Crown of Reccesvinthus and other Gothic crowns of the seventh century 416
(From a photograph by A. Giraudon)
Her Majesty, Queen Alexandra of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India 418
(From a photograph by W. & D. Downey, London)
Crown of St. Edward 424
(From “The English Regalia,” published by Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Company, Ltd., London)
The Empress Dowager of China 431
Pearl ornaments of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries 434
Margherita, Dowager Queen of Italy 439
Collection of black pearls belonging to an American lady 440
Señora Carmen Romero Rubio de Diaz, wife of President Porfirio Diaz of Mexico 442
(From a photograph by Valleto & Co., Mexico)
Jade jar inlaid with pearls set with fine gold. Japanese decoration set with pearls 444
Gaikwar of Baroda, 1908 450
Mary, Queen of Scots 453
(From “Portraits and Jewels of Mary Stuart,” published by James MacLehose and Sons, Glasgow)
Queen Elizabeth of England. Elizabeth of France 456
Pearl carpet or shawl of the Gaikwar of Baroda 460
The Hope pearl. Weighs 1800 grains 463
Her Grace, the Duchess of Marlborough 465
(From a photograph by Lafayette, Ltd., London)
The Madame Nordica collection of colored pearls 468
Grand pearl diadem of the French crown jewels 471
The Imperial Austrian crown 472
The Great Sévigné of the French crown jewels 474
Madame Nordica 476
Mrs. George J. Gould 480
Fresh-water pearls from Hopewell group of mounds, Ross County, Ohio 499
Fresh-water pearls from Hopewell group of mounds, Ross County, Ohio 510
MAPS
PAGE
The pearling regions in Ceylon and British India 129
Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, the pearling center of the world 140
The pearling regions in Oceania and Malaysia 191
Venezuela and Panama, the principal pearling regions of South America 227
Gulf of California and the pearling territory of western Mexico 243