approximating to that of a padlock. When this is attached to a child’s
neck, it is supposed to bind the little one to life and protect it
from all danger in infantile diseases. A jade object of a different
kind is sometimes used at nuptial feasts in China. This is a cup having
the form of a cock, and both bride and groom drink from it. The form
of this vessel is accounted for by a legend to the effect that when a
beautiful white cock saw its young mistress, who had often petted it,
throw herself into a well in a transport of despair at the loss of her
lover, the faithful fowl sought and found death in the same way, so as
not to be separated from its mistress.
Among the splendid Chinese jade carvings of the Woodward Collection
is a curious symbolic ornament carved out of the rare _fei-ts’ui
yü_, or “kingfisher-green jade,” a rich emerald green jadeite with
translucent green shading. This ornament, executed in the beginning of
the eighteenth century and believed to be a product of the Imperial
Jade Works in Peking, figures the natural form of a so-called
“hand-of-Buddha” citron, the finger-like protuberances of the fruit
suggesting this strangely fanciful name. The Chinese regard this as a
most felicitous emblem, denoting at once a long life and abundance of
riches for its enjoyment. In the present carving the figure of a bat
clinging to the foliage enveloping the fruit constitutes an added omen
of good fortune, the Chinese character _fu_ signifying at once “bat”
and “happiness,” another proof of what we are prone to call Chinese
queerness, for with the superstitious of our race the bat is always
looked upon as especially ill-omened.[105]
It is a well-known fact that many analogies have been found between
the customs, usages, and products of the more civilized aborigines of
the New World and those of the ancient Egyptians. Another instance is
offered by the custom of placing a piece of _chalchihuitl_ (jade?) or
of some other green stone in the mouth of a noble, after his death,
and calling this his heart. Among the lower classes a _texaxoctli_, a
stone of small value, was used for the same purpose. We shall see that,
in the Egyptian “Book of the Dead,” directions are given for putting a
semi-precious stone on or in a mummy, as a symbol, and designating this
the heart of the deceased person. For the use of a green stone for this
purpose by the ancient Mexicans, Mrs. Zelia Nuttall finds a reason in
the two meanings of the Nahuatl word _xoxouhqui-yollotl_, which is used
to signify a “free man,” the literal meaning being a “fresh or green
heart.” Hence, the stone was a symbol of the rank of the deceased as
well as of his heart.[106] The fact that jade celts have been found cut
into several pieces is taken to indicate the high value placed upon
this material; for it has been conjectured by Dr. Earle Flint, that a
living chief would cut a piece from the jade he wore as a sign of his
rank, in order to provide a suitable ornament or amulet for a dead
kinsman.
To certain of the Chinese “tomb-jades”—that is, jade amulets deposited
with the dead—has been given the name _han-yü_, or “mouth-jade,”
because these amulets, supposed to afford protection to the dead, were
placed in their mouths. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York
contains a fine collection of 279 specimens of jade from Chinese tombs,
found within the past five or six years, and presented to the museum
by Mr. Samuel F. Peters. In color these jades are not especially
attractive, for the material has acquired a brownish stain, due to the
products of decomposition of the body, and also to the absorption of
some of the chemical constituents of the other objects in the tomb,
during the long period of time, in many cases a thousand years or more,
since the bodies were consigned to their final resting place.
So multifarious are the uses to which jade is put by the Chinese, and
so great is their admiration of its qualities, that they regard it as
the musical gem _par excellence_. A series of oblong pieces of jade, of
the same length and width, usually about 1.8 feet long and 1.35 feet
wide, and numbering from 12 to 24, constitute a chime, the difference
in the notes emitted by the material when sharply struck depending
upon the varying thickness of the separate pieces. What is designated
the “stone chime” used in court and religious ceremonials, is composed
of 16 undecorated stones, while a series known as the singers’ chime
consists of from 12 to 24 pieces carved into fantastic shapes. This
use of jade for the production of musical sounds dates far back in
the Chinese annals. We are told that when Confucius was much troubled
at the ill-success of his efforts to reform the Chinese morals of his
day, he sought consolation in playing on the “musical stone.” A peasant
who noted this in passing by, exclaimed, as he heard the sounds: “Full
indeed is the heart of him who beats the musical stone like that!”[107]
A jade ornament greatly favored by the Maoris of New Zealand bore
the name _hei-tiki_ (“a carved image for the neck”). The ornaments of
this class are very rude and grotesque representations of the human
face or form, and were generally regarded as schematically figuring
some departed ancestor. The head sometimes slanted right or left,
so that the eyes, which were very large and occasionally inlaid
with mother-of-pearl, were on an angle of forty-five degrees. These
ornaments were prized not only as memorials, but because, having
been worn by successive ancestors, they were supposed to communicate
something of the very being of those ancestors to such descendants as
were privileged to wear the treasured heirloom in their turn. In many
cases, when the family was dying out, the last male member would leave
directions that his _hei-tiki_ should be buried with him, so that it
might not fall into the hands of strangers.[108]
So rare was this New Zealand jade, known to the Maoris as _punamu_
(green-stone), that the aid of a _tohunga_, or wizard, was regarded
as necessary to learn where it could be found. On setting forth on
a search for this material, the jade-seekers would take with them a
_tohunga_, and when the party reached the region where jade was usually
found the _tohunga_ would retire to some solitary spot and would fall
into a trance. On awaking he would claim that the spirit of some
person, dead or living, had appeared to him and had directed to search
in a particular place for the jade. He would then conduct the party
to this place, where a larger or smaller piece of jade was invariably
found. Of course the wizard had previously assured himself of the
presence of the stone in the place indicated.
To this jade was given the name of the man whose spirit had revealed
its location, and in many cases the grotesque form given to the stone
was conceived to represent this man. We can easily understand the
reverence accorded to the _hei-tikis_ when we consider that they
were not only prized as heirlooms, which had been handed down by the
successive heads of the family, but were also believed to have been
originally found in such a mysterious way.
When the head of the family died, his _hei-tiki_ was generally buried
with his body, but was exhumed after a shorter or longer time by the
nearest male relative. As we have noted, if no representative of the
family remained, the heirloom was allowed to remain in the grave. The
fact that tribal or intertribal feuds sometimes arose in regard to
the possession of a _hei-tiki_ serves to prove the peculiar virtues
ascribed to them.
While there can be little doubt that the heirloom was supposed to
represent, in a very general way, the person whose name it bore, the
particular form given it was largely determined by the natural shape
of the mass, which was slowly and patiently fashioned into the form it
eventually acquired. Though this was mainly due to the imperfect means
of which the artist disposed, there was probably a conviction that
the form of the natural stone was not the result of accident, but was
in itself significant and required only to be rendered more clear and
definite. The fabrication of the _hei-tikis_ of the Maoris is said to
have ceased in the early part of the last century. The greater number
of those that have been collected in New Zealand appear to have been
made from one hundred to one hundred and fifty years ago.[109]
Jasper
The jasper had great repute in ancient times as a rain-bringer, and
the fourth century author of “Lithica” celebrates this quality in the
following lines:[110]
The gods propitious hearken to his prayers,
Whoe’er the polished grass-green jasper wears;
His parched glebe they’ll satiate with rain,
And send for showers to soak the thirsty plain.
Evidently the green hue of this translucent stone suggested its
association with the verdure of the fields in an even closer degree
than was the case with transparent green stones such as the emerald,
etc. Another early authority, Damigeron, mentions this belief, and
states that only when properly consecrated would the jasper do service
in this way.[111] Jasper was also credited in the fourth century with
the virtue of driving away evil spirits and protecting those who wore
it from the bites of venomous creatures.[112] An anonymous German
author of the eleventh or twelfth century recommends the use of this
stone for the cure of snake bites, and states that if it be placed upon
the bitten part the matter will come out from the wound.[113] Here the
cure is operated, not by the absorbent quality of the stone, but by its
supposed power to attract poison or venom to itself, thus removing the
cause of disease.
A popular etymology of the Greek and Latin name for jasper is reported
by Bartolomæus Anglicus, who writes that “in the head of an adder that
hyght Aspis is founde a lytyl stone that is called Jaspis.” The same
authority pronounces this stone to be of “wunder vertue,” and says
that “it hath as many vertues as dyvers coloures and veines.”[114]
This is fully in accord with tradition, for, as color was at least as
important as chemical composition in determining the talismanic or
therapeutic worth of the different stones, the great variety of colors
and markings in the different jaspers naturally indicated their use in
many different ways.
Jet
Jet has been found among the palæolithic remains in the caves of the
“Kesslerloch,” near Thayngen, Canton Schaffhausen, Switzerland. The
material was evidently derived from the deposits in Würtemberg and
was shaped by flint chips. Quite possibly jet, as well as amber, was
already regarded as possessing a certain talismanic virtue. Such
ornaments, when worn, were believed to become a part of the very
body and soul of the wearer, and were therefore to be guarded with
jealous care.[115] In the palæolithic cave-deposits of Belgium also,
jet appears, the supply being in this instance derived from northern
Lorraine. The fragments had been rounded and pierced through the
centre.[116] This indicates their use as parts of a necklace or as
pendants. Necklaces, bracelets, and rings were especially favored for
the wearing of talismanic gems, since the stones could easily be so set
that they would come in direct contact with the skin.
Jet was one of the materials used by the Pueblo Indians for their
amulets. An exceptionally well-executed figure of a frog made of
this material was found in Pueblo Bonito, in 1896, by Mr. Pepper.
The representation is much more realistic than is the case in the
other figures of this type from this region. Turquoise eyes have been
inserted in the head of the figure and a band of turquoise surrounds
the neck.[117]
Lapis-Lazuli
Both in Babylonia and in Egypt, lapis-lazuli was very highly valued,
and this is shown by the use of its Assyrian name (_uknu_) in poetic
metaphor. Thus, in a hymn to the moon-god Sin, he is addressed as the
“strong bull, great of horns, perfect in form, with long flowing beard,
bright as lapis-lazuli.”[118] This may remind us of the “hyacinthine
locks” of classical literature.
Lapis-lazuli, “a blue stone with little golden spots,” was a cure for
melancholy and for the “quartern fever,” an intermittent fever
returning each third day, or each fourth day counting in the previous
attack.[119]
[Illustration: JASPER PENDANT.
Aztec Mexican. Used to stanch blood.]
[Illustration: PIECE OF NATURAL LOADSTONE.
Used in sixteenth century for medicinal purposes.]
[Illustration: ARAGONITE PENDANT.
Used for votive purposes in Armenia. Field Museum, Chicago.]
Loadstone
We have the authority of Plato (Ion, 533 D) for the statement that the
word _magnetis_ was first applied to the loadstone by the tragic poet
Euripides (480-405 B.C.), the more usual name being “the Heraclean
stone.” These designations refer to two places in Lydia, Magnesia and
Herakleia, where the mineral was found.[120] Pliny states, on the
authority of Nicander, that a certain Magnes, a shepherd, discovered
the mineral on Mount Ida, while pasturing his flock, because the nails
of his shoes clung to a piece of it.[121]
We are told by Pliny that Ptolemy Philadelphus (309-247 B.C.), planning
to erect a temple in honor of his sister and wife Arsinoë, called in
the aid of Chirocrates, an Alexandrian architect. The latter engaged
to place therein an iron statue of Arsinoë which should appear to hang
in mid-air without support. However, both the Egyptian king and his
architect died before the design could be realized.[122] This story of
an image held in suspense by means of powerful magnets set in the floor
and roof, and sometimes also in the walls of a temple, is repeated in
a variety of forms by early writers. Of course, there was no real
foundation for such tales, as the thing is altogether impracticable.
The Roman poet Claudian (fifth century A.D.) relates that the priests
of a certain temple, in order to offer a dramatic spectacle to the eyes
of the worshippers, caused two statues to be executed,—one of Mars in
iron, and another of Venus in loadstone. At a special festival these
statues were placed near to each other, and the loadstone drew the iron
to itself. Claudian vividly describes this:
The priests prepare a marriage feast.
Behold a marvel! Instant to her arms
Her eager husband Cythereia charms;
And ever mindful of her ancient fires,
With amorous breath his martial breast inspires;
Lifts the loved weight, close round his helmet twines
Her loving arms, and close embraces joins,
Drawn by the mystic influence from afar.
Flies to the wedded gem the God of War.
The Magnet weds the Steel: the sacred rites
Nature attends, and th’ heavenly pair unites.[123]
There was current as early as the fourth century a curious belief that
a piece of loadstone, if placed beneath the pillow of a sleeping wife,
would act as a touchstone of her virtue. This first appears in the
Alexandrian poem “Lithica,” and it has been thus quaintly Englished by
a fourteenth century translator:
Also magnes is in lyke wyse as adamas; yf it be sett under the heed
of a chaste wyfe, it makyth her sodenly to beclyppe [embrace] her
husbonde; & yf she be a spowse breker, she shall meve her oute of the
bed sodenly by drede of fantasy.[124]
The same writer attempts an explanation of the popular fancy that when
powdered loadstone was thrown upon coals in the four corners of a
house, the inmates would feel as though the house were falling down;
of this he says: “That seemynge is by mevynge [moving] that comyth by
tornynge of the brayn.”[125]
In classical writings the fascination exercised by a very beautiful
woman is sometimes likened to the attractive power of the loadstone,
as notably by Lucian,[126] who says that if such a woman looks at a
man she draws him to her, and leads him whither she will, just as the
loadstone draws the iron. To the same idea is probably due the fact
that in several languages the name given to the loadstone indicates
that its peculiar power was conceived to be a manifestation of the
sympathy or love of one mineral substance for another. This is commonly
believed to be the sense in which we should understand the French
designation _aimant_, namely, as the participle of the verb _aimer_,
“to love”; however, some etymologists prefer to derive the word from
_adamas_, sometimes used in Low Latin for the loadstone, although
properly signifying the diamond. It is certainly worthy of note that in
two such dissimilar languages as Sanskrit and Chinese, the influence of
this idea appears in the names given to the loadstone. In Sanskrit the
word is _chumbaka_ or “the kisser,” and in Chinese _t’ su shi_, or “the
loving-stone.” Chin T’sang Khi, a Chinese author of the eighth century,
wrote that “the loadstone attracts iron just as does a tender mother
when she calls her children to her.”[127]
A rich growth of Mohammedan legends grew up about the exploits of
Alexander the Great, a striking example being given on another page,
and in one of them it is related that the Greek world-conqueror
provided his soldiers with loadstones as a defence against the wiles
of the jinns, or evil spirits; the loadstone, as well as magnetized
iron, being regarded as a sure defence against enchantments and all the
machinations of malignant spirits.[128]
In the East Indies it is said that a king should have a seat of
loadstone at his coronation; probably because the magnetic influence
of the stone was supposed to attract power, favor, and gifts to the
sovereign. But it is not only in the Orient that magnetite is prized
for its talismanic powers, for even in some parts of our own land this
belief is still prevalent. Large quantities of loadstone are found at
Magnet Cove, Arkansas, and it is estimated that from one to three tons
are sold annually to the negroes to be used in the Voodoo ceremonies as
conjuring stones. The material has been found in land used for farming
purposes, and many pieces have been turned up in ploughing for corn;
these vary from the size of a pea to masses weighing from ten to twenty
pounds. They occur in a reddish-brown, sticky soil; their surface is
smooth and brown and they have the appearance of water-worn pebbles.
In July, 1887, an interesting case was tried in Macon, Georgia, where
a negro woman sued a conjuror to recover five dollars which she had
paid him for a piece of loadstone to serve as a charm to bring back
her wandering husband. As the market value of this mineral was only
seventy-five cents a pound, and the piece was very small, weighing but
a few ounces, the judge ordered that the money should be refunded.[129]
Malachite
For some reason not easy to fathom, malachite was considered to be a
talisman peculiarly appropriate for children. If a piece of this stone
were attached to an infant’s cradle, all evil spirits were held aloof
and the child slept soundly and peacefully.[130] In some parts of
Germany, malachite shared with turquoise the repute of protecting the
wearer from danger in falling, and it also gave warning of approaching
disaster by breaking into several pieces.[131] This material was well
known to the ancient Egyptians, malachite mines having been worked
between Suez and Sinai as early as 4000 B.C.
The appropriate design to be engraved upon malachite was the image of
the sun. Such a gem became a powerful talisman and protected the wearer
from enchantments, from evil spirits, and from the attacks of venomous
creatures.[132] The sun, as the source of all light, was generally
regarded as the deadly enemy of necromancers, witches, and demons, who
delighted in the darkness and feared nothing more than the bright light
of day.
Moonstone
The moonstone is believed to bring good fortune and is regarded as a
sacred stone in India. It is never displayed for sale there, except on
a yellow cloth, as yellow is an especially sacred color. As a gift for
lovers the moonstone takes a high rank, for it is believed to arouse
the tender passion, and to give lovers the power to read in the future
the fortune, good or ill, that is in store for them. To gain this
knowledge, however, the stone must be placed in the mouth while the
moon is full.[133]
Antoine Mizauld[134] tells us of a selenite or moonstone owned by a
friend of his, a great traveller. This stone, about the size of the
gold piece known as the gold noble, but somewhat thicker, indicated
the waxing and waning of the moon by a certain white point or mark
which grew larger or smaller as did the moon. Mizauld relates that to
convince himself of the truth of this he obtained possession of the
stone for one lunar month, during which time he sedulously observed
it. The white mark first appeared at the top. It was like a small
millet-seed, increasing in size and moving down on the stone, always
assuming the form of the moon until, on reaching the middle, it was
round like the full moon; then the mark gradually passed up again
as the moon diminished. The owner declared that he had “vowed and
dedicated this stone to the young king [Edward VI], who was then highly
esteemed because he had good judgment in regard to rare and precious
things.”
Onyx
The onyx, if worn on the neck, was said to cool the ardors of love,
and Cardano relates that everywhere in India the stone was worn
for this purpose.[135] This belief is closely related to the idea
commonly associated with the onyx,—namely, that it provoked discord
and separated lovers. The close union and yet the strange contrast
between the layers of black and white may have suggested this.
[Illustration: OBSIDIAN MASK, FROM THE FAYOUM, EGYPT.
Twelfth Dynasty. Late De Lesseps Collection. Collection of Mrs. Henry
Draper. The obsidian is the typical stone of Mexico.]
Pyrites
Crystals of iron pyrites (pyrite, native iron disulphide) are sometimes
used as amulets by the North American Indians, and the belief in
their magic power is attested by their presence in the outfit of
miscellaneous objects which the medicine-men use in the course of their
incantations. Because these gleaming yellow crystals are occasionally
mistaken for gold, the name “fool’s gold” has been popularly bestowed
upon them.[136]
[Illustration: OBSIDIAN MIRROR, FROM OAXACA, MEXICO. NOW IN TROCADÉRO
MUSEUM, PARIS.
See “Gems and Precious Stones of North America,” by George Frederick
Kunz, New York, 1890, p. 299.]
Of this material the ancient Mexicans made wonderful mirrors, one
side being usually polished flat, while the other side was strongly
convex. Frequently this side was curiously carved with some symbolic
representation as appears in the case of a pyrite mirror of the Pinard
collection in the Trocadéro, Paris.[137]
Rock-crystal
The popular belief in his time as to the origin of rock-crystal is
voiced by St. Jerome, when, using the words of Pliny, although not
citing his authority, he says that it was formed by the congelation
of water in dark caverns of the mountains, where the temperature
was intensely cold, so that, “While a stone to the touch, it seems
like water to the eye.” This belief was evidently due to the fact
that rock-crystal was so often found in mountain clefts and caverns.
Symbolically, it signified that those within the portals of the Church
should keep themselves free from stain and have a pure faith.[138]
[Illustration: ROCK-CRYSTAL SKULL, ANCIENT MEXICAN
Weighing 475¼ oz. Troy. Now in the British Museum, London. From
“Gems and Precious Stones of North America,” by George Frederick Kunz,
New York, 1890, p. 285.]
The Chinese emperor Wu was devoted to the service of the gods and of
the immortal spirits. He built many edifices for religious purposes,
and all the doors of these buildings were made of white rock-crystal,
so that a flood of light poured into the interior. Although the Chinese
texts call this material rock-crystal, it is possible that the name was
applied to glass when that substance was but recently introduced into
China.[139]
Regarding this same “rock-crystal” a humorous tale is related.
Muan-fen, a mandarin who had a great terror of draughts, was once
received in the palace by one of the Chinese emperors. The doors of the
audience chamber were of rock-crystal and were tightly closed, but,
because of the transparency of the material, they seemed to be wide
open, and the emperor was greatly amused to note that Muan-fen was
shivering with cold, although the temperature of the room was quite
comfortable.[140]
An exceptionally fine specimen of Aztec work is a skull carved out of
rock-crystal. It weighs 475¼ ounces Troy, and measures 8¼ inches
in width.
Ruby