ornamented sword given by the Greeks of America to King Constantine of
Greece, on Easter Day, 1913, just before the recipient succeeded to the
royal dignity, may be looked upon as a talisman designed to assure good
fortune and long life to the sovereign, as well as prosperity to the
state over which he rules. This sword, which was made by Tiffany &
Company, is even more noteworthy because of its artistic merit than on
account of its intrinsic value. Another talismanic embellishment of the
sword is an inlaid didrachm of Alexander the Great (356–323 B.C.); it is
a well-known fact and one frequently recorded by ancient and medieval
writers, that the coins of this monarch were often treasured up as
amulets or talismans.[660] In the present instance, indeed, the charm,
if charm there be, should work most effectively, as we can imagine no
more appropriate guardian of the present ruler of Greece than the
greatest hero and the mightiest conqueror the Greek race ever produced.
This sword was presented to His Majesty Constantine XII, King of the
Hellenes, by the Greek residents of the United States, to commemorate
his defeat of the Turks at Salonika and Janina. By these victories of
the Greek armies under King Constantine, who was at that time the Crown
Prince of Greece, the Greek people of Macedonia and Epirus were
liberated from the Turkish yoke, and these rich provinces were added to
the Greek crown. The Committee of Presentation consisted of Mr.
Caftanzoglu, Chargé d’Affaires of Greece in Washington; Mr. D. Vlasto,
editor of “Atlantis”; Dr. Breck Trowbridge, president, and Dr. T.
Tileston Wells, vice-president of the Society of American Philhellenes,
with the coöperation of Dr. George F. Kunz, a member of the council of
the above society.
The green variety of microcline, a potash-feldspar, is known as the
“amazon-stone.” It is found at Amelia Court House, Virginia, at Pike’s
Peak, Colorado, at Rockport, Cape Ann, and in the Ural Mountains in
Russia. It has recently been proposed as the stone for the Suffrage
party. This amazon-stone could be cut in little beads of a beautiful
pale green and after appropriate mounting they could be worn suspended
by a ribbon from the button-hole. As the stone is inexpensive it ought
to meet with favor among the hundreds of thousands who are aggressive in
their advocacy of this cause.
Among the many persons of our day who still have or had a lingering
faith in the efficacy of amulets, may be mentioned the late actress,
Mrs. Annie Yeamans, who left special directions in her will that a
little amulet attached to a gold chain which she constantly wore, should
be left on her body and buried with her. We may call this superstition
or sentiment, as we will, but there seems to be an almost invincible
tendency to associate something of those dear to us and lost to us with
inanimate objects that may have been theirs, and the memories called up
by some simple trinket show that psychologically a certain power really
does exist in such objects. The sentiment they awaken is only in
ourselves, and the impression that awakes it as well, but the presence
of the inanimate object actually conditions the awakening of the
feeling. Thus we can scarcely deny to amulets a certain inherent quality
in this respect.
Often some strange, quaint, or bizarre design seen in the shop of a
dealer in antiques will make a peculiar and individual appeal to the
observer, and will be chosen by him as his personal amulet, as though
fate had destined the object for his special use. So we are told that
Mr. Augustin Osman, the artist, secured possession of a singular gold
ornament representing a human skull; upon it was figured in opals the
word “Ave.” On the first night after the acquisition of this object, the
artist had a vivid dream, in which the impression was conveyed to him
that he would always enjoy good fortune as long as the golden skull
remained in his possession. Evidently the opals took nothing in his
opinion from the luck-producing quality of this grewsome ornament;
indeed, it seems more probable that they added to it.
[Illustration:
THE BIRTH OF THE OPAL
Autographed for this work by the authoress, Ella Wheeler Wilcox
]
A curious modern talisman is the work of M. Charles Rivaud, who has
frequently exhibited splendid specimens of artistic jewelry at the Paris
Salon; this talisman cleverly combines artistic merit with a dash of
African magic. It is a slender bracelet composed of interlaced spirals
of oxidized silver and gold; around the circlet is twined a hair taken
from an elephant. Among the tribesmen of the Soudan the hairs of this
animal are believed to be endowed with great talismanic virtue; indeed,
they enjoyed a similar repute among the ancient Romans. Whether this
belief was due to the idea that the wearer of the hair was assured a
mighty protection, typified by the enormous strength of the elephant, or
whether to the fact that the elephant was with some peoples a divine
symbol, we cannot easily determine.
The opal has long since emerged from the slight cloud of disfavor due to
a most erroneous fancy that it was in some way associated with ill-luck.
This idea, possibly in its origin explainable by the comparative
fragility of the gem, found a consistent and earnest opponent in the
late Queen Victoria, whose influence did much to make opals fashionable.
Of late years they have become favorite bridal gifts, the exceptional
variety of color in the beautiful examples from the White Cliff mines in
New South Wales, having also contributed to the renewed popularity of
the stone. A parure of these opals was not long since bestowed upon the
Empress Augusta by Emperor William of Germany, and one of the finest
Australian opals is a treasured possession of the Duchess of
Marlborough.
A very attractive example of symbolic jewelry has lately been made by a
jeweler’s firm of Besançon, France. This ornament is composed of three
keys, to which are given the respective names, Key of Love, Key of Good
Fortune, and Key of Heaven. They are to open up for the wearer the
treasures of true love, of wedded bliss, and, finally, of paradise. A
legend from the time of the Crusades suggested the form of this pretty
jewel. Mourning the departure of a knight on the long and perilous
journey to Palestine, a Provençal maiden wandered through the woodland,
seeking peace and consolation in its quiet recesses. As she passed along
the leafy pathways, she all unconsciously gave utterance to her longings
and fears in softly spoken words. All at once a bright light beamed
about her, and a radiant fairy advanced toward her and gave her an ivory
casket in which lay three jewelled keys, masterpieces of the goldsmith’s
art. The first of these, the fairy assured her, would open the young
knight’s heart to receive her image; the second would open the church
door to admit her, a happy bride; and the third, when life’s journey was
o’er, would unlock for her the gates of Paradise.
On the deservedly popular watch bracelets, things of beauty as well as
utility, the precious stones used for decoration are sometimes selected
for the significance of the first letters of their names when read in
sequence. The following example may be noted:
D iamond
E merald
A methyst
R uby
S apphire
A gate
R uby
A methyst
In this way any name or endearing epithet can be prettily expressed.
X
Facts and Fancies about Precious Stones
Many interesting facts about precious stones do not properly refer
either to their talismanic or curative powers, and yet serve in not a
few cases to indicate more or less clearly the reasons which have
determined popular fancy or superstition in attributing particular
virtues to a given stone.
As an instance of the strange vagaries of belief in the influence
exerted by certain of these stones, we may take the statement that
powdered agate dissolved in beer was used by the Bretons as a test of
virginity. If a young girl were unable to retain this delectable mixture
on her stomach, she was supposed to be impure.[661] The ability to stand
this test seems rather to prove the possession of a strong stomach than
a clear conscience.
Rainbow Agate is a name appropriately applied to agates showing a
beautiful prismatic effect. These are composed of quartz and chalcedony
in very fine layers. The writer secured a splendid specimen of this type
of agate set in a jewel which had formed part of an old Saxon
collection; it may possibly have come from India. The prismatic play of
color differs from that observed in quartz iris, in that the iridescence
is due to the minute interference lines and not, as with the iris, to
internal fractures.
The greatest interest was manifested in the eighteenth century in these
agates, one of which was described in a special pamphlet under the
title, “Regenbogen Achat,” and illustrated with a colored plate. The
effect was that of a spectrum rather than the iris effect of the
crystalline quartz. This iris was also highly valued, and great favor
was set upon brilliant examples of what was in reality rock-crystal
fractured, the small fracture-planes causing the breaking up of the
light and producing the rainbow or iris effect. In fact it was a
spectrum produced by the mixture of quartz between the chalcedonic
layers.
Cellini has a marvellous story to tell of a luminous carbuncle. A
certain Jacopo Cola, a vine-grower, going into his vineyard one night
noticed what appeared to be a bit of glowing coal at the foot of one of
the vines, but on reaching the spot he was unable to locate the source
of this radiance. Very wisely he retraced his steps to the spot whence
he had first observed the light, which became again apparent, and when
he now very carefully approached the vine he found that the gleam
proceeded from a rough little stone, which he joyfully picked up and
carried off with him. He showed it to a number of his friends and among
them chanced to be a Venetian envoy, an expert on precious stones, who
immediately recognized that the find was a carbuncle. Thereupon taking a
base advantage of the finder’s ignorance, he succeeded in buying the
stone for only ten scudi, and then hastened away from Rome, lest his
deception should be discovered. Not long afterwards this same Venetian
went to Constantinople and sold the stone to the Sultan of the time for
100,000 scudi, a profit of 10,000 per cent.[662] The fact that the
vintner could only see the gleam from a given spot is in itself
sufficient proof that what he noted was merely the reflection of some
distant light striking a smooth surface of the stone at a certain angle.
Among the many virtues credited to carnelian by the Mohammedans may be
noted its power to preserve the equanimity and gravity of the wearer in
the midst of disputes or inordinate laughter. A special and peculiar
utilization of this material was to employ splinters of it as
toothpicks. Their use not only whitened the teeth but also prevented
bleeding of the gums. The Prophet, according to tradition, asserted that
the wearer of a carnelian ring would never cease to be happy and
blessed.[663]
The chrysolite is now regarded as a semi-precious stone only, yet
Shakespeare presented this gem as the type of excellence in its kind
when he wrote (“Othello,” Act V, Scene 2):
Nay, had she been true,
If heaven would make me such another world
Of one entire and perfect chrysolite,
I’d not have sold her for it.
It is interesting to note that this appreciation of the beauty of the
chrysolite is also shown in an old Greek glossary of alchemical terms,
where occur the words: Ιερὸς λίθος ἐστὶ Χρυσόλιθος, “Sacred stone means
the chrysolite.”[664]
Such was the sacred quality ascribed to strings of coral beads in some
parts of Africa, not long since, that they were regarded as the most
precious gifts a ruler could bestow. If the favored recipient were so
unfortunate as to lose this royal donation—which was a mark of high
rank—he himself, as well as all involved in the theft, incurred the
penalty of death. A writer of the seventeenth century, Palisot de
Beauvais, relates that in Benin human victims were sacrificed at a
“coral festival,” when the corals of the king and royal family were
dipped in the victim’s blood, so as to placate the coral fetish and
ensure a further supply of the precious material.[665] Possibly human
blood was believed to strengthen the special virtue supposed to be
inherent in this red substance.
There is a note of republican simplicity in the reported wearing of
coral ornaments on ceremonial occasions by the present Queen of Italy.
Indeed, the assertion that this is done to stimulate the coral industry
in Italy may be true, as nothing would better tend to do this than such
an example of royal favor for coral. Certainly this is in marked
contrast with the almost exclusive use of pearl ornaments of all kinds
so characteristic of Queen Margarita, whose devotion to the pearl, now
perhaps the most costly of gems, had a poetic appropriateness for one
bearing her name, and we can scarcely imagine the Pearl of Savoy without
her splendid parures and necklaces of pearls. Still, undoubtedly this
new departure renders it possible for all Italian women, rich or poor,
to loyally follow the example set by their Queen Helena, and there is
little danger that the rich will ever neglect to avail themselves of the
exclusive privilege they possess of owning and wearing diamonds, pearls,
rubies, sapphires and emeralds, which surpass coral as much in beauty as
they do in price.
A comparatively recent attempt to use diamond dust as a poison is said
to have been made in 1874 on Colonel Phayre, British Resident at the
court of the then reigning Gaikwar of Baroda. The colonel was in the
habit of refreshing himself after his morning walk with a glass of
sugared water flavored with a little lime-juice. One day, on taking a
sip of his customary beverage, he noted that it had a strange taste, and
instead of drinking it he saved it up and had it analyzed. The analysis
revealed the presence of arsenic in quantity sufficient to cause death,
and of diamond dust as well. Here, as in the case of Sir Thomas
Overbury, the really innocuous diamond material was accompanied by an
actual poison. The current belief in the poisonous quality of the
diamond is reflected in the words “mortal as diamond dust,” used by
Horace Walpole in one of his letters to the Countess of Ossory.[666]
A German writer of the seventeenth century quotes with admiration a
wonderful tale told by Johannes Bustamantius to the effect that he had
seen a marriage of two diamonds, the two crystals being so firmly drawn
toward each other by mutual sympathy that when they were put in one
place they would cling to one another, as with an “unending kiss,” as
though one were a man and the other a woman, and he asserts that the
union was blessed with offspring. This curious idea has been repeatedly
put forth by certain of the older writers as we have had occasion to
note elsewhere.[667]
After expatiating on the mechanical skill displayed by the Indians of
the New World, an early Spanish traveller gives the following details
regarding their success as gem-cutters:[668]
Yet all that we have said is surpassed by the ingenuity of the Indians
in working emeralds, with which they are supplied from the coast of
Manta and the countries dependent on the government of Atacames,
Coaquis or Quaques. But these mines are now entirely lost, very
probably through negligence. These curious emeralds are found in the
tombs of the Indians of Manta and Atacames; and are, in beauty, size
and hardness superior to those found in the district of Santa Fé; but
what chiefly raises the admiration of the connoisseur is, to find them
worked, some in spherical, some cylindrical, some conical, and of
various other figures; and all with a perfect accuracy. But the
unsurmountable difficulty here is, to explain how they could work a
stone of such hardness, it being evident that steel and iron were
utterly unknown to them. They pierced emeralds and other gems, with
all the delicacy of the present times, furnished with so many tools;
and the direction of the hole is also very observable; in some it
passes through the diameter, in others only to the centre of the
stone, and coming out at its circumference they formed triangles at a
small distance from one another, and thus the figure of the stone to
give it relief was varied with the direction of the holes.
The existence of emeralds in the region near Berenice is vouched for
by Ptolemy. The mines of emerald here were duly entered in the map of
the patriarch and the Arabs are said to have dug for them; but, Pocock
writes, “As all stones that may be found belong to the Grand Signior,
the Arabs are very well satisfied that the presence of emeralds should
not be suspected, because he would have the profit, and the
inhabitants might be obliged to work in the mines for a very small
consideration.”[669]
The number of ancient hematite artefacts found in the United States
indicates that this material was more largely used within its
territorial limits for implements and ornaments than in any other part
of the world;[670] indeed the somewhat sweeping statement has been
ventured that it does not seem to have been used outside of this section
of the New World; however, some exceptions to this rule must be
admitted. That certain of these ornaments were used as amulets is highly
probable, and they were undoubtedly regarded as objects of great value,
since with the primitive tools at his command the Indian cutter must
have found his task a very hard one, requiring the expenditure of much
time and patience. In the Andover Collection there is an exceptionally
fine specimen from Ross County, Ohio. It is of heavy pure hematite,
which has been worked into the form of a pendant; notches have been made
at both ends, as a form of decoration, and on the lower, broad end,
fourteen lines have been incised; the edges are slightly beveled and the
patina indicates the antiquity of the work. The lines have evidently
been made by a flint cutting-implement.[671] Another probable hematite
amulet is a rudely fashioned fish effigy. Here the appearances of eye
and gill (only on one side) are evidently merely natural irregularities
of surface, which it has been conjectured determined the cutter to add a
mouth and round off the material so as to approximate a fish-form; the
hematite is black and of fine quality. This relic comes from Cole Camp,
Benton County, Missouri.[672] The larger number of these hematite
artefacts are from Missouri, southern Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio,
West Virginia and Kentucky, and considerable numbers have been turned up
in Tennessee, New York, Wisconsin, and parts of Arkansas. Only a
relatively small number were taken out of burials or graves, the
majority of specimens having been secured on or near the surface.
Shah Jehangir relates in his memoirs that Mûnis Khân, son of Mihtar
Khân, presented him with a jug of jasper (jade), which had been made in
the reign of Mîrzâ Ulugh Beg Gûrgân, in the honored name of that prince.
It was a very delicate rarity and of a beautiful shape. Its stone was
exceedingly white and pure. Around the neck of the jar were carved
characters expressing the auspicious name of the Mîrzâ and the Hijra
year. Jehangir ordered them to inscribe his name and the auspicious name
of Akbar on the edge of the lip of the jar.[673]
Jade ornaments of ancient workmanship have been found in Syria, and it
is quite likely that in many cases where the designation plasma is used
by ancient writers, true jade, or nephrite, was the material. As there
was no specific designation for jade, the different varieties were
assimilated to other stones of like color and appearance, so that, among
others, the names jasper, plasma and even _smaragdus_ were used to
denote jade.
Mortuary tablets of jade have been used from time immemorial in China
for the reception of historic inscriptions, the toughness and durability
of the material making it especially desirable for this purpose. In the
case of rulers, such tablets not only bore the names of the deceased
sovereign but also an epitome of the leading events of his reign, and
additions were made to this record from time to time so that in historic
value they may be compared with the clay tablets of Babylonia and
Assyria. One of these interesting monuments found its way to San
Francisco, after the looting of the Forbidden City by the international
army of relief in 1901. On it appeared a record of the treaty between
the United States and China in 1868, and the other records went back to
the death of Shun Chi in 1661. Probably owing to exposure to the weather
the earlier inscriptions were not very legible.
At all important Chinese marriage ceremonies the priest carries what is
known as a “marriage sword.” This is usually about twelve or thirteen
inches in length and the sheath is often studded with various pink
stones, cut _en cabochon_. The stones most favored for this decoration
are pink tourmaline, rubellite from the Shan Mountains, or rose-quartz,
and the natural color of these gems is often intensified by placing a
pink paste or foil beneath them; occasionally the coloration of the
stones is enhanced by dipping them in a pink aniline solution. A piece
of green jade is usually set as a boss at the hilt of this symbolical
sword. In one remarkable specimen the guard consisted of a piece of
white jade with the figure of a dragon carved in relief upon it; the
sword-blade was of bronze. At the marriage ceremony the bridegroom is
given the sword to hold, and the bride the sheath; as the wedding ring
is placed upon the bride’s finger, sword and sheath are brought
together.
Among the innumerable forms of jade decoration or carving, produced by
the indefatigable and painstaking Chinese artists, is a small curved
wand often having a trefoil termination; sometimes the entire wand is of
jade, and at other times it is of teakwood adorned with jade medallions,
frequently showing birds and flowers. This wand was used as a kind of
sceptre of office, and the official entitled to bear it would hold it in
both hands when standing before the emperor. Its name, _ju-i_, means
“may all be,” and is to be taken as a wish that everything may turn out
fortunately. In modern times the _ju-i_ is carried as a lucky charm,
although its official significance is not forgotten. This form of wand
is said to have been introduced into China from India, at the time of
the Buddhist propaganda, and in representations of Buddhist priests they
are sometimes shown carrying one of them. In ancient India it was taught
to be one of the seven precious objects, the _septa-ratna_, mentioned in
the Vedas.[674] This Indian origin is, of course, highly probable, but
it is strange that in ancient Egypt also, curved wands of a somewhat
different type, made of ivory and embellished with symbolical figures,
possessed the same blended significance of marks of official dignity and
magic wands.
A large mass of lapis lazuli was found in one of the Inca graves of Peru
by Señor Emilio Montés, and was exhibited by him in the Centennial
Exhibition of 1913. With the exception of one corner that has been
chipped off, the block is of symmetrical form, the dimensions being, in
inches, 24 × 14 × 9, and the weight 312 pounds. The smoothed surface
gives evidence of careful and fairly successful polishing by the native
lapidaries. This exceptionally fine specimen of lapis lazuli is now in
the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.[675] Evidently in
ancient Peru as in the Old World the “celestial hue” of lapis lazuli was
thought to render it most appropriate for use as a memorial offering to
the dead or as a talisman by the aid of which their heavenward journey
might be made easier.
The so-called “black onyx” has almost entirely replaced jet. This is a
chalcedony impregnated with a carbonic matter, such as blood or a
solution of sugar, the carbonate of which is charred by sulphuric acid,
giving a rich, velvety, black hue to the stone, which takes a high
polish. However, a certain limited amount of the old “Whitby Jet” once
so highly favored is still mined and worked up into ornaments in the
neighborhood of Whitby on the northeast coast of England, in the
district of Leeds, although but fifty persons are now engaged in this
industry which fifty years ago gave employment to 1500 workers. Some
Spanish jet is also used, a material harder and more brittle than that
found in England.
[Illustration:
Autographed for this work by the author of the poem, Dr. Edward
Forrester Sutton.
]