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THE    BOOK    OF 

THE  PEARL 


THE  CZARINA  OF  RUSSIA 


?fl:W>^ 


Copyright,  1908,  by 
The  Century  Co. 


Pitblishei  October.  DOS 


259761 


THE  DE  VINNE  PRESS 


TO 
MARGARET,  THE  PEARL 

AS  A  SLIGHT  MARK  OF  APPRECIATION  BY  THE  AUTHORS 
OF  HER  FATHER'S  GENEROUS  ENCOURAGEMENT  OF  SCI- 
ENCE. ART.  ENGINEERING.  TECHNOLOGY.  AND  LITERATURE 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

Introduction xv 

I  Pearls  among  the  Ancients 3 

II  Medieval  AND  Modern  History  OF  Pearls 15 

III  Origin  of  Pearls 35 

IV  Structure  AND  Forms  OF  Pearls 51 

V  Sources  of  Pearls 65 

VI  The  Pearl  Fisheries  of  the  Persian  Gulf 85 

VII  East  African  Pearl  Fisheries 153 

VIII  Pearl  Fisheries  of  the  British  Isles 159 

IX  Pearl  Fisheries  of  THE  South  Sea  Islands 189 

X  Pearl  Fisheries  of  Venezuela 225 

XI  Pearl-Culture  and  Pearl-Farming 285 

XII  Mystical  and  Medicinal  Properties  of  Pearls     .     .     .  301 

XIII  Values  and  Commerce  of  Pearls 319 

XIV  Treatment  and  Care  of  Pearls 375 

XV  Pearls  as  Used  in  Ornaments  and  Decoration     .     .     .  403 

XVI  Famous  Pearls  and  Collections 449 

XVII  The  Aboriginal  Use  of  Pearls,  and  Their  Discovery 

IN  Mounds  and  Graves 485 

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  Muk- 
den, 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  (17 1 7- 1 780),  Queen  of  Hungary 24 

Facsimile  of  title-page  of  decrees  of  Venetian  Senate  regulating  the  wear- 
ing of  pearls 27 

Lady  Abinger.  Mrs.  Adair.  Baroness  de  Forest.  Hon.  Mrs.  Renard 
Greville.  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  show- 
ing 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  Val- 
ley.    Dog-tooth  pearls  from  the  Mississippi  Valley 55 


PACING  PAGE 


X  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Actual  sizes  of  pearls  from  i^  grain  to  1 60  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,  Mohamme.d  Ali,  Shah  of  Persia 94 

The  "Prince  of  Pearls";  the  late  Rana  of  Dholpur  in  his  pearl  regalia      .  loi 

The  late  Maharajah  of  Patiala        .  ■ 108 

Facsimiles  of  notices  of  pearl-fishing  at  Mjarichchikadde,  in  English  and 
Cingalese iio-iii 

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  i860       ....  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  nee  Straudman.      Duchesse  Elizabeth  (Constantin). 

(From  a  photograph  by  Ch.  Bergamasco,  St.  Petersburg)     (From  a  photograph  by  A.  Pasctti,  St.  Petersburg) 

Daughter  of  General  Sobelieflf,  first  Countess  Beauharnais     .     .     .     .163 

Scotch  pearl  rivers 167 

Great  Cameo  Pearl 170 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  xi 

FACING   PAGE 

Dowager  Czarina  of  Russia.  Grand  Duchess  Vladimir. 

(From  a  photograph  by  Ch.  Bergamasco.  St.  Petersburg) 

Grand  Duchess  Marie  Pavlovna 174 

Miter  of  Patriarch  Nikon 1 76 

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 I97 

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  Espiritu  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 


xii  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACING    PAGE 


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,  i860 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,  1 732 36S 

Pearl  drilling 376 

Pearl  stringing 3^3 

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;  snufT-box,  ivory  inlaid  with  fresh-water  pearls; 
miniature  surrounded  by  half-pearls 395 

Evolution  of  a  seed-pearl  brooch.     Seed-pearls,  Indian  strings.     White 

horse-hair  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 

(Prom  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 4'0 

East  Indian  necklace  of  pearls,  table  diamonds,  glass  beads,  gold  and 

enamel 4i3 

Crown  of  Reccesvinthus  and  other  Gothic  crowns  of  the  seventh  century  416 

(From  a  photograph  by  A.  Giraudon) 

HerMajesty.QueenAlexandraof  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  Empressof  India  418 

(  From  a  photograph  by  W.  &  D.  Downey,  London ) 

Crown  of  St.  Edward 424 

(From  "  The  EngHsh  Regalia,"  published  by  Kegan  Paul,  Trench,  Triibner  &  Company,  Ltd.,  London  ) 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  xiii 

FACING   PAGE 

The  Empress  Dowager  of  China 43 1 

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 

Sefiora  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  Sevigne  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 


INTRODUCTION 

The  preparation  of  this  book  has  been  a  joint  labor  during  the  spare 
moments  of  the  two  authors,  whose  time  has  been  occupied  with  sub- 
jects to  which  pearls  are  not  wholly  foreign — one  as  a  gem  expert,  and 
the  other  in  the  fisheries  branch  of  the  American  government.  But 
for  the  views  and  expressions  contained  herein,  they  alone  are  per- 
sonally responsible,  and  do  not  represent  or  speak  for  any  interest 
whatever.  For  many  years  the  writers  have  collected  data  on  the 
subject  of  pearls,  and  have  accumulated  all  the  obtainable  literature, 
not  only  the  easily  procurable  books,  but  likewise  manuscripts,  copies 
of  rare  volumes,  original  edicts,  and  legislative  enactments,  thousands 
of  newspaper  clippings,  and  interesting  illustrations,  many  of  them 
unique,  making  probably  the  largest  single  collection  of  data  in  exist- 
ence on  this  particular  subject.  It  was  deemed  advisable  to  present  the 
results  of  these  studies  and  observations  in  one  harmonious  volume, 
rather  than  in  two  different  publications.  This  publication  is  not  a 
pioneer  in  an  untrodden  field.  As  may  be  seen  from  the  appended 
bibliography,  during  the  last  two  thousand  years  hundreds  of  persons 
have  discussed  pearls — mystically,  historically,  poetically,  and  learn- 
edly. Among  the  older  writers  who  stand  out  with  special  prominence 
in  their  respective  periods  are  the  encyclopedist  Pliny,  in  the  first  cen- 
tury A.D. ;  Oviedo  and  Peter  Martyr  of  the  sixteenth  century;  the 
physician  Anselmus  De  Boot,  and  that  observant  traveler  and  prince 
of  jewelers,  Tavernier,  in  the  seventeenth  century.  It  would  be  difficult 
to  do  justice  to  the  many  writers  of  the  nineteenth  century  and  of  the 
present  time;  but  probably  most  attention  has  been  attracted  by  the 
writings  of  Hessling  and  Mobius  of  Germany;  Kelaart,  Streeter, 
Herdman,  and  Hornell  of  Great  Britain;  Filippi  of  Italy,  and  Seurat 
and  Dubois  of  France.  While  the  book  is  a  joint  work  in  the  sense 
that  each  writer  has  contributed  material  to  all  of  the  chapters  and 
has  critically  examined  and  approved  the  entire  work,  the  senior  author 
has  more  closely  applied  himself  to  the  latter  half  of  the  text,  covering 
antiquity  values,  commerce,  wearing  manipulation,  treatment,  famous 
collections,  aboriginal  use,  and  the  illustrations,  while  the  junior 
author  has  attended  to  the  earlier  half  of  the  book,  with  reference  to 


xvi  INTRODUCTION 

history,  origin,  sources,  fisheries,  culture,  mystical  properties,  and  the 
literature  of  the  pearl. 

The  senior  author  has  had  exceptionally  favorable  opportunities  to 
examine  the  precious  objects  contained  in  the  various  imperial  and 
royal  treasuries.  Through  the  courtesy  of  the  late  Count  Sipuigine, 
Court  Chamberlain,  and  of  the  late  General  Philamanoff,  custodian  of 
the  Ourejena  Palata,  he  was  permitted  to  critically  examine  the  Rus- 
sian crown  jewels  in  the  Summer  Palace  on  the  Neva,  and  in  the 
Palata  in  the  Kremlin,  at  Moscow,  he  examined  the  crowns  and 
jewels  of  all  the  early  czars.  Through  the  courtesy  of  Baron  von 
Theile,  he  was  permitted  to  inspect  carefully  and  in  detail  the  won- 
derful jewels  of  the  Austrian  crown,  which  are  beautifully  ordered 
and  arranged.  The  English  and  Saxon  crown  jewels  were  also  seen 
under  favorable  conditions  which  permitted  detailed  examination,  and 
the  jewel  collections  of  almost  all  the  principal  museums  of  Europe 
and  America  were  carefully  studied.  As  regards  the  literature  of  the 
subject,  the  senior  author  has  gathered  together  the  largest  known 
existing  collection  of  works  treating  of  pearls  and  precious  stones. 

In  covering  so  comprehensive  a  subject,  many  obligations  have  been 
incurred  from  individuals  and  officials,  to  whose  courtesy  and  assist- 
ance is  due  much  of  the  interest  of  this  work.  To  list  all  of  these  is 
impossible,  yet  it  would  be  ungrateful  not  to  note  the  following:  her 
Majesty  Queen  Margherita  of  Italy;  his  Royal  Highness  the  Gaikwar 
of  Baroda ;  to  H.  R.  H.  le  Prince  Ruprecht  of  Bavaria,  of  Munich ;  to 
the  late  Prince  Sipuigine,  then  chamberlain  of  the  Russian  Imperial 
Appanages ;  to  Sir  Edward  Robert  Pearce  Edgcumbe  for  data  relative 
to  fisheries  of  East  Africa ;  Dr.  H.  C.  Bumpus,  director  of  the  Amer- 
ican Museum  of  Natural  History,  New  York,  for  many  courtesies 
in  regard  to  materials  and  illustrations;  Sir  Caspar  Purdon  Clarke, 
director.  Dr.  Edward  Robinson,  assistant  director,  J.  H.  Buck, 
curator  of  Metal-work,  and  A.  G.  St.  M.  D'Hervilly,  assistant  curator 
of  Paintings,  all  of  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art,  for  numerous 
courtesies;  Archer  M.  Huntington,  founder  of  the  Hispanic  Society 
and  Museum  in  New  York  City;  Dr.  Bashford  Dean,  Prof.  Friedrich 
Hirth,  Chinese  professor,  Dr.  Berthold  Laufer,  Prof.  A.  V.  Wil- 
liams Jackson,  professor  of  Indo-Iranian  languages,  and  Prof.  M.  H. 
Saville,  all  of  Columbia  University,  New  York  City;  J.  Pierpont 
Morgan,  for  the  right  to  publish  the  illustration  of  Ashburnham 
missal;  Dr.  W.  Hayes  Ward,  Assyriologist ;  Dr.  Charles  S.  Braddock, 
formerly  Chief  of  Medical  Inspection  for  the  King  of  Siam ;  Robert 
Hoe,  for  the  two  plates  of  unique  Persian  illustrations  from  his  manu- 
scripts; Edmund  Russell,  for  East  Indian  material;  F.  Cunliffe- 
Owen,  the  author  of  diplomatic  subjects ;  Ten  Broeck  Morse ;  Walter 


INTRODUCTION  xvii 

Joslyn ;  Stansbury  Hagar ;  Henri  de  Morgan,  explorer ;  Dr.  Nathaniel 
L.  Britton,  director  New  York  Botanical  Garden,  J.  H.  Lawles,  and 
Ludwig  Stross,  for  many  courtesies ;  Miss  M.  de  Barril  and  Miss 
Belle  da  Costa  Greene,  all  of  New  York;  Dr.  Stewart  W.  Culin,  of  the 
Brooklyn  Institute  of  Arts  and  Sciences ;  the  Contessa  Casa  Cortez,  for 
Peruvian  information,  of  Brooklyn;  Dr.  Charles  B.  Davenport,  of  the 
Carnegie  Institution  Laboratory,  Cold  Spring  Harbor;  Arthur  C. 
Parker,  archaeologist.  State  Museum,  Albany,  N.  Y. ;  A.  S.  Clark, 
antiquarian,  Peekskill,  N.  Y. ;  Dr.  Richard  Rathbun,  assistant  secre- 
tary, Dr.  Cyrus  Adler,  curator.  Dr.  Otis  S.  Mason,  curator  of  Eth- 
nology, all  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution;  Dr.  S.  W.  Stratton,  chief  of 
the  Bureau  of  Standards;  Miss  E.  R.  Scidmore;  Gilbert  H.  Grosvenor, 
editor.  National  Geographic  Magazine;  Hon.  William  Eleroy  Curtis; 
his  Excellency  Enrique  C.  Creel,  Embajador  de  Mexico,  and  James  T. 
Archbold,  war  correspondent,  all  of  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Prof.  W.  P. 
Wilson,  director  Philadelphia  Commercial  Museum,  Clarence  B. 
Moore,  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  and  T.  Louis  Comparette, 
curator  Numismatic  Collection,  U.  S.  Mint,  all  of  Philadelphia;  Prof. 
Henry  Montgomery,  University  of  Toronto,  Toronto,  Canada;  Dr. 
Warren  K.  Moorehead,  archaeologist,  Andover,  Mass.;  H.  D.  Story, 
and  Theo.  M.  Davis,  curators  of  the  Boston  Museum  of  Fine  Arts, 
Boston,  Mass.;  Miss  Mathilde  Laigle  of  Wellesley  College;  Prof.  F. 
W.  Putnam  and  Alfred  M.  Tozzer,  Peabody  Museum  of  Archaeology, 
Cambridge,  Mass. ;  Prof.  Edward  S.  Morse,  Salem,  Mass. ;  Dr. 
Hiram  Bingham,  Yale  University;  W.  E.  Frost,  Providence,  R.  I.; 
Dr.  Edgar  J.  Banks,  University  of  Chicago,  Chicago,  111. ;  Hon.  F.  J. 
V.  Skiff,  director,  for  several  photographs  of  museum  material,  and 
Dr.  George  A.  Dorsey,  curator  of  Anthropology  of  the  Field  Colum- 
bian Museum;  Dr.  A.  R.  Crook,  curator  of  the  Museum  of  Natural 
History,  Springfield,  111.;  Richard  Hermann,  director  Hermann  Mu- 
seum, Dubuque,  la. ;  Charles  Russell  Orcutt,  San  Diego,  Cal. ;  David 
I.  Bushnell,  St.  Louis,  Mo. ;  Dr.  J.  H.  Stanton,  Prairie  du  Chien,  Wis. ; 
Joe  Gassett,  Clinton,  Tenn. ;  Prof.  Wm.  C.  Mills,  University  of  Ohio, 
Columbus,  O.,  for  material  covering  the  new  Ohio  mound  discoveries ; 
Mrs.  Marie  Robinson  Wright,  author  and  South  American  traveler, 
New  York  City;  Miss  Helen  Woolley  of  Judson  College,  Alabama; 
Prof.  Dr.  Eugene  Hussak,  Rio  Janeiro;  Hon.  George  E.  Anderson, 
Consul  General  of  the  United  States,  Rio  de  Janeiro,  Brazil;  Senor 
L.  E.  Bonilla,  Consul  General  of  Colombia;  Madam  Zelia  Nuttall, 
Coyoacan,  Mexico;  Prof.  Waldstein,  University  of  Cambridge,  Cam- 
bridge, England ;  Dr.  O.  F.  Bell,  assistant  keeper  Ashmolean  Museum, 
Oxford;  Dr.  Stephen  W.  Bushell,  Chinese  authority;  Lady  Christopher 
Johnston,  Dr.  William  F.  Petrie,  University  College,   Dr.   Charles 


xviii  INTRODUCTION 

Hercules  Read,  director  of  the  department  of  Archaeology,  British' 
Museum,  for  illustrations  and  data;  Cyril  Davenport,  antiquarian 
writer  of  the  British  Museum,  for  the  illustration  of  the  English 
crown,  and  crown  information ;  to  Sir  John  Evans,  late  veteran  archse- 
ologist  and  writer ;  Thomas  Tyrer,  chemist,  W.  Talbot  Ready,  A.  W. 
Feaveryear,  E.  Alfred  Jones,  author  on  metal-work,  Edwin  W. 
Streeter,  all  of  London,  England;  Prof.  H.  P.  Blackmore,  curator 
Blackmore  Museum,  Salisbury,  England ;  Dr.  Thos.  Gann,  Harrogate, 
England;  Prof.  Arthur  E.  Shipley,  Cambridge,  England;  Dr.  Wil- 
fred Grenfell,  Labrador;  T.  W.  Lyster,  librarian  of  the  National 
Library  of  Ireland,  Prof.  R.  F.  Scharff,  director  of  the  National 
Museum  of  Ireland,  Dublin,  W.  Forbes  Hourie,  all  of  Ireland; 
Mr.  James  Hornell,  Dr.  W.  A.  Herdmann,  all  on  information 
concerning  the  Ceylon  fisheries;  Prof.  James  M.  Milne,  Belfast, 
Ireland;  David  MacGregor,  Perth,  Scotland;  Joseph  Baer  &  Co., 
Frankfurt,  Germany;  Herrn  C.  W.  Kesseller,  Idar,  Germany;  Prof. 
Dr.  Carl  Sapper,  University  of  Tiibingen,  Germany;  Geheimrath 
Prof.  Dr.  Max  Bauer,  University  of  Marburg,  Germany;  Herrn  Prof. 
Dr.  Hofer,  director  Biologische  Versuchsstation,  Munich;  Flerrn 
Ernst  Gideon  Bek,  Pforzheim,  Germany;  Hon.  Albert  H.  Michelsen, 
American  Consul  at  Turin;  Sabbatino  De  Angelis,  of  Naples,  Italy; 
Mons.  Alphonse  Falco,  of  the  Chambre  Syndicale  Pierres  Precieuses 
of  Paris;  Prof.  A.  Lacroix,  Musee  Histoire  Naturale,  Paris;  Mons. 
Georges  Pellisier,  Paris;  Sr.  Gaston  J.  Vives,  La  Paz,  Mexico;  Prof. 
R.  Dubois,  Facuelte  des  Sciences,  University  of  Lyons,  France;  Prof. 
P.  Candias,  director  of  the  National  Museum,  Athens,  Greece;  Prof. 
G.  A.  F.  Molengraaff,  University  of  Delft,  Holland;  the  late  Prof.  Dr. 
Furtwangler  of  Munich ;  Dr.  Otto  Leiner,  Custus  Landes-Museum  at 
Constanz,  Baden;  Herrn  Dr.  A.  B.  Meyer,  Herrn  Carl  Marfels,  Ber- 
lin ;  Prof.  Dr.  H.  Schumacher,  University  of  Bonn ;  Geheimrath  C.  F. 
Hintze,  Breslau;  Herrn  R.  Friedlaender  &  Sohn,  Berlin;  Herrn  Reg.- 
Rath  Dr.  W.  von  Seidlitz,  Dresden;  Dr.  R.  Jacobi,  director  Konig 
Zoologichen  Museum,  Dresden,  Germany ;  his  Excellency  Dr.  Szalaz, 
director  Hungarian  National  Museum;  Dr.  S.  Radischi,  director  Na- 
tional Industrial  Museum  of  Budapest ;  and  to  Herrn  A.  B.  Bachrach, 
Budapest,  Hungary;  Frau  Melanie  Glazer,  of  Prague,  and  Herrn  V. 
Fric,  Prague,  Bohemia;  Herrn  Prof.  Dr.  F.  Heger,  Custus  Imperial 
Archaeological  Collection,  Vienna;  Herrn  H.  von  Wilier  and  Herrn 
Max  Zirner,  of  Vienna;  Herrn  Leopold  Weininger,  the  artisan  gold- 
smith of  Austria,  for  many  courtesies;  Prof.  W.  Vernadskij,  Univer- 
sity of  Moscow ;  Mons.  C.  Faberje,  Joaillier  de  la  Cour,  St.  Petersburg, 
Russia;  his  Excellency  Baron  P.  Meyerdorfif,  assistant  director, 
Musee  des  Antiques,  Ermitage  Imperiale,  St.  Petersburg,  for  impor- 


INTRODUCTION  xix 

tant  data  and  illustrations ;  his  Excellency  N.  J.  Moore,  Premier,  West- 
ern Australia;  Dr.  K.  Van  Dort,  engineer  of  Bankok,  Siam;  Dr.  J. 
Henry  Burkill,  of  the  India  Museum,  Calcutta,  India;  Alphaeus  E. 
Williams,  manager  of  the  De  Beers  Mine,  Kimberley;  Capt.  E.  L. 
Steever,  District  Governor  of  Jolo,  Philippine  Islands ;  Dr.  T.  Nishi- 
kawa.  Zoological  Institute;  K.  Mikimoto,  both  of  Tokio,  Japan;  Dr. 
S.  M.  Zwemer  of  Bahrein,  Persian  Gulf;  Mr.  Hugh  Millman  of  Thurs- 
day Island,  Australia;  Julius  D.  Dreher,  American  Consul  at  Tahiti, 
Society  Islands ;  and  not  least,  by  any  means,  the  uniform  promptness 
and  completeness  with  which  the  officials  of  the  British  Colonial  Ser- 
vice have  responded  to  the  many  inquiries  which  the  writers  have 
addressed  to  them. 

The  Authors. 

September,  igo8. 


PEARLS  AMONG  THE  ANCIENTS 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


PEARLS  AMONG  THE  ANCIENTS 

The   richest    merchandise  of   all,  and  the  most  soveraigne 
commoditie  throughout  the  whole  world,  are  these  pearles. 

Pliny,  Historia  naturalis. 

Lib.  IX,  c.  35. 

PERFECTED  by  nature  and  requiring  no  art  to  enhance  their 
beauty,  pearls  were  naturally  the  earliest  gems  known  to 
prehistoric  man.  Probably  the  members  of  some  fish-eating 
tribe— maybe  of  the  coast  of  India  or  bordering  an  Asiatic 
river— while  opening  mollusks  for  food,  were  attracted  by  their  luster. 
And  as  man's  estimation  of  beauty  developed,  he  found  in  them  the 
means  of  satisfying  that  fondness  for  personal  decoration  so  charac- 
teristic of  half-naked  savages,  which  has  its  counterpart  amid  the 
wealth  and  fashion  of  the  present  day. 

Pearls  seem  to  be  peculiarly  suggestive  of  oriental  luxury  and 
magnificence.  It  is  in  the  East  that  they  have  been  especially  loved, 
enhancing  the  charms  of  Asiatic  beauty  and  adding  splendor  to  bar- 
baric courts  celebrated  for  their  display  of  costume.  From  their  pos- 
session of  the  rich  pearl  resources  it  is  natural  that  the  people  of  India 
and  of  Persia  should  have  early  found  beauty  and  value  in  these  jewels, 
and  should  have  been  among  the  first  to  collect  them  in  large  quan- 
tities. And  no  oriental  divinity,  no  object  of  veneration  has  been  with- 
out this  ornament;  no  poetical  production  has  lacked  this  symbol  of 
purity  and  chastity. 

In  a  personal  memorandum.  Dr.  A.  V.  Williams  Jackson,  professor 
of  Indo-Iranian  languages  in  Columbia  University,  states  that  it  is 
generally  supposed  that  the  Vedas,  the  oldest  sacred  books  of  the  Brah- 
mans,  contain  several  allusions  to  pearl  decorations  a  millennium  or 


4  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

more  before  the  Christian  era,  as  the  word  krisana  and  its  derivatives 
— which  occur  a  half  dozen  times  in  the  Rigveda,  the  oldest  of  the 
Vedas— are  generally  translated  as  signifying  "pearl."  Even  if  this 
interpretation  of  the  term  be  called  into  question  on  the  ground  that 
the  Hindus  of  the  Panjab  were  not  well  acquainted  with  the  sea,  there 
can  be  little  or  no  doubt  that  the  Atharvaveda,  at  least  five  hundred 
years  before  the  Christian  era,  alludes  to  an  amulet  made  of  pearls  and 
used  as  a  sort  of  talisman  in  a  hymn'  of  magic  formulas. 

Those  two  great  epics  of  ancient  India,  the  Ramayana  and  the  Ma- 
habharata,  refer  to  pearls.  The  Ramayana  speaks  of  a  necklace  of 
twenty-seven  pearls,  and  has  pearl  drillers  to  accompany  a  great  mili- 
tary expedition.^  An  old  myth  recounts  the  offerings  made  by  the  ele- 
ments as  gifts  worthy  of  the  deity:  the  air  offered  the  rainbow,  the  fire 
a  meteor,  the  earth  a  ruby,  and  the  sea  a  pearl.  The  rainbow  formed  a 
halo  about  the  god,  the  meteor  served  as  a  lamp,  the  ruby  decorated 
the  forehead,  and  the  pearl  was  worn  upon  the  heart. 

The  literature  of  Hinduism  frequently  associates  the  pearl  with 
Krishna,  the  eighth  avatar  or  incarnation  of  Vishnu,  the  most  popular 
god  of  Hindu  worship.  One  legend  credits  its  discovery  to  the  ador- 
able Krishna,  who  drew  it  from  the  depths  of  the  sea  to  adorn  his 
daughter  Panda'ia  on  her  nuptial  day.  Another  version  makes  the 
pearl  a  trophy  of  the  victory  of  Krishna  over  the  monster  Pankagna, 
and  it  was  used  by  the  victor  as  a  decoration  for  his  bride. 

In  the  classic  period  of  Sanskrit  literature,  about  the  first  century  of 
the  Christian  era,  there  were  abundant  references  to  pearls,  generally 
called  mitkta  (literally  "the  pure")  ;  and  there  are  dozens  of  words  for 
pearl  necklaces,  circlets,  strings,  and  ornamental  festoons,  particularly 
in  the  dramas  of  Kalidasa— the  Hindu  Shakspere,  who  lived  about  the 
third  century  a.d.— and  of  his  successors. 

In  the  Mahavansa  and  the  Dipavansa,  the  ancient  chronicle  his- 
tories of  Ceylon  in  the  Pali  language,  are  several  early  Cingalese  rec- 
ords of  pearl  production  and  estimation.^  The  Mahavansa  lists  pearls 
among  the  native  products  sent  from  Ceylon  about  550  B.C.,  King 
Wijayo  sending  his  father-in-law  gifts  of  pearls  and  chanks  to  the 
value  of  two  lacs  of  rupees;  and  notes  that  about  300  B.C.,  several 
varieties  of  Ceylon  pearls  were  carried  as  presents  by  an  embassy  to 
India. 

In  the  ancient  civilization  of  China,  pearls  were  likewise  esteemed; 
this  is  evidenced  by  the  frequent  mention  of  them  in  traditional  his- 
tory, their  employment  in  the  veneration  of  idols,  and  as  tribute  by 

'See  pp.  301,  302.  'Geiger,  "Dipavansa  und  Mahavansa,  die 

2  See   Jacobi,    "Das      Ramayana,"    Bonn,       beiden  Clironiken   der    Insel    Ceylon,"    Erl- 
1893.  angen,  igoi. 


vVlKicnt  Cliiiic^c  Ln./wii  willi   pcarl- 


Ancient  Chinese  pearl  rosan,' 


Chinese  priests  keeping  guard  over  the  tombs  of  the  kings, 
in  Mukden,  where  the  crowns  are  preserved 


PEARLS  AMONG  THE  ANCIENTS  5 

foreign  princes  to  the  emperor.  One  of  the  very  earliest  of  books,  the 
Shu  King  (dating  from  about  2350-625  b.c),  notes  that,  in  the 
twenty-third  century  B.C.,  Yii  received  as  tribute  oyster  pearls  from  the 
river  Hvvai,  and  from  the  province  of  King  Kau  he  received  "strings 
of  pearls  that  were  not  quite  round."^  That  ancient  Chinese  dic- 
tionary, the  Nh'ya,  originating  thirty  centuries  ago,  speaks  of  them  as 
precious  jewels  found  in  the  province  of  Shen-si  on  the  western 
frontier. 

Many  fantastic  theories  regarding  pearls  are  to  be  found  in  ancient 
Chinese  literature.  Some  writers  credited  them  as  originating  in 
the  brain  of  the  fabled  dragon ;  others  noted  that  they  were  especially 
abundant  during  the  reign  of  illustrious  emperors,  and  they  were  used 
as  amulets  and  charms  against  fire  and  other  disasters.  Curious  allu- 
sions were  made  to  pearls  so  brilliant  that  they  were  visible  at  a  dis- 
tance of  nearly  a  thousand  yards,  or  that  rice  could  be  cooked  by  the 
light  from  them.  And  one  found  about  the  beginning  of  the  Christian 
era,  near  Yangchow-fu,  in  the  province  of  Kiang-su,  was  reported  so 
lustrous  as  to  be  visible  in  the  dark  at  a  distance  of  three  miles. 

In  Persia,  the  popularity  of  pearls  seems  to  date  from  a  very  early 
period.  Professor  Jackson  states  that  if  they  are  not  mentioned  in  the 
extant  fragments  of  the  ancient  Zoroastrian  literature,  the  Avesta  and 
the  Pahlavi,  or  by  the  Middle  Persian  books  from  the  seventh  century 
B.C.  to  the  ninth  century  a.d.,  it  is  probably  a  mere  accident,  due  to  the 
character  of  the  work  or  to  the  fragmentary  condition  of  the  literature; 
for  pearls  were  well  known  during  that  entire  period,  and  seem  to  be 
indicated  in  extant  sculptures.  The  coin  and  the  gem  portraits  of 
Persian  queens  commonly  show  ear-pendants  of  these.  The  remains 
of  a  magnificent  necklace  of  pearls  and  other  gems  were  recently 
found  by  J.  de  Morgan  in  the  sarcophagus  of  an  Achaemenid  princess 
exhumed  at  Susa  or  Shushan,  the  winter  residence  of  the  kings  of 
Persia.  This  necklace,  perhaps  the  most  ancient  pearl  ornament  still 
in  existence,  dates  certainly  from  not  later  than  the  fourth  century 
B.C.,  and  is  now  preserved  in  the  Persian  Gallery  of  the  Louvre."  Even 
if  we  had  no  other  evidence,  it  would  be  natural  to  assume  that 
the  knowledge  of  pearls  was  as  wide-spread  among  the  Iranians  in 
antiquity  as  it  was  among  the  Hindus,  since  the  Persian  Gulf,  like  the 
Indian  Ocean,  has  been  famous  for  its  fisheries  from  ancient  times. 

In  the  ruins  of  Babylon  no  pearls  have  been  found ;  indeed,  it  would 
be  surprising  if  they  could  survive  for  so  many  ages  in  the  relatively 
moist  soil  which  contains  much  saltpeter.  Inlays  of  mother-of-pearl 
and  decorations  of  this  material  have  been  secured  from  the  ruins  of 
Bismaya,  which  Dr.  Edgar  J.  Banks  refers  to  about  4500  b.c. 

'Legge,  "The  Shu  King,"  Oxford,  1879,  pp.  67,  69.  -See  p.  404. 


6  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

There  is  likewise  little  evidence  that  pearls  were  extensively  em- 
ployed by  the  ancient  Assyrians,  notwithstanding  that  excavations  at 
Nineveh  and  Nimrud  have  furnished  much  information  regarding 
their  ornaments;  and  the  collars,  bracelets,  sword-hilts,  etc.,  wrought 
in  gold  and  ornamented  with  gems,  show  that  the  jewelers'  art  had 
made  much  progress.  This  is  not  wholly  trustworthy  as  determining 
the  relative  abundance;  for  being  of  organic  or  non-mineral  origin, 
pearls  would  not  have  survived  the  burial  for  thousands  of  years  so 
well  as  the  crystal  gems.  An  inscription  on  the  Nineveh  Obelisk, 
which  states,  according  to  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson,  that  in  the  ninth  year 
of  his  reign  Temenbar  received,  as  "tribute  of  the  kings  of  the  Chal- 
dees,  gold,  silver,  gems,  and  pearls,"^  shows  that  the  sea-born  gems 
were  highly  valued  there. 

The  mother-of-pearl  shell  was  in  use  as  an  ornament  in  ancient 
Egypt  certainly  as  early  as  the  sixth  dynasty  (circa  3200  B.C.),  the 
period  of  the  Tanis  Sphinx.  In  a  recent  letter  from  Luxor,  where  he  is 
studying  the  ruins  of  ancient  Thebes,  Dr.  James  T.  Dennis  states  that 
he  has  found  several  of  these  shells  bearing  cartouches  of  that  period ; 
and  in  the  "pan-bearing  graves"  of  the  twelfth  dynasty  (2500  B.C.), 
the  shell  occurred  not  only  complete,  but  cut  in  roughly  circular  or  ob- 
long angular  blocks  and  strung  on  chains  with  beads  of  carnelian, 
pottery,  etc. 

So  far  as  can  be  determined  from  the  representations  of  ancient 
Egyptian  costumes,  pearls  do  not  seem  to  have  been  employed  to  any 
great  extent  in  their  decoration.  The  necklaces,  earrings,  and  other 
jewels  found  in  the  tombs,  which  are  composed  largely  of  gold  set  with 
crystal  gems,  contain  the  remains  of  a  few  pearls,  but  give  no  indica- 
tion that  they  were  numerous.  In  fact,  no  evidence  exists  that  they 
were  used  extensively  before  the  Persian  conquest  in  the  fifth  century 
B.C. ;  and  probably  it  was  not  until  the  time  of  the  Ptolemies  that  there 
beean  the  lavish  abundance  which  characterized  the  court  of  Alex- 
andria  at  the  height  of  her  power. 

The  authorities  differ  in  regard  to  the  mention  of  pearls  in  ancient 
Hebrew  literature;  although  in  the  Authorized  Version  of  the  Old 
Testament,  this  significance  has  been  given  to  the  word  gabisli  in  Job 
xxviii.  18,  where  the  value  of  wisdom  is  contrasted  with  that  of 
gabish.  Some  writers  claim  that  this  word  refers  to  rock  crystal, 
bther  authorities  are  of  the  opinion  that  the  word  peniuim  in  Lam.  iv. 
7,  which  has  been  translated  as  "rubies,"  actually  signifies  pearls.  In 
Gen.  ii.  12,  Prof.  Paul  Haupt  has  proposed  to  render  shoham  stones 
by  pearls,  since  the  Hebrew  word  translated  "onyx,"  if  connected  with 
the   Assyrian  sdndu,   might   mean   "the   gray  gem."     It   does   not 

1  Rawlinson,  "Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria,"  London,  1850,  p.  38. 


PEARLS  AMONG  THE  ANCIENTS  7 

appear  that  they  entered  into  the  decorations  of  the  Tabernacle  and 
the  Temple,  or  were  largely  employed  in  the  paraphernalia  of  the 
synagogue. 

In  the  New  Testament,  however,  there  are  numerous  references  to 
the  estimation  in  which  pearls  were  held.  In  his  teachings,  Christ 
repeatedly  referred  to  them  as  typifying  something  most  precious : 
"The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  merchant  man,  seeking  goodly 
pearls :  who,  when  he  had  found  one  pearl  of  great  price,  went  and  sold 
all  that  he  had,  and  bought  it"  (Matt.  xiii.  45,  46) ;  and  in  "casting 
pearls  before  swine,"  in  that  great  Sermon  on  the  Mount  (Matt.  vii.  6). 
In  picturing  the  glories  of  the  Heavenly  City,  St.  John  made  the  twelve 
gates  of  pearls  (Rev.  xxi.  21)  ;  and  what  could  better  serve  as  portals 
through  the  walls  of  precious  stones  ? 

In  the  Talmud,  pearls  are  frequently  mentioned,  and  usually  as 
signifying  something  beautiful  or  very  costly,  as  "a  pearl  that  is  worth 
thousands  of  zuzim"  (Baba  Batra,  146a)  ;  a  "pearl  that  has  no  price" 
(Yerushalmi,  ix.  I2d)  ;  the  coats  which  God  made  for  Adam  and  Eve 
were  "as  beautiful  as  pearls"  (Gen.  R.  xx.  12),  and  the  manna  was 
"as  white  as  a  pearl"  (Yoma,  75a).  Their  purchase  formed  one  of 
the  exceptions  to  the  law  of  Ona'ah  (overcharge),  for  the  reason  that 
two  matched  pearls  greatly  exceeded  the  value  of  each  one  separately 
(BabaMezi'a,  iv.  8). 

The  high  value  attached  to  pearls  by  the  ancient  Hebrews  is  illus- 
trated by  a  beautiful  Rabbinical  story  in  which  only  one  object  in 
nature  is  ranked  above  them.  On  approaching  Egypt,  Abraham  hid 
Sarah  in  a  chest,  that  foreign  eyes  might  not  behold  her  beauty.  When 
he  reached  the  place  for  paying  custom  dues,  the  collectors  said,  "Pay 
us  the  custom" ;  and  he  replied,  "I  will  pay  your  custom."  They  said 
to  him,  "Thou  carriest  clothes" ;  and  he  stated,  "I  will  pay  for  clothes." 
Then  they  said  to  him,  "Thou  carriest  gold" ;  and  he  answered,  "I  will 
pay  for  gold."  On  this  they  said  to  him,  "Surely  thou  bearest  the 
finest  silk";  and  he  replied,  "I  will  pay  custom  for  the  finest  silk." 
Then  said  they,  "Truly  it  must  be  pearls  that  thou  takest  with  thee" ; 
and  he  answered,  "I  will  pay  for  pearls."  Seeing  that  they  could  name 
nothing  of  value  for  which  the  patriarch  was  not  willing  to  pay  cus- 
tom, they  said,  "It  cannot  be  but  that  thou  open  the  box  and  let  us  see 
what  is  within."  So  the  chest  was  opened,  and  the  land  was  illumined 
by  the  luster  of  Sarah's  beauty.^ 

The  love  which  the  early  Arabs  bore  to  pearls  is  evidenced  by  the 
references  to  them  in  the  Koran,  and  especially  the  figurative  descrip- 
tion given  of  Paradise.    The  stones  are  pearls  and  jacinths ;  the  fruits 

iQen.  R.  xl.  6.     This  story  also  exists  somewhat  altered  in  Arabic  literature;  see  Weill's 
"Biblical  Legends  of  the  Mussulmans,"  New  York,  1846. 


8  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

of  the  trees  are  pearls  and  emeralds ;  and  each  person  admitted  to  the 
delights  of  the  celestial  kingdom  is  provided  with  a  tent  of  pearls, 
jacinths  and  emeralds;  is  crowned  with  pearls  of  incomparable  luster, 
and  is  attended  by  beautiful  maidens  resembling  hidden  pearls/ 

The  estimation  of  pearls  among  the  art-loving  Greeks  may  be  traced 
to  the  time  of  Homer,  who  appears  to  have  alluded  to  them  under  the 
name  Tpiy'K-qva  (triple  drops  or  beads)  in  his  description  of  Juno;  in 
the  Iliad,  XIV,  183: 

In  three  bright  drops, 
Her  glittering  gems  suspended  from  her  ears. 

and  in  the  Odyssey,  XVIII,  298: 

Earrings  bright 
With  triple  drops  that  cast  a  trembling  light. 

Classical  designs  of  Juno  usually  show  the  three  pear-shaped  pearls 
pendent  from  her  ears.  The  ancient  Greeks  probably  obtained  their 
pearls  from  the  East  through  the  medium  of  Phenician  traders,  and 
a  survival  of  the  word  TpC-yXrjva  seems  to  exist  in  the  Welsh  glain 
(bead),  the  name  having  been  carried  to  Britain  by  the  same  traders, 
who  exchanged  textiles,  glass  beads,  etc.,  for  tin  and  salt. 

The  Persian  wars  in  the  fifth  century  B.C.,  doubtless  extended  the 
acquaintance  which  the  Greeks  had  with  pearls,  as  well  as  with  other 
oriental  products,  and  increased  their  popularity.  One  of  the  earliest 
of  the  Greek  writers  to  mention  pearls  specifically  appears  to  have 
been  Theophrastus  (372-287  B.C.),  the  disciple  and  successor  of  Aris- 
totle, who  referred  to  them  under  the  name  yLapyapiT-q^  (margarifcs), 
probably  derived  from  some  oriental  word  like  the  Sanskrit  maracata 
or  the  Persian  mirwareed.  He  stated  that  pearls  were  produced  by 
shell-fish  resembling  the  pinna,  only  smaller,  and  were  used  in  making 
necklaces  of  great  value.  In  Pliny's  "Historia  naturalis,"  that  great 
storehouse  of  classical  learning,  reference  is  made  to  many  other 
writers — mostly  Greeks — who  treated  of  gems;  but  virtually  all  of 
these  writings  have  disappeared,  except  fragments  from  Theophras- 
tus, Chares  of  Mytilene,  and  Isidorus  of  Charace. 

From  Greece  admiration  for  pearls  quickly  extended  to  Rome,  where 
they  were  known  under  the  Greek  word  margaritce.  However,  a  more 
common  name  for  this  gem  in  Rome  was  itnio,  which  Pliny  explained 
by  saying  that  each  pearl  was  unique  and  unlike  any  other  one.  The 
conclusion  of  the  historian  Ammianus  IMarcellinus   (330-395  A.D.), 

^Sale,  "Preliminary  Discourse  to  the  Quran,"  London,  1882,  Vol.  I,  pp.  IS3-I59. 


GRECIAN   PEARL  AND  GOLD  NECKLACE 

Of  about  third  century  B.C. 
Now  in  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art,  New  York 


PEARLS  AMONG  THE  ANCIENTS  9 

that  it  was  because  each  one  was  found  singly  in  a  shell/  seems 
scarcely  correct.  Claude  de  Saumaise,  the  French  classical  scholar, 
thought  that  the  common  name  for  an  onion  was  transferred  to  the 
pearl,  owing  to  its  laminated  construction.^  According  to  Pliny,  the 
Romans  used  the  word  tinio  to  distinguish  a  large  perfect  pearl  from 
the  smaller  and  less  attractive  ones,  which  were  called  viargaritce.^ 

It  was  not  until  the  Mithridatic  Wars  (88-63  b.c.)  and  the  con- 
quests by  Pompey  that  pearls  were  very  abundant  and  popular  in 
Rome,  the  great  treasures  of  the  East  enriching  the  victorious  army 
and  through  it  the  aristocracy  of  the  republic.  In  those  greatest  spec- 
tacular functions  the  world  has  ever  known — the  triumphal  processions 
of  the  conquering  Romans — pearls  had  a  prominent  part.  Pliny 
records  that  in  great  Pompey's  triumphal  procession  in  61  b.c.  were 
borne  thirty-three  crowns  of  pearls  and  numerous  pearl  ornaments, 
including  a  portrait  of  the  victor,  and  a  shrine  dedicated  to  the  muses, 
adorned  with  the  same  gems.^ 

The  luxuries  of  Mithridates,  the  treasures  of  Alexandria,  the  riches 
of  the  Orient  were  poured  into  the  lap  of  victory-fattened  Rome.  From 
that  time  the  pearl  reigned  supreme,  not  only  in  the  enormous  prices 
given  for  single  specimens,  but  also  in  the  great  abundance  in  posses- 
sion of  the  degenerate  descendants  of  the  victorious  Romans.  The  in- 
terior of  the  temple  of  Venus  was  decorated  with  pearls.  The  dress 
of  the  wealthy  was  so  pearl-bedecked  that  Pliny  exclaimed  in  irony: 
"It  is  not  sufficient  for  them  to  wear  pearls,  but  they  must  trample  and 
walk  over  them";"*  and  the  women  wore  pearls  even  in  the  still  hours 
of  the  night,  so  that  in  their  sleep  they  might  be  conscious  of  possess- 
ing the  beautiful  gems." 

It  is  related  that  the  voluptuous  Caligula  (12-41  a.d.) — he  who 
raised  his  favorite  horse  Incitatus  to  the  consulship — decorated  that 
horse  with  a  pearl  necklace,  and  that  he  himself  wore  slippers  embroid- 
ered with  pearls;  and  the  tyrannical  Nero  (37-68  a.d.),  not  content 
with  having  his  scepter  and  throne  of  pearls,  provided  the  actors  in  his 
theater  with  masks  and  scepters  decorated  with  them.  Thus  wrote 
the  observant  Philo,  the  envoy  of  the  Jews  to  the  Emperor  Caligula: 
"The  couches  upon  which  the  Romans  recline  at  their  repasts  shine 
with  gold  and  pearls ;  they  are  splendid  with  purple  coverings  inter- 
woven with  pearls  and  gold." 

Yet  not  all  the  men  of  Rome  were  enthusiastic  over  the  beautiful 
"gems  of  the  sea,  which  resemble  milk  and  snow,"  as  the  poet  ManHus 

'  Lib.  XXIII,  c.  6.  °  Ibid.,  Lib.  IX,  c.  53. 

-"Plinianse    Exercitationes    in    Solinum,"  "Ibid.,  Lib.  XXXIII.  c.  3.     Also  Bottiger, 

1629,  pp.  822-4.  "Sabina  oder  Morgenscenen,"  Leipzig,   1803, 

S"Historia  natiiralis,"  Lid.  IX,  c.  SQ.  Vol.  I,  p.  158. 
'Ibid.,  Lib.  XXXVII,  c.  2. 


lo  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

called  them.  Even  then,  as  now,  there  were  some  faultfinders.  The 
immortal  Cassar  interdicted  their  use  by  women  beneath  a  certain 
rank;  Martial  and  Tibullus  inveighed  against  them;  the  witty  Horace 
directed  his  stinging  shafts  of  satire  against  the  extravagance.  Re- 
ferring to  a  woman  named  Gellia,  Martial  wrote:  "By  no  gods  or  god- 
desses does  she  swear,  but  by  her  pearls.  These  she  embraces  and 
kisses.  These  she  calls  her  brothers  and  sisters.  She  loves  them  more 
dearly  than  her  two  sons.  Should  she  by  some  chance  lose  them,  the 
miserable  woman  would  not  survive  an  hour."'  Hear  what  stern  old 
Seneca  had  to  say:  "Pearls  offer  themselves  to  my  view.  Simply  one 
for  each  ear?  No!  The  lobes  of  our  ladies  have  attained  a  special 
capacity  for  supporting  a  great  number.  Two  pearls  alongside  of 
each  other,  with  a  third  suspended  above,  now  form  a  single  earring ! 
The  crazy  fools  seem  to  think  that  their  husbands  are  not  sufficiently 
tormented  unless  they  wear  the  value  of  an  inheritance  in  each  ear!"" 
The  prices  reported  for  some  choice  ones  at  that  time  seem  fabulous. 
It  is  recorded  by  Suetonius,  that  the  Roman  general,  Vitellius,  paid  the 
expenses  of  a  military  campaign  with  the  proceeds  of  one  pearl  from 
his  mother's  ears:  "Atque  ex  aure  matris  dctractum  unioncm  pigncra- 
verit  ad  itineris  impensas."  In  his  "Historia  naturalis,"  Pliny  says 
that  in  the  first  century  a.d.,  they  ranked  first  in  value  among  all 
precious  things,^  and  reports  sixty  million  sestertii*  as  the  value  of  the 
two  famous  pearls  — "the  singular  and  only  jewels  of  the  world  and 
even  nature's  wonder"— which.  Cleopatra  wore  at  the  celebrated  ban- 
quet to  Mark  Antony.  And  Suetonius^  places  at  six  million  sestertii 
the  value  of  the  one  presented  by  Julius  Caesar  as  a  tribute  of  love  to 
Servilia,  the  mother  of  Brutus,  who  thus  wore 

The  spoils  of  nations  in  an  ear. 
Changed  to  the  treasure  of  a  shell. 

Or,  as  St.  Jerome  expressed  it  in  his  "Vita  Pauli  Eremitse": 

Uno  filo  villanim  insunt  prctia. 

We  are  told  by  /Elius  Lampridius  that  an  ambassador  once  brought 
to  Alexander  Severus  two  remarkably  large  and  heavy  pearls  for  the 
empress.  The  emperor  offered  them  for  sale,  and  as  no  purchaser  was 
found,  he  had  them  hung  in  the  ears  of  the  statue  of  Venus,  saying: 
"If  the  empress  should  have  such  pearls,  she  would  give  a  bad  example 

'  Martial,  "Epigrammata,"  VIII,  8l.  worth  about  $1,300,000  at  the  present  time, 

"  Seneca,  "De  beneficiis."  Lib.  VII,  c.  9.  but  of  far  greater  value  in  Roman  days. 

'  Pliny,  "Historia  naturalis."  Lib.  IX,  c.  35.  ^  "Divus  Julius  Cssar,"  c.  50. 
*  Equivalent  to  1,875,000  ounces  of   silver, 


PEARLS  AMONG  THE  ANCIENTS  ii 

to  the  other  women,  by  wearing  an  ornament  of  so  much  value  that  no 
one  could  pay  for  it." 

The  word  "margarita"  was  used  symbolically  to  designate  the  most 
cherished  object;  for  instance,  a  favorite  child.  In  an  inscription 
published  by  Fabretti,  p.  44,  No.  253,  the  word  margaritio  has  the  same 
significance.  (Sex.  Bruttidio  juveni  margaritioni  carissimo,  vixit 
annis  II  mensibus  VII,  diebus  XVIII.)  ^ 

While  the  ancient  writers  were  familiar  with  the  pearl  itself,  they 
knew  little  of  the  fisheries,  and  related  many  curious  stories  which  had 
come  to  Athens  and  Rome.  Pliny  and  /Elianus  quoted  from  Megasthe- 
nes  that  the  pearl-oysters  lived  in  communities  like  swarms  of  bees, 
and  were  governed  by  one  remarkable  for  its  size  and  great  age,  and 
which  was  wonderfully  expert  in  keeping  its  subjects  out  of  danger, 
and  that  the  fishermen  endeavored  first  to  catch  this  one,  so  that  the 
others  might  easily  be  secured.  Procopius,  one  of  the  most  entertain- 
ing of  the  old  Byzantine  chroniclers,  wrote  of  social  relations  between 
the  pearl-oysters  and  the  sharks,  and  of  methods  of  inducing  the 
growth  of  pearls. 

The  principal  fisheries  of  antiquity  were  in  the  Persian  Gulf,  on  the 
coasts  of  Ceylon  and  India,  and  in  the  Red  Sea.  The  pearls  referred  to 
in  ancient  Chinese  literature  appear  to  have  been  taken  from  the  rivers 
and  ponds  of  that  country,  while  those  in  Cochin  China  and  Japan 
seem  to  have  come  from  the  adjoining  seas.  The  pearls  were  dis- 
tributed among  the  nations  in  control  of  the  fisheries,  and  from  them, 
other  people  received  collections,  either  as  presents,  in  conquest,  or  by 
way  of  trade.  History  makes  no  mention  of  pearls  having  been  ob- 
tained elsewhere  than  in  the  Orient  up  to  the  time  of  Julius  Caesar, 
when  small  quantities  of  inexpensive  ones  were  collected  in  Britain 
by  the  invading  Romans.  And  in  the  first  century  a.d.,  Pliny  states 
that  small  reddish  pearls  were  found  about  Italy  and  in  the  Bosphorus 
Straits  near  Constantinople. 

A  number  of  specimens  of  pearls  of  the  artistic  Greeks  and  of  the 
luxurious  Romans  are  yet  in  existence,  and  some  of  these  are  in  a 
fairly  good  state  of  preservation.  A  notable  and  interesting  example 
is  a  superb  Greek  necklace  of  pearls  and  gold,  referred  to  the  third 
century  B.C.,  and  now  in  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art  in  New 
York.  Several  earrings  now  in  that  museum,  in  the  Hermitage  at 
St.  Petersburg,  the  British  Museum,  the  Louvre  in  Paris,  and  in  the 
Boston  Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  are  shown  in  this  book.  Some  of  these 
may  have  decorated  ears  that  listened  to  the  comedies  of  Aristophanes, 
the  tragedies  of  Euripides,  the  philosophies  of  Plato,  or  the  oratory 
of  Demosthenes.     A  number  of  classic  statues  have  the  ears  pierced 

'  "Dictionnaire  des  Antiquites  Grecques  et  Romaines,"  Paris,  1904,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  1595-6. 


12  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

for  earrings,  notably  the  Venus  de  Medici  now  in  the  Tribuna  of  the 
Uffizi,  Florence;  and  a  magnificent  pair  of  half-pearls  is  said  to  have 
decorated  the  Venus  of  the  Pantheon  in  Rome/  Pearl  grape  earrings 
are  shown  on  the  artistic  intaglio  by  Aspasios,  representing  the  bust 
of  the  Athene  Parthenos  of  Phidias,  which  has  been  in  the  Gemmen 
Miinzen  Cabinet  at  Vienna  since  1669. 

The  beautiful  Tyszkiewicz  bronze  statuette  of  Aphrodite  was 
acquired  in  1900  by  the  Boston  Museum  "of  Fine  Arts,  and  has  even 
yet  a  pearl  in  a  fairly  good  state  of  preservation  suspended  from  each 
ear  by  a  spiral  thread  of  gold  which  passes  quite  through  the  gem  and 
also  through  the  lobe  of  the  ear.  This  statuette  has  been  described  as 
"the  most  beautiful  bronze  Venus  known." ^  Professor  Froehner  con- 
siders that  it  belongs  nearer  to  the  period  of  Phidias  (circa  500-430 
B.C.)  than  to  that  of  Praxiteles  (circa  400-336  b.c.)  ;  but  Dr.  Edward 
Robinson  does  not  concur  in  this  opinion,  and  refers  it  to  the  Hellenic 
period  (circa  330-146  B.C.). 

However,  considering  the  very  large  accumulations,  relatively  few 
pearls  of  antiquity  now  remain,  and  none  of  these  is  of  great  orna- 
mental value.  Those  in  archaeological  collections  and  art  museums  are 
more  or  less  decayed  through  the  ravages  of  time  and  accident  to 
which  they  have  been  subjected.  While  coins,  gold  jewelry,  crystal 
gems,  etc.,  of  ancient  civilizations  are  relatively  numerous,  the  less 
durable  pearls  have  not  survived  the  many  centuries  of  pillage,  waste, 
and  burial  in  the  earth. 

A  well-known  instance  of  this  decay  is  found  in  the  Stilicho  pearls, 
which  owe  their  prominence  to  the  incident  of  their  long  burial.  The 
daughters  of  this  famous  Roman  general,  who  were  successively  be- 
trothed to  the  Emperor  Honorius,  died  in  407  a.d.,  and  were  buried 
with  their  pearls  and  ornaments.  In  1526,  or  more  than  eleven  cen- 
turies afterward,  in  excavating  for  an  extension  of  St.  Peter's,  the 
tomb  was  opened,  and  the  ornaments  were  found  in  fair  condition, 
except  the  pearls,  which  were  as  lusterless  and  dead  as  a  wreath  of 
last  year's  flowers. 

'See  p.  449.        "Froehner,  "La  Collection  Tyszkiewicz,"  Munich,  l8p2. 


II 

MEDIEVAL  AND  MODERN  HISTORY 


II 

MEDIEVAL  AND  MODERN  HISTORY  OF  PEARLS 

I  'II  set  thee  in  a  shower  of  gold,  and  hail 
Rich  pearls  upon  thee. 

Antony  and  Cleopatra,  Act  II,  sc.  5. 

THE  popularity  of  pearls  in  Rome  has  its  counterpart  in  the 
Empire  of  the  East  at  Byzantium  or  Constantinople  on  its 
development  in  wealth  and  luxury  after  becoming  the  capital 
of  that  empire  in  330  a.d.  Owing  to  its  control  of  the  trade 
between  Asia  and  Europe,  and  the  influence  of  oriental  taste  and 
fashion,  enormous  collections  were  made;  and  for  centuries  after 
Rome  had  been  pillaged,  this  capital  was  the  focus  of  all  the  arts,  and 
pearls  were  the  favorite  ornaments.  The  famous  mosaic  in  the  sanctu- 
ary of  San  Vitale  at  Ravenna,  shows  Justinian  (483-565)  with  his 
head  covered  with  a  jeweled  cap,  and  the  Empress  Theodora  wearing  a 
tiara  encircled  by  three  rows  of  pearls,  and  strings  of  pearls  depend 
therefrom  almost  to  the  waist.  In  many  instances  the  decorations  of 
the  emperors  excelled  even  those  of  the  most  profligate  of  Roman 
rulers.  An  examination  of  the  coins,  from  those  of  Arcadius  in  395 
to  the  last  dribble  of  a  long  line  of  obscure  rulers  when  the  city  was 
captured  and  pillaged  by  Venetian  and  Latin  adventurers  in  1204, 
shows  in  the  form  of  diadems,  collars,  necklaces,  etc.,  the  great  quan- 
tity of  pearls  worn  by  them.  The  oldest  existing  crown  in  use  at  the 
present  time,  the  Hungarian  crown  of  St.  Stephen,  which  is  radiant 
with  pearls,  is  of  Byzantine  workmanship. 

Outside  of  Constantinople,  the  demand  and  fashion  for  pearls  did 
not  cease  with  the  downfall  of  the  Roman  Empire  and  the  spoliation  of 
Rome  in  the  fifth  century.  The  treasures  accumulated  there,  and  the 
gems  and  jewels,  were  carried  away  by  the  conquering  Goths  and 
scattered  among  the  great  territorial  lords  of  western  and  northern 
Europe. 

In  the  ancient  cities  of  Gaul,  in  Toulouse  and  Narbonne,  the  Ostro- 
goth and  the  Visigoth  kings  collected  enormous  treasures.    The  citadel 


i6  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

of  Carcassonne  held  magnificent  spoils  brought  from  the  sacking  of 
Rome  in  410  by  Alaric,  king  of  the  Ostrogoths,  consisting  in  part  of  jew- 
els from  the  Temple,  these  having  been  carried  to  Rome  after  the  spolia- 
tion of  Jerusalem  in  70  a.d.  Several  beautiful  objects  of  this  and  some- 
what later  periods  are  yet  in  existence,  notably  the  Visigothic  crowns 
and  crosses,  in  the  Musee  de  THotel  de  Cluny,  Paris,  the  most  beautiful 
of  which  are  probably  the  crown  and  the  cross  of  Reccesvinthus.^ 

Even  as  the  treasures  of  Rome  were  despoiled  by  the  Ostrogoths 
and  the  Visigoths,  so,  later,  their  collections  were  depleted  by  the  mili- 
tary operations  of  the  Franks,  when  Narbonne  was  pillaged;  when 
Toulouse  was  sacked  by  Clovis,  or  Chlodowig,  in  507;  when  the 
churches  of  Barcelona  and  Toledo  were  despoiled  by  Childebert  in  531 
and  542 ;  and  by  various  expeditions  in  succeeding  years. 

The  military  triumphs  of  the  Franks  placed  them  in  the  highest 
rank  among  the  peoples  of  Europe,  in  the  sixth  and  seventh  centuries, 
in  the  possession  of  treasures  of  jewels  which  enriched  their  palaces 
and  great  churches.  And  the  taste  which  the  triumphs  of  war  had 
developed  was  maintained  by  the  trade  carried  on  by  the  Jewish  and 
Syrian  merchants.  The  inhabitants  of  Gaul  were  extremely  fond  of 
objects  of  art,  of  rich  costumes,  and  of  personal  decorations ;  and  the 
courts  of  some  of  the  early  kings  rivaled  in  magnificence  those  of 
oriental  monarchs.  Especially  was  this  true  during  the  reign  of  King 
Dagobert  (628-638),  who  competed  in  splendor  with  the  rulers  of 
Persia  and  India.  His  skilful  jeweler,  Eligius  (588-659),  was  raised 
to  the  bishopric  of  Noyon,  and  eventually— under  the  name  of  St.  Eloi 
—became  one  of  the  most  popular  saints  in  Gaul.  Under  direction  of 
this  artistic  bishop,  the  ancient  churches  received  shrines,  vestments, 
and  reliquaries  superbly  decorated  with  pearls  and  other  gems.  In- 
deed, for  several  centuries  following  the  time  of  Eligius,  the  greatest 
treasures  of  jewels  seem  to  have  been  collected  in  the  churches. 

The  use  of  gems  in  enriching  regalia,  vestments,  and  reliquaries  in 
Europe,  advanced  greatly  during  the  reign  of  Charlemagne  (768- 
814)  ;  and  princes  and  bishops  competed  with  each  other  in  the  mag- 
nificence of  their  gifts  to  the  churches,  sacrificing  their  laical  jewels 
for  the  sacred  treasures.  Few  of  the  great  ornaments  of  Charle- 
magne's time  are  now  in  existence  in  the  original  form.  Doubtless  the 
most  remarkable  pieces  are  the  sacred  regalia  of  the  great  emperor, 
preserved  among  the  imperial  treasures  in  Vienna. 

An  artistic  use  for  pearls  at  that  time  was  in  the  rich  and  elegant 
bindings  of  the  splendidly  written  missals  and  chronicles,  finished  in 
the  highest  degree  of  excellence  and  at  vast  expense.  An  artist  might 
devote  his  whole  life  to  completing  a  single  manuscript,  so  great  was 

'■  See  p.  415. 


FRONT  COVER  OF  ASHBURNHAM  MANUSCRIPT  OF  THE  FOUR  GOSPELS 

From  the  ninth  century.     One  quarter  of  the  actual  dimensions 
Owned  by  J.  Pierpont  Morgan,  Esq. 


MEDIEVAL  AND  MODERN  HISTORY  17 

the  detail  and  so  exquisite  the  finish.  Vasari  states  that  Juho  Clovio 
devoted  nine  years  to  painting  twenty-six  miniatures  in  the  Breviary 
of  the  Virgin  now  in  the  royal  library  at  Naples.  The  library  at 
Rouen  has  a  large  missal  on  which  a  monk  of  St.  Andoen  is  said  to 
have  labored  for  thirty  years.  These  books  were  among  the  most 
valued  possessions  of  the  churches,  and  their  bindings  were  enriched 
with  gold  and  pearls  and  colored  stones.  The  wealthy  churches  had 
many  such  volumes ;  Gregory  of  Tours  states  that  from  Barcelona  in 
531  A.D.  Childebert  brought  twenty  "evangeliorum  capsas"  of  pure 
gold  set  with  gems.  Several  of  these  superbly  bound  volumes  are  yet 
in  existence,  in  the  Basilica  of  St.  Mark  in  Venice;  in  the  treasury  of 
the  cathedral  at  Milan;  among  the  imperial  Russian  collections  in  the 
Ourejenaya  Palata  at  Moscow,  etc. ;  and  they  furnish  probably  the 
most  reliable  examples  of  artistic  jewel  work  of  the  Dark  Ages. 

The  most  remarkable  specimen  of  these  books  in  America  is  doubt- 
less the  Ashburnham  manuscript  of  the  Four  Gospels,  now  owned  by 
J.  Pierpont  Morgan,  Esq.,  which  afifords  an  interesting  example  of  the 
jeweler's  art.  For  many  centuries  it  belonged  to  the  Abbey  of  the 
Noble  Canonesses,  founded,  in  834,  at  Lindau,  on  Lake  Constance. 
After  an  extended  examination,  Mr.  Alexander  Nesbit  concluded 
that  the  rich  cover  of  the  manuscript  was  probably  made  between 
896  and  899  by  order  of  Emperor  Arnulf  of  the  Carolingian  dynasty. 
Most  of  the  ninety-eighf  pearls  appear  to  be  from  fresh  water,  and 
probably  all  of  them  were  obtained  from  the  rivers  of  Europe.  This 
is  one  of  the  few  remaining  pieces  of  the  magnificent  ecclesiastical 
jeweling  of  that  period. 

After  the  death  of  Charlemagne,  internal  dissensions,  separations 
and  the  division  of  the  Empire  into  the  nations  of  Europe,  annihilated 
commerce,  oppressed  the  people,  and  impoverished  the  arts.  In  the 
ninth  century,  the  Normans  pillaged  many  of  the  palaces  and  churches 
in  Angouleme,  Tours,  Orleans,  Rouen,  and  Paris,  and  destroyed  or 
carried  away  large  treasures.  The  tenth  and  the  eleventh  centuries 
were  indeed  the  Dark  Ages  in  respect  .to  the  cultivation  of  the  arts ;  yet 
even  during  that  period  the  churches  of  western  Europe  received  many 
gems  from  penitent  and  fear-stricken  subjects.  The  heart  of  man, 
filled  with  the  love  of  God,  laid  its  earthly  treasure  upon  the  altar  in 
exchange  for  heavenly  consolation.  Pious  faith  dedicated  pearls  to  the 
glorification  of  the  ritual;  altars,  statues,  and  images  of  the  saints, 
priestly  vestments,  and  sacred  vessels,  were  surcharged  with  them. 
The  great  museums  and  the  imperial  collections  contain  some  beautiful 
and  highly  venerated  objects  of  this  nature. 

In  the  meantime  pearls  of  small  size  and  of  fair  luster  had  been 
collected  in  the  rivers  of  Scotland,  Ireland,  and  France,  the  headwaters 


i8  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

of  the  Danube,  and  in  the  countries  north  thereof.  In  England,  as 
noted  in  the  preceding  chapter,  they  were  obtained  by  Caesar's  invading 
legions,  who  carried  many  to  Rome.  Ancient  coins  indicate  that  pearls 
formed  the  principal  ornament  of  the  simple  crowns  worn  by  the  early 
kings  of  Britain  previous  to  Alfred  the  Great. 

The  river  pearls  were  not  so  beautiful  as  oriental  ones ;  but,  owing 
to  the  ease  with  which  they  were  obtained,  they  were  employed  more 
extensively  and  especially  in  ecclesiastical  decorations,  the  principal 
use  for  pearls  from  the  eighth  to  the  eleventh  century.  Apparently 
authentic  specimens  of  fresh-water  pearls  of  an  early  period  are  the 
four  now  in  the  coronation  spoon  of  the  English  regalia,  which  is  at- 
tributed to  the  twelfth  century. 

From  the  most  ancient  times  until  the  overthrow  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  practically  the  only  use  for  pearls  was  ornamental;  but  after 
the  eighth  century  there  developed  a  new  employment  for  these  as  well 
as  for  other  gems.  Natural  history  was  little  studied  in  Europe  from 
the  ninth  to  the  fourteenth  century,  except  for  the  effect  which  its  sub- 
jects had  in  medicine  and  magic,  which  were  closely  allied.  Largely 
through  Arabic  influence,  the  practice  of  medicine  had  developed  into 
administering  most  whimsical  remedies,  among  which  gems,  and  espe- 
cially pearls,  played  a  prominent  part,  and  belief  in  the  influence  of 
these  was  as  strong  as  in  that  of  the  heavenly  bodies.  For  this  applica- 
tion, large  demands  had  arisen  for  pearls,  which  seem  to  have  been 
prescribed  for  nearly  every  ill  to  which  the  flesh  was  heir.  On  account 
of  their  cheapness,  the  small  ones — seed-pearls — were  used  principally; 
though  larger  ones  were  preferred  by  persons  who  could  afford  them. 
While  many  of  these  so-called  medicinal  pearls  were  obtained  from  the 
Orient,  most  of  them  were  secured  from  the  home  streams  in  the  north 
of  Europe  and  in  the  British  Isles. 

After  the  decadence  of  Roman  power  in  the  East,  the  rulers  of 
India  and  Persia,  through  their  control  of  the  fisheries,  again  accumu- 
lated enormous  quantities  of  pearls.  All  of  the  early  travelers  to  those 
countries  were  astonished  at  the  lavish  display  of  these  gems  in  dec- 
orative costume. 

The  manuscript  of  Renaudot's  two  Mohammedans,  who  visited  In- 
dia and  China  in  the  ninth  century,  notes  that  the  kings  of  the  Indies 
were  rich  in  ornaments,  "yet  pearls  are  what  they  most  esteem,  and 
their  value  surpasses  that  of  all  other  jewels ;  they  hoard  them  up  in 
their  treasures  with  their  most  precious  things.  The  grandees  of  the 
court,  the  great  officers  and  captains,  wear  the  like  jewels  in  their 
collars."  1 

*  Renaudot,  "  Ancient  Accounts  of  India  and  China  by  Two  Mohammedan  Travelers," 

London,  1733,  p.  98. 


z 


< 


MEDIEVAL  AND  MODERN  HISTORY  19 

Inventories  of  some  of  the  oriental  collections  of  later  times  seem  to 
be  extravagant  fiction  rather  than  veritable  history.  In  that  interest- 
ing book  dictated  in  a  Genoese  prison  to  Rusticiano  da  Pisa,  accounts 
are  given  by  Marco  Polo  of  great  treasures  seen  by  the  first  Europeans 
to  penetrate  into  China.  He  describes  the  king  of  Malabar  as  wearing 
suspended  about  his  neck  a  string  of  104  large  pearls  and  rubies  of 
great  value,  which  he  used  as  a  rosary.  Likewise  on  his  legs  were 
anklets  and  on  his  toes  were  rings,  all  thickly  set  with  costly  pearls,  the 
whole  "worth  more  than  a  city's  ransom.  And  't  is  no  wonder  he  hath 
great  store  of  such  gear ;  for  they  are  found  in  his  kingdom.  No  one 
is  permitted  to  remove  therefrom  a  pearl  weighing  more  than  half  a 
saggio.  The  king  desires  to  reserve  all  such  to  himself,  and  so  the 
quantity  he  has  is  almost  incredible."^ 

Later  travelers  give  wonderful  descriptions  of  this  excessive  passion 
for  pearls.  Literature  is  full  of  this  appreciation,  and  of  the  part 
which  these  gems  played  in  the  afifairs  of  the  Orientals.  Who  has  not 
dwelt  with  delight  upon  those  imperishable  legends  such  as  are  em- 
bodied in  the  Arabian  Nights,  of  the  pearl  voyages  by  Sindbad  the 
Sailor,  of  the  wonderful  treasure  chests,  and  of  the  superb  necklaces 
adorning  the  beautiful  black-eyed  women ! 

The  returning  Crusaders  in  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries,  and 
the  development  of  the  knightly  orders,  had  much  to  do  with  spreading 
through  Europe  a  fondness  for  pearls  in  personal  decoration.  Those 
who,  like  Chaucer's  knight,  had  been  with  Peter,  King  of  Cyprus,  at 
the  capture  and  plunder  when  "Alexandria  was  won,"  returned  to  their 
homes  with  riches  of  pearls  and  gold  and  precious  stones.  And  learning 
much  relative  to  decorative  art  from  Moorish  craftsmen,  the  jewelers 
of  western  Europe  set  these  in  designs  not  always  crude  and  ineffective. 

Although  they  were  well  known  and  valued,  pearls  do  not  seem  to 
have  been  much  used  in  England  before  the  twelfth  century,  as  the 
Anglo-Saxons  were  not  an  especially  art-loving  people.  The  word  it- 
self is  of  foreign  derivation  and  occurs  in  a  similar  form  in  all  modern 
languages,  both  Romance  and  Teutonic;  perle,  French  and  German; 
perla,  Italian,  Portuguese,  Pi'ovengal,  Spanish,  and  Swedish;  paarl, 
Danish  and  Dutch.  Its  origin  is  doubtful.  Some  philologists  consider 
it  Teutonic  and  the  diminutive  of  beere,  a  berry ;  Claude  de  Saumaise 
derives  it  from  pirula,  the  diminutive  of  pirum,  a  sphere;  while  Diez 
and  many  others  refer  it  to  pira  or  to  the  medieval  Latin  pinila,  in 
allusion  to  the  pear  shape  frequently  assumed  by  the  pearl. - 

'"The  Book  of  Ser  Marco  Polo,"  London,  In  Tamil,  the  word  for  pearl  \%mooithoo  ;  in 

i8;i.  Vol.  II,  p.  275.  Hindustani,  it  is  mootic;  in  Cingalese,  moo- 

2  Analogous  to  the  uniform  European  word  too;    and     in     Malay,     mutya    or    mootara. 

for  this  gem,  is  the  extension  of  the  Sanskrit  (Ainslie,    "Materia    Indica,"    London,    1826, 

form,  mtikta,  from  Persia  to  the  Sulu  Islands.  Vol.  I,  pp.  292-297.) 


20  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

The  word  pearl  seems  to  have  come  into  general  use  in  the  English 
language  about  the  fourteenth  century.  In  Wyclif 's  translation  of  the 
Scriptures  (about  1360),  he  commonly  used  the  word  margarite  or 
margaritis,  whereas  Tyndale's  translation  (1526)  in  similar  places 
used  the  word  pcrlc.  Tyndale  translated  Matt.  xiii.  46:  "When  he 
had  founde  one  precious  pearle";  Wyclif  used  "00  preciouse  marga- 
rite." Also  in  Matt.  vii.  6,  Tyndale  wrote,  "Nether  caste  ye  youre 
pearles  before  swyne" ;  yet  Wyclif  used  "margaritis,"  although  twenty 
years  later  he  expressed  it  "putten  precious  perils  to  hoggis."  Lang- 
land's  Piers  Plowman  (1362),  XI,  9,  wrote  this:  "Noli  mittere  Mar- 
geri  perles  Among  hogges."  The  oldest  English  version  of  Mande- 
ville's  Travels,  written  about  1400,  contained  the  expression:  "The  fyn 
Perl  congeles  and  wexes  gret  of  the  dew  of  hevene";  but  in  1447, 
Bokenham's  "Seyntys"  stated:  "A  margerye  perle  aftyr  the  phylo- 
sophyr  Growyth  on  a  shelle  of  lytyl  pryhs" ;  and  Knight  de  la  Tour 
(about  1450)  stated:  "The  sowle  is  the  precious  marguarite  unto 
God." 

The  word  is  given  "perle"  in  the  earliest  manuscripts  of  those  old 
epic  poems  of  the  fourteenth  century,  "Pearl"  and  "Cleanness,"  which 
have  caused  so  much  learned  theological  discussion  and  which  testify 
to  the  great  love  and  esteem  in  which  the  gem  was  held.  The  first 
stanza  of  "Pearl"  we  quote  from  Gollancz's  rendition: 

Pearl !  fair  enow  for  princes'  pleasance, 

so  deftly  set  in  gold  so  pure, — 
from  orient  lands  I  durst  avouch, 

ne'er  saw  I  a  gem  its  peer, — 
so  round,  so  comely-shaped  withal, 

so  small,  with  sides  so  smooth, — 
where'er  I  judged  of  radiant  gems, 

I  placed  my  pearl  supreme.^ 

The  fourteenth-century  manuscript  in  the  British  Museum  gives 
this  as  follows : 

Perle  plesaunte  to  prynces  paye. 

To  clanly  clos  in  gold  so  clere, 
Oute  of  oryent  I  hardyly  saye, 

Ne  proved  I  never  her  precios  pere, — 
So  rounde,  so  reken  in  uche  a  rave, 

So  smal,  so  smothe  her  sydez  were, — 
Queresoever  I  jvigged  gemmez  gaye, 

I  sette  hyr  sengeley  in  synglere. 

'Gollancz,  "Pearl,  an  English  Poem  of  the  Fourteenth  Century,"  London,  1891. 


MEDIEVAL  AND  MODERN  HISTORY  21 

And  from  a  modern  rendering  of  "Cleanness"  we  quote: 

The  pearl  is  praised  wherever  gems  are  seen, 

though  it  be  not  the  dearest  by  way  of  merchandise. 

Why  is  the  pearl  so  prized,  save  for  its  purity, 
that  wins  praise  for  it  above  all  white  stones? 

It  shineth  so  bright ;  it  is  so  round  of  shape ; 
without  fault  or  stain;  if  it  be  truly  a  pearl. 

In  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries  throughout  Europe  pearls 
were  very  fashionable  as  personal  ornaments,  and  were  worn  in  enor- 
mous quantities;  the  dresses  of  men  as  well  as  of  women  were  dec- 
orated and  embroidered  with  them,  and  they  were  noted  in  nearly  every 
account  of  a  festive  occasion,  whether  it  were  a  marriage,  a  brilliant 
tourney,  the  consecration  of  a  bishop,  or  the  celebration  of  a  victory  in 
battle. 

The  faceting  of  crystal  gems  was  not  known  at  that  time,  and  those 
dependent  on  artifice  for  their  beauty  were  not  much  sought  after.  Al- 
though the  diamond  had  been  known  from  the  eighth  century,  it  was 
not  generally  treasured  as  an  ornament,  and  not  until  long  after  the 
invention  of  cutting  in  regular  facets — about  1450— did  it  attain  its 
great  popularity. 

In  the  Dark  Ages,  it  was  customary  for  princes  and  great  nobles  to 
carry  their  valuables  about  with  them  even  on  the  battle-fields  ;  first,  in 
order  to  have  them  always  in  possession,  and  second,  on  account  of 
the  mysterious  power  they  attributed  to  precious  stones.  Since  jewels 
constituted  a  large  portion  of  their  portable  wealth,  nobles  and  knights 
went  into  battle  superbly  arrayed.  In  this  manner  the  treasures  were 
easily  lost  and  destroyed;  consequently,  relatively  few  of  the  personal 
ornaments  of  that  period  are  preserved  to  the  present  time. 

Among  the  greatest  lovers  of  pearls  in  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth 
centuries  were  the  members  of  the  ducal  house  of  Burgundy,  and 
especially  Philip  the  Bold  (1342-1404),  Philip  the  Good  (1396-1467), 
and  Charles  the  Bold  (1433-77),  ^"d  some  of  the  gems  which  they 
owned  are  even  now  treasured  in  Austria,  Spain,  and  Italy.  When 
Duke  Charles  the  Bold,  in  the  year  1473,  attended  the  Diet  of  Treves, 
accompanied  by  his  five  thousand  splendidly  equipped  horsemen,  he 
was  attired  in  cloth  of  gold  garnished  with  pearls,  which  were  valued 
at  200,000  golden  florins.^  We  are  told  that  "almost  a  sea  of  pearls" 
was  on  view  at  the  marriage  of  George  the  Rich  with  Hedwig,  the 
daughter  of  Casimir  III  of  Poland,  at  Landshut,  in  1475.  Among 
the  many  ornaments  was  a  pearl  chaplet  valued  at  50,000  florins  which 

'  Sachs,  "Kaiserchronik,"  Vol.  IV,  p.  261. 


22  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

Duke  George  wore  on  his  hat,  and  also  a  clasp  worth  6000  florins.^ 
Members  of  the  related  houses  of  Anjou  and  Valois  also  held  great 
collections.  Nor  in  this  account  should  we  omit  some  of  the  English 
sovereigns,  including  especially  Richard  H  (1366-1400),  one  of  the 
greatest  dandies  of  his  day. 

During  the  fifteenth  century,  enormous  quantities  of  pearls  were 
worn  by  persons  of  rank  and  fashion.  A  remarkable  1483  portrait  of 
Margaret,  wife  of  James  HI  of  Scotland,  which  is  now  preserved  at 
Hampton  Court,  shows  her  wearing  such  wonderful  pearl  ornaments 
that  she  might  well  be  called  Margaret  from  her  decorations.  As  this 
queen  was  praised  for  her  beauty,  we  fear  the  artist  has  scarcely  done 
justice  to  her  appearance;  or  possibly  since  that  period  tastes  have 
changed  as  to  what  on  a  throne  passes  for  beauty.  Her  head-dress  is 
undoubtedly  the  most  remarkable  pearl  decoration  which  we  have  seen 
of  that  century. 

The  uxorious  and  sumptuous  Henry  VHI  of  England  (1491-1547) 
spent  much  of  the  great  wealth  accumulated  by  his  penurious  father, 
Henry  VH,  in  enriching  the  appearance  of  his  semi-barbaric  court. 
In  this  reign,  the  spoliation  of  the  Catholic  cathedrals  and  churches 
contributed  many  pearls  to  the  royal  treasury ;  and  onward  from  that 
time,  they  were  prominently  displayed  among  the  ornaments  of  the 
women  of  rank  in  England.  Most  of  the  portraits  of  Henry's  wives 
show  great  quantities  of  these  gems;  many  of  them  with  settings 
doubtless  designed  by  artistic  Hans  Holbein  the  Younger  (1497- 
1543)  ;  and  during  the  succeeding  reigns  the  women  near  the  throne 
were  commonly  depicted  with  elaborate  pearl  decorations. 

The  cold,  unflattering  portraits  by  Holbein  of  the  court  celebrities 
of  that  period,  not  only  of  the  gracious  women  and  of  the  dandified 
men,  but  of  the  clergy  as  well,  show  the  prominence  of  pearls.  Note 
his  portrait  of  Jane  Seymour,  of  Anne  of  Cleves,  of  Christina  of  Den- 
mark, and  the  pearl-incrusted  miter  of  Archbishop  Warham  of 
Canterbury. 

An  interesting  story  is  told  of  Sir  Thomas  More,  the  learned  chan- 
cellor of  Henry  VHI,  showing  his  view  of  the  great  display  of  jewels 
which  distinguished  the  period  in  which  he  lived : 

His  Sonne  John's  wife  often  had  requested  her  father-in-law,  Sir  Thomas, 
to  buy  her  a  billiment  sett  with  pearles.  He  had  often  put  her  off  with  many 
pretty  slights ;  but  at  last,  for  her  importunity,  he  provided  her  one.  Instead 
of  pearles,  he  caused  white  peaze  to  be  sett,  so  that  at  his  next  coming  home, 
his  daughter-in-law  demanded  her  jewel.  "Ay,  marry,  daughter,  I  have  not 
forgotten  thee !"    So  out  of  his  studie  he  sent  for  a  box,  and  solemnlie  deliv- 

1  Staudenraus,  "Chronik  der  Stadt  Landshut,"  1832,  Vol.  I,  p.  172. 


MEDIEVAL  AND  MODERN  HISTORY  23 

ered  it  to  her.  When  she,  with  great  joy,  lookt  for  her  bilHment,  she  found, 
far  from  her  expectation,  a  biUiment  of  peaze;  and  so  she  almost  wept  for 
verie  griefe.^ 

Meanwhile,  in  the  yet  unknown  America,  pearls  were  highly  prized, 
and  their  magic  charm  had  taken  an  irresistible  hold  on  aborigines  and 
on  the  more  highly  civilized  inhabitants  of  Mexico  and  Peru.  In 
Mexico  the  palaces  of  Montezuma  were  studded  with  pearls  and  emer- 
alds, and  the  Aztec  kings  possessed  pearls  of  inestimable  value.  That 
they  had  been  collected  elsewhere  for  a  long  time  is  evidenced  by  the 
large  quantities  in  the  recently  opened  mounds  of  the  Ohio  Valley, 
which  rank  among  the  ancient  works  of  man  in  America.  As  in  the 
Old  World,  so  in  the  New,  they  had  been  used  as  decoration  for  the 
gods  and  for  the  temples,  as  well  as  for  men  and  women. 

The  principal  immediate  effect  of  Columbus's  discovery  and  of  the 
commercial  intercourse  with  the  New  World,  was  the  great  wealth  of 
pearls  which  enriched  the  Spanish  traders.  The  natives  were  found 
in  possession  of  rich  fisheries  on  the  coast  of  Venezuela,  and  somewhat 
later  on  the  Pacific  coast  of  Panama  and  Mexico,  whence  Eldorado 
adventurers  returned  to  Spain  with  such  large  collections  that — using 
an  old  chronicler's  expression — "they  were  to  every  man  like  chaff." 
For  many  years  America  was  best  known  in  Seville,  Cadiz,  and  some 
other  ports  of  Europe,  as  the  land  whence  the  pearls  came.  Until  the 
development  of  the  mines  in  Mexico  and  Peru,  the  value  of  the  pearls 
exceeded  that  of  all  other  exports  combined.  Humboldt  states  that  till 
1530  these  averaged  in  value  more  than- 800,000  piastres  yearly.*  And 
throughout  the  sixteenth  century  the  American  fisheries — prosecuted 
by  the  Spaniards  with  the  help  of  native  labor — furnished  Europe  with 
large  quantities,  the  records  for  one  year  showing  imports  of  "697 
pounds'  weight"  into  Seville  alone. 

For  two  centuries  following  the  discovery  of  America,  extravagance 
in  personal  decoration  was  almost  unlimited  at  the  European  courts, 
and  the  pearls  exceeded  in  quantity  that  of  all  other  gems.  Enormous 
numbers  were  worn  by  persons  of  rank  and  fortune.  This  is  apparent, 
not  only  from  the  antiquarian  records  and  the  historical  accounts,  but 
also  in  the  paintings  and  engravings  of  that  time;  portraits  of  the 
Hapsburgs,  the  Valois,  the  Medicis,  the  Borgias,  the  Tudors,  and 
the  Stuarts  show  great  quantities  of  pearls,  and  relatively  few  other 
gems. 

Probably  the  largest  treasures  were  in  possession  of  the  Hapsburg 

ijones,  "History  and  Mystery  of  Precious       to  the  New  Continent,"  London,   1822,   Vol. 
Stones,"  London,  1880,  p.  135.  U,  p.  273. 

2  Humboldt,  "Personal  Narrative  of  Travels 


24  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

family,  which  furnished  so  many  sovereigns  to  the  Holy  Roman  Em- 
pire, to  Austria,  and  to  Spain,  and  which,  by  descent  through  Maria 
Theresa,  continued  to  rule  the  Holy  Roman  Empire  until  its  abolition 
in  1806,  and  has  since  ruled  Austria  and  Hungary. 

A  number  of  superb  pieces  of  jewelry  owned  centuries  ago  by  mem- 
bers of  this  illustrious  family  are  yet  in  existence;  notably  the  buckle 
of  Charles  V,  and  especially  the  imperial  crown  of  Austria,  made  in 
1602  by  order  of  Rudolph  H.^ 

Two  great  women  of  that  period  are  noted  for  their  passion  for 
pearls,  Catharine  de'  Medici  (1519-89),  and  Elizabeth  of  England 
(1533-1603).  It  requires  but  a  glance  at  almost  any  of  their  por- 
traits, wherein  they  are  represented  wearing  elaborate  pearl  orna- 
ments, to  see  to  what  an  extent  they  carried  this  fondness.  And  many 
other  women  were  not  far  behind  them,  among  whom  were  Mary 
Stuart,  Marie  de'  Medici,  and  Henrietta  Maria.  And  not  only  by  the 
women,  but  by  the  men  also,  pearls  were  worn  to  what  now  seems  an 
extravagant  extent.  Nearly  all  the  portraits  of  Francis  I  (1494- 
1547),  Henry  II  (1519-59),  Charles  IX  (1550-74),  and  Henry  III 
(1551-89)  of  France;  of  James  I  (i 566-1 625),  and  of  Charles  I 
(1600-49)  of  England,  and  likewise  of  other  celebrities,  show  a  great 
pear-shaped  pearl  in  one  ear.  Many  portraits  also  show  pearls  on  the 
hats,  cloaks,  gloves,  etc. 

When  the  Duke  of  Buckingham  went  to  Paris  in  1625,  to  bring  over 
Henrietta  Maria  to  be  queen  to  Charles  I,  he  had,  according  to  an  ac- 
count in  the  "Antiquarian  Repertory,"  in  addition  to  twenty-six  other 
suits,  "a  rich  suit  of  purple  satin,  embroidered  all  over  with  rich  orient 
pearls,  the  cloak  made  after  the  Spanish  mode,  with  all  things  suitable, 
the  value  whereof  will  be  twenty  thousand  pounds,  and  this,  it  is 
thought,  shall  be  for  the  wedding  day  at  Paris." 

In  the  rich  and  prosperous  cities  of  southern  Europe,  pearls  were  no 
less  popular.  From  its  share  of  the  spoils  of  the  Byzantine  Empire, 
after  its  partition  in  1204,  pearls  and  other  riches  were  plentiful  in 
Venice,  and  they  were  increased  by  the  rapidly  developing  trade  with 
the  Orient.  In  the  rival  maritime  cities,  Genoa  and  Pisa,  the  gem  was 
equally  popular;  and  likewise  in  Florence  "the  Beautiful."  When 
Hercule  d'Este  sought  Lucrezia  Borgia  (1480-1519)  in  marriage  for 
his  son,  her  father.  Pope  Alexander  VI,  plunging  both  hands  in  a  box 
filled  with  pearls,  said :  "All  these  are  for  her !  I  desire  that  in  all  Italy 
she  shall  be  the  princess  with  the  most  beautiful  pearls  and  with  the 
greatest  number."^ 

Separated  by  three  centuries  of  time  and  by  the  intervening  simplic- 
ities of  Puritanism  and  democracy,  it  is  difficult  for  us  to  appreciate 

'See  p.  473.  2  Yriarte,  "  Autour  des  Borgia,"  Paris,  i8gi,  pp.  136,  137. 


?• 


— ■  v»^-,^  ^ 


(Ts:v^- 


Sfi 


MARIA  THERESA  (1717-1780),  QUEEN  OF  HUNGARY 

By  Martin  dr  Mvtfns.  174:! 


MEDIEVAL  AND  MODERN  HISTORY  25 

the  passion  for  pearls  in  Europe  at  that  period,  which  may  well  be 
called  the  Pearl  Age. 

The  sumptuary  laws  which  prevailed  at  different  times  in  France, 
England,  Germany,  and  other  countries,  did  not  overlook  this  extrav- 
agance; and  an  entire  volume  might  be  devoted  to  the  efforts  to  curb 
the  excessive  use.  In  France  they  were  probably  most  stringent  dur- 
ing the  reign  of  Philip  IV  (1285-1314),  of  Louis  XI  (1461-83),  of 
Charles  IX  (1560-74),  of  Henry  III  (1574-89),  and  of  Louis  XIII 
( 1610-43).  In  Germany  almost  every  city  had  its  special  restrictions. 
A  sumptuary  law  of  Ulm,  in  1345,  provided  that  no  married  woman  or 
maiden,  either  among  the  patricians  or  the  artisans,  should  wear  pearls 
on  her  dresses;  and  another,  in  141 1,  restricted  them  to  "one  pearl 
chaplet,"  and  this  should  not  exceed  twelve  loth  (half  ounce)  in 
weight.  A  Prankish  sumptuary  law  of  1479  provided  that  ordinary 
nobles  serving  a  knight  at  a  tourney  should  not  wear  any  pearl  orna- 
ments, embroidered  or  otherwise,  excepting  one  string  around  the  cap 
or  hat.  The  regulations  decreed  by  the  Diet  of  Worms,  in  1495,  set 
forth  that  the  citizens  who  were  not  of  noble  birth,  and  nobles  who 
were  not  knights,  must  withhold  from  the  use  of  gold  and  pearls.  A 
similar  provision  was  enacted  by  the  Diet  of  Freiburg  in  1498,  and 
likewise  by  the  Diet  of  Augsburg  in  1530,  which  permitted  the  wives 
of  nobles  four  silk  dresses,  but  without  pearls.  In  the  sumptuary  law 
of  Duke  John  George  of  Saxony,  April  23,  i6i2,.we  read:  "the  nobility 
are  not  allowed  to  wear  any  dresses  of  gold  or  silver,  or  garnished  with 
pearls ;  neither  shall  the  professors  and  doctors  of  the  universities,  nor 
their  wives,  wear  any  gold,  silver  or  pearls  for  fringes,  or  any  chains 
of  pearls,  or  caps,  neck-ornaments,  shoes,  slippers,  shawls,  pins,  etc., 
with  gold  or  silver  or  with  pearls."  Beadles,  burgomasters,  and  those 
connected  with  the  law-courts  were  forbidden  to  wear  chains  of  pearls 
and  ornaments  of  precious  stones  on  their  dresses,  caps,  etc.,  or  slip- 
pers or  chaplets  with  pearls. 

Probably  in  no  place  were  these  laws  more  stringent  than  in  the  art- 
loving  republic  of  Venice  from  the  fourteenth  to  the  sixteenth  century. 
This  seems  remarkable  in  view  of  the  fact  that  this  city  was  largely 
dependent  for  its  wealth  and  prominence  on  commerce  with  the  East, 
of  which  pearls  constituted  a  prominent  item. 

The  earliest  Venetian  restriction  that  we  have  found  regarding 
pearls  was  made  in  1299;  when,  in  a  decree  determining  the  maximum 
number  of  guests  at  a  marriage  ceremony  and  the  extent  of  the  bridal 
trousseau,  the  grand  council  of  the  republic  provided  that  no  one  but 
the  bride  should  wear  pearl  decorations,  and  she  should  be  permitted 
only  one  girdle  of  them  on  her  wedding  dress.  This  enactment  was 
modified  in  1306,  but  numerous  other  restrictions  were  substituted, 


26  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

notably  in  1334,  1340,  1360,  1497,  and  1562.  These  .differed  in  many 
particulars :  some  forbade  ornaments  or  trimmings  of  pearls,  gold,  or 
silver  on  the  dresses  of  any  women  except  a  member  of  the  Doge's 
family ;  and  other  enactments  required  that,  after  a  definite  period  of 
married  life,  no  woman  should  be  permitted  to  wear  pearls  of  any  kind. 
But  an  examination  of  the  documents  and  of  the  paintings  of  that 
period  shows  that  these  decrees  had  little  effect,  and  the  luxury  of  the 
"Queen  of  the  xA.driatic"  in  the  use  of  pearls  at  the  most  brilliant  epoch 
in  her  history  is  aptly  reproduced  in  the  portraits  by  Giovanni  Bellini, 
Lorenzo  Lotto,  the  great  Titian,  Tintoretto,  Paul  Veronese,  and  other 
artists  of  the  highest  rank.  In  the  engraving  by  Hendrik  Goltzius  of 
a  marriage  at  Venice  in  1584,  not  one  of  the  many  women  present 
seems  to  be  without  her  necklace  and  earrings  of  pearls,  and  some  of 
them  have  several  necklaces.^  And  the  same  appears  true  of  the  prin- 
cipal female  figures  in  Jost  Amman's  noted  engraving,  "The  Espousal 
of  the  Sea,"  executed  in  1565." 

As  preservation  of  the  republic  became  more  difficult  with  declining 
resources  and  with  the  continued  growth  of  dazzling  splendor,  a  re- 
solution in  the  Senate,  dated  July  8,  1599,  set  forth  that  "the  use 
and  price  of  pearls  has  become  so  excessive  and  increases  to  such  an 
extent  from  day  to  day,  that  if  some  remedy  is  not  provided,  it  will 
cause  injury,  disorders,  and  notable  inconvenience  to  public  and  private 
well-being,  as  each  one  of  this  council  in  his  wisdom  can  very  easily 
appreciate."  And  then  it  was  enacted:  "That,  without  repealing  the 
other  regulations  which  absolutely  prohibit  the  wearing  of  pearls,  it 
shall  be  expressly  enjoined  that  any  woman,  whether  of  noble  birth  or 
a  simple  citizen,  or  of  any  other  condition,  who  shall  reside  in  this  our 
city  for  one  year  (except  her  Serenity  the  Dogaressa  and  her  daugh- 
ters and  her  daughters-in-law  who  live  in  the  palace),  after  the  expira- 
tion of  fifteen  years  from  the  day  of  her  first  marriage,  shall  lay  aside 
the  string  of  pearls  around  her  neck  and  shall  not  wear  or  use,  either 
upon  her  neck  or  upon  any  other  part  of  her  person,  this  string  or  any 
other  kind  of  pearls  or  anything  which  imitates  pearls,  neither  in  this 
city  nor  in  any  other  city  or  place  within  our  dominion,  under  the  irre- 
missible  penalty  of  two  hundred  ducats." 

And  yet  ten  years  later,  on  May  5,  1609,  another  law  enacted  in  the 
Senate  stated: 

Although  in  the  year  1599  this  council  decided  with  great  wisdom  that 
married  women  should  be  permitted  to  wear  pearls  for  only  fifteen  years  after 
their  first  marriage,  nevertheless  it  is  very  evident  that  the  desired  end  has 
not  been  attained,  and  the  extravagance  has  continued  up  to  the  present  time 

iSee  Yriarte,  "Venice,"  Paris,  1878,  p.  2.^6.  ^Ibid.,  pp.  252,  253. 


MEDIEVAL  AND  MODERN  HISTORY 


27 


PARTI 

P  R  E  S  E 

NELLECCELLENTISS 

Confegliodi  Pregadi. 

>  JS9.  /</■  S-Lk^Hc,  <^  i£oS.JMj!1^i>. 
In  materia  di  Perle. 


and  still  continues  with  the  gravest  injury  to  private  persons.  Therefore, 
as  it  is  necessary  to  remedy,  by  a  new  provision,  not  only  this  considerable 
incommodity,  but  also  to  prevent  in  the  future  the  introduction  into  the  city 
of  a  greater  quantity  of  pearls  than  are  found  here  at  present,  it  is  enacted, 
that  married  women  as  well  as  those  who  shall  marry  in  the  future  (except 
the  Serene  Dogaressa  and  her  daughters  and  her  daughters-in-law  living  in 
the  palace)  of  whatever  grade  and  condition  they  may  be,  who  have  resided 
in  this  city  for  one  year,  cannot  wear  pearls  of  any  kind  except  for  ten  years 
immediately  following  the  day  of  their 
first  marriage;  and  after  that  period 
they  must  lay  aside  these  pearls  which 
they  are  forbidden  to  wear  on  any  part 
of  their  persons,  at  home  or  abroad, 
and  as  well  in  this  as  in  the  other  cities, 
lands,  and  other  places  of  our  domin- 
ion, under  the  penalty  of  two  hundred 
ducats.  And  if  the  husband  of  the  of- 
fending wife  is  a  noble,  he  shall  be 
proclaimed  in  the  greater  council  and 
declared  a  debtor  to  the  office  of  the 
governors  of  the  revenue  in  the  sum  of 
twenty-five  ducats  for  each  fine ;  and  if 
he  is  a  citizen  or  of  any  other  condi- 
tion, besides  the  penalty  of  two  hun- 
dred ducats  and  the  fine  of  twenty-five 
ducats  above  mentioned,  he  shall  be 
banished  for  three  years  from  Venice 
and  the  Duchy,  and  the  same  for  each 
offence.  And  pearls  or  anything  which 
imitates  pearls,  shall  be  forbidden  to 
all  other  women,  men  and  boys  or  girls 
of  every  age  and  condition  at  all  times 
and  in  all  places,  under  the  same  pen- 
alty of  two  hundred  ducats.  In  the  future  no  one  shall  in  any  manner  bring 
pearls  to  this  city  as  merchandise,  under  the  penalty  of  their  seizure  and  for- 
feiture. And  the  merchant  shall  be  imprisoned  for  five  consecutive  years ;  and 
if  he  flees,  he  shall  be  banished  from  the  city  and  district  of  Venice  and  from 
all  other  cities,  lands,  and  places  of  our  dominion  for  eight  consecutive  years. 
,  .  .  And  all  who  at  present  have  pearls  to  sell  are  required  to  deposit  a  list  of 
them  with  the  sumptuary  office,  so  as  to  avoid  all  fraud  which  could  be  prac- 
ticed in  this  matter. 


Stampata  per  Antonio  PJnellij 
Stampator  Ducale. 

vtS.JMorid  FormofitinCtlt  ictMondtHom. 


A  copy  of  the  title-page  of  this  enactment  is  presented  above. 

The  decrees  and  edicts  were  not  confined  to  Venice,  or  to  Italy, 
France,  or  Germany;  they  made  their  appearance  quite  generally 
throughout  western  and  northern  Europe  and  the  interdictions  of  the 


28  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

civil  authorities  were  strengthened  by  the  voice  of  the  bishops  and 
other  clergy,  especially  in  the  imperial  cities  of  southern  Germany.  Yet- 
the  united  authority  of  church  and  state  was  ineffectual  in  stemming 
the  tide  of  fashion  and  personal  fancy,  and  whether  or  not  pearls 
should  be  worn  became  one  of  the  much  discussed  questions  of  that 
period. 

To  the  question,  "Whether  the  statute  and  regulation  of  Bishop  Tu- 
dertinus,  who  had  excommunicated  all  women  who  wore  pearls,  was 
binding,"  Joannes  Guidius  replied  that  many  denied  that  this  was  so, 
and  made  the  subtle  defense  that  "the  women  had  not  accepted  it  and 
all  had  worn  pearls,  and  it  was  considered  that  such  a  law  was  binding 
only  when  it  was  accepted  by  those  for  whom  it  was  intended."^ 

And  as  to  the  validity  of  the  statutes  requiring  that  women  should 
not  wear  more  than  a  definite  number  of  pearls,  he  decided  that  "such 
a  statute  is  valid  and  in  itself  good.  And  if  the  question  is  put  whether 
every  woman  who  infringes  incurs  the  penalty,  an  answer  may  be  gath- 
ered from  the  sayings  of  the  doctors,  who  distinguish  between  married 
and  unmarried  women.  They  consider  that  an  unmarried  woman  is 
obliged  to  obey  the  statute  and  regulation  or  to  incur  the  penalty.  But 
as  to  a  married  woman,  if  her  husband  approves,  she  should  obey  the 
statute;  if,  however,  the  husband  objects,  then  the  wife  ought  to  wish 
to  obey  the  statute,  but  in  effect  she  should  rather  obey  her  husband, 
for  she  is  most  immediately  and  strongly  bound  to  do  this." "  Aided 
by  such  ingenious  opinions  as  these,  the  women  continued  to  follow 
their  own  inclinations  notwithstanding  the  opposition  of  church  and 
state. 

Other  fine  distinctions  were  drawn  by  the  lawyers  of  that  day  re- 
garding ownership  of  gems  under  certain  conditions.  For  instance,  it 
was  decided  that  pearls  given  by  a  father  to  his  unmarried  daughter 
remained  her  property  after  marriage  because  "the}'  are  given  for  a 
reason,  namely  to  induce  a  marriage" ;  yet  "pearls  handed  to  a  wife  by 
her  husband  are  not  considered  as  her  property,  but  must  be  given  to 
his  heirs,  since  it  is  supposed  that  they  were  given  only  for  her  adorn- 
ment. The  same  holds  good  as  respects  pearls  handed  to  a  daughter- 
in-law  by  her  father-in-law."  ' 

However,  the  greed  of  fashion,  which  law-makers  and  bishops  could 
not  arrest,  was  gradually  satiated;  and,  influenced  probably  by  the 
horrors  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  more  simple  taste  prevailed  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

In  the  meantime,  improvements  in  cutting  and  polishing  had  greatly 
increased  the  beauty  and  popularit)'  of  diamonds  and  other  crystal 

^Guidius,     "De  Mineral-  ' Ibid.,  p.  73.  ^ /did.,  pp.  75-77. 

ibus,"  Frankfort,  1627,  p.  74/ 


MEDIEVAL  AND  MODERN  HISTORY  29 

gems,  and  this  adversely  affected  the  demand  for  pearls.  Further- 
more, cleverly  fashioned  imitations  manufactured  at  a  low  cost  also 
served  to  decrease  the  relative  rank  and  fashion  of  the  sea-born  gems. 
In  the  eighteenth  century,  pearls  w^ere  relatively  scarce;  the  resources 
of  the  American  seas  were  largely  exhausted,  likewise  the  Ceylon  and 
Red  Sea  fisheries  were  not  to  be  depended  on,  and  practically  the  entire 
supply  came  from  the  Persian  Gulf,  with  a  few  from  European  rivers 
and  the  waters  of  China.  As  a  result,  although  they  continued  to  be 
prized  by  connoisseurs,  pearls  were  not  so  extensively  sought  after  by 
the  rank  and  file  of  jewel  purchasers. 

It  should  be  noted,  however,  that  from  the  most  ancient  times,  the 
princes  of  India  and  of  Persia  have  had  their  pick  and  choice  of  the 
output  from  Ceylon  and  the  Persian  Gulf ;  and  the  largest  single  col- 
lections of  the  Western  world  have  never  equaled  the  possessions  of 
some  of  those  rulers.  Some  Indian  princes  have  loaded  themselves 
with  thousands  of  pearls,  and  individual  ornaments  have  been  valued 
not  only  by  oriental,  but  by  European  experts,  at  several  millions  of 
dollars. 

The  great  diamond  resources  of  Brazil  were  discovered  in  1727, 
and  after  a  few  years  these  came  on  the  market  at  the  rate  of  140,000 
carats  annually.  At  that  time  ladies  of  rank  did  not  esteem  diamonds 
so  highly  as  pearls.  This  distinction  was  accentuated  by  Lord  Hervey 
in  his  account  of  the  coronation,  in  1727,  of  George  II  and  his  consort 
Caroline,  who  wore  not  only  the  great  pearl  necklace  inherited  from 
Queen  Anne,  but  "had  on  her  head  and  shoulders  all  the  pearls  she 
could  borrow  of  the  ladies  of  quality  at  one  end  of  the  town,  and  on 
her  petticoat  all  the  diamonds  she  could  hire  of  the  Jews  and  jewelers 
at  the  other ;  so  that  the  appearance  and  the  truth  of  her  finery  was  a 
mixture  of  magnificence  and  meanness  not  unlike  the  eclat  of  royalty 
in  many  other  particulars,  when  it  comes  to  be  nicely  considered  and 
its  source  traced  to  what  money  hires  or  flattery  lends."  ^  In  a  por- 
trait of  Charlotte  (1744-1818),  wife  of  George  III,  the  pearls  and 
diamonds  appear  equally  popular. 

On  the  entry  of  the  British  into  possession  of  Ceylon  in  1796,  the 
fisheries  of  that  country  were  resumed  with  great  success  after  thirty 
years  of  idleness,  resulting  in  very  large  outputs  for  several  seasons. 
But  owing  to  exhaustion  of  the  areas,  they  were  soon  reduced,  and  the 
yield  became  small  and  uncertain. 

About  1845,  pearls  came  on  the  market  from  the  Tuamotu  Archi- 
pelago and  other  South  Sea  islands,  and  the  industry  was  revived  on 
the  Mexican  coast.  The  pearls  from  these  localities  are  noted  for 
their  range  of  coloration,  and  particularly  for  the  very  dark  shades, 

iCroker,  "Lord  Hervey's  Memoirs,"  London,  1848,  Vol.  I,  pp.  88,  89. 


30  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

black  or  greenish  black  being  especially  prominent.  But  the  fashion, 
and  thus,  necessarily,  the  demand,  had  always  been  for  white  and  yel- 
low pearls;  consequently,  these  black  ones  were  of  little  value  in  the 
markets  until  about  ten  years  later,  when  they  became  fashionable  in 
Europe  largely  through  their  popularity  with  Empress  Eugenie  of 
France,  then  at  the  height  of  her  power.  To  this  queen,  pearls  owe 
much  of  their  high  rank  in  fashion  in  the  nineteenth  century ;  and  on 
her  head  they  were  royal  gems  royally  worn,  as  appears  from  Winter- 
halter's  portrait  of  her,  showing  her  magnificent  necklace. 

The  discovery  of  the  resources  on  the  Australian  coast  about  1865, 
and  the  development  of  the  fishery  there  for  mother-of-pearl,  resulted 
in  many  large  white  pearls  coming  from  that  coast.  The  search  was 
confined  to  the  relatively  shoal  waters,  until  the  introduction  of  diving- 
suits  about  1880.  The  use  of  these  facilitated  a  considerable  extension 
of  the  fisheries  not  only  on  the  Australian  coast,  but  also  in  Mexico, 
the  Malay  Archipelago,  several  of  the  South  Sea  islands,  and  some 
minor  localities. 

In  America,  few  jewels  were  worn  previous  to  the  Civil  War,  owing 
to  the  absence  of  great  wealth  and  to  the  simplicity  of  taste  in  per- 
sonal decorations.  The  rapid  increase  in  wealth  and  luxury,  on  the 
termination  of  that  war,  resulted  in  a  great  demand  for  gems,  and  the 
most  brilliant  and  showy  ones  were  selected,  especially  diamonds.  This 
demand  was  the  more  readily  supplied  by  the  discovery  of  the  South 
African  mines,  with  their  great  yield  from  1870  to  the  present  time. 
So  popular  did  that  gem  become  that  many  a  young  man  invested  his 
first  earnings  in  a  "brilliant,"  and  an  enormous  diamond  in  the  shirt- 
front  became  the  caricatured  emblem  of  a  prosperous  hotel  clerk. 

But  in  the  last  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century,  in  Europe,  as  well 
as  in  America  and  elsewhere  where  gems  are  worn,  luxury  found  in 
pearls  a  refinement,  associated  with  richness  and  beauty,  exceeding 
that  of  diamonds  and  other  crystal  gems,  and  in  the  last  few  years  they 
have  taken  the  highest  rank  among  jewels.  This  change  in  fashion 
and  the  increase  in  wealth  among  the  people  developed  vastly  greater 
demands  and  consequently  very  much  higher  prices.  These  have  re- 
sulted in  greatly  extending  the  field  of  search,  and  during  the  last  two 
or  three  decades  many  new  territories  have  been  brought  into  produc- 
tion. 

By  far  the  most  important  of  these  new  regions  is  the  Mississippi 
Valley  in  America,  the  pearl  resources  of  which  were  made  known 
about  a  score  of  years  ago.  As  the  exploitation  developed,  the  gems 
from  these  streams  added  very  largely  to  the  supply,  especially  of 
the  baroque  or  irregular  pearls,  which  have  increased  greatly  in 
fashion  in  the  last  ten  years. 


LADY  ABINGER 
LADY  WIMBORNE 


MRS.  ADAIR 
HON.  MRS.  RENARD   GREVILLE 


MARCHIONESS  OF    LANSDOWNE 
LADY  LONDONDERRY 
BARONESS  DE   FOREST 


MEDIEVAL  AND  MODERN  HISTORY  31 

Notwithstanding  the  popular  idea  that  pearls  are  scarce  owing  to 
depletion  of  the  fisheries,  they  are  doubtless  produced  in  greater 
quantities  at  present  than  ever  before  in  the  history  of  the  world. 
True,  they  were  more  plentiful  in  Rome  after  the  Persian  conquest, 
and  in  Spain  immediately  following  the  exploitation  of  tropical  Amer- 
ica ;  but  it  is  highly  probable  that  in  no  equal  period  have  the  entire 
fisheries  of  the  world  yielded  greater  quantities  than  in  the  five  years 
from  1903  to  1907  inclusive.  Certain  individual  fisheries  are  now  less 
productive  than  at  the  height  of  their  prosperity;  those  in  the  Red  Sea 
do  not  compare  favorably  with  their  condition  in  ancient  times,  the 
European  resources  are  nearly  exhausted,  the  supplies  from  the 
Venezuelan  coast  do  not  equal  those  obtained  early  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  the  yield  from  Mexico  is  not  so  extensive  as  twenty-five  years 
ago,  and  the  same  is  true  of  some  other  regions.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  great  fisheries  of  Persia  and  Ceylon  are  yet  very  prosperous,  the 
Ceylon  fishery  of  1905  surpassing  all  records,  and  the  number  of  minor 
pearling  regions  has  largely  increased. 

The  present  value  of  pearls— which  has  advanced  enormously  since 
1893  — is  due  to  the  extended  markets  and  the  increased  wealth  and 
fashion  in  Western  countries,  rather  than  to  diminished  fisheries.  The 
oriental  demand  still  consumes  the  bulk  of  the  Persian  and  Indian 
output,  and  the  vast  increase  in  wealth  among  the  middle  classes  in 
America,  Europe,  and  elsewhere,  has  increased  the  demand  tenfold 
over  that  of  a  century  ago.  While  women  no  longer  appear  orna- 
mented from  head  to  foot  as  in  the  sixteenth  century,  pearls  are  in  the 
highest  fashion,  and  the  woman  of  rank  and  wealth  usually  prizes  first 
among  her  jewels  her  necklace  of  pearls. 


Ill 

ORIGIN  OF  PEARLS 


Ill 

ORIGIN  OF  PEARLS 

Heaven-born  and  cradled  in  the  deep  blue  sea,  it  is  the  purest 
of  gems  and  the  most  precious. 

S.   M.   ZWEMER. 

THE  origin  of  pearls  has  been  a  fruitful  subject  of  speculation 
and  discussion  among  naturalists  of  all  ages,  and  has  pro- 
voked many  curious  explanations.  Most  of  the  early  views — 
universally  accepted  during  those  centuries  when  tradition 
had  more  influence  than  observation  and  experiment — have  no  stand- 
ing among  naturalists  at  the  present  time.  And  although  much  in- 
formation has  been  gained  as  to  the  conditions  accompanying  their 
growth,  and  many  theories  are  entertained,  each  with  some  basis  in 
observed  fact,  science  does  not  yet  speak  with  conclusive  and  unques- 
tioned authority  as  to  the  precise  manner  of  their  origin  and  develop- 
ment. 

Owing  to  the  chaste  and  subdued  beauty  of  pearls,  it  is  not  strange 
that  poets  of  mam'^  countries  have  founded  their  origin  in  tears— tears 
of  angels,  of  water-nymphs,  of  the  lovely  and  devoted.  Sir  Walter 
Scott  in  "The  Bridal  of  Triermain"  refers  to — 

The  pearls  that  long  have  slept, 
These  were  tears  by  Naiads  wept. 

In  one  of  his  most  lovely  and  consoling  thoughts,  Shakspere  says : 

The  liquid  drops  of  tears  that  you  have  shed. 
Shall  come  again,  transform'd  to  orient  pearl, 
Advantaging  their  loan  with  interest 
Of  ten  times  double  gain  of  happiness. 

And  we  quote  from  Riickert's  "Edelstein  und  Perlen": 

I  was  the  Angel,  who  of  old  bowed  down 

From  Heaven  to  earth  and  shed  that  tear,  O  Pearl, 

From  which  thou  wert  first-fashioned  in  thy  shell. 

35 


36  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

To  thee  I  gave  that  longing  in  thy  shell, 
Which  guided  thee  and  caused  thee  to  escape, 
O  Pearl,  from  the  bewitching  sirens'  song. 

In  luster  they  so  closely  resemble  the  limpid,  sparkling  dewdrop  as 
it  first  receives  the  sun's  rays,  that  the  ancients  very  naturally  con- 
ceived that  pearls  are  formed  from  drops  of  dew  or  rain.  The  usual 
legend  is,  that  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  the  pearl-oysters  rise  to 
the  surface  of  the  water  in  the  morning,  and  there  open  their  shells 
and  imbibe  the  dewdrops ;  these,  aided  by  the  breath  of  the  air  and  the 
warmth  of  the  sunlight,  are,  in  the  course  of  time,  transformed  into 
lustrous  pearls;  but  if  the  air  and  the  sunlight  are  not  received  in 
sufficient  quantities,  the  pearls  do  not  attain  perfection  and  are  faulty 
in  form,  color,  and  luster.  However  remarkable  and  even  absurd  this 
may  seem  at  present,  it  appears  to  have  been  universally  accepted  for 
centttries  by  the  most  learned  men  of  Europe  as  well  as  by  primitive 
people  who  delight  in  the  mystical  and  fantastic.  This  opinion  was 
recorded  in  the  Sanskrit  books  of  the  Brahmans  and  in  other  oriental 
literature.  The  classical  and  medieval  writings  of  Europe  contain 
numerous  references  to  it ;  and  it  is  found  even  yet  in  the  traditions 
and  folk-lore  of  some  peoples. 

In  the  first  century  a.d.,  Pliny  wrote  in  his  "Historia  naturalis,"  ac- 
cording to  Dr.  Philemon  Holland's  quaint  translation : 

The  fruit  of  these  shell  fishes  are  the  Pearles,  better  or  worse,  great  or 
small,  according  to  the  qualitie  and  quantitie  of  the  dew  which  they  received. 
For  if  the  dew  were  pure  and  cleare  which  went  into  them,  then  are  the 
Pearles  white,  faire,  and  Orient;  but  if  grosse  and  troubled,  the  Pearles 
likewise  are  dimme,  foule,  and  duskish;  pale  they  are,  if  the  weather  were 
close,  darke  and  threatening  raine  in  the  time  of  their  conception.  Whereby 
(no  doubt)  it  is  apparent  and  plaine,  that  they  participate  more  of  the  aire 
and  sky,  than  of  the  water  and  the  sea;  for  according  as  the  morning  is 
faire,  so  are  they  cleere:  but  otherwise,  if  it  were  misty  and  cloudy,  they 
also  will  be  thicke  and  muddy  in  colour.  If  they  may  have  their  full  time 
and  season  to  feed,  the  Pearles  likewise  will  thrive  and  grow  bigge:  but  if 
in  the  time  it  chance  to  lighten,  then  they  close  their  shells  together,  and  for 
want  of  nourishment  are  kept  hungrie  and  fasting,  and  so  the  pearles  keepe 
at  a  stay  and  prosper  not  accordingly.  But  if  it  thunder  withall,  then  sud- 
denly they  shut  hard  at  once,  and  breed  only  those  excrescences  which  be 
called  Physemata,  like  unto  bladders  puft  up  and  hooved  with  wind,  no 
corporal  substance  at  all :  and  these  are  the  abortive  &  untimely  fruits  of  these 
shell  fishes.' 

Pliny's  views  were  probably  derived  from  the  ancient  authorities  of 
his  time,  particularly  from  Megasthenes,  Chares  of  Mytilene,  and  Isi- 

'  "The  Naturall  Historic  of  C.  Plinius  Secundus,"  London,  1601,  Book  IX,  ch.  35. 


■J 

►J 
u 

X 


u 

D 
SI 

z 

> 


§ 


UJ 

I 

< 

< 
z 

<: 
a. 


S 


■;    # 


;§. 


ORIGIN  OF  PEARLS  37 

dorus  of  Charace ;  and  these  curious  fictions  were  incorporated  by  sub- 
sequent writers  and  influenced  popular  opinion  for  many  centuries. 
With  scarcely  a  single  exception,  every  recorded  theory  from  the  first 
century  b.c.  to  the  fifteenth  century  evidences  a  belief  in  dew-formed 
pearls. 

This  theory  is  referred  to  by  Thomas  Moore  in  his  well-known  lines : 

And  precious  the  tear  as  that  rain  from  the  sky, 
Which  turns  into  pearls  as  it  falls  in  the  sea. 

The  Spanish-Hebrew  traveler  Benjamin  of  Tudela,  in  his  "Ma- 
saoth"  in  Persia  (from  11 60  to  11 73),  wrote:  "In  these  places  pearls 
are  found,  made  by  the  wonderful  artifice  of  nature:  for  on  the  four 
and  twentieth  day  of  the  month  Nisan,  a  certain  dew  falleth  into  the 
waters,  which  being  sucked  in  by  the  oysters,  they  immediately  sink 
to  the  bottom  of  the  sea ;  afterwards,  about  the  middle  of  the  month 
Tisri,  men  descend  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  and,  by  the  help  of  cords, 
these  men  bringing  up  the  oysters  in  great  quantities  from  thence, 
open  and  take  out  of  them  the  pearls."* 

From  the  "Bustan,"  one  of  the  most  popular  works  of  Sadi,  the 
Persian  poet  (1190-1291  a.d.),  Davie  quotes: 

From  the  cloud  there  descended  a  droplet  of  rain; 
'T  was  ashamed  when  it  saw  the  expanse  of  the  main, 
Saying :  "Who  may  I  be,  where  the  sea  has  its  run  ? 
If  the  sea  has  existence,  I,  truly,  have  none!" 
Since  in  its  own  eyes  the  drop  humble  appeared. 
In  its  bosom,  a  shell  with  its  life  the  drop  reared; 
The  sky  brought  the  work  with  success  to  a  close. 
And  a  famed  royal  pearl  from  the  rain-drop  arose. 
Because  it  was  humble  it  excellence  gained ; 
Patiently  waiting  till  success  was  attained. 

Even  the  usually  well-informed  William  Camden  (1551-1623),  in 
whose  honor  the  Camden  Historical  Society  of  England  was  named, 
accepted  the  theory  of  dew-formed  pearls.  He  stated  that  the  river 
Conway  in  Wales  "breeds  a  kind  of  shells,  which  being  pregnated  with 
dew,  produce  pearl."  "  Also,  speaking  of  the  Irt  in  county  Cumber- 
land, England,  he  said:  "In  this  brook,  the  shell-fish,  eagerly  sucking 
in  the  dew,  conceive  and  bring  forth  pearls,  or  (to  use  the  poet's  word) 
shell  berries  (Baccas  concheas)."  ^ 

A  recent  letter  from  the  American  consul  at  Aden  indicates  that  this 

"'Travels  of  Rabbi  Benjamin  of  Tudela,"  ^"Camden  Britannia,"  2d  edition,  London, 

Gerrans's  edition,  London,  1783,  p.  23.  1722,  Vol.  II,  p.  801. 

'Ibid..  Vol.  II,  p.  1003. 


38  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

view  is  held  even  yet  by  the  Arabs  of  that  region.  In  giving  their  ex- 
planation for  the  present  scarcity  in  the  Red  Sea,  he  states :  "There  is 
a  belief  among  them  that  a  pearl  is  formed  from  a  drop  of  rain  caught 
in  the  mouth  of  the  pearl-oyster,  which  by  some  chemical  process  after 
a  time  turns  into  a  pearl ;  and  as  there  has  been  very  little  rain  in  that 
region  for  several  years  past,  there  are  few  pearls." 

So  firmly  established  throughout  Europe  was  the  belief  in  dew- 
formed  pearls,  that  its  non-acceptance  by  the  native  Indians  of  Amer- 
ica excited  the  commiseration  of  the  Italian  historian  Peter  Martyr, 
in  his  "De  Orbe  Novo,"  one  of  the  very  first  books  on  America,  pub- 
lished in  1517.  He  states:  "But  that  they  [pearls  of  Margarita  Island 
on  the  present  coast  of  Venezuela]  become  white  by  the  clearnesse  of 
the  morning  dewe,  or  waxe  yelowe  in  troubled  weather,  or  otherwise 
that  they  seeme  to  rejoice  in  fayre  weather  and  dear  ayre,  or  contrary- 
wise,  to  be  as  it  were  astonished  and  dymme  in  thunder  and  tempests, 
with  such  other,  the  perfect  knowledge  hereof  is  not  to  be  looked  for 
at  the  hands  of  these  unlearned  men,  which  handle  the  matter  but 
grossly  and  enquire  no  further  than  occasion  serveth."'  Peter  Mar- 
tyr v/as  distinguished  for  his  learning,  was  an  instructor  at  the  court 
of  Spain  at  the  height  of  its  power,  and  came  in  contact  with  the  most 
enlightened  men  of  Europe,  consequently  it  may  be  assumed  that  he 
reflected  the  best  opinions  of  his  time. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  aborigines  of  America  were  not  alone  in 
discrediting  the  views  which  had.  prevailed  in  Europe  for  more  than 
fifteen  hundred  years.  That  practical  old  sailor  Sir  Richard  Hawkins 
concluded  that  this  must  be  "some  old  philosopher's  conceit,  for  it  can 
not  be  made  probable  how  the  dew  should  come  into  the  oyster."  ^  A 
similar  view  is  expressed  by  Urbain  Chauveton  in  his  edition  of  Giro- 
lamo  Benzoni's  "Historia  del  Mondo  Nuovo,"  published  at  Geneva  in 
1578.  From  his  reference  to  pearl-oysters  on  the  Venezuelan  coast, 
we  translate : 

Around  the  island  of  Cubagua  and  elsewhere  on  the  eastern  coast,  are 
sandy  places  where  the  pearl-oysters  grow.  They  produce  their  eggs  in  very 
large  quantities  and  likewise  pearls  at  the  same  time.  But  it  is  necessary  to 
have  patience  to  let  them  grow  and  mature  to  perfection.  They  are  soft 
at  the  beginning  Hke  the  roe  of  fish;  and  as  the  molkisk  gradually  grows, 
they  grow  also  and  slowly  harden.  Sometimes  many  are  found  in  one  shell, 
which  are  hard  and  small,  like  gravel.  Persons  who  have  seen  them  while 
fishing  say  that  they  are  soft  as  long  as  they  are  in  the  sea,  and  that  the 
hardness  comes  to  them  only  when  they  are  out  of  the  water.  Pliny  says  as 
much,  speaking  of  the  Orientals  in  Book  IX,  of  his  Natural  History,  ch.  35. 

'  Richard  Eden  edition.  London,  1577,  loth  '  Hawkins,  "Voyage  to  the  South  Sea  in 

ch.  of  3rd  Decade,  fol.  148a.  1593."  London,  1847,  p.  133. 


Exterior  view  uf  same 


X-ray  photograph  of  shell,  printed  through  exterior 
of  shell  and  showing  encysted  pearls 


ORIGIN  OF  PEARLS  39 

But  as  to  that  author  and  Albert  the  Great  and  other  writers  upon  the  genera- 
tion of  pearls,  who  have  said  that  the  oysters  conceive  them  by  means  of  the 
dew  which  they  suck  in,  and  that  according  as  the  dew  is  clear  or  cloudy  the 
pearls  also  are  translucent  or  dark,  etc.,  etc.,— all  this  is  a  little  difficult  to 
believe;  for  daily  observation  shows  that  all  the  pearls  found  in  the  same 
shell  are  not  of  the  same  excellence,  nor  of  the  same  form,  the  same  perfection 
of  color,  nor  the  same  size,  as  they  would  or  must  be  if  they  were  conceived 
by  the  dew  all  at  one  time.  Besides  this,  in  many  of  the  islands  the  Indians 
go  fishing  for  them  in  ten  or  twelve  fathoms  depth,  and  in  some  cases  they 
are  so  firmly  attached  to  the  rocks  in  the  sea  that  they  can  be  wrenched  off 
only  by  main  strength.  Would  it  not  be  difficult  for  them  to  inhale  the 
quintessence  of  the  air  there?  It  seems  then  that  it  is  the  germ  and  the 
most  noble  part  of  the  eggs  of  the  oyster  which  are  converted  into  pearls 
rather  than  any  other  thing;  and  the  diversities  of  size,  color,  and  other 
qualities,  proceed  from  the  fact  that  some  are  more  advanced  than  others, 
as  we  see  eggs  in  the  body  of  the  hen.^ 

The  old  theory  of  dew-formed  pearls  was  illustrated  even  as  late  as 
1684  on  a  medal  struck  in  honor  of  Elena  Piscopia  of  the  Corraro 
family  of  Venice.  This  bore  an  oyster-shell  open  and  receiving  drops 
of  dew,  and  underneath  was  engraved  the  motto  "Rore  divino"  (By 
divine  dew).  Even  yet  one  hears  occasionally  from  out-of-the-way 
places— as  in  the  instance  reported  by  the  American  consul  at  Aden — 
of  pearls  formed  from  rain  or  dew,  notwithstanding  that  there  seems 
to  exist  absolutely  no  justification  for  it  in  scientific  zoology. 

Probably  the  most  popular  theory  entertained  from  the  fifteenth  to 
the  seventeenth  century  was  that  pearls  were  formed  from  the  eggs 
of  the  oyster.  This  was  intimated  by  Chauveton  in  the  quotation  above 
given,  and  it  was  also  referred  to  by  many  naturalists. 

In  an  interesting  letter,  dated  Dec.  i,  1673,  and  giving  as  his  author- 
ity the  testimony  of  an  eye-witness,  "Henricus  Arnoldi,  an  ingenious 
and  veracious  Dane,"  Christopher  Sandius  wrote:  "Pearl  shells  in 
Norway  do  breed  in  sweet  waters;  their  shells  are  like  mussels,  but 
larger ;  the  fish  is  like  an  oyster,  it  produces  clusters  of  eggs ;  these, 
when  ripe,  are  cast  out  and  become  like  those  that  cast  them ;  but  some- 
times it  appears  that  one  or  two  of  these  eggs  stick  fast  to  the  side  of 
the  matrix,  and  are  not  voided  with  the  rest.  These  are  fed  by  the 
oyster  against  her  will  and  they  do  grow,  according  to  the  length  of 
time,  into  pearls  of  dififerent  bigness."  ^  This  possibly  hit  the  mark 
with  greater  accuracy  than  the  observations  of  the  "ingenious  and 
veracious  Dane"  warranted,  for  he  seems  to  have  had  quite  a  dififerent 
idea  as  to  the  manner  in  which  the  pearls  are  "fed  by  the  oyster  against 

'  Benzoni,    "Novas    Novi    Orbis   Historiae,"  '  "Philosophical    Transactions,"    1674,    Na 

Geneva,  1578,  pp.  161-163.  loi,  p.  11. 


40  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

her  will"  from  those  generally  entertained  by  naturalists  at  the  present 
time. 

However,  Oliver  Goldsmith  settled  the  matter  by  declaring  briefly: 
"Whether  pearls  be  a  disease  or  an  accident  in  the  animal  is  scarce 
worth  enquiry."  *  Thus  it  seems  that  notwithstanding  all  that  had 
been  written  and  the  extended  attention  given  to  the  subject,  theory 
prevailed  to  the  almost  complete  exclusion  of  practical  investigation, 
with  little  intelligent  advance  over  Topsy's  "  'spect  they  just  growed." 

Owing,  doubtless,  to  the  scarcity  of  pearl-bearing  mollusks  in  their 
vicinities,  naturalists  of  Europe  were  somewhat  slow  in  giving  atten- 
tion to  the  origin  of  pearls.  This  is  further  accounted  for  by  the  fact 
that  the  gems  occur  more  frequently  in  old  and  diseased  shells  than 
in  the  choice  specimens  which  have  naturally  attracted  the  notice  of 
conchologists. 

One  of  the  first  of  the  original  observations  made  on  this  subject 
was  that  by  Rondelet,  who,  in  1554,  advanced  the  idea  that  pearls  are 
diseased  concretions  occurring  in  the  moUusca,  similar  to  the  morbid 
calculi  in  the  mammalia.^ 

The  first  writer  to  intimate  the  similarity  in  structural  material  or 
substance  between  pearls  and  the  interior  of  the  shell  in  which  they  are 
formed,  appears  to  have  been  Anselmus  de  Boot  (circa  1600),  who 
wrote  that  the  pearls  "are  generated  in  the  body  of  the  creature  of  the 
same  humour  of  which  the  shell  is  formed;  .  .  .  for  whenever  the 
little  creature  is  ill  and  hath  not  strength  enough  to  belch  up  or  expel 
this  humour  which  sticketh  in  the  body,  it  becometh  the  rudiments  of 
the  pearl ;  to  which  new  humour,  being  added  and  assimilated  into  the 
same  nature,  begets  a  new  skin,  the  continued  addition  of  which  gen- 
erates a  pearl."*  The  Portuguese  traveler,  Pedro  Teixeira  (1608), 
stated:  "I  hold  it  for  certain  that  pearls  are  born  of  and  formed  of  the 
very  matter  of  the  shell  and  of  nothing  else.  This  is  supported  by  the 
great  resemblance  of  the  pearl  and  the  oyster-shell  in  substance  and 
color.  Further,  whatever  oyster  contains  pearls  has  the  flesh  unsound 
and  almost  rotten  in  the  parts  where  the  pearls  are  produced,  and 
those  oysters  that  have  no  pearls  are  sound  and  clean  fleshed."  * 

Somewhat  more  than  one  hundred  years  later,  this  theory  was  con- 
firmed by  investigations  made  by  the  famous  physicist  Reaumur 
(1683-1757).  Microscopic  examination  of  cross  sections  of  pearls 
show  that  they  are  built  up  of  concentric  laminae  similar,  except  in 
curvature,  to  those  forming  the  nacreous  portion  of  the  shell.     In  a 

^Goldsmith,  "History  of  the  Earth  and  '"Gemmarum  et  Lapidum  Historia,"  Han- 
Animated  Nature,"  1774,  Vol.  VI,  p.  54.  ovias,  1609. 

^Rondelet,    "Universs    AquitiHum    Histo-  ''"The  Travels  of  Pedro  Teixeira,"  Hak- 

rias  Pars  Altera,"  Lugduni,  1554.  luyt  Society,  p.  180. 


ORIGIN  OF  PEARLS  41 

paper  published  by  the  French  Academy  of  Science  in  1717,^  Reaumur 
noted  this  condition,  and  suggested  that  pearls  are  misplaced  pieces  of 
organized  shell,  and  are  formed  from  a  secretion  which  overflows  from 
the  shell-forming  organ  or  from  a  ruptured  vessel  connected  there- 
with, and  that  the  rupture  or  overflow  is  ordinarily  produced  by  the 
intrusion  of  some  foreign  or  irritating  substance. 

Sir  Edwin  Arnold  calls  attention  to  this  theory  in  his  beautiful  lines : 

Know  you,  perchance,  how  that  poor  formless  wretch — 
The  Oyster — gems  his  shallow  moonlit  chalice? 

Where  the  shell  irks  him,  or  the  sea-sand  frets, 
He  sheds  this  lovely  lustre  on  his  grief. 

In  pursuance  of  this  idea,  we  find,  in  1761,  the  Swedish  naturalist 
Linnseus,  "the  father  of  natural  history,"  experimenting  in  the  arti- 
ficial production  of  pearls  by  the  introduction  of  foreign  bodies  in  the 
shell,  and  meeting  with  some  degree  of  success.  His  discovery  was 
rated  so  highly  that  it  has  been  announced  by  some  writers  as  the  rea- 
son why  the  great  naturalist  received  the  patent  of  nobility,  which  is 
generally  supposed  to  have  been  the  reward  for  his  services  to  science. 

It  seems  that  Linnaeus's  discovery  but  verified  the  old  saying  that 
there  is  nothing  new  under  the  sun,  for  later  it  was  announced^  that 
in  China — where  so  many  inventions  have  originated — this  idea  had 
been  put  to  practical  account  for  centuries  preceding,  and  the  crafty 
Chinaman  had  succeeded  in  producing  not  only  small  pearly  objects, 
but  even  images  of  Buddha,  with  which  to  awe  the  disciples  of  that 
deified  teacher. 

The  method  consisted  in  slightly  opening  or  boring  through  the 
shell  of  the  living  mollusk  and  introducing  against  the  soft  body  a 
small  piece  of  nacre,  molded  metal,  or  other  foreign  matter.  The  irri- 
tation causes  the  formation  of  pearly  layers  about  the  foreign  body, 
resulting,  in  the  course  of  months  or  of  years,  in  a  pearl-like  growth. 
While  these  have  some  value  as  objects  of  curiosity  or  of  slight  beauty, 
they  are  not  choice  pearls,  nor  for  that  matter  were  those  produced  by 
Linnaeus. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  theory  of  Reaumur,  and  also  that  of  Lin- 
naeus, required  the  intrusion  of  some  hard  substance,  such  as  a  grain  of 
sand,  a  particle  of  shell,  etc.,  to  constitute  a  nucleus  of  the  pearl;  and 
this  is  the  accepted  explanation  at  the  present  time  as  to  the  origin 
of  many  of  the  baroque  or  irregular  pearls,  and  likewise  the  pearly 
"blisters"  and  excrescences  attached  to  the  shell.    But  not  so  as  to  the 

'  "Memoires  de  I'Academie  des   Sciences,"       Schwed.     Akademie     der     Wissenschaften," 
1717.  pp.  177-194.  Vol.  XXXIV,  p.  88,  1772. 

'  Grill,  in  "Abhandlungen  der  Koniglichen 


42  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

choice  or  gem  pearls,  those  beautiful  symmetrical  objects  of  great 
luster  which  are  usually  referred  to  in  speaking  of  pearls. 

Examinations  of  many  of  these  have  failed,  except  in  rare  instances, 
to  reveal  a  foreign  nucleus  of  sand  or  similar  inorganic  substance.  In 
searching  many  fresh-water  mussels,  Sir  Everard  Home  frequently 
met  with  small  pearls  in  the  ovarium,  and  he  further  noticed  that  these, 
as  well  as  oriental  pearls,  when  split  into  halves,  often  showed  a  bril- 
liant cell  in  the  center,  about  equal  in  size  to  the  ova  of  the  same  mol- 
lusk.  From  these  observations,  in  1826  he  deduced  his  "abortive  ova" 
theory,  and  announced : 

A  pearl  is  formed  upon  the  external  surface  of  an  ovum,  which,  having 
been  blighted,  does  not  pass  with  the  others  into  the  oviduct,  but  remains  at- 
tached to  its  pedicle  in  the  ovarium,  and  in  the  following  season  receives  a 
coat  of  nacre  at  the  same  time  that  the  internal  surface  of  the  shell  receives 
its  annual  supply.  This  conclusion  is  verified  by  some  pearls  being  spherical, 
others  having  a  pyramidal  form,  from  the  pedicle  having  received  a  coat  of 
nacre  as  well  as  the  ovum.^ 

Naturalists  generally  accepted  these  conclusions,  that  pearls  orig- 
inate in  pathological  secretions  formed,  either  as  the  result  of  the 
intrusion  of  hard  substances,  or  by  the  encysting  or  covering  of  ova  or 
other  objects  of  internal  origin ;  and  there  was  no  important  cleavage 
of  opinion  until  the  development  of  the  parasitic  theory,  as  a  result  of 
the  researches  of  the  Italian  naturalist  Filippi,  and  those  following  his 
line  of  investigations.  This  theory  is  not  severely  in  conflict  with 
those  of  Reaumur,  Linnseus,  Home,  etc.,  but  relates  principally  to  the 
identity  of  the  irritating  or  stimulating  substance  which  forms  the 
nucleus  of  the  pearl. 

In  examining  a  species  of  fresh-water  mussel,  the  Anodonta  cygnea, 
occurring  in  ponds  near  Turin,  and  especially  the  many  small  pearly 
formations  therein,  Filippi  observed  that  these  were  associated  with 
the  presence  of  a  trematode  or  parasitic  worm,  which  he  named  Disto- 
muni  duplicatum,  and  which  appears  to  be  closely  allied  to  the  parasite 
which  causes  the  fatal  "rot"  or  distemper  in  sheep.  Under  the  micro- 
scope, the  smallest  and  presumably  the  youngest  of  these  pearls  showed 
organic  nuclei  which  appeared  undoubtedly  to  be  the  remnants  of  the 
trematode.  In  Anodonta  from  other  regions,  which  were  not  infested 
with  the  distoma,  pearls  were  very  rarely  found  by  Filippi.  In  a 
paper,-  published  in  1852,  containing  a  summary  of  his  observations, 
he  concluded  that  a  leading,  if  not  the  principal,  cause  of  pearl-forma- 

'  "Philosophical  Transactions,"  1826,  Pt.  Ill,  '  "Sull'origine    delle    Perle.      II    Cimento, 

pp.  338-341.  revista    di    Scienze,"    Torino,    1852,    Vol.    I, 

pp.  429-439- 


Mexican  pearl-oyster  {Mitri^aritift-ra  uiargiiriti/era  Group  of  encysted  pearls  in  shell  nf  Australian 

viazatlaiiica  )  with  adherent  pearl  pearl-oyster  (  Margariiijera  maxima  ) 

American  Museum  of  Natural  History 


Mexican  pearl-oyster  {Maygaritifera  inargaritifera 

niazatlanica)  with  encysted  fish 

Aiiiericau  Museum  of  Natural  History 


Group  of  encysted  pearls 
(  Oriental) 


Reverse  of  same  group,  show- 
ing outline  of  the  indi- 
\idiial  pearls 


ORIGIN  OF  PEARLS  43 

tion  in  those  mussels  was  the  parasite  above  noted ;  and  in  later  papers  ^ 
he  included  such  other  forms  as  Atax  ypsilophorus  within  the  list  of 
parasitic  agencies  which  might  excite  the  pearl-forming  secretions, 
comparing  their  action  to  that  of  the  formation  of  plant-galls. 

The  discovery  of  the  parasitic  origin  of  pearls  was  extended  to 
the  pearl-oysters  and  to  other  parasites  by  Ki^ichenmeister  ^  in  1856,  by 
Mobius^  in  1857,  and  by  several  other  investigators.  Prominent 
among  these  were  E.  F.  Kelaart  and  his  assistant  Humbert,  who,  in 
1859  ■*  disclosed  the  important  relation  which  the  presence  of  vermean 
parasites  bears  to  the  origin  of  pearls  in  the  Ceylon  oysters.  These 
naturalists  found  "in  addition  to  the  Filaria  and  Cercaria,  three  other 
parasitical  worms  infesting  the  viscera  and  other  parts  of  the  pearl- 
oyster.  We  both  agree  that  these  worms  play  an  important  part  in 
the  formation  of  pearls."  Dr.  Kelaart  likewise  found  eggs  from  the 
ovarium  of  the  oyster  coated  with  nacre  and  forming  pearls,  and  also 
suggested  that  the  silicious  internal  skeletons  of  microscopic  diatoms 
might  possibly  permeate  the  mantle  and  become  the  nuclei  of  pearls. 
Unfortunately,  Dr.  Kelaart's  investigations  were  terminated  by  his 
death  a  few  months  thereafter. 

In  1871,  Garner  ascribed  the  occurrence  of  pearls  in  the  common 
English  mussel  (Mytihis  cdiilis)  to  the  presence  of  distomid  larvse.^ 
Giard,"  and  other  French  zoologists,  made  similar  discoveries  in  the 
case  of  Donax  and  some  other  bivalves.  In  1901,  Raphael  Dubois  con- 
firmed the  observations  of  Garner,  associating  the  production  of 
pearls  in  the  edible  mussels  on  the  French  coasts  with  the  presence  of 
larvae  of  a  parasite,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Distomum  inargari- 
tarum,  and  boldly  announced:  "La  plus  belle  perle  n'est  done,  en  defi- 
nitive, que  le  brillant  sarcophage  d'un  ver."  ^ 

Prof.  H.  L.  Jameson,  in  1902,  disclosed  the  relation  which  exists  be- 
tween pearls  in  English  mussels  (Mytilus)  and  the  larvae  of  Distomum 
somatericc.^  The  life  history  of  this  trematode,  as  revealed  by  Dr. 
Jameson,  is  especially  interesting  from  a  biological  standpoint,  since  it 
is  entertained  by  three  hosts  at  different  times :  the  first  host  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  duck  family;  the  second  is  the  Tapes  clam  {Tapes  decussa- 
tus),  or  perhaps  the  common  cockle  (Cardium  edule),  which  incloses 

*  "Memorie    della    Reale    Academia    delle  *  "Report  on  the   Natural   History  of  the 

Scienze  di  Torino,"  1855,  Vol.  XV,  pp.  331-  Pearl  Oyster  of  Ceylon,"  Trincomali,  1859. 
358;  1B57,  Vol.  XVI,  pp.  419-442,  and  1859,  ""Journal   of   the   Linnean   Society,"   Vol. 

Vol.  XVIII,  pp.  201-232.  XI,  pp.  426-428. 

'  Miiller's    "Archiv    f  iir    Anatomie,"    1856,  °  "Societe   de   Biologic,   Seance  du  29  de- 

pp.  269-281.  cembre,  1903." 

'  "Die  echten  Perlen."  Hamburg,  1858.    Dr.  '  "Comptes     Rendus     de     I'Academie     des 

Mobius   died    in   Berlin,  on   April  26,   1908.  Sciences."  Vol.  133,  pp.  603-60S,  Oct.  14,  1901. 
He  was   born   at   Eilenburg,  in   Saxony,  in  ""Proceedings  of  the  Zoological  Society  of 

1825.  London,"  Vol.  I,  pp.  140-166. 


44  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

the  first  larval  stage,  and  the  third  is  the  edible  mussel,  in  which  the 
second  larval  stage  of  the  parasite  stimulates  the  formation  of  pearls. 
At  the  Brighton  Aquarium  and  the  Fish  Hatchery  at  Kiel,  Dr.  Jame- 
son claims  to  have  succeeded  in  artificially  inoculating  perfectly 
healthy  mussels  with  these  parasites  by  associating  them  with  infested 
mollusks,  and  thereby  producing  small  pearls. 

From  Dr.  Jameson's  interesting  paper  we  abridge  the  following  ac- 
count of  the  manner  in  which  the  pearls  are  developed.  The  trematode 
enters  Mytilus  cdulis  as  a  tailless  cercaria,  and  at  first  may  of  tenbe  found 
between  the  mantle  and  the  shell.  The  larvae,  after  a  while,  enter  the 
connective  tissue  of  the  mantle,  where  they  come  to  rest,  assuming  a 
spherical  form,  visible  to  the  naked  eye  as  little  yellowish  spots  about 
one  half  millimeter  in  diameter.  At  first  the  worm  occupies  only  a  space 
lined  by  connective-tissue  fibrils,  but  soon  the  tissues  of  the  host  give 
rise  to  an  epithelial  layer,  which  lines  the  space  and  ultimately  becomes 
the  pearl-sac.  If  the  trematode  larva  completes  its  maximum  possible 
term  of  life,  it  dies,  and  the  tissues  of  the  body  break  down  to  form  a 
structureless  mass  which  retains  the  form  of  the  parasite,  owing  to  the 
rigid  cuticle.  In  this  mass  arise  one  or  more  centers  of  calcification, 
and  the  precipitation  of  carbonate  of  lime  goes  on  until  the  whole  larva 
is  converted  into  a  nodule  with  calcospheritic  structure.  The  granular 
matter  surrounding  the  worm,  if  present,  also  undergoes  calcification. 
The  epithelium  of  the  sac  then  begins  to  shed  a  cuticle  of  conchiolin, 
and  from  this  point  the  growth  of  the  pearl  probably  takes  place  on 
the  same  lines  and  at  the  same  rate  as  the  thickening  of  the  shell.* 

Fully  as  remarkable  as  the  observations  of  Dr.  Jameson  are  the 
results  claimed  by  Professor  Dubois  in  experimenting  with  a  species  of 
pearl-oyster  (M.  vulgaris)  from  the  Gulf  of  Gabes  on  the  coast  of 
Tunis,  where  they  are  almost  devoid  of  pearls,  a  thousand  or  more 
shells  yielding  on  an  average  only  one  pearl.  Conveying  these  to  the 
coast  of  France  in  1903,  he  there  associated  them  with  a  species  of 
trematode-infested  mussel  (Mytilus  gallo-provincialis),  and  after  a 
short  period  they  became  so  infested  that  every  three  oysters  yielded 
an  average  of  two  pearls.^  This  claim  has  not  been  without  criticism ; 
but  who  ever  knew  scientists  to  agree? 

In  the  pearl-oyster  of  the  Gambier  Islands  {M.  margaritifera  cn- 
mingi),  Dr.  L.  G.  Seurat  found  that  the  origin  of  pearls  was  due 
to  irritation  caused  by  the  embryo  of  a  worm  of  the  genus  Tyloccpha- 
Iwn,  the  life  of  which  is  completed  in  the  eagle-ray,  a  fish  which  feeds 
on  the  pearl-oyster.* 

'  "Proceedings  of  the  Zoological  Society  of  '  Seurat,    "Observation    sur   I'evolution    de 

London,"  1902,  pp.  148-150.  I'Huitre  perliere  des  Tuamotu  at  des  Gam- 

'  "Coniptes  Rendus  de  I'Academie  des  Scien-  bier,"  1904. 
ces,"  Paris,  1903,  Vol.  CXXXVII,  pp.  611-613. 


ORIGIN  OF  PEARLS  45 

In  1903,  Prof.  W.  A.  Herdman,  who,  at  the  instance  of  the  colonial 
government,  and  with  the  assistance  of  Mr.  James  Hornell,  examined 
the  pearl-oyster  resources  of  Ceylon,  announced:  "We  have  found,  as 
Kelaart  did,  that  in  the  Ceylon  pearl-oyster  there  are  several  different 
kinds  of  worms  commonly  occurring  as  parasites,  and  we  shall,  I  think, 
be  able  to  show  that  Cestodes,  Trematodes,  and  Nematodes  may  all  be 
concerned  in  pearl-formation.  Unlike  the  case  of  the  European  mus- 
sels, however,  we  find  that  in  Ceylon  the  most  important  cause  is  a 
larval  Cestode  of  the  Tetrarhynchus  form."^ 

In  his  investigation  of  the  Placuna  oyster  in  1905,  Mr.  James  Hor- 
nell found  that  the  origin  of  pearls  was  due  to  minute  larva  of  the 
same  stage  and  species  as  that  which  causes  the  pearls  in  the  Gulf  of 
Manar  oyster.^ 

The  spherical  larvae  of  this  tapeworm  sometimes  occur  in  great 
abundance,  and  there  is  evidence  of  forty  having  been  found  in  a  single 
pearl-oyster.  Mr.  Hornell  states  that  the  living  worm  does  not  induce 
pearl-formation,  this  occurring  only  when  death  overtakes  it  while  in 
certain  parts  of  the  oyster.  As  a  consequence,  pearls  are  more  nu- 
merous in  oysters  which  have  been  long  infected,  where  the  worms  are 
older  and  more  liable  to  die.  This  parasitic  worm  has  been  traced  from 
the  pearl-oyster  to  the  trigger-fishes,  which  eat  the  pearl-oysters,  and 
thence  into  certain  large  fish-eating  rays,  where  it  becomes  sexually 
mature  and  produces  embryos  which  enter  the  pearl-oyster  and  begin 
a  new  cycle  of  life-phases. 

It  seems,  therefore,  that  the  latest  conclusions  of  science  appear  en- 
tirely favorable  to  the  parasitic  theory  as  explaining  at  least  one,  and 
probably  the  most  important,  of  the  causes  for  the  formation  of  pearls ; 
and  that  some  truth  exists  in  the  statement  that  the  most  beautiful 
pearl  is  only  the  brilliant  sarcophagus  of  a  worm.  This  morphological 
change  is  not  peculiar  to  mollusks,  for  in  most  animal  bodies  a  cyst  is 
formed  about  in-wandering  larvae.  Fortunately  for  lovers  of  the 
beautiful,  in  the  pearl-oysters  the  character  of  the  cyst-wall  follows 
that  of  the  interior  lining  of  the  shell,  and  not  only  simulates,  but  far 
surpasses  it  in  luster. 

While  the  theory  that  pearls  are  caused  by  the  intrusion  of  some 
unusual  substance  has  the  evidence  of  actual  demonstration  in  many 
instances,  and  is  unquestionably  true  to  a  large  extent,  yet  microscopic 
examination  of  some  pearls  suggests  the  theory  that  a  foreign  sub- 
stance is  not  always  essential  to  their  formation,  and  that  they  may 
originate  in  calcareous  concretions  of  minute  size,  termed  "calcosphe- 

'"Pearl   Oyster  Fisheries  of  the  Gulf  of       ccnta    Pearl    Fishery    of    Lake    Tampalaka- 
Manaar,"  London,  1903,  Vol.  L  P-  n-  mam,"  Colombo,  1906. 

'  Hornell,    "Report    on    the    Placuna    pla- 


46  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

rules."  As  regards  their  origin,  Professor  Herdman  classifies  pearls 
into  three  sorts:  (i)  "Ampullar  pearls,"  which  are  not  formed  within 
closed  sacs  of  the  shell-secreting  epithelium  like  the  others,  but  lie  in 
pockets  or  ampullae  of  the  epidermis.  The  nuclei  may  be  sand-grains 
or  any  other  foreign  particles  introduced  through  breaking  or  perfora- 
tion of  the  shell.  (2)  "Muscle  pearls,"  which  are  analogous  to  gall- 
stones, formed  around  calcospherules  at  or  near  the  insertion  of  the 
muscles.  And  (3)  "Cyst  pearls,"  in  which  concentric  layers  of  nacre 
are  deposited  on  cysts  containing  parasitic  worms  in  the  connective  tis- 
sue of  the  mantle  and  within  the  soft  tissues  of  the  body.^ 

Even  a  particle  of  earth,  clay,  or  mud  may  form  the  nucleus  of  a 
pearl.  This  was  illustrated  a  few  years  ago  in  a  fine  button-shaped 
pearl,  which  was  accidentally  broken  under  normal  usage  and  was 
found  to  consist  of  a  hard  lump  of  white  clay  surrounded  by  a 
relatively  thin  coating  of  nacre.  More  remarkable  yet  are  the  cases  in 
which  a  minute  fish,  a  crayfish,  or  the  frustule  of  a  diatom  has  formed 
the  nucleus. 

Several  instances  have  been  described  by  Woodward,  Gunther,  Put- 
nam, Stearns,  and  others,  where  small  fish  have  penetrated  between 
the  mantle  and  the  shell  of  the  mollusk,  and  the  latter  has  resented  the 
intrusion  by  covering  the  intruder  with  a  pearly  coating.  In  two  or 
three  instances  the  secretion  occurred  in  so  short  a  time  that  the 
fish  suffered  no  appreciable  decomposition,  and  its  species  is  readily 
identified  by  observation  through  the  nacreous  layer.  Among  the  re- 
markable specimens  of  this  nature  which  have  come  under  our  obser- 
vation are  two  very  curious  shells  received  in  March,  1907,  from  the 
Mexican  fisheries.  One  of  these  specimens  shows  an  encysted  fish,  so 
quickly  covered  and  so  perfectly  preserved  that  even  the  scales  and 
small  bones  are  in  evidence ;  indeed,  one  can  almost  detect  the  gloss  on 
the  scales  of  the  fish;  and  in  the  other— with  a  remarkable  comet-like 
appearance — a  piece  of  ribbed  seaweed  is  apparently  the  object 
covered. 

From  the  foregoing,  it  appears  that  the  pearl  is  not  a  product  of 
health  associated  with  undisturbed  conditions,  but  results  from  a 
derangement  in  the  normal  state  of  the  mollusk.  Unable  to  resist,  to 
rid  itself  of  the  opposing  evil,  it  exercises  the  powers  given  to  it  by  a 
beneficent  Creator  and  converts  the  pain  into  perfection,  the  grief 
into  glory.  Nature  has  many  instances  of  the  humble  and  lowly  raised 
to  high  degree,  but  none  more  strikingly  beautiful  than  this.  One  of 
the  lowest  of  earth's  creatures,  suffering  a  misfortune,  furnishes  a 
wonderful  lesson  upon  the  uses  of  pain  and  adversity  by  converting 
its  affliction  into  a  precious  gem  symbolical  of  all  that  is  pure  and 

'"Pearl  Oyster   Fisheries  of  the   Gulf  of  Manaar,"  London,  1903,  Vol.  I,  p.  10. 


ORIGIN  OF  PEARLS  47 

beautiful.  As  written  by  a  forgotten  poet:  "Forasmuch  as  the  pearl 
is  a  product  of  life,  which  from  an  inward  trouble  and  from  a  fault 
produces  purity  and  perfection,  it  is  preferred;  for  in  nothing  does 
God  so  much  delight  as  in  tenderness  and  lustre  born  of  trouble  and 
repentance."    As  the  great  Persian  poet  Hafiz  says: 

Learn  from  yon  orient  shell  to  love  thy  foe, 

And  store  with  pearls  the  wound  that  brings  thee  woe. 


IV 

STRUCTURE  AND  FORMS 


IV 

STRUCTURE  AND  FORMS  OF  PEARLS 

"This  maskellez  perle  that  boght  is  dere. 
The  joueler  gef  fore  alle  hys  gold, 
Is  lyke  the  reme  of  hevenes  clere" ; 
So  sayde  the  fader  of  folde  and  flode, 
"For  hit  is  wermlez,  dene  and  clere, 

And  endelez  rounde  and  blythe  of  mode, 
And  commune  to  all  that  ryghtwys  were." 

Fourteenth-century  mss.  of  "Pearl," 
IN  THE  British  Museum. 

AS  Kadir  Munshi  says,  "pearls  have  no  pedigree" ;    their  beauty 
/\        is  not  to  be  traced  to  their  origin,  but  exists  wholly  in  the 

/  \  excellence  of  the  surroundings  in  which  they  develop. 
JL  Jl.  The  pearl-bearing  moUusks  are  luxurious  creatures,  and 
for  the  purpose  of  protecting  their  delicate  bodies  they  cover  the  in- 
terior of  their  shells  with  a  smooth  lustrous  material,  dyed  with  rain- 
bow hues,  and  possessing  a  beautiful  but  subdued  opalescence.  No 
matter  how  foul,  how  coral-covered,  or  overgrown  with  sponges  or 
seaweeds  the  exterior  may  be,  all  is  clean  and  beautiful  within.  This 
material  is  nacre  or  mother-of-pearl.  It  consists  ordinarily  of  an 
accumulation  of  extremely  thin  semi-transparent  films  or  laminae  of  a 
granular  organic  substance  called  conchiolin,  with  the  interstices 
filled  with  calcareous  matter.  The  nacre  decreases  in  thickness  from 
the  hinge  toward  the  lip  of  the  shell,  and  terminates  a  short  distance 
from  the  extreme  edge. 

Next  to  the  nacre  is  the  middle  layer  or  the  shell  proper.  In  species  of 
Margaritifera,  this  stratum  is  commonly  formed  of  layers  of  calcare- 
ous prisms  arranged  vertically  to  the  shell  surface.  External  to  this 
middle  or  prismatic  layer  is  the  epidermis  or  periostracum,  the  rough 
outer  coating  of  varying  shades,  usually  yellow  or  brown.  Where  the 
waves  are  rough,  and  the  bottom  hard  and  rocky,  this  covering  is  thick 
and  heavy,  to  afford  greater  protection;  but  where  the  waters  are 
smooth  and  gentle,  and  the  bottom  free  from  rocks.  Nature — never 
working  in  vain — furnishes  only  thin  sides  and  slight  defense.  As  is 
the  case  with  the  nacre,  the  prismatic  layer  and  the  periostracum  de- 


52 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


crease  in  thickness  from  the  hinge  to  the  edge,  and  the  inside  Hp  of  the 
shell  shows  the  gradual  union  of  the  three  superimposed  layers.  The 
two  outer  layers  are  formed  by  the  thick  edge  of  the  mantle,  the  re- 
maining portion — or  nearly  the  entire  surface — of  this  organ  secretes 
the  nacral  layer. 

Not  only  is  the  interior  of  the  shell  made  lustrous  and  beautiful,  but 
this  tendency  is  exerted  toward  all  objects  that  come  in  contact  with 
the  soft  body  of  the  mollusk,  either  by  intrusion  simply  within  the 
shell,  or  deeply  within  the  organs  and  tissues  of  the  animal  itself.  All 
foreign  bodies — such  as  small  parasites,  diatoms,  minute  pebbles,  etc., 
—  irritate  the  tender  tissues  of  the  mollusk,  and  stimulate  the  pearly 
formation  which  in  course  of  time  covers  them.  At  first  the  nacreous 
covering  is  very  thin ;  but  with  added  layer  after  layer  the  thickness  is 
enhanced,  and  the  size  of  the  object  increases  as  long  as  it  remains 
undisturbed  and  the  mollusk  is  in  healthful  growth. 

Chemically  considered,  aside  from  the  nucleus,  the  structure  of 
pearls  is  identical  in  composition  with  that  of  the  nacre  of  the  shell  in 
which  they  are  formed.  Analyses  have  shown  that  those  from  the 
fresh-water  mussels  of  England  and  Scotland,  and  from  the  pearl- 
oysters  of  Australia  and  of  Ceylon,  have  nearly  identical  composition 
in  the  proportion  of  about  5.94  per  cent,  of  organic  matter,  2.34  of 
water,  and  91.72  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of  lime.^  The  specific  gravity 
ranges  from  nearly  2  to  about  2.75,  increasing  with  the  deposit  of  the 
nacreous  coatings.  The  following  summary  by  Von  Hessling^  shows 
the  results  of  certain  determinations  of  specific  gravity: 


Authority 

Muschenbroet 

Brisson 

Mobius 


Voit 


Specific 
Gravity 

2.750 
2.684 
2.686 
2.650 

2.336 
2.722 
2.616 
2.724 

2.578 
2.765 
2.238 


Note 

at  moderate  temperature 

at  14°  Reaumur 

4  fine  pearls,  weighing  2.396  gms. 

24  pearls,  weighing  6.221  gms. 

63  brown  pearls  from  Mazatlan,  weighing  4.849  gms. 

Bavarian  pearls,  3/jT  carats,  medium  quality 

"  "3^  carats,  finer  quality 

"  "      i}i  carats,  very  fine 

"  "      gray,  with  some  hister 

"  "      brown,  ranking  between  good  &  black 

"  "      poor  black  pearls,  impure 


The  distinctive  characteristic,  the  great  beauty  of  a  true  pearl,  is  its 
luster  or  orient,  which  is  a  subdued  iridescence,  rather  than  the 
glittering  brilliance  of  the  diamond;  and  unless  the  shelly  growth  be 
lustrous  it  does  not  rank  as  a  gem  pearl,  no  matter  how  perfect  its 

'Harley,   "Proceedings   of  the   Royal    So- 
ciety," Vol 


"Proceedings   of  the 
XLIII,  p.  461. 


'"Die  Perlenmuschein,"  Leipzig,  i8S9,  pp. 
294.  295. 


Cross  section  of  an  irregular  pearl,  magnified  3o  diameters 


m 


Cross  sections  of  pearls,  magnified  ^o  diameters 


Thin  section  of  mother-of-pearl,  magnified,  showing  Structure  of  conch  pearl  produced  by  fracturing, 

sponge  borings  which  traversed  the  pearl  shell  magnified  80  diameters 


STRUCTURE  AND  FORMS  53 

form  or  beautiful  its  color.  This  luster  is  due  to  the  structural  ar- 
rangement of  the  surface  as  well  as  to  the  quality  of  the  material.  The 
nacreous  material  forming  true  pearls,  and  likewise  mother-of-pearl, 
is  commonly  deposited  in  irregular  tenuous  layers,  very  thin  and  very 
small  in  area  compared  with  the  surface  of  the  pearl.  These  laminae 
overlap  one  another,  the  surfaces  are  microscopically  crumpled  and 
corrugated,  and  the  edges  form  serrated  outlines.  The  greater  the 
angle  which  the  laminae  form  with  the  surface,  the  closer  will  be  these 
serrated  outlines,  and  where  the  plane  of  the  exterior  lamina  is  parallel 
with  the  plane  of  the  surface  the  lines  are  not  present.  This  arrange- 
ment causes  the  waves  of  light  to  be  reflected  from  different  levels  on 
the  surface,  just  as  in  a  soap  bubble,  and  the  minute  prisms  split  the 
rays  up  into  their  colored  constituents,  producing  the  chromatic  or  iri- 
descent effect. 

The  cause  is  wholly  mechanical,  and  an  impression  of  the  surface 
made  in  very  fine  wax  shows  a  similar  iridescence.  Also,  if  a  piece 
of  mother-of-pearl  be  immersed  in  acid  until  the  surface  lime  or  shelly 
matter  is  dissolved,  the  pellucid  membrane  shows  the  iridescence  until 
it  is  so  compressed  that  the  corrugations  are  reduced.  About  two 
score  years  ago  an  Englishman  invented  steel  buttons  with  similar 
minute  corrugations  producing  pearly  effect,  but  the  manufacture  was 
unprofitable,  owing,  principally,  to  their  liability  to  tarnish. 

In  the  shells  of  some  mollusks — as  the  edible  oysters  (Ostrea)  or 
the  giant  clam  (Tridacna), — there  is  almost  a  total  absence  of  the 
crumpled  corrugated  laminae,  and,  consequently,  there  is  little  luster. 
In  others  the  nacre  is  of  better  quality,  resulting  in  superior  orient, 
and  it  probably  reaches  its  highest  degree  of  perfection  in  the  pearl- 
oyster  (  Margaritifera  ) . 

As  the  curvature  of  the  surface  of  pearls  is  greater,  and  the  minute 
striae  are  more  numerous,  than  in  ordinary  mother-of-pearl,  it  follows 
that  the  iridescence  is  likewise  greater. 

Superior  nacre  is  more  or  less  translucent,  depending  on  its  quality; 
and  to  the  iridescence  of  the  outer  laminae  is  added  that  of  many  in- 
terior ones,  so  that  the  luster  is  vastly  increased.  The  position  of  the 
pearl  within  the  shell  may  greatly  affect  the  quality  of  the  material 
and,  consequently,  the  orient.  The  choicest  are  commonly  found 
within  the  soft  parts  of  the  animal,  and  those  of  poorer  quality  are  at 
the  edges  of  the  mantle,  or  within  the  fibers  of  the  adductor  muscle  of 
bivalves. 

The  structure  of  pearls  may  be  studied  by  examining  thin  cross  sec- 
tions under  the  microscope,  or  by  transmitted  polarized  light.  It  ap- 
pears that  ordinarily  a  pearl  is  made  up  of  many  independent  laminae 
superimposed  one  upon  another  "like  the  layers  of  an  onion,"  or, 


54  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

rather,  resembling  the  leaves  near  the  upper  part  of  a  well  formed  cab- 
bage. When  subjected  to  sufficient  heat,  the  laminae  separate  from 
each  other,  as  do  shells  of  edible  oysters  and  similar  mollusks  under  like 
conditions.  When  broken  by  a  hammer,  a  pearl  may  exhibit  this  lami- 
nated formation.  If  not  split  directly  through  the  center,  the  central 
section  may  retain  the  spherical  form;  and  as  this  commonly  remains 
attached  to  one  of  the  parts,  its  concave  impression  appears  in  the  other 
portion  of  the  broken  pearl.  The  outer  laminae  of  many  pearls  may  be 
removed  with  a  fair  prospect  of  finding  a  good  subjacent  surface,  and 
this  may  be  continued  until  the  size  is  greatly  reduced.  These  laminae 
are  not  always  similar  in  color  or  luster. 

However,  not  all  pearls  are  laminated  in  this  manner.  Instead  of 
superimposed  layers,  some  of  them  exhibit  a  crystalline  form,  com- 
posed of  beautiful  prismatic  crystals  radiating  from  the  center  to  the 
circumference.  In  at  least  one  oriental  pearl  examined,  these  crystals 
were  in  well  defined  arcs,  and  were  further  separated  into  concentric 
rings  of  different  degrees  of  thickness,  depth  of  color,  and  distance 
apart.  Another  specimen — a  Scotch  pearl — combined  in  separate 
layers  both  the  laminated  form  and  the  crystalline  structure. 

Dr.  Harley  points  out  that  some  crystalline  pearls  apparently  orig- 
inate in  mere  coalescences  of  mineral  particles,  rather  than  in  well  de- 
fined nuclei.^  Microscopic  sections  of  crystalline  pearls  convey  the 
idea  that  the  prisms  branch  and  interlace  with  one  another,  and  also 
that  in  some  instances  they  are  of  fusiform  shape.  However,  these  ap- 
pearances seem  to  be  due  simply  to  the  cross  sections  having  cut  the 
prisms  at  different  angles. 

Pearls  showing  these  types  were  exhibited  at  a  meeting  of  the 
Royal  Society  of  London,  June  8,  1887.  That  exhibit  also  contained 
a  section  of  a  west  Australian  pearl  of  curiously  complex  crystalline 
formation;  instead  of  one  central  starting-point,  it  had  more  than  a 
dozen  scattered  about,  from  which  the  crystalline  prisms  radiated  in  all 
directions. 

Since  the  three  superimposed  layers  of  the  shell  are  secreted  by 
separate  parts  of  the  mantle,  vis.,  the  nacre  by  the  general  surface,  the 
prismatic  layer  by  the  inner  edge,  and  the  epidermis  by  the  outer  edge, 
it  follows  that  if  a  pearl  in  course  of  formation  is  moved  from  one  of 
these  distinctive  portions  of  the  palial  organ  to  another,  the  nature  of 
its  laminae  changes.  Thus,  if  a  pearl  formed  on  the  broad  surface  of 
the  mantle  is  moved  in  some  way  to  the  inner  edge  of  that  organ,  it 
may  be  covered  with  a  prismatic  layer;  if  then  moved  to  the  outer 
edge  it  may  receive  a  lamina  of  epidermis,  and  then  by  changing  again 
to  the  broad  surface  of  the  mantle  it  receives  further  coats  of  nacre. 

^  Harley,   "Proceedings   of   the  Royal    Society  of  London,"  Vol.  XLV,  p.  612. 


Pearls  from  common  clam  (  J'cuus  uicrcennria)  ut  eastern  coast  of  America 


Pearl  "  nuggets"  from  the  Mississippi  Valley 


Wing  pearls  from  the  Mississippi  Valley 


I-)o;,'-tuuth  jK-arls  fmni  tin:   Mississif)pi  \'alley 


STRUCTURE  AND  FORMS  55 

The  structure  of  pearls  from  univalve  mollusks,  such  as  the  conch, 
the  abalone,  etc.,  as  well  as  those  from  some  bivalves,  as  the  Pinna, 
for  instance,  differs  from  that  of  the  true  pearls  formed  in  species 
of  Margaritifera.  Instead  of  the  alternate  layers  of  conchiolin  and  of 
carbonate  of  lime,  many  of  these  have  an  alveolar  structure.  When 
greatly  magnified,  the  surface  of  a  Pinna  pearl  appears  to  be  formed  of 
very  small  polygones,  which,  as  decalcification  shows,  are  the  bases  of 
small  pyramids  radiating  from  the  nucleus.  The  walls  of  these  pyra- 
mids are  formed  of  conchiolin,  and  they  are  filled  with  carbonate  of 
lime  of  a  prismatic  crystalline  structure.  This  is  simply  a  modification 
of  the  parallel  laminae  in  the  Margaritifera  pearls,  for,  as  Dubois 
points  out,  in  some  sections  we  can  see  portions  where  the  alveolar 
formation  has  proceeded  for  a  time  coincidentally  with  the  lamellar 
form. 

Pearls  are  aft'ected  by  acids  and  fetid  gases,  and  may  be  calcined 
on  exposure  to  heat.  Their  solubility  in  vinegar  was  referred  to  by 
the  Roman  architect  Vitruvius  ("De  Architectura,"  L.  viii..c.  3)  and 
also  by  Pausanias,  a  Greek  geographer  in  the  second  century  ("Hella- 
dos  Periegesis,"  L.  viii,  c.  18)  ;  but  it  seems  that  there  could  be  little 
foundation  for  Pliny's  well-known  anecdote  in  which  Cleopatra  is 
credited  with  dissolving  a  magnificent  pearl  in  vinegar  and  drinking  it 
— "the  ransom  of  a  kingdom  at  a  draught" — to  the  health  of  her  lover 
Antony.'  It  is  no  more  easy  to  dissolve  a  pearl  in  vinegar  than  it  is  to 
dissolve  a  pearl  button — for  the  composition  is  similar,  and  one  may 
easily  experiment  for  himself  as  to  the  difficulty  in  doing  this.  Not 
only  does  it  take  many  days  to  dissolve  in  cold  vinegar  the  mineral 
elements  of  a  pearl  of  fair  size,  but  even  with  boiling  vinegar  it  re- 
quires several  hours  to  extract  the  mineral  matter  from  one  four  or 
five  grains  in  weight,  the  acid  penetrating  to  the  interior  very  slowly. 
And  in  neither  case  can  the  pearl  be  made  to  disappear,  for  even  after 
the  carbonate  of  lime  has  dissolved,  the  organic  matrix  of  animal  mat- 
ter— which  is  insoluble  in  vinegar— retains  almost  the  identical  shape, 
size,  and  appearance  as  before.  If  the  pearl  is  first  pulverized,  it  be- 
comes readily  soluble  in  vinegar,  and  might  be  thus  drunk  as  a  lover's 
potion,  but  it  would  scarcely  prove  a  bonne  bonchc. 

Pearls  assume  an  almost  infinite  variety  of  forms,  due  largely  to 
the  shapes  of  the  nuclei,  and  also  to  their  positions  within  the  mollusk. 
The  most  usual — and,  fortunately,  also  the  most  valuable — is  the 
spherical,  resulting  from  a  very  minute  or  a  round  body  as  a  nucleus 
and  the  uniform  addition  of  nacre  on  all  sides.  Of  course,  spherical 
pearls  can  result  only  where  they  are  quite  free  from  other  hard  sub- 

'"Historia  Naturalis,"  Lid.  IX,  c.  35.    This  is  also  referred  to  by  Macrobius  in  Saturnal- 

iorum  conviviorum  Lid.  II,  c.  13. 


56  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

stances;  consequently  they  originate  only  in  the  soft  parts  of  the  mol- 
lusk  and  not  by  the  fixation  of  some  nucleus  to  the  interior  surface  of 
the  shell. 

The  perfectly  spherical  pearls  range  in  weight  from  a  small  fraction 
of  a  grain  to  three  hundred  grains  or  more,  but  it  is  very,  very  rare 
that  one  of  choice  luster  weighs  more  than  one  hundred  grains.  The 
largest  of  which  we  have  any  specific  information  was  that  among  the 
French  crown  jewels  as  early  as  the  time  of  Napoleon,  an  egg-shaped 
pearl,  weighing  337  grains.  The  largest  pearl  known  to  Pliny  in  the 
first  century  a.d.  weighed  "half  a  Roman  ounce  and  one  scruple  over," 
or  2343/2  grains  Troy.  These  very  large  ones,  weighing  in  excess  of 
one  hundred  grains,  are  called  "paragons."  The  small  pearls— weigh- 
ing less  than  half  a  grain  each — are  known  as  "seed-pearls."  The 
very  small  ones,  weighing  less  than  ¥25  of  a  grain,  are  called  "dust- 
pearls."    These  are  too  small  to  be  of  economic  value  as  ornaments. 

Slight  departures  from  the  perfect  sphere,  result  in  egg  shapes,  pear 
shapes,  drop  shapes,  pendeloque,  button  shapes,  etc.  Some  of  these  are 
valued  quite  as  highly  at  the  present  time  as  the  spherical  pearls,  and 
many  of  the  most  highly  prized  pearls  in  the  world  are  of  other  than 
spherical  form.  Indeed,  pearls  of  this  kind  are  found  of  larger  size 
than  the  perfectly  round  pearls.  The  egg-shaped  pearl. ^  called  "la 
Regente," — one  of  the  French  crown  jewels  sold  in  May,  1887 — 
weighed,  as  stated  above,  337  grains.  The  great  pear  pearl  described  by 
Tavernier— "the  largest  ever  discovered"— weighed  about  500  grains. 
A  button  pearl  received  from  Panama  in  1906  weighed  216  grains. 

Wider  departures  from  the  spherical  form  result  in  cylindrical, 
conical,  top-shaped,  etc.  Some  pearls  present  the  appearance  of  hav- 
ing been  turned  in  a  lathe  with  intricate  tooling.  Remarkable  ex- 
amples of  these  "turned  pearls"  have  been  found,  competing  in  their 
circular  perfection  with  the  best  work  of  a  jeweler's  lathe. 

Many  standard  varieties  of  non-spherical,  but  normally  shaped 
pearls,  are  recognized  by  the  fishermen  and  the  jewelers.  For  in- 
stance, in  the  nomenclature  of  the  American  fishermen,  houton,  or  but- 
ton pearls  are  divided  into  "haystacks"  and  "turtle-backs,"  according 
to  the  height  of  the  projection.  Also,  certain  imperfections  result  in 
distinguishing  names :  "bird's-eye"  refers  to  a  pearl  having  a  little  im- 
perfection on  the  best  surface;  "ring-arounds"  have  a  dark  or  dis- 
colored ring  about  them;  and  "strawberries"  have  numerous  minute 
projections  on  the  surface. 

During  its  growth,  a  spherical  pearl  may  come  in  contact  with  a 
foreign  body,  such  as  grit  or  a  vegetable  film,  and  the  additional  nacral 
layers  envelop  the  adjacent  matter  until  it  is  entirely  concealed  within 

^Now  in  the  French  crown  brooch  in  the  possession  of  the  Princess  Youssoupoff  of  Russia. 


< 


STRUCTURE  AND  FORMS  57 

the  pearl,  its  position  being  recognized  only  by  the  excrescence  on  one 
side,  and,  with  continued  increase  in  size,  even  this  may  be  almost 
overcome. 

Sometimes  double,  triple,  or  multiple  pearls  are  formed;  each  of 
these  may  have  a  separate  nucleus  and  grow  independently  for  a  time 
until  they  adjoin  each  other ;  continuing  to  grow,  they  become  so  united 
as  to  form  a  connected  mass.  The  "Southern  Cross"  is  a  remarkable 
example  of  this.  It  appears  to  consist  of  seven  nearly  spherical  pearls 
attached  to  one  another  in  a  straight  line,  and  one  projecting  from  each 
side  of  the  second  in  the  row,  thus  forming  a  Roman  cross.^ 

Afewyearsago,near  Sharks  Bay,  on  the  coast  of  western  Australia, 
a  cluster  was  found  containing  about  150  pearls  closely  compacted. 
This  cluster  measured  about  one  and  a  half  inches  in  length,  three 
quarters  of  an  inch  in  breadth,  and  half  an  inch  in  thickness. 

When  a  growing  pearl  is  very  near  to  the  nacreous  lining  of  the 
shell,  the  pressure  between  the  two  hard  substances  results  in  a  rupture 
of  the  pearl-forming  sac  and  the  epithelial  layer  of  the  shell,  and  the 
pearl  comes  in  actual  contact  with  the  nacre.  The  pearl  gradually 
becomes  attached  to  the  shell,  and  the  under  portion  is  prevented  from 
growing  further;  the  upper  or  exposed  surface  receives  other  lay- 
ers, resulting  in  the  formation  of  a  boiiton.  As  the  shell  around  the 
pearl  continues  to  grow,  it  gradually  closes  about,  and  almost  wholly 
conceals  the  pearl.  Since  it  is  constantly  wasting  away  on  the  exterior 
surface  as  it  grows  on  the  interior,  it  follows  that  in  time  the  shell 
passes  the  pearl  quite  through  to  the  outside,  where  it  rapidly  decays. 
Thus  the  oyster  virtually  forces  the  annoying  intruder  directly 
through  the  wall  of  its  house  instead  of  by  way  of  the  open  door,  and 
magically  closes  the  breach  with  its  marvelous  masonry. 

These  embedded  pearls  are  generally  faulty  and  of  diminished 
luster,  but  in  the  aggregate,  large  quantities  of  imperfect  ones,  and 
especially  half  and  quarter  pearls,  are  secured  in  this  manner.  Some- 
times—particularly in  the  Australian  fisheries— large  pearls  are  thus 
found,  weighing  twenty,  forty,  sixty,  and  even  eighty  grains;  and 
when  the  faulty  outside  layers  of  nacre  are  removed,  a  subjacent  sur- 
face of  fine  luster  may  possibly  be  revealed.  In  bivalves,  these  ad- 
herent pearls  are  commonly  in  the  deep  or  lower  valve,  except  in  those 
unusual  cases  where  the  mollusks  have  been  lying  in  a  reverse  position. 
At  the  fisheries,  the  surfaces  of  the  shells  are  carefully  inspected  for 
evidence  of  pearly  nodules,  and  these  are  broken  open  in  search  for 
encysted  objects.  Cutters  of  mother-of-pearl  occasionally  find  em- 
bedded pearls  of  this  kind  which  have  escaped  the  vigilant  eyes  of  the 
fishermen. 

iSee  p.  465. 


58  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

We  read  of  an  instance  in  an  important  paper  treating  of  the  jewel- 
ing trade  of  Birmingham:  "A  few  years  since  [the  paper  was  written 
in  1866]  a  small  lot  of  shells  was  brought  to  Birmingham,  which  either 
from  ignorance  or  mistake  had  not  been  cleared  of  the  pearls  at  the 
fishery.  A  considerable  number  were  found  and  sold,  and  one  espe- 
cially was  sold  by  the  man  who  had  bought  the  shell  for  working  in-to 
buttons,  for  £40.  The  purchaser,  we  believe,  resold  the  same  for  a 
profit  of  £160;  and  we  have  heard  that  it  was  afterward  held  in  Paris 
for  sale  at  £800." 

A  choice  gem  which  was  found  in  New  York,  in  October,  1905,  in 
an  Australian  shell,  sold  finally  for  $1200. 

The  intrusion  and  continued  presence  of  grains  of  sand  or  similar 
material  between  the  mantle  and  the  shell  causes  the  formation  of 
nacre  over  the  foreign  body,  resulting  in  a  chicot  (blister  pearl),  or 
possibly  a  quarter  or  a  half-pearl.  The  growth  of  a  chicot  sometimes 
results  from  the  mollusk  covering  a  choice  pearl  which  has  become 
loosened  from  the  soft  tissues  and  adheres  to  the  shell,  as  above  cited. 
Hence,  it  is  sometimes  desirable  to  break  a  chicot  to  secure  its  more 
valuable  inclosure.  In  the  account  of  his  interesting  pearling  experi- 
ences on  the  Australian  coast,  Henry  Taunton  states:  "During  the 
first  season's  shelling  at  Roebuck  Bay,  we  came  across  an  old  worm- 
eaten  shell  containing  a  large  blister,  which  was  removed  in  the  usual 
manner  by  punching  a  ring  of  minute  holes  around  its  base;  a  slight 
tap  was  then  sufficient  to  detach  it.  For  many  weeks  it  was  un- 
touched, no  one  caring  to  risk  opening  it,  for  if  filled  with  black  ooze, 
which  is  frequently  the  case,  it  would  be  of  little  value.  At  last,  baffled 
in  his  attempt  to  solve  the  problem,  and  emboldened  by  an  overdose  of 
'square  face,'  the  skipper  gave  it  a  smart  blow  with  a  hammer,  which 
cracked  it  open,  and  out  rolled  a  huge  pearl,  nearly  perfect,  and  weigh- 
ing eighty  grains.  A  few  specks  and  discolorations  were  removed  by 
a  skilful  'pearl-faker,'  and  it  was  sold  in  London  for  £1500."^ 

Blister  pearls  are  also  caused  by  the  defensive  or  protective  action 
of  the  mollusk  in  resisting  the  intrusion  of  some  animal,  as  a  boring 
sponge  or  a  burrowing  worm,  which  has  begun  to  penetrate  the  outer 
layers  of  the  shell.  This  stimulation  causes  the  mollusk  to  pile  nacre- 
ous material  upon  the  spot,  thus  making  a  substantial  mound  closely 
resembling  a  segment  of  a  large  pearl.  This  walling-out  of  intruders 
is  not  the  result  of  intelligent  forethought  or  of  instinct,  analogous  to 
the  repairing  of  a  damaged  web  by  a  spider,  or  the  retunneling  of  a 
collapsed  gallery  by  ants;  it  is  a  pathological  rather  than  an  intelligent 
action. 

When  the  nucleus  of  a  pearl  is  large  and  very  irregular,  it  necessarily 

'  Taunton,   "Australind,"  London,   1903,  p.  224. 


BROOCHES   ^rADE  OF  PETAL.  DOG-TOOTH,  AND   WING   PEARLS 
From   the   Upper   Mississippi   Valley 


STRUCTURE  AND  FORMS  59 

follows  that  the  deposited  nacre  roughly  assumes  the  irregular  out- 
line of  the  inclosed  object.  This  is  strikingly  shown  in  pearls  covering 
a  minute  fish,  a  crayfish,  or  a  small  crab.  Several  specimens  have  been 
found  in  which  the  species  could  be  identified  by  examination  through 
the  nacreous  coating. 

In  the  American  Unios  there  is  a  strong  tendency  to  produce 
elongated  pearls  near  the  hinge  of  the  shell,  which  are  consequently 
known  as  "hinge  pearls."  The  occurrence  and  form  of  these  suggest 
that  their  origin  may  not  be  due  to  nuclei,  but  that  they  result  from  an 
excess  of  carbonate  of  lime  in  the  water,  and  that  the  animal  stores  a 
surplus  of  nacre  in  this  convenient  form.  There  are  several  standard 
forms  of  these  hinge  pearls.  Many  are  elongated  or  dog-toothed, 
some  are  hammer-shaped,  others  resemble  the  wings  of  birds,  the 
petals  of  flowers,  the  bodies  of  fish,  and  various  other  objects.  A  large 
percentage  of  the  pearls  found  in  Unios  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  are 
of  these  types. 

Some  irregular  pearls  or  baroques  are  very  large,  weighing  an  ounce 
or  more.  A  well-known  example  is  the  Hope  pearl,  described  on  page 
463,  which  weighs  three  ounces.  These  monster  pearls  sometimes  as- 
sume odd  shapes,  such  as  clasped  hands,  the  body  of  a  man,  lion,  or 
other  animal,  etc. 

Although  baroques  may  have  a  pearly  luster,  they  are  not  highly 
prized  unless  unusually  attractive,  and  they  have  little  permanent 
value,  apart  from  their  estimation  in  the  eyes  of  admirers  of  the 
curious  and  unique.  They  are  used  largely  in  I'art  nouveau,  and  in 
forming  odd  and  fanciful  objects  of  jewelry,  the  designer  taking  ad- 
vantage of  the  resemblance  which  they  bear  to  common  objects  of 
every-day  life,  and  by  additions  of  gold  and  other  ornaments  complet- 
ing the  form  which  nature  had  merely  suggested. 

Some  remarkable  examples  of  baroque  mountings  have  been  pro- 
duced, and  a  few  are  to  be  found  in  most  of  the  large  pearl  collections. 
In  a  single  case  in  the  Imperial  Treasury  at  Vienna  are  baroques 
forming  the  principal  parts  or  figures  of  a  horse,  stag,  lamb,  tortoise, 
lizard,  cock,  dragon,  butterfly,  gondola,  hippopotamus,  female  bust, 
and  three  mermaids.  Other  well-known  collections  are  those  of  the 
royal  family  of  Saxony  in  the  Griine  Gewolbe  at  Dresden ;  those  in  the 
Palace  of  Rosenberg  at  Copenhagen;  in  the  Waddesden  (Rothschild) 
collection  of  the  British  Museum ;  among  the  jewels  in  the  Louvre  in 
Paris;  with  the  treasures  of  the  Basilica  of  St.  Mark  in  Venice;  and 
in  the  museum  of  the  University  of  Moscow. 

A  remarkable  pearl-like  ornament  more  common  in  Asia  than  in  the 
Occident,  is  the  coqite  de  pcrle,  which  is  an  oval  section  of  the  globose 
whorl  of  the  Indian  nautilus.    The  exterior  or  convex  surface  is  highly 


6o  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

lustrous,  but  the  material  is  very  thin.  It  is  commonly  provided  with 
a  suitable  filling  or  backing  of  putty  or  cement  to  impart  solidity,  and 
is  used  like  a  blister  pearl.  Sometimes  two  perfectly  matched  coques 
de  pcrle  are  filled  and  cemented  together,  giving  the  appearance  of  an 
abnormally  large  oblong  or  nearly  spherical  pearl. 

The  color  of  pearls  has  no  connection  with  the  luster.  In  general 
it  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  shell  in  which  they  are  formed.  Black 
pearls  are  found  in  the  black  shells  of  Mexico,  and  pink  pearls  in  the 
pink-hued  Strombus  of  the  Bahamas.  Ceylon  pearls  are  seldom  of  any 
other  color  than  white,  and  Sharks  Bays  are  almost  invariably  quite 
yellow  or  straw-colored,  while  those  of  Venezuela  are  commonly 
yellowish  tinged.  But  from  other  localities,  pearls  simulate  every  tint 
of  the  rainbow,  as  well  as  white  and  black.  The  most  common,  as 
well  as  the  most  desirable  ordinarily,  is  white,  or  rather,  silvery  or 
moonlight  glint, — "la  gran  Margherita,"  as  Dante  calls  it;  but  yellow, 
pink,  and  black  are  numerous.  They  may  also  be  piebald — a  portion 
white  and  the  rest  pink  or  brown  or  black.  Some  years  ago  there  was 
on  the  market  a  large  bean-shaped  pearl  of  great  luster,  one  half  of 
which  was  white  and  the  other  quite  black,  the  dividing-line  being 
sharply  defined  in  the  plane  of  the  greatest  circumference.  The  pearls 
from  Mexico,  the  South:  Sea  islands,  and  the  American  rivers  are 
especially  noted  for  their  great  variety  of  coloration,  covering  every 
known  tint  and  shade,  and  requiring  such  a  master  as  Theophile  Gau- 
tier  to  do  justice  to  them. 

Many  theories  have  been  advanced  to  explain  the  coloration  of 
pearls.  When  the  old  idea  of  dew  formation  prevailed,  it  was  con- 
sidered that  white  pearls  were  formed  in  fair  weather,  and  the  dark 
ones  when  the  weather  was  cloudy.  It  was  further  considered  that  the 
color  was  influenced  by  the  depth  of  the  water  in  which  they  grew: 
that  in  deep  water  they  were  white,  but  where  it  was  so  shallow  that 
the  sunlight  easily  penetrated,  the  pearls  were  more  likely  to  be  dark 
in  color.  Tavernier  curiously  explained  that  the  black  pearls  of 
Panama  and  Mexico  owed  their  color  to  the  black  mud  in  which  the 
pearl-oysters  of  those  localities  lived,  and  that  Persian  Gulf  pearls 
were  more  inclined  to  yellow  than  those  of  Ceylon,  owing  to  the 
greater  putrefaction  of  the  flesh  before  they  were  removed  therefrom.^ 
Two  centuries  ago  the  color  of  a  pearl  was  attributed  to  that  of  the 
central  nucleus,  and  it  was  concluded  that  if  the  nucleus  was  dark,  the 
pearl  would  be  of  a  similar  hue.^  This  theory  has  also  been  upset,  for 
pearls  are  found  white  on  the  exterior  and  quite  dark  within,  and  also 
with  these  conditions  reversed. 

'  "Tavernier's     Travels,"     London,      1889,  'See  "Report  of  the  Royal  Society,"  Oct. 

Vol.  II,  p.  115.    See  p.  97.  13.  1688. 


GRAY   PEAKI.S    IN    THE  POSSESSION   OF  AN   AMERICAN   LADY   AND   BROOCH 
FROM    TIFFANY  &   CO.'S   EXHIBIT,  PARIS   EXPOSITION,  1900 


STRUCTURE  AND  FORMS  6i 

The  color  of  a  pearl  is  determined  by  that  of  the  conchiolin,  as 
appears  from  its  remaining  unchanged  after  decalcification.  While 
generally  it  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  mother-of-pearl  at  the  corre- 
sponding point  of  the  shell  in  which  it  is  formed,  there  are  many  ex- 
ceptions to  this,  and  the  reasons  for  the  varying  tints  and  colors  are 
probably  to  be  found  in  the  changes  in  position  of  the  pearl,  the  in- 
gredients of  the  water,  the  health  of  the  mollusk,  accidents  of  various 
kinds,  etc.  These  factors  will  be  referred  to  later  in  discussing  the 
pearls  from  different  mollusks  and  regions ;  but  in  general  it  is  no 
more  easy  to  explain  the  colors  of  pearls  than  it  is  to  say  why  one  rose 
is  white  and  another  is  yellow. 

Medieval  writers  had  much  to  say  regarding  unripe  or  immature 
pearls,  likening  them  to  eggs  in  the  body  of  a  hen,  which  follow  a  uni- 
form rate  of  growth ;  and  this  idea  is  not  entirely  absent  even  in  con- 
temporaneous writings.  However,  it  is  an  interesting  fact  that  the 
humble  mollusks,  like  the  five  wise  virgins  with  prepared  lamps,  keep 
their  gems  perfect  in  beauty  and  luster  at  all  times.  It  matters  not 
whether  the  pearl  be  removed  when  it  is  only  the  size  of  a  pin-head  or 
not  until  it  reaches  that  of  a  marble,  it  is  at  all  times  a  complete,  a  ripe, 
a  perfect  pearl,  and  the  largest  surpasses  the  smallest  only  in  the  char- 
acteristics and  properties  which  are  incidental  to  size.  Imparting  per- 
fection and  completion  every  day,  every  moment,  the  mollusk  utilizes 
the  added  time  simply  in  enlarging  its  beautiful  work. 

Although  art  has  made  wonderful  progress  in  that  direction,  the 
pearl,  like  truth,  is  not  easily  imitated.  There  is  as  much  difference 
between  the  ubiquitous  imitations  and  the  perfect  gem  as  there  is  be- 
tween a  chromolithograph  and  a  silvery  Corot,  or  between  the  effects 
of  cosmetics  and  the  freshness  of  youth.  While  to  the  unskilled,  or 
under  superficial  inspection,  the  false  has  some  of  the  properties  of  the 
genuine,  it  is  only  necessary  to  place  them  side  by  side  to  make  the 
difference  apparent.  However  clever  the  imitation  may  be  in  color,  in 
form,  and  in  density,  it  always  lacks  in  richness,  in  sweetness,  and  in 
blended  iridescence. 


V 
SOURCES  OF  PEARLS 


SOURCES  OF  PEARLS 

Rich  honesty  dwells  like  a  miser,  sir,  in  a  poor  house, 
as  your  pearl  in  your  foul  oyster. 

As  You  Like  It,  Act  V,  sc.  4. 

IN  geographic  range,  the  sources  of  pearls  are  widely  distributed, 
each  one  of  the  six  continents  yielding  its  quota;  but  the  places 
where  profitable  fisheries  are  prosecuted  are  restricted  in  area. 
First  in  point  of  value,  and  possibly  of  antiquity  also,  are  the 
fisheries  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  giving  employment  ordinarily  to  thirty 
thousand  or  more  divers.  The  yield  in  the  likewise  ancient  fish- 
eries of  the  Gulf  of  Manaar  is  uncertain,  but  sometimes  remarkably 
large.  The  Red  Sea  resources  are  now  of  slight  importance  compared 
with  their  extent  in  the  time  of  the  Ptolemies.  Other  Asiatic  fisheries 
are  in  the  Gulf  of  Aden,  about  Mergui  Archipelago,  on  the  coast  of 
China,  Japan,  Korea,  and  Siam,  and  also  in  the  rivers  of  China,  Man- 
churia, and  Siberia. 

Aside  from  those  produced  in  the  Red  Sea  and  the  Gulf  of  Aden, 
the  pearl  fisheries  of  Africa  are  of  small  extent.  Some  reefs  exist  on 
the  lower  coast  of  the  German  East  African  territory  and  also  in  Por- 
tuguese East  Africa,  but  they  have  not  been  thoroughly  exploited. 

In  most  of  the  inshore  waters  of  Australasia  pearls  may  be  secured; 
the  fisheries  are  most  extensive  on  the  northern  coast  of  Australia,  in 
the  Sulu  Archipelago,  and  about  the  Dutch  East  Indies.  Tuamotu 
Archipelago,  Gambler,  Fiji,  and  Penrhyn  are  prominent  in  the  South 
Pacific  Ocean. 

In  the  seas  of  Europe  few  pearls  have  been  found,  but  the  rivers 
have  yielded  many ;  and  although  the  resources  have  been  greatly  im- 
paired, many  beautiful  gems  are  yet  found  there. 

South  America  contributes  the  important  reefs  on  the  coast  of 

Venezuela— the  land  of  unrest  and  revolutions,  whose  fisheries  were 

first  exploited  by  Columbus.     Other  South  American  countries  in 

which  pearls   are  collected  are  Panama,   Ecuador,   Peru,   etc.     In 

5  65 


66  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

North  America,  pearls  are  found  in  the  pearl-oyster  of  the  Gulf  of 
California,  the  abalone  of  the  Pacific  coast,  the  queen  conch  of  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  in  the  Unios  of  most  of  the  rivers,  especially  those 
of  the  Mississippi  Valley. 

Since  pearly  concretions  partake  of  the  characteristics  of  the  shell 
within  which  they  are  formed,  it  follows  that  practically  all  species  of 
mollusks  whose  shells  have  a  well-developed  nacreous  lining  yield 
pearls  to  a  greater  or  less  extent.  But  the  number  of  these  species  is 
relatively  small.  They  belong  chiefly  to  the  Margaritifercc,  or  pearl- 
oyster  family  of  the  sea,  and  to  the  Unionidcc,  or  family  of  fresh-water 
mussels.  Pearls  occur  also  in  some  univalves,  but  not  so  abundantly 
as  in  bivalves  of  the  families  mentioned.  Broadly  stated,  we  may  hope 
to  find  pearls  within  any  mollusk  whose  shell  possesses  a  nacreous  sur- 
face; and  it  is  useless  to  search  for  them  in  shells  whose  interior  is  dull 
and  opaque,  such  as  the  edible  oyster  for  instance. 

The  great  bulk  of  the  pearls  on  the  market,  and  likewise  those  of  the 
highest  quality,  are  from  the  Margaritifercc,  which  are  widely  dis- 
tributed about  tropical  waters.  Although  these  mollusks  are  spoken  of 
as  pearl-oysters,  they  are  not  related  in  any  way  to  the  edible  oysters 
(Ostrea)  of  America  and  Europe.^  The  flesh  is  fat  and  glutinous, 
and  so  rank  in  flavor  as  to  be  almost  unfit  for  food,  although  eaten  at 
times  by  the  poorer  fishermen  in  lieu  of  better  fare.  The  origin  of  the 
name  is  doubtless  due  to  the  fact  that  in  the  somewhat  circular  form 
of  the  shell  they  resemble  oysters  rather  than  the  elongated  mussels  of 
Europe,  to  which  they  are  more  nearly  related  in  anatomy.  Also  in 
that — like  their  namesakes — they  are  monomyarian,  having  only  one 
adductor  muscle. 

The  two  valves  or  sides  of  the  pearl-oyster  shell  are  nearly  similar  in 
shape  and  almost  equal  in  size ;  whereas  in  the  edible  oysters  one  valve 
is  thin  and  somewhat  flat,  while  the  other  is  thicker,  larger,  and  highly 
convex.  In  the  latter,  also,  the  hinge,  or  umbo,  is  an  angular  beak ;  but 
in  the  pearl-oysters  the  umbo  is  prolonged  by  so-called  ears  or  wings 
into  a  straight  line  the  length  of  which  is  nearly  equal  to  the  breadth 
of  the  shell. 

The  byssus,  or  bunch  of  fibers,  by  which  pearl-oysters  attach  them- 
selves to  the  bottom  indicates  their  relationship  to  the  mussels.  The 
possession  of  a  small  foot  and  somewhat  extended  migratory  powers 

'  Neither  is   there  any   special   significance  fresh-water    lakes    are    quite    distinct    from 

in  the  popular  terms  "clams,"  "mussels,"  etc.,  the  edible  ones  of  brackish  waters,  and  the 

as    applied   to   the   pearl-bearing   species    of  Pinna  oyster  and  the  giant  clam  (Tridacna) 

the   rivers.     The   "clams,"   or  Unios  of  the  have  little  resemblance  to  the  mollusks  with 

Mississippi  Valley,  resemble  neither  the  long  which   these  terminal  names  are  commonly 

clams  (Mya)  nor  the  round  clams  (Venus)  associated, 
of   the   Atlantic   coast ;   the   mussels   of  the 


SOURCES  OF  PEARLS  67 

—at  least  in  the  first  years  of  growth— also  distinguish  them  from 
the  sedentary  edible  oysters.  But  from  an  economic  point  of  view, 
the  principal  difference  is  the  possession  of  a  thick,  nacreous,  interior 
lining  in  the  shells  of  pearl-oysters,  which  is  wholly  lacking  in  the 
edible  species.  Like  their  namesakes,  the  pearl-oysters  are  exceed- 
ingly fertile,  a  single  specimen  numbering  its  annual  increase  by  mil- 
lions. 

Commercially  considered,  the  pearl-oysters  are  roughly  divisible 
into  two  groups,  (i)  those  fished  exclusively  for  the  pearls  which 
they  contain,  and  (2)  those  whose  shells  are  so  thick  as  to  give  them 
sufficient  value  to  warrant  their  capture  independently  of  the  yield  of 
pearls.  The  best  examples  of  the  first  group  are  the  pearl-oysters  of 
Ceylon  and  of  Venezuela,  and  to  a  less  extent  those  of  the  Persian 
Gulf,  the  coast  of  Japan,  and  of  Sharks  Bay,  on  the  Australian  coast. 
Of  the  second  group,  the  pearl-oysters  of  Torres  Straits  and  of  the 
Malay  Archipelago  are  the  most  prominent  members.  Between  these 
two  groups  are  the  many  species  and  varieties  whose  shells  and  pearls 
are  more  evenly  divided  with  respect  to  value,  including  those  of  Mex- 
ico, Panama,  the  Red  Sea,  the  South  Sea  islands,  etc. 

Some  conchologists  recognize  a  large  number  of  species  of  Margari- 
tifercc,  while  other  authorities  consider  many  of  these  as  local  varia- 
tions of  the  same  species.  There  is  much  difference  in  the  size,  color, 
and  markings  of  the  shells  in  different  localities,  owing  to  varying 
geographical  and  physical  conditions.  The  distinction  of  species  and 
the  nomenclature  herein  adopted  are  those  of  Dr.  H.  L.  Jameson,  who 
has  recently  revised  and  rearranged  the  collection  of  shells  belonging 
to  this  family  in  the  British  Museum  of  Natural  History,*  and  to 
whom  we  are  indebted  for  descriptive  notes  relative  to  several  of  the 
species. 

The  greatest  pearl-producer  in  the  family  of  pearl-oysters  is  the 
Margaritifera  vulgaris  of  the  Gulf  of  Manaar  and  the  Persian  Gulf, 
and  to  a  much  less  extent  of  the  Red  Sea.  It  occurs  in  various  other 
inshore  waters  of  the  Indian  Ocean,  and  about  the  Malay  Archipelago 
and  the  coast  of  Australia  and  New  Guinea,  although  it  is  not  the  prin- 
cipal pearl-oyster  of  those  waters.  An  interesting  account  of  its 
immigration  into  the  Mediterranean  Sea  through  the  Suez  Canal  was 
given  by  Vassel  in  1896.- 

This  species  is  quite  small,  averaging  two  and  a  half  inches  in 
diameter  in  Ceylon  waters,  and  somewhat  more  in  the  Persian  Gulf, 

'Jameson,  "On  the  identity  and  distribu-  "Vassel,   "Sur  la   Pintadine   du    Golfe   de 

tion  of  the  mother-of-pearl  oysters ;  with  a      Gabes,    Comptes    Rendus    Assoc.    Fran9. ," 
revision     of    the     subgenus     Margaritifera."       1896,  pp.  458-466. 
Proceedings    of    the    Zoological    Society    of 
London,  Vol.  L,  1901,  pp.  372-394- 


68  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

whence  large  quantities  of  the  shell  are  exported  under  the  name  of 
"Lingah  shell."  The  Ceylon  variety  has  the  nacreous  lining  almost 
uniformly  white  over  the  entire  surface,  only  the  lip  having  a  slightly 
pinkish  ground  color.  The  exterior  is  marked  by  seven  or  eight  red- 
dish brown  radial  bands  on  a  pale  yellow  ground.  In  addition  to  its 
greater  size,  the  Persian  variety  is  darker,  and  the  lip  of  the  shell  has 
a  reddish  tinge. 

For  centuries  the  Margaritifera  vulgaris  has  sustained  the  great 
pearl  fisheries  of  Ceylon,  India,  and  Persia,  and  at  present  yields  the 
bulk  of  pearls  on  the  market,  especially  the  seed-pearls  and  also  those 
of  medium  size.  It  produces  relatively  few  large  ones,  rarely  exceed- 
ing twelve  grains  in  weight.  These  pearls  are  commonly  silvery 
white,  and  for  their  size  command  the  highest  prices,  because  of  their 
beautiful  form  and  superior  luster.  Excepting  the  Venezuelan  species, 
this  is  the  only  pearl-oyster  which  at  present  supports  extensive  fish- 
eries exclusively  for  pearls ;  in  the  fisheries  for  all  other  species  the 
value  of  the  shells  furnishes  considerable  revenue,  and  in  some  local- 
ities this  represents  several  times  as  much  as  the  income  from  the 
pearls. 

Ranking  next  to  Margaritifera  vulgaris  in  extent  of  pearl-produc- 
tion is  the  Margaritifera  margaritifera,  which  is  widely  distributed 
about  the  tropical  inshore  waters  of  the  Pacific  and  Indian  oceans.  It 
is  very  much  larger  than  the  Lingah  oyster,  good  specimens  measur- 
ing seven  or  eight  inches  in  diameter,  and  the  nacreous  interior  is 
usually  of  a  darker  color.  In  addition  to  its  yield  of  pearls,  the  shell  of 
this  species  is  of  value  in  the  mother-of-pearl  trade,  and  contributes 
largely  to  the  economic  results  of  the  fisheries.  Indeed,  in  several 
regions  the  shell  is  of  more  value  than  the  pearls,  which  represent  only 
an  incidental  yield.  As  Jameson  notes,  the  color  and  markings  of  the 
shell,  though  extremely  variable,  generally  suffice  to  distinguish  this 
species.  The  ground  color  of  the  exterior  ranges  through  various 
shades  from  yellowish  brown  to  very  dark  brown.  Its  characteristic 
markings  consist  of  from  ten  to  eighteen  radial  rows  of  white  and 
yellow  spots,  running  from  the  umbo,  or  hinge,  to  the  margin. 

Several  varieties  of  Margaritifera  margaritifera  are  recognized. 
The  type  species  occurs  along  the  north  coast  of  Australia,  from  Bris- 
bane on  the  east  to  Sharks  Bay  on  the  west ;  on  the  New  Guinea  coast ; 
at  Formosa ;  and  about  many  of  the  islands  of  the  Pacific.  The  well- 
known  "black-lip  shell"  of  Australian  waters  is  of  this  species;  it 
shows  a  greenish  black  on  the  margin  of  the  nacre.  The  yield  of  this  is 
very  small  compared  with  that  of  the  large  pearl-oyster  of  Australia. 

The  Margaritifera  margaritifera  occurs  on  the  eastern  coast  of 
Arabia  in  two  varieties,  which  differ  somewhat  from  the  type  species. 


SHELL  OF  PEARL-OYSTER  WITH  ATTACHED  PEARL 

{Margaritifera  matgaritifera  niazatlattica) 
From  Costa  Rica 


SOURCES  OF  PEARLS  69 

These  have  been  designated  by  Jameson  as  M.  margaritifcra  persica 
and  M.  margaritifcra  erythrcccnsis.  These  are  much  larger  than  the 
Lingah  shell  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  but  are  smaller  than  the  Australian 
species.  The  percentage  of  pearls  in  them  is  less  than  in  the  Lingah 
species,  but  from  a  commercial  point  of  view  this  is  to  some  extent 
offset  by  the  greater  value  of  the  shell.  The  M.  in.  persica  is  more  nu- 
merous in  the  gulf  than  the  M.  m.  erythrcccnsis,  and  large  quantities  of 
the  shell  are  marketed  in  Europe.  Formerly  the  shipments  were  made 
principally  by  way  of  Bombay,  hence  the  shell  is  known  in  the  mother- 
of-pearl  trade  as  "Bombay  shell."  The  exterior  is  of  a  light  grayish 
or  greenish  brown  color,  with  yellowish  white  radial  bands.  The 
nacre  has  a  slightly  roseate  tint,  and  the  margin  is  greenish  yellow. 
The  pearls  found  herein  are  more  yellowish  in  color  and  attain  a  larger 
size  than  those  from  the  Lingah  oyster. 

The  M.  m.  erytlirccensis  occurs  also  in  the  Red  Sea  and  along  the 
shores  of  the  Arabian  Sea.  Among  mother-of-pearl  dealers  it  is 
known  as  "Egyptian  shell"  or  "Alexandria  shell,"  owing  to  the  fact 
that  prior  to  the  opening  of  the  Suez  Canal  shipments  were  commonly 
made  by  way  of  Alexandria.  The  color  of  the  nacre  is  darker  than 
that  of  its  related  variety  in  the  Persian  Gulf.  In  the  trade,  three 
grades  of  this  shell  are  recognized,  classed  according  to  the  shade  of 
color.  The  lightest  comes  from  Massowah  and  near  the  southern  end 
of  the  Red  Sea,  and  the  darkest  from  farther  north,  in  the  vicinity  of 
Jiddah  and  Suakim. 

The  islands  of  the  southern  Pacific,  and  of  eastern  Polynesia  espe- 
cially, yield  another  variety  of  M.  margaritifcra,  to  which  the  name 
M.  m.  cumingi  has  been  given.  The  nacre  is  of  a  dark  metallic  green, 
and  in  the  mother-of-pearl  trade  the  shell  is  designated  as  "black- 
edged."  It  attains  a  large  size,  only  slightly  smaller  than  the  large 
Australian  species ;  many  individual  specimens  measure  ten  inches  in 
diameter,  and  weigh  six  or  seven  pounds  for  the  two  valves.  Belong- 
ing to  this  variety  are  those  oysters  whose  shells  are  known  in  the 
markets  of  Europe  and  America  as  "Tahiti,"  "Gambler,"  and  "Auck- 
land" shells,  the  name  designating  the  port  of  shipment. 

Yet  another  subspecies,  the  M.  m.  niasatlanica,  occurs  on  the  coasts 
of  Panama  and  Mexico,  and  especially  in  the  Gulf  of  California.  This 
is  likewise  green-edged,  and  the  exterior  color  is  yellow  or  light  brown. 
This  shell  has  been  marketed  in  quantities  since  1850,  and  is  known  in 
the  mother-of-pearl  trade  as  "Panama  shell."  It  is  smaller  than  the 
Australian  species,  specimens  rarely  exceeding  eight  inches  in  diam- 
eter. It  yields  a  large  percentage  of  the  black  pearls  that  have  been  so 
fashionable  in  the  last  fifty  years. 

Since  1870,  the  largest  pearls  have  been  found  mainly  in  a  very 


70  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

large  species  of  pearl-oyster,  Margaritifera  maxima,  obtained  off  the 
north  and  west  coasts  of  Australia,  among  the  Sulu  Islands,  and  else- 
where in  the  Malay  Archipelago.  In  the  fisheries  for  this  species,  the 
mother-of-pearl  is  the  principal  object  sought,  and  the  pearls  are  ob- 
tained incidentally.  It  is  the  largest  of  all  the  members  of  this  family, 
reaching  in  exceptional  cases  twelve  or  thirteen  inches  in  diameter, 
and  weighing  upward  of  twelve  pounds ;  while  the  Ceylon  oyster  rarely 
exceeds  four  ounces  in  weight.  So  marked  is  this  difference,  that  the 
Australian  species  is  often  designated  the  "mother-of-pearl  oyster," 
and  the  Ceylon  species  the  "pearl-oyster."  Jameson  notes  that  it 
differs  from  the  Margaritifera  margaritifera,  its  nearest  competitor 
in  size,  in  its  much  longer  hinge,  its  shape,  its  lesser  convexity,  and  in 
its  color  and  markings.  As  described  by  him,  the  color  ranges  from 
pale  yellowish  brown  to  deep  brown,  with  traces  of  radial  markings  of 
dark  brown,  green,  or  red  in  the  umbonal  area.  In  its  marginal  region, 
the  shell  is  marked  by  a  series  of  circumferential  lines  about  one  third 
of  a  millimeter  apart. 

Several  geographical  varieties  of  this  species  are  recognized  in  the 
mother-of-pearl  trade,  differing  principally  in  the  coloring  of  the  in- 
terior surface.  The  chief  commercial  varieties  are  "Sydney"  or 
"Queensland,"  "Port  Darwin,"  "West  Australian,"  "New  Guinea," 
"Manila,"  "Macassar,"  and  "Mergui."  The  nacre  of  those  from  the 
Australian  coast  is  almost  uniformly  silvery  white.  That  of  the 
"Manila  shell"  is  characterized  by  a  broad  golden  border  surrounding 
the  silvery  white  nacre.  The  "Macassar  shell"  lacks  the  golden  border 
of  the  "Manila  shell,"  and  is  similar  in  its  uniform  whiteness  to  the 
"Sydney  shell,"  but  its  iridescence  is  much  greater. 

The  Margaritifera  carchariiim,  from  Sharks  Bay,  on  the  coast  of 
Australia,  yields  yellow  pearls  and  small  quantities  of  mother-of-pearl. 
This  species  is  small — three  or  four  inches  in  diameter.  The  color  is 
grayish  or  greenish  yellow,  with  several  somewhat  indistinct  radial 
bands  of  brownish  green.  The  nacre  has  a  yellowish  green  tint,  with 
a  margin  of  pale  yellow,  with  brown  markings. 

In  the  West  Indies  and  on  the  Atlantic  coast  of  tropical  America, 
especially  the  coast  of  Venezuela,  occurs  the  Margaritifera  radiata. 
This  species  is  quite  small,  and  seems  to  be  closely  allied  to  the  Ceylon 
oyster.  Like  the  latter,  the  nacreous  interior  is  rich  and  brilliant,  but 
owing  to  its  small  size,  the  shell  is  wholly  valueless  as  mother-of-pearl. 
The  principal  and  almost  the  only  fishery  for  this  species  is  on  the 
Venezuelan  coast,  in  the  vicinity  of  Margarita  Island,  the  islands  of 
Cubagua,  and  Coche. 

The  coast  of  Japan  yields  the  Margaritifera  martensi,  which  occurs 
among  the  numerous  islands  in  the  southern  part  of  the  empire,  but 


SOURCES  OF  PEARLS  71 

does  not  extend  beyond  40°  north  latitude.  This  species  is  Hkewise 
small,  and  closely  resembles  the  pearl-oyster  of  Ceylon,  from  which 
it  differs  principally  in  coloration.  As  noted  by  Jameson,  brown  and 
white  predominate  in  the  exterior  coloring,  and  the  interior  of  the  lip 
is  marbled  with  yellow  ocher  and  chocolate  brown,  instead  of  pink,  as 
in  the  Ceylon  shell. 

There  are  numerous  other  species  of  pearl-oysters,  but  they  are  of 
slight  economic  importance,  and  do  not  support  fisheries  of  value. 

As  only  a  small  percentage  of  the  individual  mollusks  contain 
pearls,  it  follows  that  vast  quantities  are  destroyed  without  any  re- 
turn whatever,  and  handling  them  merely  adds  to  the  expense  of  the 
industry,  as  well  as  reduces  the  resources  of  the  reefs.  This  could  be 
obviated  if  it  were  possible,  without  opening  them,  to  determine  the 
individual  mollusks  containing  pearls. 

Among  the  several  methods  proposed  for  this  purpose,  especially 
interesting  is  the  use  of  X-rays,  which  was  suggested  by  Raphael 
Dubois  of  Lyons,  France,  in  1901.'  The  shells  of  some  pearl-oysters — 
those  of  Ceylon  and  of  Venezuela  for  instance — are  relatively  thin, 
and  it  was  thought  that  by  the  means  of  the  rays  the  presence  of 
pearls  could  be  ascertained,  and  non-pearl-bearers  could  be  saved  from 
opening,  and  be  returned  to  the  reefs  without  injury.  Although  the 
calcareous  shell  partly  interrupts  the  radiations,  it  is  not  difficult  to 
recognize  the  presence  of  large  pearls. 

The  theory  has  never  been  found  practical  in  application,  owing 
largely  to  the  rough  and  irregular  exterior  of  the  shell  and  the  small 
size  of  the  pearls.  The  presence  of  the  larger  pearls  may  be  ascer- 
tained by  this  method ;  but  it  is  exceedingly  probable  that  a  very  large 
percentage  of  the  small  ones,  and  especially  the  seed-pearls,  would  be 
overlooked.  Furthermore,  if  in  their  sixth  year  oysters  contain  no 
pearls,  the  probability  of  appearance  therein  later  is  very  small,  and 
little  benefit  would  result  from  their  return  to  the  water.  As  to  saving 
the  trouble  of  opening  the  non-pearl-bearing  mollusks,  labor  in  the 
pearling  regions  is  usually  inexpensive,  and  this  cost  is  far  more  than 
offset  by  the  reasonable  certainty  of  securing  practically  all  the  small 
as  well  as  the  large  pearls  by  the  present  method  of  operation.  Owing 
to  the  greater  thickness  and  the  economic  value  of  the  large  pearl- 
oysters— as  those  of  Australia  or  of  Mexico,  for  instance— the  appli- 
cation of  X-rays  to  them  is  obviously  impractical.  However,  when 
pearl-oyster  culture  becomes  a  highly  developed  industry,  with  per- 
sonal ownership  in  those  mollusks  returned  to  the  water,  some  method 
such  as  this  might  be  of  great  value. 

Pearls  are  yielded  by  various  species  of  Uniouidcc  or  Naiades  occur- 

iSee"  Comptes  Rendusde  1' Academic  des  Sciences,"  Paris,  1904,  Vol.  CXXXVIII,  pp.  301,  302. 


72  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

ring  in  the  rivers  of  America,  Scotland,  Saxony,  Bavaria,  Norway, 
Sweden,  Russia,  France,  China,  etc.  These  mollusks  exist  exckisively 
in  the  fresh-water  streams,  lakes,  and  ponds,  and  quickly  die  when 
submerged  in  salt  water.  The  Unionidcc  are  of  particular  interest  in 
America,  as  it  is  here  that  this  group  is  most  abundant,  and  nearly 
every  stream  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  contains  more  or  less  of 
them.  The  Mississippi  basin  abounds  in  Unios,  or  "clams,"  as  they 
are  known  to  the  fishermen  of  that  region,  and  furnishes  about  400  of 
the  1000  recognized  species  of  this  important  family. 

The  Unios  are  most  abundant  in  clear,  running  water,  where  the 
bottom  is  gravelly  or  sandy.  The  interiors  of  the  shells  are  iridescent, 
and  vary  greatly  in  tint,  exhibiting  many  delicate  shades  of  color  from 
silvery  white  to  straw  color,  pink,  purple,  brown,  etc. 

About  five  hundred  species  of  American  fresh-water  mussels  have 
been  recognized  by  conchologists.  Many  of  these  differ  from  one 
another  so  very  slightly  that  they  are  scarcely  distinguishable  from  an 
examination  of  the  shells  themselves,  or  even  from  the  descriptions, 
and  a  detailed  index  to  the  complete  list  is  of  little  economic  impor- 
tance. The  professional  fishermen  and  the  shell-buyers  take  the  trouble 
to  name  only  the  species  with  which  they  deal,  which  includes  only 
about  twenty-five  species,  all  of  which  are  margaritiferous,  though 
some  to  a  greater  extent  than  others.  In  the  pearling  regions  a  popular 
nomenclature  exists,  the  names  given  by  the  fishermen  having  refer- 
ence to  the  shape,  color,  etc. 

The  niggerhead  (Quadrnla  cbena)  is  the  most  numerous  in  the  Mis- 
sissippi, and  it  is  extensively  used  in  button  manufacture.  The  thick 
shell  of  this  species  is  almost  round,  with  a  black  outer  surface  and  a 
pearly  white  interior.  At  maturity  it  averages  about  four  inches  in 
diameter  and  four  ounces  in  weight.  Owing  to  its  uniform  whiteness 
and  the  flatness  of  its  surface,  it  is  well  adapted  to  button  manu- 
facture, and  for  this  purpose  more  than  twenty  thousand  tons  are  taken 
in  the  Mississippi  Valley  every  year.  When  the  fishery  originated,  the 
niggerhead  was  very  abundant  in  some  places,  and  especially  between 
La  Crosse  and  Burlington.  From  a  single  bed  near  New  Boston, 
Illinois,  measuring  about  200  acres  in  area,  7500  tons,  or  about  70,- 
000,000  individual  shells,  were  removed  in  three  years.  In  1897,  a  bed 
of  320  acres  near  Muscatine  furnished  500  tons,  or  about  4,750,000 
shells.    This  species  occasionally  yields  valuable  pearls. 

Two  species  of  Unios,  Quadnila  undulafa  and  Q.  plicata,  are  known 
among  the  fishermen  as  "three-ridges."  The  former  is  also  known  as 
the  "blue-point"  from  the  fact  that  the  sharp  edge  is  usually  tinged 
faint  blue  on  the  inside.  Although  not  the  best  for  button  manufac- 
ture, the  shells  yield  the  greatest  number  of  pearls. 


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SOURCES  OF  PEARLS  73 

A  species  somewhat  similar  to  the  niggerhead  is  the  bullhead  (Pleu- 
robcma  cesopiis).  This  shell  is  thick  and  opaque,  the  nacre  is  not  so 
iridescent  as  that  of  the  niggerhead,  nor  does  it  yield  pearls  of  such 
good  quality.  These  two  species  are  not  evenly  distributed  over  the 
bottom  of  the  streams,  but  occur  in  great  patches  or  beds,  sometimes 
several  feet  in  thickness  and  covering  many  hundreds  of  acres.  Some 
of  the  beds  are  several  miles  in  length,  and  they  may  be  separated  by 
twenty  or  thirty  miles  in  which  the  mollusks  are  so  scarce  that  profit- 
able fishing  can  not  be  made;  but  usually  the  reefs  are  smaller  and 
more  closely  situated. 

The  sand  shells  {Lampsilis)—oi  which  there  are  several  species- 
do  not  occur  in  large  beds,  but  are  scattered  over  the  sandy  beaches 
and  sloping  mud-banks.  In  shape  they  are  narrow  and  long,  adults 
measuring  five  or  six  inches  in  length.  Owing  to  the  small  waste  in 
cutting,  due  to  uniformity  in  thickness,  these  shells  are  sold  to  button 
manufacturers  for  more  than  the  niggerhead,  which  in  turn  is  more 
valuable  than  the  bullhead. 

The  buckhorn  (Tritigoma  verrucosa)  is  very  long  and  narrow;  on 
the  dark  brown  exterior  it  is  rough,  as  is  the  horn  from  which  it  takes 
its  name,  while  the  interior  shows  a  beautiful  display  of  colors.  This 
is  not  found  in  beds,  but  lies  scattered  among  other  species.  It  sells  at 
a  relatively  high  price — usually  in  excess  of  $20  oer  ton — for  button 
manufacture. 

Another  species  is  the  butterfly  (Plagiola  sccuris),  which  is  very 
prettily  marked  on  the  outside  with  faintly  colored  dotted  stripes  of 
varying  length.  Over  a  background  of  dark  yellow  run  black  stripes 
to  the  outer  edge  of  the  shell,  with  dark  dots  between  the  stripes.  The 
shell  is  small  and  thick,  and  like  the  sand  shell  and  the  buckhorn,  is 
found  in  small  quantities.  Owing  to  the  beauty  and  permanency  of 
its  luster,  this  shell  is  in  demand  for  button  manvifacture,  and  its 
pearls  are  often  very  beautiful. 

Other  well-known  species  are  the  pancake  {Lampsilis  alatus), 
the  maple-leaf  (Quadrnla  zvardi),  and  hackle-back  (Syinpliynota  coni- 
planata).  On  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  the  principal  species  in  which 
pearls  have  been  found  are  Unio  complanata;  the  Alasmodon  arciiata, 
which  has  hinge  teeth,  and  a  species  of  Anodon.  Pearls  from  the 
Unio  conplaiiata  are  usually  smaller  but  more  lustrous  than  those 
from  either  of  the  other  species. 

Among  the  many  fresh-water  mussels  are  found  some  remarkable 
conditions  of  animal  life.  Probably  the  most  curious  is  the  parasitic 
stage  of  certain  species.  When  hatched  from  the  egg,  each  one  of 
these  is  provided  with  hooks  or  spines,  by  means  of  which  it  attaches 
itself  to  the  gills  or  fins  of  a  swimming  fish  and  becomes  embedded 


74  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

therein.  After  confinement  in  this  cyst  for  a  period  of  two  months 
or  more,  the  small  mollusk  works  its  way  out  and  falls  to  the  bottom 
of  the  river  or  pond,  where  its  development  continues  along  lines  more 
conventional  to  molluscan  life. 

In  most  of  the  species  of  Unios  the  sexes  are  separate;  but  it  has 
been  determined  that  in  some  the  individuals  are  provided  with  both 
sets  of  sexual  organs.  It  is  claimed  by  some  naturalists  that  certain 
species  may  change  from  one  sex  to  another ;  yet  this  does  not  seem  to 
have  been  positively  established. 

Not  the  least  interesting  of  the  habits  of  the  Unios  is  the  manner  in 
which  they  "walk,"  bushels  of  them  changing  their  habitation  in  a  few 
hours.  The  shell  opens  slightly  and  the  muscular  tongue-like  "foot" 
is  thrust  out,  and  by  pressure  of  this  on  the  bottom,  the  mollusk  is  pro- 
pelled in  a  jerky,  jumpy  movement  with  more  speed  than  one  would 
suppose  possible  for  the  apparently  inert  creature. 

The  number  of  eggs  produced  by  an  individual  in  one  season  ranges 
from  a  few  hundred  in  some  species  to  many  millions  in  others,  as  in 
the  Qiiadrnla  Jicros,  for  instance.  Most  of  the  fresh-water  mol- 
lusks  are  of  slow  growth,  reaching  maturity  in  six  or  eight  years,  and 
it  is  believed  that  if  undisturbed  they  live  to  be  from  fifteen  to  fifty 
years  old;  indeed,  some  writers  credit  them  with  attaining  an  age  of 
one  hundred  years. 

While  outwardly  there  is  no  positive  indication  of  the  existence  of 
pearls,  they  are  relatively  scarce  in  young  mollusks,  and  likewise  in 
those  having  a  normal,  healthy  appearance,  with  smooth  exterior  free 
from  blemishes,  and  they  are  found  generally  in  the  older,  irregular, 
and  deformed  shells,  which  bear  excrescences  and  the  marks  of  having 
parasites.  However,  some  of  the  choicest  pearls  have  come  from 
shells  relatively  yovmg  and  apparently  in  perfect  condition. 

It  has  been  pointed  out  that  with  the  fresh-water  Unios  there  are 
three  indications  on  which  the  fishermen  to  some  extent  rely  for  deter- 
mining the  presence  of  pearls  from  the  outward  aspects  of  the  shell. 
There  are,  first,  the  thread  or  elevated  ridge  extending  from  the  vertex 
to  the  edge;  second,  the  kidney-shape  of  the  shell,  and  third,  the  con- 
tortion of  both  valves  toward  the  middle  plane  of  the  mollusk. 

A  single  mollusk  may  contain  several  small  pearls, — more  than  one 
hundred  have  been  found, — but  in  such  cases  usually  none  has  com- 
mercial value.  Ordinarily  only  one  is  found  in  the  examination  of 
very  many  shells.  Of  these  objects  it  may  be  truthfully  said  that 
"many  are  found,  but  few  are  chosen,"  few  that  are  of  first  quality  or 
are  worthy  of  a  fine  necklace.  In  many  instances,  several  pounds  of 
cheap  pearls  would  be  gladly  exchanged  for  a  choice  gem  weighing  an 
equal  number  of  grains. 


SOURCES  OF  PEARLS  75 

On  the  Atlantic  seaboard  of  America,  the  Anodontas,  or  "mussels," 
as  they  are  known  locally,  are  more  numerous  than  the  Unios.  They 
prefer  the  still  waters  of  the  ponds  and  lakes,  rather  than  the  swift 
currents  of  the  streams.  The  shell  is  much  thinner  than  that  of  the 
Unios,  and  it  is  usually  not  so  brilliant  in  color  and  iridescence;  con- 
sequently the  pearly  concretions  obtained  from  them  are  less  lustrous. 

The  rivers  of  Europe,  and  of  Asia  also,  contain  numbers  of  pearl- 
bearing  mussels.  In  many  localities  the  yield  of  pearls  has  at  times  at- 
tracted attention  and  produced  much  profit,  though  probably  never 
equaling  the  present  extent  of  the  Mississippi  River  finds.  The  prin- 
cipal pearl-bearer  of  Europe  is  the  Unio  margaritifcra,  the  shell  of 
which  has  been  of  some  local  importance  in  the  manufacture  of  pearl 
buttons.  In  Great  Britain  it  is  known  as  the  pearl-mussel;  in  France 
as  the  moule  or  huitre  perliere;  in  Germany  as  perlenmuschel;  in  Bel- 
gium as  paarl  mossel  dc  rivieren;  in  Denmark  as  pcrle-skiael;  in  Swe- 
den as  pcrhmissla;  in  Russia  as  sclioiifscliuschuaja  rakavina,  and  in 
Finland  as  simpsuckan  cuosi.  The  Unio  margaritifera  likewise  exists 
in  Siberia,  and  possibly  elsewhere  in  Asia.  Other  species  of  Unio  exist 
there  and  in  Mongolia,  Manchuria,  etc.,  as,  for  instance,  U.  mongoli- 
cus,  U.  dahuricus,  etc.  A  leading  species  in  eastern  China,  the  Dipsas 
plicatus,  has  long  been  extensively  employed  in  the  artificial  produc- 
tion of  pearly  objects  or  culture-pearls.'  Unio  pearls  show  less 
uniformity  of  tints  than  those  derived  from  the  pearl-oysters.  They 
present  an  extended  series  of  shades,  corresponding  to  those  on  the 
interior  of  the  shells,  from  almost  perfect  white  through  various 
tints  of  cream,  pink,  yellow,  bright  red,  blue,  green,  russet,  and  brown. 
The  metallic  shades  are  numerous,  especially  the  steels  and  the  coppers. 

Most  of  the  members  of  the  Mytilidcc  family,  which  includes  the 
marine  mussels,  are  of  slight  luster ;  and  the  pearly  concretions  found  in 
them  are  of  the  grade  known  as  "druggists'  pearls,"  so-called  because, 
formerly,  they  were  used  in  a  powdered  form  in  astringent  and  other 
medicines.  However,  some  of  these  mussels  on  the  European  coast  yield 
pearls  that  are  fairly  lustrous.  The  white  and  the  pink  are  most  numer- 
ous, but  purple,  red,  bronze,  and  yellow  are  by  no  means  uncommon. 

A  few  pearls  are  also  obtained  from  the  sea-wings  or  wing-shells 
(Pinna),  the  silkworms  of  the  sea,  found  in  the  Red  Sea,  the  Mediter- 
ranean Sea,  the  Indian  Ocean,  the  southern  coast  of  America,  and 
elsewhere.  These  shells  are  narrow  at  the  umbo,  or  hinge,  long,  and 
fan-shaped;  they  are  generally  brittle,  and  present  a  horn-like  appear- 
ance. The  interior  is  commonly  of  a  silvery  reddish  or  orange-colored 
hue,  and  this  tint  is  imparted  to  the  pearls.  The  most  characteristic 
feature  of  the  Pinna  is  the  thick  rope  of  silky  fibers,  from  four  to  ten, 

•See  p.  288. 


y6  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

and  sometimes  twenty  or  more  inches  in  length,  constituting  the  bys- 
sus,  a  remarkable  provision  by  means  of  which  it  anchors  itself  to  the 
bottom  and  thus  outrides  the  storm.  Formerly  the  byssus  was  gath- 
ered in  Sicily,  washed  in  soap  and  water,  dried,  corded,  and  fabricated 
into  gloves  and  similar  articles  of  a  fine  texture.  The  finished  gar- 
ments were  of  a  beautiful  golden  brown  color,  resembling  the  bur- 
nished gold  on  the  backs  of  some  splendid  flies  or  beetles. 

The  yield  of  Pinna  pearls  is  very  small.  A  few  are  obtained  from 
the  Mediterranean,  especially  on  the  Adriatic  coast.  These  are  usually 
rose-tinted  or  reddish  in  color,  but  of  diminished  orient,  and  inferior 
in  size.  Pinna  pearls  are  also  reported  from  the  Isle  of  Pines  and 
from  New  Caledonia,  where  they  are  commonly  very  dark,  almost 
black  in  color. 

The  window-glass  shell  (Placuna  placenta),  the  z'itre  chinoise  of 
some  writers,  yields  a  few  small,  irregularly  shaped  pearls  of  a  dull 
leaden  color.  It  occurs  in  the  inshore  waters  of  the  Indian  and  the 
southwestern  Pacific  oceans;  fisheries  are  prosecuted  in  Tablegram 
Lake,  near  Trincomali,  on  the  northeast  coast  of  Ceylon ;  on  the  coast 
of  Borneo,  especially  at  Pados  Bay,  and  to  a  less  extent  in  some  other 
localities.  This  mollusk  is  quite  distinct  from  the  true  pearl-oyster, 
and  in  adult  life  is  devoid  of  the  byssus,  living  on  the  muddy  bottom 
of  the  shallow  waters.  The  shell  is  almost  circular,  the  right  valve 
is  quite  flat,  and  the  left  only  slightly  convex.  It  is  remarkable  for 
its  transparency,  especially  in  the  first  year  of  growth,  when  the 
beating  of  the  heart  of  the  mollusk  is  visible  through  it.  Reach- 
ing maturity  in  about  two  years,  the  shell  becomes  white  and  translu- 
cent, resembling  pressed  isinglass  somewhat  in  its  texture.  It  then 
measures  about  six  or  seven  inches  in  length,  and  nearly  the  same  in 
width.  The  outside  is  rough ;  the  interior  is  glazed  over  and  has  a  sub- 
dued pearly  luster.  It  is  so  thin  and  transparent  that  with  a  strong 
light  very  coarse  print  can  be  read  through  it.  It  is  commonly  used 
in  the  East  Indies  as  a  substitute  for  glass  in  windows,  admitting  a  soft 
mellow  light  into  the  room.  For  this  purpose  it  is  usually  cut  into 
small  rectangular  or  diamond-shaped  pieces,  about  five  or  six  square 
inches  in  area,  and  these  are  inserted  into  sash  frames.  It  forms  a 
good  economical  substitute  for  glass,  not  only  in  windows  of  native 
residences,  but  also  in  lanterns  and  the  like. 

The  giant  clam  (Tridacna  gigas)  of  tropical  waters  yields  a  few 
large  opal-white  symmetrical  pearls,  with  faint  luster  and  of  little 
value.  The  transversely  oval  shell  of  the  Tridacna,  with  its  great 
squamous  ribs,  is  probably  the  largest  and  heaviest  in  existence,  single 
pairs  weighing  upward  of  500  pounds.  It  is  found  in  tropical  seas, 
and  especially  in  the  Indian  Ocean.     It  is  much  used  for  ornament, 


SHELL  AND   PEARLS  OF  THE  COMMON   CONCH 

( Sirotnbtts  gigas) 

Of  Florida  and  the  West  Indies 


\ 


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^mi 


SOURCES  OF  PEARLS  ^7 

particularly  for  fountain-basins,  and  for  betiitiers,  or  holy-water  fonts. 
A  beautiful  pair  used  as  benii'ers  in  the  Church  of  St.  Sulpice  in  Paris 
is  said  to  have  been  a  gift  of  the  Republic  of  Venice  to  Francis  I. 
There  seems  to  be  no  established  fishery  for  this  mollusk,  and  the 
pearls  very  rarely  come  on  the  market.  About  four  years  ago  in  New- 
York  City  an  effort  was  made  to  market  one  weighing  about  200 
grains.  The  owner  represented  that  it  was  a  "cocoanut  pearl,"  and 
offered  to  sell  it  for  $2000 ;  whereas  its  actual  value  was  probably  not 
over  $10  or  $20,  and  that  only  for  a  museum  collection. 

Pearls  of  slight  luster  also  occur  in  the  quahog,  or  hard  clam 
{Venus  mercenaria) ,  of  the  Atlantic  coast  of  the  United  States.  Al- 
though these  are  rare,  they  are  generally  of  good  form,  and  some 
weigh  upward  of  eighty  grains  each.  They  are  commonly  of  dark 
color,  purplish,  ordinarily,  but  they  may  be  white,  pale  lilac,  brown, 
and  even  purplish  black,  or  black.  The  white  ones — which  so  nearly 
resemble  ivory  buttons  as  readily  to  pass  for  them  at  a  casual  glance — 
are  of  little  value ;  but  fine  dark  ones  have  retailed  at  from  $10  to  $100 
each.  There  is  little  demand  for  them,  for  unless  the  color  is  very  good, 
they  possess  slight  beauty,  lacking  the  orient  peculiar  to  choice  pearls. 
Pearls  have  also  been  reported  from  the  edible  clam  of  the  Pacific 
coast  of  America. 

Shelly  concretions  are  found  in  the  edible  oyster  of  America  (Ostrea 
virginica),  as  well  as  in  that  of  Europe  (O.  edulis)  ;  but  these  are  com- 
monly objects  of  personal  interest  or  of  local  curiosity,  rather  than  of 
artistic  or  commercial  value,  as  they  are  lacking  in  luster  and  irides- 
cence. Most  of  them  are  dull  or  opal-white,  some  are  purple,  and  a 
few  are  white  on  one  side  and  purple  on  the  other.  As  many  as  fifty 
of  these  formations  have  been  found  in  a  single  oyster.  Sometimes 
they  are  of  odd- appearance,  suggesting  the  human  eye  or  face,  and 
recently  one  was  found  which  bore  a  striking  resemblance  to  a  human 
skull.  Notwithstanding  many  news  items  to  the  contrary,  it  is  doubt- 
ful whether  the  choicest  pearl  from  an  edible  oyster  would  sell  for  as 
high  as  $20  on  its  own  merits;  professional  shuckers  have  opened 
thousands  of  bushels  of  oysters  without  finding  one  which  would  sell 
for  ten  cents. 

Among  univalves,  the  most  prominent  pearl-producer  is  probably 
the  common  conch  or  great  conch  {Strombus  gigas)  of  the  West 
Indies  and  the  Florida  coast,  which  secretes  beautiful  pink  pearls  of 
considerable  value.  This  is  one  of  the  largest  of  the  univalve  shells, 
some  individuals  measuring  twelve  inches  in  length,  and  weighing 
five  or  six  pounds.  The  graceful  curves  and  the  delicate  tints  of  lovely 
pink  color  make  it  exceedingly  attractive.  The  conch  abounds  in  the 
waters  of  the  West  Indies,  especially  in  the  Bahamas,  where  many 


78  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

thousands  are  annually  taken  for  the  shell,  which  forms  quite  an 
article  of  commerce.  The  flesh  is  esteemed  as  food  and  is  also  used 
for  bait;  and  it  is  particularly  in  preparing  for  these  purposes  that  the 
pearls  are  found,  as  no  established  fisheries  exist  for  the  pearls  alone. 

The  ear-shells  or  abalones  (Haliotidae)  found  on  the  coasts  of  Cali- 
fornia, Japan,  New  Zealand,  and  other  localities  in  the  Pacific,  secrete 
pearly  concretions,  sometimes  with  fine  luster,  but  usually  of  small 
value.  These  shells  resemble  in  general  outline  the  form  of  the 
human  ear.  Distinguishing  characteristics  are  the  flatly-spiral  bowl- 
like shape,  and  the  regular  series  of  holes  in  the  back  near  the  distal 
margin,  for  the  admission  of  water  to  the  respiratory  organs.  The 
holes  are  on  the  left  side  and  paraflel  with  the  columellar  lip,  and 
those  nearest  the  apex  close  up  as  the  shell  increases  in  size.  The 
shells  are  rough  externally,  but  beautifully  nacreous  within.  In 
variety  and  intensity  of  coloring,  the  nacre  is  superior  to  that  of  the 
pearl-oysters,  but  it  is  not  so  harmonious,  and  it  does  not  form  so  thick 
and  flat  a  layer. 

Abalone  pearls  are  especially  interesting  on  account  of  their  bril- 
liant and  unusual  colors.  Green  predominates,  but  blue  and  yellow 
also  occur.  Although  commonly  very  small,  some  of  the  well-formed 
ones  exceed  seventy-five  grains  in  weight,  and  those  of  irregular 
shape  may  be  very  much  larger.  The  ear-shells  also  produce  many 
irregular  pearly  masses.  Although  these  are  without  an  established 
commercial  value,  their  beautiful  greenish  or  bluish  tints  adapt  them 
for  artistic  jeweled  objects,  such  as  the  body  of  a  fly  or  of  a  beetle. 

Similar  concretions  are  found  in  species  of  turbos  and  turbinella, 
especially  the  Indian  chank  (Turbinella  rapa),  which  yields  pink  and 
pale  red  pearls.  The  pearly  nautilus  (Nautilus  pompilius)  yields  a 
few  yellowish  pearls,  especially  those  taken  in  Australian  waters ;  but 
from  the  paper  nautilus— "the  sea-born  sailor  of  his  shell  canoe" — 
no  pearls  are  obtained,  owing  to  the  non-lustrous  nature  of  the 
shell. 

In  bygone  days,  especially  in  Asia,  and  also  to  some  extent  in 
Europe,  pearls  were  credited  as  coming  from  many  non-molluscan 
sources.  The  Rabbis  had  the  idea  that  they  came  also  from  fish,  as 
noted  in  the  story  of  a  tailor  who  was  rewarded  by  finding  a  pearl  in 
one  which  he  bought  (Gen.  R.  xi.  5).  The  Raganighantu  of  Nara- 
hari,  a  Kashmir  physician  of  about  1240  a.d.,  reported  them  as  com- 
ing from  bamboos,  cocoanuts,  heads  of  elephants,  bears,  serpents, 
whales,  fish,  etc.  ;^  although  it  conceded  that  these  were  deficient  in 
luster,  which  is  recognized  as  the  characteristic  feature  of  pearls. 
We  understand,  therefore,  that  this  use  of  the  word  signifies  only 

iGarbe,  "Die  Indischen  Mineralien,"  Leipzig,  1882. 


SOURCES  OF  PEARLS  79 

hard  concretions  of  a  spherical  form.  In  the  apology  for  his  book, 
prison-bound  Bunyan  wrote : 

A  pearl  may  in  a  toad's  head  dwell, 
And  may  be  found  in  an  oyster  shell. 

The  crystal  gems — the  diamonds,  rubies,  etc. — are  practically  un- 
limited in  their  longevity,  existing  thousands  of  years  unchanged  in 
condition.  Except  those  which  have  been  discovered  by  man,  the  earth 
contains  about  as  many  as  it  ever  did,  and  it  is  not  unreasonable  to 
suppose  that  in  course  of  time  a  considerable  percentage  of  the  total 
will  be  discovered.  But  in  the  seas  as  well  as  in  the  rivers,  the  lon- 
gevity of  pearls  is  greatly  restricted,  and 

Full  many  a  gem  of  purest  ray  serene 

The  dark,  unfathomed  caves  of  ocean  bear  ^ 

to  run  their  course  of  existence  and  decay  unseen  and  unknown. 
Perishable  while  in  the  seas,  almost  as  cereals  and  fruits  on  land,  the 
harvest  must  be  gathered  with  promptness  or  it  is  wasted.  And  it 
seems  probable  that  only  a  small  percentage  of  the  beautiful  gems 
produced  in  the  waters  have  gladdened  the  sight  of  man. 

With  considerable  hesitancy  we  have  attempted  to  estimate  the 
number  of  persons  employed  in  the  pearl  fisheries  of  the  world,  and 
the  aggregate  local  value  of  their  catch.  For  two  or  three  regions, 
this  is  not  a  matter  of  great  difficulty.  For  instance,  the  divers  em- 
ployed in  the  Ceylon  fishery  are  numbered  each  season,  and  the  auction 
sales  of  their  catch  furnish  a  reasonably  satisfactory  basis  for  deter- 
mining the  value  of  the  output.  Likewise  in  Australia,  Venezuela, 
and  some  minor  localities,  the  fishermen  are  numbered ;  but  the  reports 
are  less  satisfactory  as  to  the  value  of  the  pearls.  In  the  Persian  Gulf, 
the  Red  Sea,  the  Gulf  of  California,  and  the  islands  of  the  Pacific, 
where  pearl-diving  is  a  profession  and  a  regular  source  of  livelihood, 
the  number  of  employees  is  fairly  constant.  But  in  the  rivers  and  ponds 
of  America,  as  well  as  of  Europe  and  of  Asia,  where  neither  experi- 
ence nor  costly  equipment  is  required  for  the  industry,  and  pearls  to 
the  value  of  very  many  thousands  of  dollars  are  obtained  by  men, 
women,  and  even  children,  on  pleasure  bent,  as  well  as  in  the  widely 
fluctuating  professional  fisheries,  the  problem  is  far  more  difficult. 

Contending  with  these  many  difficulties,  we  venture  to  present  the 
following  estimate  of  the  number  of  persons  employed  in  the  pearl 
fisheries  of  the  world,  and  the  value  of  the  output  in  1906. 

1  Gray's  Elegy. 


8o 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


Localities. 

Fishermen 
No. 

Pearls 
Local  Values. 

Shells 
Local  Values. 

Asia: 

Persian  Gulf 

35.000 

$4,000,000 

$110,000 

Ceylon  ^ 

18,500 

1,200,000 

40,000 

India 

1,250 

100,000 

95,000 

Red  Sea,  Gulf  of  Aden,  etc.^ 

3,000 

200,000 

150,000 

China,  Japan,  Siberia 

,  etc. 
Total 

20,000 

400,000 

50,000 

Europe : 

77.750 

$5,900,000 

$445,000 

British  Isles 

200 

15,000 

Continent  of  Europe 

Total 

1,000 

100,000 

3,000 

1,200 

$115,000 

$3,000 

Islands  of  the  Pacific: 

South  Sea  islands 

4,500 

125,000 

500,000 

Australian  coast  ^ 

6,250 

450,000 

1,200,000 

Malay  Archipelago 

Total 

5,000 
15,750 

300,000 

800,000 

America : 

$875,000 

$2,500,000 

United  States  rivers 

8,500 

650,000 

350,000 

Venezuela 

1,900 

275,000 

10,000 

Mexico 

1,250 

210,000 

200,000 

Panama 

400 

40,000 

75,000 

Miscellaneous 

Total 

1,000 

75,000 

25,000 

13,050 

$1,250,000 

$660,000 

Grand  total 

107,750 

$8,140,000 

$3,608,000 

Our  returns  do  not  represent  the  annual  output  of  pearls  in  the 
values  best  known  to  gem  buyers.  The  difference  in  price  between 
pearls  in  the  fisherman's  hands  in  the  Persian  Gulf  or  at  the  Pacific 
islands,  and  that  for  which  they  are  exchanged  over  the  counters  in 
New  York  or  Paris,  is  nearly  as  great  as  the  difference  in  value  of 
wool  on  the  sheep's  back  and  of  the  same  material  woven  into  fashion- 
able fabrics.  For  each  dollar  received  by  the  fisherman,  the  retail 
buyer  probably  pays  three ;  and  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  suppose  that 
the  pearls  herein  represented  probably  sold  ultimately  for  an  aggregate 
of  $24,420,000. 

This  summary  falls  far  short  in  giving  a  correct  idea  of  the  im- 
portance of  the  pearl  fisheries  in  furnishing  a  livelihood  to  humanity; 
for  it  takes  no  consideration  of  that  great  body  of  men  who  contribute 
incidentally  to  the  prosecution  of  the  fisheries,  such  as  shell-openers, 


1  In  1905,  the  Ceylon  pearl  yield  approxi- 
mated $2,000,000  in  value. 


"  Including  African  coast. 
^  Including  Sharks  Bay. 


SOURCES  OF  PEARLS  '  8i 

pearl-washers,  watchmen,  cooks,  laborers,  etc.  In  the  Ceylon  pearl 
fishery  of  1906,  for  instance,  our  estimate  shows  18,500  fishermen; 
but  there  were  40,000  persons  engaged  at  the  pearl  camp  alone,  and 
many  others  were  given  employment  in  boat-building,  supplying  pro- 
visions, selling  the  pearls,  etc.,  and  this  does  not  include  the  wives  and 
children  depending  on  the  industry  for  sustenance.  Indeed,  it  seems 
not  unreasonable  to  estimate  that  instead  of  only  the  18,500  fishermen, 
85,000  persons  were  in  a  large  measure  dependent  for  their  livelihood 
on  the  Ceylon  fishery  in  1906. 

Estimated  on  the  same  basis,  we  have  a  total  of  500,000  persons  de- 
pending largely  on  the  pearl  fisheries  of  the  world  for  their  support. 
Thus  we  see  that  pearl  buyers  and  pearl  wearers  not  only  gratify  a 
commendable  admiration  for  the  beautiful,  but  contribute  largely  to 
the  economic  balance  whereby  one  class  of  humanity  either  sustains  or 
is  dependent  upon  another,  even  though  these  classes  be  so  widely 
separated  as  the  crown  of  Russia  from  the  half-starved  diver  of  the 
tropical  seas.  How  strange  is  the  providence  of  God,  who,  bj'  grant- 
ing the  pearl  to  the  poor  Arab,  the  Tamil  of  India,  the  South  Sea 
Islander,  and  the  forgotten  Selang  of  Mergui,  makes  the  greatest  and 
wealthiest  in  the  world  contribute  to  their  support. 


VI 

PEARLS  FROM  ASIA 

THE  PERSIAN  GULF,   FISHERIES  OF  INDIA,  CEYLON 

PEARL  FISHERIES,   RED  SEA  AND  ARABIAN 

SEA,   CHINA,  JAPAN,  SIBERIA,   ETC. 


VI 

THE  PEARL  FISHERIES  OF  THE  PERSIAN  GULF 

Dear  as  the  wet  diver  to  the  eyes 
Of  his  pale  wife,  who  waits  and  weeps  on  shore, 
By  sands  of  Bahrein  in  the  Persian  Gulf  ; 
Plunging  all  day  in  the  blue  waves  ;  at  night, 
Having  made  up  his  toll  of  precious  pearls, 
Rejoins  her  in  their  hut  upon  the  shore. 

Sir  Edwin  Arnold. 

THE  pearl  fisheries  of  the  Persian  Gulf  are  the  most  famous 
and  valuable  in  the  world,  and  have  been  prosecuted  for  more 
than  two  thousand  years.  A  translation  by  tliat  eminent 
Assyriologist,  Jules  Oppert,  of  a  cuneiform  inscription  on  a 
broken  obelisk,  erected  presumably  by  a  king  of  Nineveh,  seems  to  in- 
dicate a  very  early  origin  for  these  fisheries.*  Professor  Oppert's 
translation  is: 

In  the  sea  of  the  changeable  winds  (i.e.,  the  Persian  Gulf), 

his  merchants  fished  for  pearls ; 

In  the  sea  where  the  North  Star  culminates, 

they  fished  for  yellow  amber. 

The  earliest  writing  of  Europeans  on  the  East  refer  to  these  fish- 
eries. An  account  of  them  was  given  by  the  Greek  writer  Megas- 
thenes,  who  accompanied  Seleucus  Nicator,  the  Macedonian  general, 
in  his  Asiatic  conquests,  about  307  B.C.  Shortly  afterward  they  were 
noted  by  the  Greek  historian,  Isidorus  of  Charace,  in  his  account  of 
the  Parthian  Empire.  Extracts  from  Nearchus  preserved  by  Arrian 
also  mentioji  them.  Ptolemy  speaks  of  the  pearl  fisheries  which  ex- 
isted from  time  immemorial  at  Tylos,  the  Roman  name  for  the  present 
Island  of  Bahrein.  These  resources  were  well  known  in  the  days  of 
Phny.  In  his  "Historia  Naturalis,"  Book  IX,  ch.  35,  he  says:  "But 
the  most  perfect  and  exquisite  [pearls]  of  all  others  be  they  that  are 
gotten  about  Arabia,  within  the  Persian  Gulf."  ^     Pliny  states  also 

'  Oppert,  "  L  'Ambre  jaune  chez  les  Assyriens."  2  Holland's  edition  of_'i6oi,  p.  254. 

8s 


86  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

(Book  VI,  ch.  25)  that  Catifa  (El  Katiff),  on  the  Arabian  coast  op- 
posite Bahrein,  was  the  center  of  an  important  fishery. 

In  the  ninth  century  these  fisheries  were  noted  by  Massoudi,  one  of 
the  earliest  Arabian  geographers.^  In  the  latter  part  of  the  twelfth 
century  they  were  visited  and  described  by  the  Spanish-Hebrew  trav- 
eler, Rabbi  Benjamin  of  Tudela.^  The  Arabian  traveler,  Ibn  Batuta, 
wrote  of  them  about  1336.^  In  1508  they  were  noted  in  the  account 
of  Lodovico  Barthema's  expedition  to  the  Island  of  Ormus.  Accord- 
ing to  him : 

At  three  days'  journey  from  this  island  they  fished  the  largest  pearls 
which  are  found  in  the  world ;  and  whoever  wishes  to  know  about  it,  behold ! 
There  are  certain  fishermen  who  go  there  in  small  boats  and  cast  into  the 
water  two  large  stones  attached  to  ropes,  one  at  the  bow,  the  other  at  the  stern 
of  each  boat  to  stay  it  in  place.  Then  one  of  the  fishermen  hangs  a  sack  from 
his  neck,  attaches  a  large  stone  to  his  feet,  and  descends  to  the  bottom — about 
fifteen  paces  under  water,  where  he  remains  as  long  as  he  can,  searching  for 
oysters  which  bear  pearls,  and  puts  as  many  as  he  finds  into  his  sack.  When 
he  can  remain  no  longer,  he  casts  off  the  stone  attached  to  his  feet,  and  ascends 
by  one  of  the  ropes  fastened  to  the  boat.  There  are  so  many  connected  with 
the  business  that  you  will  often  see  300  of  these  little  boats  which  come  from 
many  countries.'* 

Shortly  following  the  visit  of  Barthema,  the  Portuguese  under 
Albuquerque  took  possession  of  the  principal  ports  of  the  Persian 
Gulf,  and  they  imposed  heavy  taxes  on  the  pearl  fishery  throughout 
the  century  of  their  retention.  While  under  their  jurisdiction,  the 
fisheries  were  visited  and  described  by  J.  H.  van  Linschoten  in  1596, 
who  wrote : 

The  principall  and  the  best  that  are  found  in  all  the  Orientall  Countries,  and 
the  right  Orientall  pearles,  are  between  Ormus  and  Bassora  in  the  straights,  or 
Sinus  Persicus,  in  the  places  called  Bareyn,  Catiffa,  Jul  far,  Camaron,  and 
other  places  in  the  said  Sinus  Persicus,  from  whence  they  are  brought  into 
Ormus.  The  king  of  Portingale  hath  also  his  factor  in  Bareyn,  that  stayeth 
there  onlie  for  the  fishing  of  pearles.  There  is  great  trafficke  used  with  them, 
as  well  in  Ormus  as  in  Goa.' 

This  was  the  Ormus  where  the  treasures  of  the  Orient  were  gath- 
ered in  abundance,  the  half-way  house  between  the  East  and  the  West, 
making  it  one  of  the  greatest  emporia  of  the  world.  So  renowned 
was  its  wealth  and  commerce  that  it  was  a  saying  among  the  Portu- 

'  Reinaud,    "Memoire    sur    I'lnde,"    Paris,  ^"  The  Travels  of  Lodovico  di   Barthema, 

1849.  1503  to  1508,"  London,  1863,  p.  95. 

^"Travels  of  Rabbi  Benjamin  of  Tudela,"  ^"Discours  of  Voyages  into  ye  Easte  and 

London,  1783.  West  Indies,"  London,  1598,  folio,  ch.  84. 

3 Lee,  "Ibn  Batuta,"  1829,  p.    65. 


Cargo  boat  in  pearl  fishery  of  the  Persian  Gulf 


Huts  of  mats  and  palm  leaves,  the  homes  of  the  pearl  fishermen  at  Menamah,  Hahrein  Kl.iri'K,  I'rT-^ian  liiilf 


PEARLS  FROM  ASIA  87 

guese,  were  the  whole  world  a  golden  ring,  Ormus  would  be  the 
jeweled  signet.  It  was  built  on  an  island,  supported  a  population  of 
40,000  persons,  and  was  particularly  well  situated  as  a  distributing 
point  for  the  pearls,  which  enriched  the  argosies  of  Portugal,  and 
contributed  so  largely  to 

the  wealth  of  Ormus  and  of  Ind, 
Or  where  the  gorgeous  East  with  richest  hand 
Show'rs  on  her  kings  barbaric  pearl  and  gold, 

which  Milton  celebrates  in  "Paradise  Lost."  This  wonderful  Ormus, 
in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  one  of  the  wealthiest  places 
in  the  world,  is  now  only  a  fishing  village  of  less  than  a  hundred 
huts. 

It  was  at  Ormus,  nearly  a  century  later,  in  1670,  that  the  shrewd 
old  jewel  merchant,  Tavernier,  whose  acquaintance  with  gems 
doubtless  equaled  that  of  any  man  of  his  time,  saw  what  he  called 
"the  most  beautiful  pearl  in  the  world" ;  not  so  much  for  its  size,  for 
it  weighed  only  48^  grains,  nor  for  its  regularity  in  form,  but  because 
of  its  most  wonderful  luster.* 

In  describing  the  fisheries,  which  had  been  retaken  by  the  Persians 
in  1622,  Tavernier  wrote  in  1670,  according  to  Ball's  translation: 

There  is  a  pearl  lishery  round  the  island  of  Bahren,  in  the  Persian  Gulf. 
It  belongs  to  the  King  of  Persia,  and  there  is  a  good  fortress  there,  where  a 
garrison  of  300  men  is  kept.  .  .  .  When  the  Portuguese  held  Hormuz 
[Ormus]  and  Muscat,  each  boat  which  went  to  fish  was  obliged  to  take  out  a 
license  from  them,  which  cost  fifteen  abassis  [$5.45],  and  many  brigantines 
were  maintained  there,  to  sink  those  who  were  unwilling  to  take  out  licenses. 
But  since  the  Arabs  have  retaken  Muscat,  and  the  Portuguese  are  no  longer 
supreme  in  the  Gulf,  every  man  who  fishes  pays  to  the  King  of  Persia  only 
five  abassis,  whether  his  fishing  is  successful  or  not.  The  merchant  also  pays 
the  king  something  small  for  every  1,000  oysters.  The  second  pearl-fishery  is 
opposite  Bahren,  on  the  coast  of  Arabia-Felix,  close  to  the  town  of  El  Katif, 
which,  with  all  the  neighboring  country,  belongs  to  an  Arab  prince.^ 

During  the  century  following  Tavernier's  time,  the  fisheries  were 
vigorously  prosecuted,  owing  to  the  impoverished  condition  of  the 
reefs  in  India  and  America,  and  to  the  large  demand  for  pearls,  not 
only  by  the  Oriental  courts,  but  by  the  wealth  and  fashion  of  Europe. 
Except  for  the  last  four  years,  when  the  Ceylon  fishery  was  very  pro- 
ductive, throughout  the  eighteenth  century  the  Persian  Gulf  was  al- 
most the  only  important  source  of  supply  for  pearls.  For  several  years 
following  the  reopening  of  the  Ceylon  fishery  in  1796,  that  region 

'  See  p.  457,  for  Tavernier's  description  of  2 Tavernier,  "Travels   in   India,"  London, 

this  gem.  i88g,  Vol.  II,  p.  108. 


88  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

diverted  some  of  the  attention  which  the  Persian  waters  had  been  re- 
ceiving, but  it  was  not  long  before  these  regained  their  ascendancy. 

In  1838,  Lieutenant  J.  R.  Wellsted,  an  officer  in  the  British  India 
service,  reported  that  the  fisheries  of  the  gulf  employed  4300  boats, 
manned  by  somewhat  more  than  30,000  men.^  Of  these  boats,  3500 
were  from  the  Island  of  Bahrein,  100  from  the  Persian  coast,  and  the 
remaining  700  from  the  Pirate  Coast  situated  between  Bahrein  and 
the  entrance  to  the  Gulf  of  Oman.  Lieutenant  Wellsted  estimated  the 
value  of  the  pearls  secured  annually  as  approximately  £400,000,  which 
is  somewhat  less  than  the  average  value  of  the  output  in  recent  years. 

Twenty-seven  years  later,  according  to  Sir  Lewis  Pelly,"  who  was 
in  the  Indian  service  from  185 1  to  1877,  there  were  1500  boats  at 
Bahrein,  and  the  annual  return  from  the  whole  fishery  was  £400,000, 
the  same  as  previously  reported  by  Wellsted.  In  1879,  the  value  of  the 
output  was  estimated  at  £600,000  by  the  British  Resident,  Colonel 
Ross,  and  at  £800,000  by  Captain  L.  E.  Durand,  of  the  British  Protec- 
torate of  the  Persian  Gulf.  Owing  to  the  increased  market  value,  the 
average  output  in  the  last  five  years  has  amounted  to  approximately 
four  million  dollars  annually.  This  refers  to  the  local  value  only, 
which  is  greatly  increased  by  the  time  the  pearls  leave  the  markets  in 
Bombay  and  Bagdad. 

The  Persian  Gulf  is  nearly  600  miles  long,  with  an  average  width  of 
somewhat  more  than  100  miles.  The  Strait  of  Ormus — thirty  to 
sixty  miles  wide — connects  it  with  the  Gulf  of  Oman,  which  opens 
directly  into  the  Arabian  Sea.  The  depth  of  water  rarely  exceeds 
thirty  fathoms.  Oyster-reefs  are  well  distributed  throughout  the 
gulf,  and  are  in  greatest  abundance  on  the  Arab  side  between  the  24th 
and  27th  degrees  of  north  latitude  and  the  50th  and  54th  degrees  of 
east  longitude,  at  a  distance  of  from  a  few  hundred  yards  to  sixty 
miles  from  the  shore,  and  especially  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Bahrein 
Islands.  The  oysters  are  scattered  over  level  areas  of  coral  rock  and 
sand,  with  depths  ranging  from  two  to  eighteen  fathoms.^  The  divers 
rarely  descend  in  deeper  water  than  twelve  fathoms,  notwithstanding 
that  valuable  pearls  are  apparently  obtainable  at  greater  depths. 

Although  the  British  Protectorate  extends  over  the  Persian  Gulf, 
insuring  the  peaceful  prosecution  of  the  fisheries  and  the  settlement 
of  intertribal  contentions  by  the  government  resident,  the  fisheries  are 
under  the  regulations  of  the  maritime  Arab  sheiks.  The  restrictions 
imposed  by  these,  however,  are  principally  with  a  view  to  collecting  a 
revenue  from  each  boat  employed.    The  total  amount  realized  thereby 

1  Wellsted,  "Travels   in    Arabia,"  London,  ^  Schlagintweit,       "Nachrichtsblatt        der 

1838,  Vol.  I,  ch.  17,  pp.  264,265.  deutschen  Gesellschaft,"  Frankfurt-am-Main, 

2 In  report  to  the  Government  of  Bombay,  1883,  pp.  153-156. 
dated  December  15,  1865. 


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PEARLS  FROM  ASIA  89 

is  unknown,  but  there  is  good  reason  for  supposing  that  it  is  con- 
siderable. 

The  fisheries  are  carried  on  during  the  greater  part  of  every  year, 
presenting  a  strong  contrast  to  the  Ceylon  fishery,  which  is  prosecuted 
usually  less  than  forty  days,  and  in  only  about  one  year  in  three  on  an 
average.  This  is  especially  remarkable  when  it  is  considered  that  no 
particular  care  is  taken  of  the  Persian  reefs  and,  except  for  certain 
tribal  restrictions,  the  fishermen  may  work  whenever  and  wherever 
they  choose.  Owing  to  the  extended  area  over  which  the  fishing  is 
prosecuted  and  the  existence  of  undisturbed  breeding-oysters  in  the 
deeper  waters,  the  reefs  are  not  readily  exhausted,  notwithstanding 
the  tens  of  millions  of  mollusks  annually  removed  therefrom. 

The  fisheries  are  at  their  height  from  June  to  September,  when  nearly 
every  person  on  the  coast  is  interested  in  some  capacity,  if  not  in  fish- 
ing, at  least  in  furnishing  supplies,  cleaning  shells,  buying  pearls,  etc. 
In  April  and  May  the  water  on  the  deep  banks  is  so  cold  that  the  fisher- 
men confine  their  efforts  to  the  more  shallow  areas.  During  the  winter 
months,  the  cold  weather  and  the  northwesterly  gales  interfere  with 
the  work,  except  such  as  is  prosecuted  in  the  smaller  bays  and 
inlets. 

The  pearling  operations  are  financed  mostly  by  Indian  bnnnias,  or 
traders,  principally  from  Bombay,  who  furnish  capital  for  equipment, 
supplies  of  food,  etc.,  and  who  purchase  the  pearls  in  gross  lots.  These 
men  bear  very  hard  on  the  fishermen,  furnishing  the  supplies  and  buy- 
ing the  pearls  almost  at  their  own  prices;  and  the  poor  divers  who  ex- 
plore the  depths  and  secure  the  pearls  derive  from  their  exertions 
little  more  than  the  crudest  necessaries  of  life,  and  are  usually  in  debt 
to  the  traders. 

The  actual  fishing  operations  are  carried  on  mainly  by  the  maritime 
tribes  of  Hasa  and  Oman,  including  those  on  the  Pirate  Coast.  The 
inhabitants  of  the  Bahrein  Islands  and  the  adjacent  shores  have  been 
devoted  to  pearling  from  time  immemorial;  but  the  Wahabis  of  the 
Pirate  Coast  — the  Ichthyophagi  of  Ptolemy's  time— have  more  re- 
cently, under  the  persuasive  influence  of  British  gunboats  and  mag- 
azine-rifles, substituted  pearling  for  their  two-century  inherited  life 
of  fanatical  piracy.  Referring  to  these  people  in  his  quaint  sketches 
of  Persia  eighty  years  ago.  Sir  John  Malcolm  wrote:  "Their  occupa- 
tion is  piracy,  and  their  delight  murder,  and  to  make  it  worse  they  give 
you  the  most  pious  reasons  for  every  villainy  they  commit.  They 
abide  by  the  letter  of  the  sacred  volume,  rejecting  all  commentaries  and 
traditions.  If  you  are  their  captive  and  offer  all  to  save  your  life,  they 
say,  "No!  It  is  written  in  the  Koran  that  it  is  not  lawful  to  plunder 
the  living;  but  we  are  not  prohibited  from  stripping  the  dead.'     So 


90  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

saying  they  knock  you  on  the  head."^  Most  of  the  Wahabi  pearlers 
congregate  in  the  mat-hut  settlements  of  Dobai,  Abu  Thubi,  and  Ras- 
el-Kheima,  located  at  the  mouths  of  creeks  which  form  fairly  good 
harbors  for  the  small  boats.  The  Batina  coast  also  furnishes  some 
pearl  fishermen,  these  coming  principally  from  Fujaira,  Shenas,  Sohar, 
Suaik,  and  Sib. 

The  headquarters  for  the  pearling  fleet  are  at  Bahrein  Island,  the 
largest  of  the  insular  group  bearing  the  same  name,  the  islets  of 
Moharrek,  Sitrah,  and  Nissan  completing  the  group.  This  is  the  early 
home  of  Chaldean  civilization,  and  one  of  the  traditional  sources  of 
the  Phenicians,  and  whence  came  that  fish-god  who — according  to  the 
Babylonian  myth — bore  the  ark  over  the  deluge.  This  island,  the  center 
of  the  greatest  pearl  fishery  in  the  world,  is  half-way  down  on  the 
southern  side  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  and  twenty  miles  from  the  main- 
land of  "Araby  the  blest."  It  is  about  twenty-eight  miles  in  length, 
and  ten  in  width  at  the  widest  part.  The  population  approximates 
60,000,  all  Moslems,  except  about  100  Banyan  traders  from  Sindh, 
India.  The  northern  half  of  the  island  is  described  as  of  great  beauty, 
being  a  garden  of  pomegranate,  lemon,  citron,  and  quince-trees,  and 
especially  the  magnificent  date-palms,  with  numerous  springs  furnish- 
ing an  abundance  of  excellent  fresh  water.  The  principal  settle- 
ment, Manama,  with  about  10,000  inhabitants,  is  poorly  built, 
the  houses  consisting  mostly  of  huts  of  mats  and  palm-leaves ;  yet  it 
presents  a  better  appearance  than  any  other  settlement  along  this 
coast. 

The  one  great  industry,  and  the  center  of  all  interest  throughout 
this  region,  is  the  pearl  fishery.  The  present  conditions  are  precisely 
as  Palgrave  wrote  in  1863 :  "It  is  from  the  sea,  not  from  the  land,  that 
the  natives  subsist;  and  it  is  also  mainly  on  the  sea  that  they  dwell, 
passing  amid  its  waters  the  one  half  of  the  year  in  search  of  pearls, 
the  other  half  in  fishery  or  trade.  Hence  their  real  homes  are  the 
countless  boats  which  stud  the  placid  pool,  or  stand  drawn  up  in  long 
black  lines  on  the  shore,  while  little  care  is  taken  to  ornament  their 
land  houses,  the  abodes  of  their  wives  and  children  at  most,  and  the 
unsightly  strong  boxes  of  their  treasures.  'We  are  all,  from  the  high- 
est to  the  lowest,  slaves  of  one  master — Pearl,'  said  Mohammed  bin 
Thanee  to  me  one  evening;  nor  was  the  expression  out  of  place.  All 
thought,  all  conversation,  all  employment,  turns  on  that  one  subject; 
everything  else  is  merely  by-game,  and  below  even  secondary  con- 
sideration." ^ 

According  to  recent  returns,  the  Persian  Gulf  fisheries  employ  about 

1  Malcolm,  "Sketches  of  Persia,"  London,  2" personal  Narrative  of  Journey  through 

1827,  p.  27.  Arabia,"  London,  1865,  p.  100. 


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PEARLS  FROM  ASIA  91 

3500  boats/  large  and  small,  of  which  1200  of  the  best  are  owned 
at  Bahrein,  700  on  the  coast  of  El  Hassa  from  El  Katar  to  Kuweit, 
and  the  remaining  1600  are  from  various  parts  of  the  gulf,  and  espe- 
cially from  the  Pirate  Coast  east  of  El  Katar.  They  measure  from  one 
to  fifty  tons.  The  smaller  ones,  with  three  to  fifteen  men  each,  work 
near  the  shores;  the  larger,  carrying  fifteen  to  thirty  men,  fish  over 
the  whole  gulf,  remaining  out  for  weeks  at  a  time.  These  craft  are 
very  picturesque  with  their  artistic  rigs  and  spoon-shaped  sails,  and 
when  the  fishery  is  at  its  height  the  scene  is  one  of  rare  interest.  The 
boats  from  Bahrein  are  of  excellent  construction  made  by  native  work- 
men using  local  materials,  with  home-woven  sailcloth  and  rigging  of 
twisted  date-fiber.  Each  of  the  larger  ones  usually  evidences  a  linger- 
ing trace  of  Semitic  influence  in  its  kiibait,  or  figurehead,  covered  with 
skin  of  the  sheep  or  goat  sacrificed  in  the  launching  ceremonies.^  The 
boats  from  El  Hassa  and  the  Pirate  Coast  are  usually  smaller  and  less 
substantial  than  those  from  Bahrein,  the  fishermen  from  the  latter 
place  far  surpassing  those  of  the  mainland  in  civilization  and  in- 
dustrial wealth. 

The  fleet  is  manned  by  approximately  35,000  fishermen.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  nakhoda,  or  captain,  who  is  often  the  owner  of  the  boat,  the 
crew  consists  of  gJioas  or  divers,  who  are  mainly  Arabs  and  Sedees, 
and  sebs,  or  rope-tenders,  who  are  usually  Bedouins  or  Persians  and 
attend  the  divers  and  perform  other  duties.  Many  Hindus  from  India, 
and  flat-nosed,  sable-hued  Negroes  from  the  east  coast  of  Africa  find 
employment  here.  On  each  of  the  larger  boats  is  a  general  utility 
man,  known  as  cl  miisnlly,  literally  the  "prayer-man,"  who,  in  addition 
to  various  other  duties,  relieves  those  scbs  who  stop  to  pray. 

Among  the  fishermen  are  all  types  and  classes  to  be  met  with  in  this 
part  of  the  world,  with  the  usual  contingent  of  the  lame,  the  halt,  and 
the  blind.  There  are  a  number  of  fishermen  who  have  been  maimed 
and  mutilated  by  shark  bites.  A  surprisingly  large  number  of  men 
who  have  become  totally  blind  engage  in  diving,  and  they  usually  do 
fairly  well  where  the  oysters  are  abundant  on  the  reefs.  And  one  or 
two  unfortunate  divers  are  reported  who  continue  the  work  even 
though  handicapped  by  the  loss  both  of  a  leg  and  of  eyesight,  this 
interfering  less  with  their  diving  than  with  their  movements  on  land. 

The  fishery  in  this  region  owes  absolutely  nothing  to  modern  civil- 
ization in  the  method  of  securing  the  pearls  from  the  depth  of  the  sea ; 
it  is  carried  on  to-day  practically  as  it  was  six  hundred  years  ago,  and 
probably  has  been  without  important  variation  for  two  thousand  years. 

1  Lord  Curzon  reports  4500  boats,  and  some  ing  fleet  of  Bahrein  we  are  indebted  to  the 

other  authorities  state  5000,  but  this  probably  kindness   of  Dr.    S.    M.    Zwemer,   who   has 

includes  a  number  of  tenders.  spent  many  years  at  the  Bahrein  Islands  as  a 

^  For  this  and  some  other  data  on  the  pearl-  missionary. 


92 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


Aside  from  a  loin-cloth,  the  diver  is  devoid  of  clothing  except  that 
rarely,  early  in  the  season  when  polypi  abound,  he  is  enveloped  in  a 
cotton  overall  as  a  protection.  Over  each  finger  and  thumb  he  wears  a 
shield  or  stall  (khubaaf,  or  finger-hat),  about  two  inches  long,  inade  of 
flexible  leather,  to  protect  the  fingers  from  the  sharp  shells  and  coral- 
growths.  As  each  fisherman  usually  wears  out  at  least  two  sets  of 
these  shields  each  season,  it  will  be  seen  that  a  very  large  quantity  of 
them  is  required  to  supply  the  entire  fleet. 

The  divers  use  stones  on  which  they  descend  feet  foremost.  Al- 
though this  is  less  spectacular  than  the  method  of  diving  practised  by 
the  natives  of  the  South  Sea  islands,  it  enables  the  fisherman  to  reach 
the  bottom  more  speedily  and  with  far  less  effort.  The  diving-stones 
range  in  weight  from  thirty  to  fifty  pounds  each,  depending  largely  on 
the  depth  of  water  and  the  weight  of  the  fisherman.  They  are  some- 
what oval  in  shape,  and  have  one  end  perforated  to  admit  a  rope.  Im- 
mediately above  the  attachment  is  formed  a  loop,  resembling  a  stirrup, 
to  receive  the  diver's  foot.  When  prepared  for  the  day's  work,  each 
stone  is  suspended  by  a  stout  rope  over  outriggers  projecting  from 
the  side  of  the  boat,  and  by  a  slip-knot  is  temporarily  held  four  and 
a  half  or  five  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  water.  A  very  stout  diver 
may  have  a  stone  affixed  to  his  waist  to  overcome  his  greater  buoy- 
ancy. Usually  two  divers  use  one  stone  together  and  descend  alter- 
nately. Each  one  has  an  attendant  in  the  boat  who  assists  him  in 
ascending,  and  looks  after  the  ropes,  baskets  of  shells,  etc. 

In  preparing  for  descent,  the  fisherman  takes  hold  of  the  rope  from 
which  the  diving-stone  is  suspended,  puts  one  foot  in  the  loop  just 
above  the  stone  and  places  the  other  foot  in  the  rim  of  a  net  basket, 
eighteen  inches  wide,  made  of  coir  rope.  When  ready,  he  signals  his 
attendant,  inhales  several  good  breaths,  closes  his  nostrils  with  a 
fitaam  or  nostril-clasp  of  flexible  horn  attached  to  a  cord  around  his 
neck,  raises  his  body  somewhat  above  the  surface  to  give  force  to  the 
descent,  releases  the  slip-knot  retaining  the  stone,  and  sinks  rapidly 
to  the  bottom.  Immediately  disengaging  his  foot  from  the  stone,  he 
throws  himself  in  a  stooping  position  on  the  ground  and  collects  as 
many  oysters  as  possible  during  the  fifty  seconds  or  more  in  which  he 
is  able  to  remain  under  water.  When  near  his  limit  of  endurance,  he 
hastily  gives  a  signal  jerk  to  the  rope  attached  to  the  basket,  and  the 
watchful  attendant  hauls  him  up  as  speedily  as  possible,  the  diver 
frequently  quickening  the  ascent  by  hand  over  hand  movement  up  the 
rope.  When  near  the  surface,  he  lets  go  of  the  rope  and  with  his  arms 
close  to  his  body  pops  above  the  surface  pufiing  and  blowing.  The 
contents  of  the  net  bag  are  emptied  into  a  large  basket  by  the  atten- 
dant, and  the  dead  shells  and  other  refuse  are  separated  from  the  live 


PEARLS  FROM  ASIA  93 

oysters  and  thrown  back  into  the  sea,  the  diver  having  worked  too 
rapidly  at  the  bottom  to  discriminate  closely  as  to  what  he  gathered. 

In  the  meantime,  the  stone  has  been  drawn  up  and  suspended  by  the 
slip-knot  in  its  customary  position  and  the  diving  partner  is  resting  at 
the  surface  preparatory  to  descending.  Thus,  diving  alternately  at 
intervals  of  five  or  six  minutes,  each  fisherman  descends  thirty  or  forty 
times  in  an  ordinary  day's  work.  The  number  of  oysters  gathered  at 
each  descent  depends  on  such  conditions  as  their  abundance,  the  depth 
and  clearness  of  the  water,  etc.  It  ranges  from  none  to  fifty  or  more, 
but  ordinarily  ten  or  twelve  is  a  good  average.  As  the  men  commonly 
work  on  shares,  the  shells  brought  up  by  each  diver  or  by  each  pair  of 
divers  are  kept  separate. 

The  best  type  of  Arab  divers  are  very  careful  of  themselves,  drying 
the  body  thoroughly  with  towels  on  coming  out  of  the  water,  taking 
intervals  of  rest  during  the  day's  work;  and  even  while  in  the  water 
between  dives  they  may  enjoy  the  luxury  of  a  cheroot  or  pipe,  or  pos- 
sibly a  cigarette  may  pass  from  mouth  to  mouth  of  several  men. 

When  pursuing  their  work,  the  divers  are  abstemious.  After  de- 
votions at  sunrise  and  a  light  breakfast  of  perhaps  dates  or  rice  and 
coffee,  they  begin  fishing.  About  noon  they  knock  off  for  coffee, 
prayers,  and  an  hour's  siesta,  and  then  resume  work  for  several  hours. 
When  the  day's  work  is  over  and  they  have  faced  Meccaward  with  the 
customary  prayers,  they  rest  and  eat  a  substantial  meal,  commonly  of 
dates  and  fish  roasted  over  a  charcoal  fire. 

In  equal  depths  the  Arab  fishermen  remain  under  water  longer 
than  those  of  India  who  resort  to  the  Ceylon  fishery,  but  this  is  partly 
counterbalanced  by  the  latter  descending  somewhat  more  frequently. 
When  preparing  for  a  lengthy  dive,  the  fisherman  imbibes  large  quan- 
tities of  air,  opening  his  mouth  and  inhaling  large  volumes. 

The  length  of  time  a  diver  remains  submerged  in  the  average  depth 
of  seven  or  eight  fathoms  rarely  exceeds  sixty  seconds,  although  some 
may  remain  seventy,  eighty,  and  even  ninety  seconds  on  special  occa- 
sion. A  fully  substantiated  instance  is  reported  from  Manaar  of  an 
Arab  diver  having  remained  109  seconds  in  seven  fathoms  of  water. 
This  occurred  April  13,  1887,  and  was  witnessed  and  reported^  by  Cap- 
tain James  Donnan,  the  inspector  of  the  fishery.  Wellsted  reports^  a 
diving  contest  in  the  Persian  Gulf  in  which  only  one  man,  of  the 
hundreds  who  competed,  remained  down  no  seconds;  the  depth,  how- 
ever, is  not  noted. 

There  are  numerous  reports  of  much  longer  stays  than  these;  in- 

1 "  Reports  by  the   Superintendent   of   the  ^Wellsted,  "Travels  in  Arabia,"  London, 

Fishery    and    the    Inspector    of    the     Pearl       1838,  Vol.  I,  p.  266. 
Banks,"  Colombo,  1887. 


94  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

deed,  a  study  of  the  published  evidence  bearing  upon  the  subject  fur- 
nishes surprising  results.  Ribeiro  wrote,  in  1685,  that  a  diver  could 
remain  below  while  two  credos  were  repeated :  "II  s'y  tient  I'espace  de 
deux  credo." '^  In  his  interesting  account  of  the  Ceylon  fishery,  Per- 
cival  stated  that  the  usual  length  of  time  for  divers  to  remain  under 
water  "does  not  much  exceed  two  minutes,  yet  there  are  instances 
known  of  divers  who  could  remain  four  or  even  five  minutes,  which 
was  the  case  with  a  Caffre  boy  the  last  year  I  visited  the  fishery.  The 
longest  instance  ever  known  was  of  a  diver  who  came  from  Anjango 
in  1797,  and  who  absolutely  remained  under  water  full  six  min- 
utes."^ Le  Beck  says,  that  in  1797,  he  saw  a  diver  from  Karikal 
remain  down  for  the  space  of  seven  minutes.*  The  merchant 
traveler,  Jean  Chardin,  reported  in  171 1  that  the  divers  remain 
up  to  seven  and  a  half  minutes  under  water:  "Les  plongcurs  qui 
pechent  les  perles  sont  qiielqtiefois  jiisqua  demi-qiiart-d'heure  sous 
I'emi."* 

In  1667,  the  Royal  Society  of  London  addressed  an  inquiry  on  this 
subject  to  Sir  Philiberto  Vernatti,  the  British  Resident  at  Batavia  in 
the  East  Indies.  Vernatti's  reply  gave  certain  details  regarding  the 
Ceylon  fishery,  but  did  not  touch  upon  the  length  of  diving  because, 
as  he  stated,  he  could  not  "meet  with  any  one  that  can  satisfy  me,  and 
being  unsatisfied  myself,  I  cannot  nor  will  obtrude  anything  upon  you 
which  may  hereafter  prove  fabulous;  but  shall  still  serve  you  with 
truth."*  Two  years  later,  and  presumably  after  investigation,  Ver- 
natti reported:  "The  greatest  length  of  time  that  pearl-divers  in  these 
parts  can  continue  under  water  is  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour ;  and  that 
by  no  other  means  than  custom ;  for  pearl-diving  lasts  not  above  six 
weeks,  and  the  divers  stay  a  great  while  longer  at  the  end  of  the 
season  than  at  the  beginning."" 

The  anatomist  Diemerbroeck  relates '^  the  case  of  a  pearl  diver  who, 
under  his  own  observation,  remained  half  an  hour  at  a  time  under 
water  while  pursuing  his  work;  and  this  was  seriously  adopted  without 
comment  by  John  Mason  Goode  in  his  "Study  of  Medicine."^  Ibn 
Batuta,  "the  Doctor  of  Tangier,"  wrote  about  1336  that  "some  remain 
down  an  hour,  others  two  hours,  others  less."*    A  still  earlier  writer, 

i"Histoire  de  1' Isle  de  Ceylon,"  Amster-  « Philosophical  Transactions  for  1669,  No. 

dam,  1701,  ch.  22,  p.  169.  43.  P-  863. 

2  "An  Account  of   the   Island  of   Ceylon,"  'Diemerbroeck,  "Anatome   Corporis    Hu- 
London,  1803,  ch.  3,  p.  91.  mani,"  Ultrajecti,  1672. 

3  "Asiatic  Researches,"  London,  1798,  Vol.  >*  Sixth  American  Edition,  New  York,  1835, 
V,  p.  402.  Vol.  I,  p.  239. 

*  Chardin,  "Voyages  en  Perse,"  Paris,  181 1,  »  j^einaud,     "Fragments     Arabes,"    Paris, 
Vol.  Ill,  p.  363.  1845,  p.    126.   Lee,   "Ibn   Batuta,"  London, 

*  Sprat,  "History  of   the    Royal   Society,"  1829,  p.  65. 
London,  1667,  p.  169. 


Pholngrapli,  L'ndcrwood  Sc  I'lult^rwovd,  N.  V 

HIS    IiMPEKlAL  MAJESTY,  MOHAMMED  ALI,  SHAH   OF  PERSIA 
Wearing    the   Kajar   crown 


PEARLS  FROM  ASIA  95 

Jouchanan  ibn  Masouiah,^  in  his  book  on  stones,  states  that  "the  diver, 
when  he  dives,  places  upon  his  nose  a  masfdsa  lest  water  should  enter 
into  him,  and  breathes  through  the  fissure,  and  remains  under  water 
for  half  an  hour."  According  to  Sebaldus  Rau^  this  masfdsa  was  an 
article  resembling  a  hood  or  cap,  which  the  diver  placed  over  his  nose. 
It  was  made  of  some  impervious  material  and  had  a  projection  so  long 
that  it  reached  to  the  surface  of  the  water.  The  same  writer  believes 
that  this  object  was  alluded  to  by  Aristotle  ("De  part,  animal.,"  Lib. 
II,  c.  16),  where  he  likens  the  trunk  of  the  elephant  to  the  instrument 
used  by  certain  divers  for  aiding  their  respiration,  so  that  they  could 
remain  longer  in  the  water  and  draw  in  air  from  above  the  surface.* 
And  here  we  cease  pursuit  of  further  records,  lest  our  faith  in  recorded 
testimony  be  too  severely  tested.* 

A  superficial  inspection  of  the  above  evidence,  from  the  one  or  two 
hours  noted  by  Ibn  Batuta  about  the  year  1336,  to  the  half  an  hour  of 
Diemerbroeck  in  1672,  the  quarter  of  an  hour  of  Vernatti  in  1669,  the 
seven  and  one  half  minutes  of  Chardin  in  171 1,  the  six  minutes  of 
Percival  in  1803,  to  the  no  seconds  of  the  present  time,  seems  to  in- 
dicate very  clearly  a  gradual  but  somewhat  remarkable  decrease  in 
the  ability  of  the  Asiatic  divers,  and  that  the  pearl  fishermen  of  the 
present  day  are  very  dififerent  creatures  from  their  ancestors.  And 
especially  is  this  so  when  it  is  considered  that  the  above  records  are 
not  isolated  reports  selected  for  the  particular  purpose  of  show- 
ing a  decrease  in  the  length  of  diving;  on  the  contrary  they  are 
authoritative  and  representative  publications  of  their  respective 
periods.  We  do  not  recall  having  seen  in  any  report  issued  pre- 
vious to  1675,  an  intimation  that  the  limit  of  time  was  less  than  ten 
minutes. 

However,  a  careful  consideration  of  the  subject  leads  to  the  belief 
that  there  has  been  no  serious  decrease  in  the  length  of  time  that  the 
Arab  and  Indian  divers  remain  under  water,  and  that  either  the 
writers  were  misinformed  or  that  the  individual  cases  reported  were 
extremely  exceptional.     Ibn  Batuta's  instance  of  one  to  two  hours 

1 A  Christian  physician  who  lived  in  the  time  whole  hour,  and  some  more  or  less,  accord- 

of  the  Khalif  Wat'hek  Billa,  about  842  A.D.  ing  to   expertness."     ("Natural   Historia  de 

^"Specimen  Arabicum,"  Traiecti  ad  Rhe-  las   Indias,"  Toledo,  1526.)     About  1588,  the 

nuni,  1784,  p.  64.  Jesuit  priest  Jose  de  Acosta  wrote:   "I  did 

^ Ibid.,  p.  6$.  see  them   make  their  fishing,    the   which   is 

*  Writers   describing  the    early  pearl  fish-  done  with  great  charge  and  labor  of  the  poor 

eries  on  the  American   coast,  and  especially  slaves,  which  dive  6,   7,  yea  12  fathoms  into 

at  Cubagua  on  the  present  coast  of  Venezuela,  the  sea.   .   .  ;  but  yet  the  labor  and  toil   is 

also   reported    very   lengthy  stays.     In  1526,  greatest  in  holding  their  breath,  sometimes  a 

Gonzalo    Fernandez    de    Oviedo    y    Valdes  quarter,    yea,    half   an    hour   together   under 

wrote:    "The  thing  that  causeth  men  most  water."     (Acosta,  "Natural  and  Moral  His- 

to  marvel  is  to  consider  how  many  of  them  tory  of  the  Indies,"  Hakluyt  Society,   1880, 

can  remain  at  the  bottom  for  the  space  of  one  p.  227.) 


96  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

could  easily  be  caused  by  a  mistake  in  copying  Arabic  manuscript,  or 
in  the  translation.  The  case  related  by  Diemerbroeck  in  which  a  pearl 
diver  remained  submerged  half  an  hour,  is  more  perplexing,  especially 
as  the  physician  reports  that  this  was  done  under  his  own  observation. 
The  numerous  reports  of  five  or  six  minutes  may  have  been  based  on  a 
very  exceptional  case. 

These  statements  are  viewed  as  highly  incredible  by  men  who  have 
spent  scores  of  years  at  the  fisheries.  A  man  may  remain  submerged 
for  several  minutes,  but  the  conditions  are  vastly  different  from  the 
activities  of  pearl-gathering  at  a  depth  of  ten  fathoms,  where  the 
pressure  of  the  water  is  nearly  thirty  pounds  to  the  square  inch,  and 
the  slightest  exercise  is  fatiguing.  Unless  the  time  is  taken  by  a 
watch,  it  is  easy  to  overestimate  the  stay ;  the  seconds  pass  very  slowly 
when  one  is  waiting  momentarily  for  the  appearance  of  the  diver's 
head  above  the  water,  and  certainly  to  the  nearly  exhausted  fisherman 
with  straining  chest  and  palpitating  heart,  the  last  few  seconds  must 
seem  extremely  long  indeed.  An  instance  is  noted  in  which  an  Arab 
diver  remained  submerged  seventy-one  seconds,  and  on  his  reappear- 
ance, naively  inquired  if  he  had  not  been  down  ten  minutes.  It  seems 
doubtful  whether  the  no  seconds  herein  noted  has  been  greatly  ex- 
ceeded, in  recent  years  at  least,  by  Arab  or  Indian  divers,  who  do  not 
appear  to  equal  the  semi-amphibious  natives  of  the  South  Sea  islands 
in  their  exploits. 

One  of  the  most  curious  features  of  the  pearling  industry  is  the 
manner  in  which  the  fishermen  secure  supplies  of  drinking  water.  In 
the  vicinity  of  Bahrein,  numerous  fresh-water  springs  exist  at  the 
bottom  of  the  gulf  in  depths  of  two  or  three  fathoms,  and  the  fisher- 
men dive  into  the  depth  of  the  salt  water  down  to  where  the  fresh 
water  is  springing  forth  and  there  fill  a  skin  or  other  suitable  recep- 
tacle which  they  bring  to  the  surface.  By  running  a  pipe  down  near 
the  bottom  in  the  vicinity  of  one  of  these  springs,  an  abundance  of 
fresh  water  may  be  pumped  into  the  boat. 

Three  species — or  at  least  three  varieties — of  pearl-bearing  oysters 
are  obtained  in  the  Persian  Gulf.  These  are  known  locally  as  mahar, 
sudaifee,  and  zinni.  Of  these,  the  mahar  or  Lingah  oyster,  which 
corresponds  to  the  Ceylon  pearl-oyster,  yields  the  greatest  quantity  of 
pearls,  and  those  of  the  finest  quality.  It  measures  three  or  three  and 
a  half  inches  in  diameter,  and  is  found  in  deeper  water  than  the  others. 
The  sndaifce  and  the  ainni,  which  are  larger,  yield  pearls  in  much 
smaller  quantities  than  the  mahar. 

On  large  boats,  which  remain  out  for  two  or  three  weeks  at  a  time, 
the  oysters  are  left  on  deck  overnight,  and  the  following  morning  they 
are  opened  by  means  of  a  curved  knife  (miflaket) ,  four  or  five  inches 


PEARLS  FROM  ASIA  97 

in  length.    The  smaller  boats  working  near  shore  convey  the  catch  to 
the  land  for  the  opening  and  searching  for  pearls. 

The  Persian  Gulf  pearls  are  commonly  not  so  white  as  those  from 
Ceylon,  but  they  are  found  of  larger  size,  and  it  is  believed  in  Asia 
that  they  retain  their  luster  for  a  greater  length  of  time.  Many  of 
the  Persian  Gulf  pearls,  especially  those  from  sndaifee  and  sinni 
shells,  have  a  distinctly  yellow  color.  Tavernier  made  a  curious  ex- 
planation of  this.    He  stated : 

As  for  the  pearls  tending  to  yellow,  the  color  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
fishermen  sell  the  oysters  in  heaps,  and  the  merchants  awaiting  sometimes  up 
to  14  or  15  days  till  the  shells  open  of  themselves,  in  order  to  extract  the 
pearls,  some  of  these  oysters  lose  their  water  during  this  time,  decay,  and 
become  putrid,  and  the  pearls  become  yellow  by  contact.  This  is  so  true  that 
in  all  oysters  which  have  retained  their  water,  the  pearls  are  always  white. 
They  are  allowed  to  open  of  themselves,  because  if  they  are  opened  by  force, 
as  we  open  our  oysters  in  the  shell,  the  pearls  may  be  damaged  and  broken. 
The  oysters  of  the  Manar  Strait  open  of  themselves,  5  or  6  days  sooner  than 
those  of  the  Gulf  of  Persia,  because  the  heat  is  much  greater  at  Manar,  which 
is  at  the  tenth  degree  of  North  latitude,  while  the  island  of  Bahrein  is  at  about 
the  twenty-seventh.  And  consequently  among  the  pearls  which  come  from 
Manar  there  are  few  yellow  ones  found.^ 

Tavernier  was  more  familiar  with  the  pearls  themselves  than  with 
the  methods  of  the  fishery.  The  yellow  color  is  not  due  to  contact 
with  the  putrefactive  flesh,  and  is  independent  of  the  manner  of  open- 
ing. In  fact,  if  putrefaction  caused  the  yellow  color,  this  shade 
would  be  far  more  prevalent  in  the  Manaar  or  Ceylon  pearls  than  in 
those  from  Bahrein,  for  practically  all  of  the  Ceylon  oysters  are  per- 
mitted to  putrefy,  whereas  only  a  portion  of  those  in  the  Persian  Gulf 
are  opened  in  this  manner.  Furthermore,  notwithstanding  that  it  is 
nearer  the  equator,  the  heat  at  Manaar  during  the  pearling  season  is  not 
to  be  compared  with  that  at  Bahrein  when  the  season  is  at  its  height, 
for  the  Persian  Gulf  during  July  and  August  is  notorious  as  one  of 
the  hottest  places  on  the  globe. 

While  the  great  bulk  of  the  pearls  are  either  white  or  yellowish, 
these  fisheries  yield  a  few  pink,  bluish,  gray,  and  occasionally  even 
black  pearls.  These  unusual  colors  are  not  especially  prized.  A  curi- 
ous and  remarkably  detailed  story  has  gone  the  rounds  in  which  the 
qualities  of  Persian  and  Ceylon  pearls  are  compared,  to  the  disparage- 
ment of  the  latter,  and  during  the  last  hundred  years  few  accounts 
have  been  published  of  this  fishery  without  recording  it.  We  notice 
it  first  in  Morier's  "Journey  through  Persia  in  1808  and  1809,"'  but 

1  Tavernier,  "Travels  in  India,"  Ball  edition,  Vol.  II,  pp.  114,  115.       ^Lq^Jq^^  jgj2^  p_  ^._ 
7 


98  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

possibly  it  antedated  that  report.  The  statement  is  that  the  pearls  of 
Ceylon  peel  off,  while  those  of  Persia  are  as  "firm  as  the  rock  on  which 
they  grow" ;  and  though  they  lose  in  color  and  luster  one  per  cent,  an- 
nually for  fifty  years,  they  still  lose  less  than  those  of  Ceylon,  and  at 
the  expiration  of  the  fifty  years  they  cease  to  diminish  in  appearance. 

The  pearl  output  in  the  Persian  Gulf  at  the  present  time  appears 
from  the  official  returns  to  exceed  four  million  dollars  annually  at  local 
valuation.  The  exports  in  1903  were  reported  at  £827,447,  ^^^  ^^ 
1904,  £1,077,241.  It  is  generally  understood  that  all  of  the  pearls  are 
not  entered  in  the  official  figures,  and  the  valuations  in  the  markets  of 
Asia  and  Europe  are  greatly  in  excess  of  these  amounts.  The  profits 
of  the  fishery  are  divided  among  a  great  number  of  persons.  A  large 
percentage  goes  to  the  shrewd  bunnias  from  India,  who  finance  the 
fishery  operations,  and  who,  by  all  sorts  of  tricks  connected  with  ad- 
vances of  supplies,  valuation  of  the  catch,  etc.,  manage  to  make  a  very 
good  thing  out  of  the  business.  It  is  nothing  unusual  for  the  valua- 
tion of  a  lot  of  pearls  to  double  and  even  treble  after  leaving  the  hands 
of  the  fishermen. 

While  many  of  the  gulf  pearls — and  especially  of  the  small  seed- 
pearls — go  to  Bagdad,  the  great  bulk  of  them  are  sold  to  represen- 
tatives of  Hindu  and  Arab  merchants  of  Bombay  for  shipment  to  that 
city,  which  to  the  Bahrein  fisherman  is  the  heart  of  the  outside  world. 
Few  of  the  pearls  go  directly  into  Arabia  or  Persia,  as  the  certain  sale 
in  the  larger  Bombay  market  is  preferable  to  a  sometimes  higher  but 
less  regular  price  in  other  markets.  Indeed,  pearls  may  usually  be 
purchased  at  a  less  cost  in  India  than  a  stranger  would  be  obliged  to 
pay  at  Bahrein.  The  Bombay  merchants  "sow  the  earth  with  Orient 
pearl,"  dealing  direct  with  London,  Paris  and  Berlin,  and  with  the 
oriental  jewelers.  Most  of  the  yellow  pearls  find  oriental  purchasers, 
with  whose  dark  complexions  they  harmonize  better  than  the  silvery 
white  ones.  They  are  also  more  popular  because  of  a  belief  existing 
throughout  the  East  that  they  are  less  likely  to  lose  their  luster  with 
the  lapse  of  years. 

The  shell  of  the  pearl-oysters  is  not  used  locally,  but  large  quantities 
are  exported  to  Europe  for  manufacture.  Although  it  is  the  smallest 
and  cheapest  produced  in  the  gulf,  yet,  owing  to  the  enormous  quan- 
tity taken  for  their  pearls,  the  shell  of  the  mahar  (Margaritifera  vul- 
garis) constitiites  the  bulk  of  the  exports.  Formerly  most  of  the 
shipments  were  made  from  the  harbor  of  Lingah,  hence  it  is  known  in 
the  markets  of  Europe  as  "Lingah  shell."  But  in  the  last  three  or  four 
years,  much  of  it  has  been  transported  to  Europe  via  Bander  Abbas 
and  Bushire.  A  German  firm  at  Bahrein  is  extensively  employed  in 
exporting  this  shell,  and  several  Indian  merchants  are  also  engaged  in 


PEARLS  FROM  ASIA  99 

the  trade.  The  total  exports  in  1906  amounted  to  3262  tons,  valued  at 
$26,408  according  to  the  port  returns,  but  worth  about  $135,000  in 
Europe.  Very  large  quantities  are  received  in  London,  and  over 
2500  tons  have  been  offered  at  auction  in  a  single  year.  This  shell  is 
very  small,  averaging  about  three  inches  in  diameter  and  about  one 
and  a  half  ounces  in  weight.  It  is  the  cheapest  of  all  mother-of-pearL 
The  best  quality  sells  in  London  for  ten  to  twenty  shillings  per  hun- 
dredweight, but  the  ordinary  grade  is  worth  usually  less  than  nine 
shillings,  and  sometimes  as  low  as  three  shillings  per  hundredweight. 
America  formerly  imported  it,  but  few  lots  have  been  received  since 
the  exploitation  of  the  Mississippi  shell  about  fifteen  years  ago. 

The  shell  of  the  larger  species  of  pearl-oysters  in  the  Persian  Gulf 
is  worth  considerably  more  than  the  "Lingah  shell,"  selling  in  Europe 
for  £12  to  £60  per  ton,  yet  manufacturers  consider  it  as  furnishing 
only  poor  qualities  of  mother-of-pearl.  Several  hundred  tons  are  ex- 
ported annually.  It  measures  six  or  seven  inches  in  diameter  and  is 
used  principally  in  making  cheap  grades  of  buttons. 


THE  PEARL  FISHERIES  OF  CEYLON 

Errors,  like  straws,  upon  the  surface  flow  ; 

He  who  would  search  for  pearls  must  dive  below. 

Dryden,  All  for  Love,  Prologue. 

Second  in  extent  to  those  of  Persia  only,  are  the  intermittent  and  un- 
certain pearl  fisheries  of  the  Gulf  of  Manaar.  This  is  an  arm  of  the 
Indian  Ocean,  from  65  to  150  miles  in  width,  separating  the  island  of 
Ceylon  from  the  southernmost  part  of  India.  The  pearl-oyster  banks 
— known  locally  as  paars — are  situated  off  the  northwest  coast  of 
Ceylon  and  also  in  the  vicinity  of  Tuticorin  on  the  Madras  coast  of  the 
mainland.  The  Ceylon  fisheries  are  under  the  control  of  the  colonial 
government  of  the  British  Empire,  and  those  of  the  mainland  are 
monopolized  by  the  Madras  government.  Notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  they  are  outside  of  the  three-mile  limit  established  as  the  bound 
of  national  jurisdiction,  exclusive  privileges  are  exercised  over  these 
fisheries  by  the  respective  governments,^  and  poaching  vessels  are 
liable  to  seizure  and  punishment. 

Though  possibly  not  so  ancient  as  those  of  Persia,  the  Ceylon  pearl 
fisheries  are  of  great  antiquity.  References  to  them  occur  in  Cingalese 

1  See  infra.,  p.  125. 


loo  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

records  dating  from  550  b.c.  Pliny,  Ptolemy,  Strabo,  and  other  an- 
cient writers  speak  of  their  importance. 

The  "Periplus  of  the  Erythraean" — written  about  the  end  of  the 
second  century  a.d.  —  refers  to  these  fisheries,  and  states  that,  owing 
to  the  dangers  involved,  it  was  customary  to  employ  convicts  therein. 
In  the  days  of  the  "Arabian  Nights,"  under  the  name  "Serendib,"  this 
was  the  scene  of  the  pearling  adventures  of  Sindbad  the  Sailor,  and 
the  reputation  of  the  valuable  pearl  resources  is  reflected  in  those 
wonderful  tales. 

The  first  extensive  description  we  have  of  the  Gulf  of  Manaar  fish- 
eries was  given  by  the  Venetian  traveler,  Marco  Polo,  who  visited  the 
region  about  1294.    He  wrote : 

The  pearl-fishers  take  their  vessels,  great  and  small,  and  proceed  into  the 
gulf  where  they  stop  from  the  beginning  of  April  till  the  middle  of  May. 
They  go  first  to  a  place  called  Bettelar,  and  then  go  60  miles  into  the  Gulf. 
Here  they  cast  anchor  and  shift  from  their  large  vessels  into  small  boats. 
You  must  know  that  the  many  merchants  who  go  divide  into  various  com- 
panies, and  each  of  these  must  engage  a  number  of  men  on  wages,  hiring  them 
for  April  and  half  of  May.  Of  all  the  produce  they  have  first  to  pay  the  king, 
as  his  royalty,  the  tenth  part.  And  they  must  also  pay  those  men  who  charm 
the  great  fishes  to  prevent  them  from  injuring  the  divers  whilst  engaged  in 
seeking  pearls  under  water,  one-twentieth  of  all  that  they  take.  These  fish- 
charmers  are  termined  Abraiaman;.  and  their  charm  holds  good  for  that  day 
only,  for  at  night  they  dissolve  the  charm  so  that  the  fishes  can  work  mischief 
at  their  will.  These  Abraiaman  know  also  how  to  charm  beasts  and  birds  and 
every  living  thing.  When  the  men  have  got  into  the  small  boats  they  jump 
into  the  water  and  dive  to  the  bottom,  which  may  be  at  a  depth  of  from  4  to 
12  fathoms,  and  there  they  remain  as  long  as  they  are  able.  And  there  they 
find  the  shells  that  contain  the  pearls,  and  those  they  put  into  a  net  bag  tied 
round  the  waist,  and  mount  up  to  the  surface  with  them,  and  then  dive  anew. 
When  they  can't  hold  their  breath  any  longer  they  come  up  again,  and  after 
a  little  down  they  go  once  more,  and  so  they  go  on  all  day.  These  shells  are 
in  fashion  like  oysters  or  sea-hoods.  And  in  these  shells  are  found  pearls, 
great  and  small,  of  every  kind,  sticking  in  the  flesh  of  the  shell-fish.  In  this 
manner  pearls  are  fished  in  great  quantities,  for  thence  in  fact  come  the 
pearls  which  are  spread  all  over  the  world.  And  I  can  tell  you  the  King  of 
that  State  hath  a  very  great  receipt  and  treasure  from  his  dues  upon  those 
pearls.^ 

That  quaint  old  missionary  bishop,  Friar  Jordanus,  in  his  "Mira- 
bilia  Descripta,  or  the  Wonders  of  the  East"  {circa  1330),  reports  that 
"more  than  8000  boats"  were  sometimes  employed  for  three  months 
continually  in  these  fisheries,  which  were  then  prosecuted  under  the 

i"The  Book  of  Ser  Marco  Polo,"  London,  1871,  Vol.  II,  pp.  267,  268. 


THE   "PRINCE  OF   PEARLS";  THE  LATE   RANA  OK  DHOLl'UR   IN    HIS   PEARL  REGALIA 


PEARLS  FROM  ASIA  loi 

jurisdiction  of  the  Cingalese  kings  of  Kandy,  and  that  the  quantity  of 
pearls  taken  was  "astounding  and  almost  incredible."* 

This  number  of  boats  seems  entirely  too  large,  especially  in  view  of 
the  fact  that  Jordanus  secured  his  information  at  second  hand ;  but  it 
leaves  the  impression  that  the  fisheries  of  that  period  were  of  great 
importance. 

When  the  Portuguese,  attracted  by  the  wealth  of  its  resources,  ob- 
tained control  of  this  region  about  1510,  they  exacted  from  the  local 
rulers  an  annual  tribute  in  pearls  and  spices.  Later  they  conducted 
the  fisheries  on  their  own  account,  permitting  the  native  fishermen  to 
retain  one  fourth  of  the  catch  as  compensation  for  their  work,  and 
dividing  the  remainder  into  three  equal  portions,  for  the  king,  the 
church,  and  the  soldiers,  respectively. 

Linschoten,  who  visited  India  about  1590,  leaves  this  interesting 
account  of  the  fishery  at  that  time : 

"There  are  also  other  fishings  for  pearle,  as  between  the  Hand  of  Seylon, 
and  the  Cape  de  Comoriin,  where  great  numbers  are  yearlie  found,  for  that  the 
King  of  Portingale  hath  a  captaine  there  with  soldiers  that  looketh  unto  it; 
they  have  yearhe  at  the  least  above  3  or  4  thousand  duckers  [divers],  yt 
live  onlie  by  fishing  for  pearles,  and  so  maintaine  themselves."  He  describes 
the  methods  of  fishing,  which  appear  to  be  similar  to  those  of  the  present  time, 
ana  adds :  "When  they  have  made  an  end  of  the  day's  fishing,  all  the  fishers 
with  the  captaine,  soldiers,  laborers  and  watchmen  for  the  king,  goe  together, 
and  taking  all  the  pearls  [pearl-oysters]  that  are  caught  that  day  they  divide 
them  into  certaine  heaps,  that  is,  one  part  for  the  king,  another  part  for  the 
captaine  and  soldiers,  the  third  part  for  the  Jesuits,  because  they  have  their 
Cloyster  in  that  place,  and  brought  the  countrie  first  into  the  Christian  faith, 
and  the  last  part  for  the  Fishers,  which  is  done  with  Justice  and  Equalitie. 
This  fishing  is  done  in  the  Summer  tyme,  and  there  passeth  not  any  yeare  but 
that  divers  Fishers  are  drowned  by  the  Cape  de  Comoriin  (which  is  called  the 
King's  fishing)  and  manie  devoured  by  fishes,  so  that  when  the  fishing  is  done 
there  is  great  and  pitiful  noyse  and  cry  of  women  and  children  heard.  Yet  the 
next  yeare  they  must  do  the  same  work  againe,  for  that  they  have  no  other 
means  to  live,  as  also  for  that  they  are  partlie  compelled  thereunto  by  the 
Portingales,  but  most  part  because  of  the  gaine."^ 

The  best  description  we  have  seen  of  the  Ceylon  fisheries  at  the  time 
of  the  Portuguese  occupation,  is  that  of  Caesar  Frederick,  a  Venetian 
trader,  who  referred  to  the  period  from  1563  to  1581.  Frederick  re- 
ported, according  to  Hickocke's  translation  in  the  Hakluyt  edition: 

1  Jordanus,  "  Mirabilia  Descripta,"  Hakluyt      Linschoten  to  the  East  Indies,"  Hakluyt  So- 
Society,  1863,  p.  28.  ciety,  1884,  Vol.  H,  pp.  133-135. 

- "  The   Voyage     ol    John    Huyghen    van 


102  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

The  sea  that  lieth  between  the  coast  which  descendeth  from  Cao  Comori, 
to  the  lowe  land  of  Chilao,  and  from  Island  Zeilan,  they  call  the  fishing  of 
Pearles,  which  fishing  they  make  every  yeare,  beginning  in  March  or  April, 
and  it  lasteth  fiftie  dayes,  but  they  doe  not  fishe  every  yeere  in  one  place,  but 
one  yeere  in  one  place,  and  another  yeere  in  another  place  of  the  same  sea. 
When  the  time  of  this  fishing  draweth  neere,  they  send  very  good  Divers,  that 
goe  to  discover  where  the  greatest  heapes  of  Oisters  bee  under  water,  and 
right  agaynst  that  place  where  greatest  store  of  Oisters  bee,  there  they  make 
or  plant  a  village  with  houses  and  a  Bazaro,  which  standeth  as  long  as  the 
fishing  time  lasteth,  and  it  is  furnished  with  all  things  necessarie,  and  nowe 
and  then  it  is  neere  unto  places  that  are  inhabited,  and  other  times  farre  off, 
according  to  the  place  where  they  fishe.  The  fishermen  are  all  Christians  of 
the  countrey,  and  who  so  will  may  goe  to  fishing,  paying  a  certain  dutie  to  the 
king  of  Portugall,  and  to  the  Churches  of  the  Friers  of  Saint  Paule,  which 
are  in  that  coast.  All  the  while  that  they  are  fishing,  there  are  three  or  foure 
Fustes  armed  to  defend  the  Fishermen  from  Rovers.  It  was  my  chance  to 
bee  there  one  time  in  my  passage,  and  I  saw  the  order  that  they  used  in 
fishing,  which  is  this.  There  are  three  or  foure  Barkes  that  make  consort 
together,  which  are  like  to  our  litle  Pilot  boates,  and  a  little  lesse,  there  goe 
seven  or  eight  men  in  a  boate :  and  I  have  scene  in  a  morning  a  great  number 
of  them  goe  out,  and  anker  in  fifteene  or  eighteene  fadome  of  water,  which  is 
the  ordinarie  depth  of  all  that  coast.  When  they  are  at  anker,  they  cast  a  rope 
into  the  sea,  and  at  the  end  of  the  rope,  they  make  fast  a  great  stone,  and  then 
there  is  readie  a  man  that  hath  his  nose  and  his  eares  well  stopped,  and  an- 
nointed  with  oyle,  and  a  basket  about  his  necke,  or  under  his  left  arme,  then  he 
goeth  downe  by  the  rope  to  the  bottome  of  the  Sea,  and  as  fast  as  he  can  hee 
filleth  the  basket,  and  when  it  is  full,  he  shaketh  the  rope,  and  his  fellows  that 
are  in  the  Barke  hale  him  up  with  the  basket :  and  in  such  wise  they  go  one  by 
one  untill  they  have  laden  their  barke  with  oysters,  and  at  evening  they  come 
to  the  village,  and  then  every  company  maketh  their  mountaine  or  heape  of 
oysters  one  distant  from  another,  in  such  wise  that  you  shall  see  a  great  long 
rowe  of  mountaines  or  heapes  of  oysters,  and  they  are  not  touched  until  such 
time  as  the  fishing  bee  ended,  and  at  the  ende  of  the  fishing  every  companie 
sitteth  round  about  their  mountaine  or  heape  of  oysters,  and  fall  to  opening  of 
them,  which  they  may  easilie  doe  because  they  bee  dead,  drie  and  brittle :  and 
if  every  oyster  had  pearles  in  them,  it  would  be  a  very  good  purchase,  but 
there  are  very  many  that  have  no  pearles  in  them :  when  the  fishing  is  ended, 
then  they  see  whether  it  bee  a  good  gathering  or  a  badde:  there  are  certaine 
expert  in  the  pearles  whom  they  call  Chitini,  which  set  and  make  the  price  of 
pearles  according  to  their  carracts  [carats  or  weight],  beautie,  and  goodnesse, 
making  foure  sorts  of  them.  The  first  sort  bee  the  round  pearles,  and  they 
bee  called  Aia  of  Portugale,  because  the  Portugales  doe  buy  them.  The  second 
sorte  which  are  not  round,  are  called  Aia  of  Bengala.  The  third  sort  which 
are  not  so  good  as  the  second,  they  call  Aia  of  Canara,  that  is  to  say,  the 
kingdome  of  Bezeneger.  The  fourth  and  last  sort,  which  are  the  least  and 
worst  sort,  are  called  Aia  of  Cambaia.     Thus  the  price  being  set,  there  are 


PEARLS  FROM  ASIA  103 

merchants  of  every  countrey  which  are  readie  with  their  money  in  their  handes, 
so  that  in  a  fewe  dayes  all  is  brought  up  at  the  prises  set  according  to  the 
goodnesse  and  caracts  of  the  pearles.^ 

,A  remarkable  instance  of  the  immutability  of  custom  in  the  Orient 
is  found  in  the  fact  that,  except  in  a  few  minor  particulars,  Frederick's 
accotmt,  written  more  than  three  centuries  ago,  could  serve  as  a 
description  of  the  methods  of  the  fisheries  in  recent  years.  The  in- 
dustry was  then  very  extensive,  as  appears  from  an  account  shortly 
afterward  (about  1608)  by  Pedro  Teixeira,  who  reported^  that  from 
400  to  500  boats  were  employed,  and  from  50,000  to  60,000  persons 
resorted  to  the  fishery. 

In  1658,  possession  of  Ceylon  and  India  passed  from  the  Portu- 
guese to  the  Dutch,  who  for  a  time  continued  the  pearl  fisheries  after 
the  manner  practised  by  their  predecessors ;  but  owing  to  contentions 
as  to  the  details  of  management,  they  soon  resorted  to  leasing  them 
each  year  to  the  highest  bidder,  or  to  several  bidders,  for  a  definite 
money  payment.  The  successful  bidders  prosecuted  the  industry  in 
the  same  manner  as  the  government  had  previously  done,  employing 
the  same  native  fishermen  and  compensating  them  with  one  fourth  of 
the  oysters  secured.  Under  the  Dutch  rule  the  fisheries  were  very  un- 
profitable, and  particularly  so  during  the  last  seventy  years  of  their 
authority.  There  was  practically  no  fishing  from  1732  to  1746,  and 
there  was  also  a  suspension — but  not  entirely  from  lack  of  oysters  or 
of  pearls  — from  1768  until  the  territory  passed  into  the  control  of 
the  British  in  1796. 

The  colonial  government  of  the  British  Empire  continued  the  Dutch 
policy  of  leasing,  only  restricting  the  limits  of  territory  and  season  for 
fishing.  Many  objections  were  found  to  this  method.  It  was  difficult 
to  regulate  the  business  properly,  and  there  were  no  reliable  means  of 
determining  its  proceeds  and  conditions.  At  length  in  1835,  the  gov- 
ernment began  to  operate  the  fishery  on  its  own  account,  as  the  Portu- 
guese had  done  two  hundred  years  before,  allowing  the  fishermen  one 
fourth  of  the  oysters  taken  by  them  and  selling  the  remaining  three 
fourths  for  the  benefit  of  the  treasury.  In  this  way  the  full  value  of 
the  resources  was  realized  without  mystery,  deception,  or  concealment, 
and  the  plan  worked  satisfactorily  for  all  concerned. 

Owing,  presumably,  to  the  long  period  in  which  they  had  lain  un- 
disturbed, the  Ceylon  oyster  reefs  were  in  excellent  condition  at  the 
beginning  of  British  rule.    In  1796  the  government  derived  a  revenue 

i"Hakluyt's  Voyages,"  Vol.  V,   Glasgow,  intervals, which, risingtothesurface,  smoothed 

1904,  pp.  395-397.      Benjamin  Frankhn  states  the  waters.     This  might  be  a  suggestion  to 

that  the    Mediterranean  divers,    finding   the  modern  marine  and  fresh-water  pearl  fishers, 

light  below  obscured   by  the  surface  waves,  -"The  Travels  of  Pedro  Teixeira,"  Hakluyt 

used  to  let  a  little  oil  out  of  their  mouths  at  Society,  1902,  pp.  174-181. 


I04  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

of  Rs. 1, 100,000  therefrom,  and  in  1797  the  revenue  was  Rs.  1,400,000; 
these  two  years  were  by  far  the  most  productive  during  the  first  cen- 
tury of  British  occupation. 

Several  very  interesting  reports  on  the  industry  were  prepared 
about  that  time.  Especially  to  be  noted  among  these  were  the  ac- 
counts by  Henry  J.  LeBeck  in  1798;'  by  Robert  Percival  in  1803;^ 
and  by  James  Cordiner  in  1807,^  to  which  reference  is  made  for  de- 
tailed accounts  of  the  fisheries  of  that  period. 

The  Ceylon  fishery  was  prosecuted  about  every  other  year  from 
1799  to  1809,  '^"d  the  annual  returns  ranged  from  £15,022  in  1801  to 
£84,257  in  1808.  From  1810  to  1813,  inclusive,  there  was  a  blank  so 
far  as  receipts  were  concerned.  In  1814  the  fishery  was  very  good, 
bringing  in  a  revenue  of  £105,187.  With  the  exception  of  very  slight 
returns  in  181 5,  181 6,  and  1820,  no  oysters  were  then  obtained  until 
1828.  Excepting  1832  and  1834,  the  industry  was  prosecuted  each 
year  from  1828  to  1837,  the  revenue  to  the  government  averaging 
about  £30,000  annuall3^  Then  came  a  long  blank  of  seventeen  years, 
for  there  was  no  fishing  from  1838  to  1854,  and  likewise  from  1864  to 
1873.  Indeed,  so  depleted  had  the  beds  throughout  the  Gulf  of  Manaar 
become  in  1866,  that  serious  consideration  was  given  to  the  possibilities 
of  securing  seed  oysters  from  the  Persian  Gulf  for  restocking  the 
reefs ;  but  fortunately  this  was  rendered  unnecessary  by  the  discovery 
soon  afterward  of  a  few  oysters  on  several  reefs  on  both  the  Ceylon 
and  the  Malabar  coasts. 

From  1855  to  1863,  and  also  from  1874  to  1881,  the  returns  were 
only  ordinary,  the  highest  being  £51,017  in  1863,  and  £59,868  in  1881, 
— the  best  year  since  1814;  and  during  these  two  periods  fishing  was 
entirely  omitted  in  nearly  one  half  the  seasons.  There  were  five  lean 
years  from  1882  to  1886,  and  the  1887  fishery  was  only  fair,  with  a 
yield  of  £39,609.  But  the  returns  for  1888  were  large,  amounting  to 
£80,424;  and  those  for  1891  were  even  greater,  being  £96,370,  repre- 
senting a  yield  of  44,311,441  oysters.  No  oysters  were  caught 
from  1892  to  1902,  inclusive.  In  1903,  the  fishery  was  profitable, 
yielding  41,180,137  oysters,  and  the  share  of  the  government 
amounted  to  £55,303;  and  in  1904  the  yield  was  almost  the  same, 
being  41,039,085  oysters  and  a  revenue  of  £71,050  to  the  govern- 
ment. 

In  1905  occurred  the  greatest  fishery  in  the  modern  history  of 
Ceylon.  The  season  extended  from  February  20  until  April  21,  giving 
forty-seven  working  days,  exclusive  of  Sundays  and  five  days  of  bad 

1  "Asiatic  Researches,"  London,  1798,  pp.  s  «  Description  of   Ceylon,"  1807,  Vol.  II, 

393,  et  seq.  pp.  36-78. 

2"The  Island  of  Ceylon,"  1803,  ch.  3. 


PEARLS  FROM  ASIA  105 

weather,  the  longest  period  in  over  half  a  century.^  The  boats  em- 
ployed numbered  318,  with  4991  divers  and  4894  attendant  nianduks. 
The  yield  of  oysters  exceeded  all  records,  amounting  to  81,580,716  in 
number,  or  nearly  twice  as  many  as  in  any  previous  year  within  the 
period  of  British  occupation.  The  prices  at  which  these  sold  ranged 
from  Rs.24  to  Rs.124  per  thousand,  with  an  average  of  Rs.48.89  for 
the  entire  season.  The  government  received  Rs. 2, 5 10,727  as  its  share 
of  the  revenue,  which  was  twice  as  much  as  in  any  previous  year  since 
the  British  have  been  in  control,  and  doubtless  the  largest  received  by 
any  government  in  the  history  of  the  industry.  The  oysters  falling  to 
the  share  of  the  divers  must  have  sold  for  at  least  Rs.  1,255,363  (since 
1881  the  divers  have  received  one  third  of  the  catch  as  their  com- 
pensation, instead  of  one  fourth).  The  profits  of  the  merchants,  who 
purchased  and  opened  the  government  oysters  as  well  as  those  of  the 
divers,  doubtless  amounted  to  fully  as  much,  making  a  total  of 
Rs.5,02 1,453,  oi"  nearly  $2,000,000  as  a  low  estimate  of  the  local  value 
of  the  pearls  secured  at  Ceylon  in  1905. 

Owing  to  the  great  success  in  1905,  an  enormous  number  of  persons 
flocked  to  the  camp  at  the  beginning  of  the  season  in  1906.  Employ- 
ment was  given  to  473  boats,  the  largest  number  on  record,  and  over 
S600  divers  were  engaged,  with  an  equal  number  of  attendants. 
Owing  to  unfavorable  weather  and  the  great  quantity  of  oysters  re- 
moved in  1905,  the  catch  in  1906  was  less  than  in  that  record  year, 
amounting  to  67,150,641  in  number,  from  the  sale  of  which  Rs.  1,376,- 
746  was  realized.  The  prices  covered  a  wide  range.  For  the  large 
Cheval  oysters,  even  Rs.276,  Rs.291,  and  Rs.309  per  1000  were 
received.  The  inferior,  stunted  oysters  from  the  IMuttuvaratu  paar 
ranged  from  Rs.20  to  Rs.41  per  1000,  and  even  at  these  prices  many 
buyers  sustained  losses.  On  the  other  hand  considerable  money  was 
made  by  the  buyers  of  those  from  Cheval,  in  which  some  very  large 
and  beautiful  pearls  were  found. 

The  results  of  the  1907  fishery  were  surprisingly  good,  excellent 
prices  being  obtained.  The  proceeds  from  the  sale  of  two  thirds  of 
the  21,000,000  oysters  amounted  to  Rs.  1,040,000,  or  just  under  $350,- 
000.  The  fishery  lasted  thirty-six  working  days.  Only  173  boats  were 
used,  as  it  was  considered  that  a  fleet  of  this  size  is  fully  as  large  as 
can  be  employed  advantageously  to  the  greatest  satisfaction  of  all  in- 
terested. 

According  to  the  compilations  of  the  colonial  secretary's  office,  the 
gross    revenue   to    the    government    from    1796   to    1907,    inclusive, 

1  In  1881,  the  number  of  days  was  the  same  days,  in  1904  there  were  33,  in  1903  there 
— 47,  the  season  extending  from  March  4  to  were  36,  and  in  1906  there  were  36  days  of 
April  27.     In   1891   there    were  40    working       actual  fishing. 


io6  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

amounted  to  £2,098,830.  If  to  this  be  added  the  fishermen's  share 
and  the  merchants'  compensation,  we  have  a  total  of  about  £4,200,000 
or  $21,000,000  as  the  local  value  of  the  pearls  produced  in  Ceylon  dur- 
ing the  period  of  British  occupation.  The  value  of  these  in  the  mar- 
kets of  Asia  and  Europe  was  undoubtedly  very  much  greater. 

In  many  respects  the  Ceylon  pearl  fisheries  are  the  most  interesting 
in  the  world.  Owing  to  their  ready  accessibility  and  thorough  organ- 
ization, they  are  far  better  known  than  any  others.  Reliable  data 
exist  as  to  the  number  of  oysters  taken  during  each  season  since  1854, 
and  it  is  possible  to  estimate  roughly  the  pearls  obtained  therefrom. 
Throughout  the  112  years  of  British  occupation,  and  previously  to 
some  extent  under  the  successive  rule  of  the  Cingalese  kings,  of  the 
Portuguese,  and  of  the  Dutch,  for  centuries,  the  reefs  were  annually 
examined  by  official  inspectors,  and  fishing  was  permitted  only  in  those 
years  when  they  appeared  in  satisfactory  condition. 

A  noticeable  feature  of  these  fisheries  is  their  uncertainty,  a  pros- 
perous season  being  followed  by  an  absence  of  fishing  sometimes  ex- 
tending over  ten  years  or  more.  This  is  not  of  recent  development. 
Over  eight  hundred  years  ago  a  total  cessation  of  yield  for  a  consider- 
able period  was  recorded^  by  Albyrouni,  who  served  under  Mahmud 
of  Ghazni.  He  stated  that,  in  the  eleventh  century,  the  oysters  which 
formerly  existed  in  the  Gulf  of  Serendib  (Ceylon)  disappeared  simul- 
taneously with  the  appearance  of  a  fishery  at  Sofala  in  the  country  of 
the  Zends,  where  previously  the  existence  of  pearls  had  been  un- 
known; hence  it  was  conjectured  that  the  pearl-oysters  of  Serendib 
had  migrated  to  Sofala. 

In  the  249  years  since  Ceylon  passed  from  the  dominion  of  the  Por- 
tuguese in  1658,  there  have  been  only  sixty-nine  years  in  which  the 
pearl  fisheries  were  prosecuted.  During  the  last  century  there  were 
only  thirty-six  regularly  authorized  fisheries.  Enormous  quantities 
of  oysters  have  appeared  on  the  reefs,  giving  rise  to  hopes  of  great 
results,  only  to  end  in  disappointment,  owing  to  their  complete  disap- 
pearance. In  the  fall  of  1887,  for  instance,  examination  of  one  of  the 
reefs  revealed  an  enormous  quantity  of  oysters,  covering  an  area  five 
miles  in  length  by  one  and  a  half  miles  in  width,  with  "600  to  700 
oysters  to  the  square  yard"  in  places.  It  was  estimated  by  the  inspec- 
tion officials  that  there  were  164,000,000  oysters,  which  exceeded  the 
total  number  taken  in  the  preceding  sixty  years,  and  which  should 
have  yielded  several  million  dollars'  worth  of  pearls  in  the  following 
season,  according  to  the  usual  returns.  But  some  months  later  not  an 
oyster  was  to  be  found  on  this  large  reef,  the  great  host  presumably 
having  been  destroyed  by  action  of  the  sea.     Numerous  reasons  are 

1  See  Reinaud's  "Fragments  Arabes,"  Paris,  1845,  p.  125. 


PEARLS  FROM  ASIA  107 

assigned  for  the  failure  of  promising  reefs.  Those  most  frequently 
heard  are  that  the  currents  sweep  the  oysters  away,  that  they  are  de- 
voured by  predaceous  enemies,  that  they  are  covered  by  the  shifting 
bottom,  or  that  they  voluntarily  move  to  new  grounds. 

The  oysters  are  found  in  well-known  and  permanently  located 
banks  or  paars  in  the  upper  end  of  the  Gulf  of  Manaar,  in  the  wide  shal- 
low plateau  off  the  northwest  end  of  the  island  and  directly  south  of 
Adams  Bridge.  The  hard  calcrete  bottom  is  formed  mostly  of  sand 
combined  with  organic  remains  in  a  compact  mass  and  with  more  or 
less  coral  and  shell  deposits.  The  density  of  the  water,  as  determined 
by  Professor  Herdman  (to  whose  important  and  valuable  report*  we 
are  indebted  for  much  information),  is  fairly  constant  at  1.023,  ^^'^ 
the  temperature  has  a  normal  range  of  from  82°  to  86°  F.  during  the 
greater  part  of  the  year.  The  charts  and  records  refer  to  about 
twenty  paars,  but  most  of  these  have  never  yielded  extensively,  either 
to  the  English  or  to  the  Dutch.  In  the  aggregate,  they  cover  an  area 
fifty  miles  in  length  and  twenty  miles  in  width.  Most  of  them  are  from 
five  to  twenty  miles  from  the  shore,  and  at  a  depth  of  five  to  ten  fath- 
oms. The  principal  paars  are  Cheval,  Madaragam,  Periya,  Muttuva- 
ratu,  Karativu,  Vankalai,  Chilaw,  and  Condatchy.  Only  three  have 
afiforded  profitable  fisheries  in  recent  years,  i.  e.:  Cheval,  Madaragam 
and  Muttuvaratu. 

The  other  paars  are  of  practically  no  economic  value  at  the  present 
time.  They  become  populated  with  tens  of  millions  of  oysters,  which 
mysteriously  disappear  before  they  are  old  enough  for  gathering.  Es- 
pecially is  this  true  of  the  Periya  paar,  which  is  about  fifteen  miles 
from  the  shore,  and  runs  eleven  miles  north  and  south,  varying  from 
one  to  two  miles  in  width.  Frequently  this  is  found  covered  with 
young  oysters,  which  almost  invariably  disappear  before  the  next  in- 
spection, owing,  probably,  to  their  being  covered  by  the  shifting  bot- 
tom caused  by  the  southwest  monsoon.  The  natives  call  this  the 
"Mother  paar,"  under  the  impression  that  these  oysters  migrate  to  the 
other  paars. 

The  Ceylon  government  has  given  very  careful  attention  to  all  mat- 
ters affecting  the  prosperity  of  the  pearl  resources.  It  has  maintained 
a  "Pearl  Fishery  Establishment,"  consisting  of  a  superintendent,  an  in- 
spector and  numerous  divers,  attendants,  and  sailors.  The  inspector 
examines  the  paars,  determines  when  and  to  what  extent  they  should 
be  fished,  and  directs  the  operations.  The  superintendent  conducts 
the  work  on  shore,  divides  and  sells  the  oysters,  etc.  The  expense  of 
this  establishment  has  approximated  $40,000  per  annum  when  there 
has  been  a  fishery,  and  about  $22,500  without  fishery  expenses. 

1  ".Pearl  Oyster  Fisheries  of  the  Gulf  of  Manaar,"  s  vols.,  London,  1903-1906. 


io8  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

It  has  been  decided  by  naturalists  that  Ceylon  oysters  less  than  four 
years  old  produce  very  few  marketable  pearls ;  in  the  fifth,  and  again 
in  the  sixth  year  the  value  of  the  yield  doubles,  and  in  the  seventh  it  is 
supposed  to  increase  fourfold.  Beyond  that  age  there  appears  to  be 
little  increase,  and  there  is  the  risk  of  the  oysters  dying,  and  of  the 
pearls  deteriorating  or  becoming  lost.  Eight  years  seems  to  be  the 
natural  limit  of  life.  While  experience  has  shown  that  the  most  profi- 
table period  ^or  taking  the  pearl-oysters  is  when  they  are  from  five 
to  seven  years  old,  the  mollusks  are  liable  to  disappear,  especially  after 
the  fifth  year,  and  the  danger  of  waiting  too  long  is  as  great  as  that  of 
beginning  too  early.  The  fishing  on  any  particular  bank  is  deter- 
mined by  various  circumstances  and  conditions,  and  is  permitted  only 
after  careful  examination. 

The  dififerent  beds  are  inspected  from  time  to  time,  and  no  fishing 
is  permitted  until  the  condition  of  the  pearl-oysters  on  the  particular 
reef  thrown  open  seems  to  warrant  the  most  valuable  returns.  In  the 
examination  of  a  bed  apparently  in  suitable  condition,  several  thou- 
sand oysters — usually  eight  or  ten  thousand — are  taken  up  and  the 
pearls  found  therein  are  examined  and  valued.  If  they  average  Rs.25 
or  Rs.30  per  thousand  oysters,  profitable  results  may  be  expected,  pro- 
vided there  is  a  sufficient  quantity  of  oysters  on  the  bed.  This  method 
of  determining  the  fishery  is  very  ancient.  Tavernier  wrote,  about 
1650,  "before  they  fish,  they  try  whether  it  will  turn  to  any  account  by 
sending  seven  or  eight  boats  to  bring  1000  oysters  each,  which  they 
open,  and  if  the  oysters  per  1000  yield  five  fanos  or  above,  they  then 
know  the  fishing  will  turn  to  account."  ^  And  much  the  same  method 
was  described  by  Ribeiro  in  1685. 

When  it  has  been  decided  to  hold  a  fishery,  public  notice  is  given  by 
advertisement,  stating  which  of  the  many  paars  or  reefs  will  be  open, 
and  the  estimated  quantity  of  oysters  to  be  removed,  the  number  of 
boats  that  will  be  given  employment,  and  the  date  for  beginning  the 
season  and  the  length  of  time  it  will  probably  last.  This  notice  is  usu- 
ally given  in  December  preceding  the  fishery,  and  it  is  the  signal  for 
preparation  by  tens  of  thousands  of  persons  in  this  part  of  Asia,  and 
especially  on  the  Madras  and  the  Malabar  coasts  of  India,  and  on  the 
coast  of  Arabia.  The  fishermen,  the  merchants,  and  the  multitude  of 
artisans,  mechanics,  and  laborers  who  contribute  to  the  industry,  set 
their  homes  and  business  in  order  so  that  they  may  attend.  We  give 
the  notice  issued  in  1907,  both  in  Cingalese  and  in  English.^ 

Early  in  February  the  area  to  be  gleaned  is  again  examined,  the 
limits  of  the  oysters  are  charted  and  buoyed  off,  the  number  that  may 
be  obtained  is   estimated  as   accurately  as  possible,   and  valuation 

'Tavernier,  "Travels  in  India,"  Vol.  II,  ch.  21.  "See  pp.  no,  in. 


f^»>^^«^ 


THE   LATE    MAHARAJAH   OF   PATIALA 


PEARLS  FROM  ASIA  109 

samples  are  collected.  Several  thousand  oysters  are  taken  up,  the 
pearls  are  removed,  examined,  and  valued  by  uninterested  experts,  and 
the  results  are  published,  so  that  prospective  buyers  may  have  a  re- 
liable idea  as  to  their  value.  Otherwise  this  would  not  be  possible 
until  the  merchants  had  washed  some  of  their  own  purchases,  which 
ordinarily  would  not  be  for  a  week  or  ten  days  after  the  opening  of  the 
season. 

The  fishery  usually  begins  late  in  February  or  early  in  March,  as 
the  sea  is  then  relatively  calm,  the  currents  least  perceptible,  and  there 
is  less  danger  of  storms.  It  is  prosecuted  from  a  temporary  settle- 
ment or  camp  on  the  sandy  shore  at  a  place  conveniently  near  the  reefs. 
The  important  fisheries  of  the  five  years  ending  in  1907,  were  centered 
at  the  improvised  settlement  known  as  Marichchikadde.  Although 
prosecuted  from  the  coast  of  Ceylon,  relatively  few  Cingalese  attend 
compared  with  the  large  numbers  who  assemble  from  India,  Arabia, 
and  elsewhere. 

A  week  or  two  before  the  opening  of  the  season,  the  boats  begin  to 
arrive,  sometimes  fifty  or  more  in  a  single  day,  laden  with  men,  women 
and  children,  and  in  many  cases  with  the  materials  for  their  huts.  In  a 
short  time  the  erstwhile  desolate  beach  becomes  populated  with  thou- 
sands of  persons  from  all  over  the  Indian  littoral,  and  there  is  the 
noisy  traffic  of  congregated  humanity,  and  a  confusion  of  tongues 
where  before  only  the  sound  of  the  ocean  waves  was  heard.  Beside 
the  eight  or  ten  thousand  fishermen,  most  of  whom  are  Moormen, 
Tamils,  and  Arabs,  there  are  pearl  merchants — mainly  Chetties  and 
Moormen,  boat  repairers  and  other  mechanics,  provision  dealers, 
priests,  pawnbrokers,  government  officials,  koddu-counters,  clerks, 
boat  guards,  a  police  force  of  200  officials,  coolies,  domestic  servants, 
with  numbers  of  women  and  children.  And  for  the  entertainment  of 
these,  and  to  obtain  a  share  of  the  wealth  from  the  sea,  there  are  jug- 
glers, fakirs,  gamblers,  beggars,  female  dancers,  loose  characters,  with 
every  allurement  that  appeals  to  the  sons  of  Brahma,  Buddha  or  Mo- 
hammed. Natives  from  the  seaport  towns  of  India  are  there  in  thou- 
sands ;  the  slender-limbed  and  delicate-featured  Cingalese  with  their 
scant  attire  and  unique  head-dress ;  energetic  Arabs  from  the  Persian 
Gulf;  burly  Moormen,  sturdy  Kandyans,  outcast  Veddahs,  Chinese, 
Jews,  Portuguese,  Dutch,  half-castes,  the  scum  of  the  East  and  the 
rififrafif  of  the  Asiatic  littoral,  the  whole  making  up  a  temporary  city 
of  forty  thousand  or  more  inhabitants.^ 

iThe  report  of  the  Chief  of  PoHce  at  the  out   occupation  in  their  own  country,  made 

1905   fishery  states  :       "  In   the   camp   there  their  way  to  Marichchukkadi  with  the  hope 

were  40,000  to  50,000 persons,  of  whom  it  may  of    making   money  to    gamble     in  oysters." 

be    said   that  not   less    than    a    tenth    were  ("  Reports  on  the  Pearl  Fisheries  for  1905," 

gamblers,    vagrants,  and  rogues,  who,  with-  Colombo,  p.  17.) 


no  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


THE 


Ceylon  Company  oj  pearl  fishers, 


XjIlSdriTEilD. 


NOTICE 

Is  hereby  given  that  a  Pearl  Fishery  will  take  place  at 
Marichchukkaddi,  in  the  Island  of  Ceylon,  on  or  about 
February  20,  1907. 

The  Banks  to  be  fished  are — 

The  Karativu,  Dutch  Moderagain  and  Alanturai  Pars, 
estimated  to  contain  21,000,000  oysters,  sufficient  to  employ 
100  boats  for  twenty-one  days  with  average  loads  of  10,000 
each  per  day. 

The  North-West  and  Mid-West  Cheval,  estimated  to 
contain  2,000,000  oysters,  sufficient  to  employ  lOO  boats  for 
two  days  with  average  loads  of  10,000  oysters. 

The  Muttuvaratu  Par,  estimated  to  contain  8,000,000 
oysters,  sufficient  to  employ  lOO  boats  for  eight  days  with 
average  loaas  as  before  stated  :  each  boat  being  fully  manned 
with  divers. 

2.  It  is  notified  that  fishing  will  begin  on  the  first 
favourable  day  after  February  19.  Conditions  governing  the 
employment  of  divers  will  be  issued  separately. 

3.  Marichchukkaddi  is  on  the  mainland,  eight  miles 
by  sea  south  of  Sillavaturai,  and  supplies  of  good  water  and 
provisions  can  be  obtained  there. 

4.  The  Fishery  will  be  conducted  on  account  of  the 
Ceylon  Company  of  Pearl  Fishers,  Ltd.,  and  the  oysters  put 
up  to  sale  in  such  lots  as  may  be  deemed  expedient. 


PEARLS  FROM  ASIA  iii 


^60ifij65)a  ^Lp^sja^erfLJui  a^iBia^-STiT  eS'iBiLGi 


1907-ii  (^^  QuuneuB  lE^  20-/5    ^s^uSeo'Teu^  -Jf^P 
(^  ^pQp    Qpesr  t9eh  ies)eii^     ^eviEiemm^^sS^^en  err     mfiS^Si 

(V^ihi  j)/a9eQ^fiev  Q<fujujuu(BS p^  . 

i—'F3r'3Loiri—irstii,  ^WB^Ssw  uiriTsen.  ^uuir irsetPev  iBnQetrir 
sir £ii»(^  Q ^nes^  ^ek ^d(^3=  ^ ni ^ B  10,000  &ui9xen  eS'^iit 
100  Q  fiiTesaflmen  2i  mi^eh  nj\^^a(V\6Sssu  Quir^LCiresr 
21,000,000  &uiSaefl(TfymQpQ ^eJsT jrn  ui^^ui9i—u  uiLi^q^sS 
PjSSi 

essfl  gf63T^«(^#^  s'lriTiFifl  10,000  SuSseii  eff'^th  100  Qfi'f 
esSaen  2  mT<sn  (^iSsmuQ uir^u^new  2,000.000  9lui9%&fl(i^s 

Qp^^eiijrpn^iuunir.      ^uun if}ev  Quop   Q<rii evevuuiLi-. 
eSQ^LJut^  S/bnSsrrasi^^  ]00Q ^iressSiseii  (^e^ioiuQ un ^uiit ear 

8,000,000        9lUi9s<otflQT)SSlpQ  ^ek  jru        LD^Ul9l—UULLt^QF,iS 

2.      Ouuietjifl    lE''  19-/5  ^■s^Qs(^ui9eir  (v^eBuLjS^^  jy 
SDistt-eoQiasii  jpi  an emn  uuCSth  np^ex)     /bireSQ eoQ lu    Qp^^i(^ 

i6v  Qia'iLiiuuuQiSi p^ .  QPji^/s^erflsn  B IT  <Fto(_//5^to/7uJ  jy  giU*' 
Ssauu®iJD  ^punQsen    i^Jifi^QiuSLcnuj  is9eiiLLLiJru>ir(^ii>. 

iair IT d s LD iTiu  8  smtoffu  ^ o ^ ^seuuir eo  sessr l—  ^ ^ei>  mi—  pasmB 

iaiunn  l£:\l  t^Q^sQ p^  ,    Ji/ia(^     /S fflJSU^ 6337 633? 0ti     E_ 6337  ©/«(») CofiU 


112  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

A  populous  town  springs  up  with  well-planned  and  lighted  streets 
and  vast  numbers  of  temporary  abodes  of  all  sorts,  according  to  the 
means  and  the  caste  of  the  occupants,  some  of  them  just  large  enough 
for  two  or  three  persons  to  creep  into.  Although  made  mostly  of 
poles,  mats,  cajans  or  plaited  fronds  of  the  cocoanut  tree,  they  furnish 
ample  shelter  for  the  locality  and  season,  the  uncertainty  of  the  fishery 
from  year  to  year  being  sufficient  argument  against  expensive  and 
substantial  buildings.  Numerous  wells  and  cisterns  yield  water  for 
the  use  of  all.  Sanitary  measures  are  strictly  enforced,  with  a  liberal 
use  of  disinfectants.  At  a  considerable  distance  southward  from  the 
settlement  are  constructed  the  private  toddis,  or  inclosures,  for  decom- 
posing the  oysters  and  washing  the  pearls  therefrom.  Nearer  the 
camp  or  settlement  itself  are  the  police  court,  the  jail,  the  bank,  the 
post  and  telegraph  offices,  the  auction  room,  the  hospital  and  the 
cemetery — all  to  endure  through  a  strenuous  six  weeks  of  toil  and 
labor,  of  money-getting  and  gambling,  and  then  the  inhabitants  "fold 
their  tents  like  the  Arabs,  and  silently  steal  away,"  leaving  the  debris 
to  the  shore-birds  and  the  jackals. 

The  fishing  fleet  consists  of  several  hundred  boats^  of  various  rigs 
and  sizes.  These  are  interesting  on  account  of  their  picturesque  ap- 
pearance and  also  their  remarkable  diversity  of  types  in  hull  and  rig- 
ging: there  is  the  broad  and  roomy  Jaffna  dhoney,  commonly  painted 
black;  the  lugger-like  Paumben  boat;  the  very  narrow  and  speedy 
canoes, — not  unlike  the  single  masted  bugeyes  of  the  Chesapeake 
region — from  Kilakarai  and  neighboring  villages,  most  noticeable 
owing  to  their  great  number  and  their  bright  colors — red,  green,  or 
yellow;  the  clumsy  looking,  single  masted  Tuticorin  lighters,  sharp 
sterned  and  copper  bottomed,  the  largest  boats  in  the  fleet,  ranging  in 
capacity  from  twenty  to  forty  tons  each ;  and,  most  singular  of  all,  the 
three  masted  great  canoes  from  Adirampatnam  and  Muttupat  on  the 
Tanjore  coast,  pale  blue  in  color  and  with  curved  prow.  In  addition  to 
these  standard  types,  added  novelty  is  imparted  by  a  few  boats  of  de- 
sign so  odd  and  fantastic  as  would  be  conceived  only  by  the  mind  of  an 
oriental  builder. 

Reaching  the  camp  at  the  beginning  of  the  season,  these  boats  are 
examined  by  the  officials  as  to  condition  and  equipment  and,  if  found 
satisfactory,  are  registered  and  numbered.  When  the  quantity  of 
oysters  to  be  removed  is  small,  many  more  boats  may  arrive  than  is 
necessary  or  than  can  find  profitable  employment.  Formerly  when 
this  occurred  a  lottery  was  held  to  determine  those  to  be  employed. 
More  recently  the  officials  have  endeavored  to  engage  all  boats  passing 

iln  1906  there  were  473  boats  employed;  in  1905,  318;  in  1857,  1858,  1859,  and  1863,  over 
400  boats  reported  for  employment. 


PEARLS  FROM  ASIA  113 

the  inspection,  although  to  do  so  might  necessitate  arranging  the  fleet 
into  two  divisions,  each  fishing  on  ahernate  days.  In  1874,  the  boats 
were  arranged  in  three  divisions,  the  red,  blue  and  green,  with  fifty- 
boats  in  each ;  in  1879,  and  again  in  1881,  there  were  two  divisions,  the 
red  and  the  blue;  and  likewise  in  1880,  in  1903  and  in  1906  there  were 
two,  the  red  and  the  white  divisions.  Of  the  318  boats  employed  in  the 
1905  fishery,  143  were  from  Kilakarai,  seventy- four  from  Jaffna, 
thirty-five  from  Tuticorin,  thirty-four  from  Paumben,  nine  from 
Manaar,  six  from  Negapatam,  five  from  Colombo,  four  each  from 
Tondi  and  Kayalpatam,  and  one  each  from  Devipatam,  Adrapatam, 
Ammopatam,  and  Koddaipatam. 

The  number  of  persons  on  each  boat  ranges  from  about  twelve  to 
sixty-five,  with  an  average  for  the  entire  fleet  of  about  thirty-five  men 
per  boat.  This  includes  the  sammatti,  or  master,  who  represents  the 
owner ;  the  tindal,  or  pilot ;  the  todai,  or  water-bailer,  who  is  very  nec- 
essary on  these  leaky  craft,  and  who  also  takes  charge  of  the  food  and 
drinking  water;  at  times  a  government  inspector  or  "boat  guard"; 
and  from  five  to  thirty  divers,  with  an  equal  number  of  manducks,  or 
attendants.^  The  sammattis,  tindals,  and  todais  are  nearly  all  from 
the  coast  of  southern  India.  The  "boat  guards"  or  inspectors  are 
natives  of  Ceylon,  and  are  employed  by  the  government  to  prevent  the 
fishermen  from  opening  the  oysters.  Most  of  the  manducks  are  from 
the  Indian  coast. 

Of  the  4991  divers  employed  in  1905,  2649  were  Moormen  or  Lub- 
bais  from  Kilakarai,  Tondi,  etc.,  on  the  Madura  coast;  923  were 
Arabs;  424  were  Erukkalampiddi  Moormen  from  Ceylon,  and  the 
remaining  995  were  Tamils  from  Tuticorin,  Rameswaram  and  else- 
where on  the  Madras  coast,  Malayalans  from  the  Malabar  coast,  with 
small  numbers  from  other  localities  on  the  Asiatic  coasts. 

Among  the  86cx)  divers  in  1906,  were  4090  Arabs,  the  largest  num- 
ber of  those  people  employed  in  recent  years.  In  1905  there  were  only 
923  Arab  divers,  in  1904  only  238,  and  previously  the  number  was 
much  less.  Some  have  worked  on  the  Ceylon  coast  since  1887,  but 
most  of  them  are  newly  arrived  from  Bahrein  and  Kuweit,  where  they 
received  their  training  as  pearl-divers.  They  are  very  energetic  and 
skilful  fishermen,  far  surpassing  the  Tamils,  coming  early  in  the  sea- 
son and  staying  late,  and  working  on  many  days  when  rough  seas 
deter  the  Indian  divers  from  venturing  out. 

The  Erukkalampiddi  divers  of  Ceylon  are  by  no  means  so  energetic 
or  steady  in  work  as  the  Arabs,  and  commonly  desert  the  fishery  be- 

1  Some   years    ago,    notably   in    the   early      sons  in  each  boat.      (See  Vane's  "Report  on 
sixties,  each  and  every  boat  was  required  to      Ceylon  Pearl  Fisheries,"  1863.) 
have  ten  divers,  thus  making  a  total  of  23  per- 

8 


114  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

fore  the  close.  The  Tamil  divers  belong  to  the  Parawa  and  Kadeiyar 
castes. 

The  season  in  the  Ceylon  fishery  is  very  short,  only  about  six  or 
eight  weeks  at  the  most;  and  the  holidays  and  storms  usually  reduce 
the  number  of  actual  working  days  to  less  than  thirty.  In  no  other 
pearl  fishery  of  importance  is  the  season  less  than  four  months  in 
length,  and  in  most  of  them  it  extends  through  more  than  half  of  the 
year.  Owing  to  this  restricted  time,  there  is  greater  activity  in  the 
Ceylon  fishery  compared  with  the  value  of  the  output  than  in  any 
other  pearl  fishery  in  the  world. 

Although  the  season  is  short,  it  is  strenuous.  Arising  shortly 
after  midnight,  the  thousands  of  fishermen  breakfast,  perform  their 
devotions  and  prepare  to  get  under  way  so  as  to  reach  the  reefs  about 
sunrise.  There  each  boat  takes  its  position  on  the  ground  allotted  for 
the  day's  work,  and  which  has  been  marked  in  advance  by  buoys 
topped  with  flags ;  and  shortly  afterward,  on  a  signal  from  the  guard 
vessel,  the  diving  commences.  This  is  carried  on  in  the  same  manner 
as  already  described  for  the  Persian  Gulf,  except  that  the  Indian 
divers  do  not  use  nose-clips,  only  compressing  the  nostrils  with  the 
fingers  during  the  descent.  Rarely  do  they  descend  to  a  greater  depth 
than  ten  fathoms. 

The  divers  work  in  pairs,  each  pair  using  a  single  diving  stone  in 
common,  and  descending  alternately,  precisely  as  in  the  Persian  Gulf. 
It  is  remarkable  what  few  changes  have  occurred  in  the  methods  of 
the  fishery  in  the  last  six  centuries;  the  description'  of  Marco  Polo, 
who  visited  the  region  about  1294,  and  of  writers  somewhat  more 
recent,  indicating  that,  in  the  main  features,  it  was  then  conducted  in 
the  same  manner  as  at  the  present  time. 

An  exception  to  the  usual  mode  of  diving  is  practised  by  the  Malay- 
alam  fishermen,  who,  in  some  seasons — as  in  1903,  for  instance — at- 
tend in  large  numbers  from  Travancore  and  northward  on  the  Mala- 
bar coast.  These  men  are  rather  low  in  skill  and  physical  endurance.^ 
They  dive  head  foremost  from  a  spring-board,  and  even  with  this 
assistance, — or  possibly  we  should  say,  handicapped  by  this  method, — 
they  find  the  average  depth  of  eight  fathoms  too  great  for  them  to 
work  in  with  much  comfort,  rarely  remaining  under  water  longer  than 
forty-five  seconds. 

The  number  of  oysters  secured  on  each  visit  to  the  bottom  ranges 
from  nothing  to  seventy-five  or  more,  averaging  between  fifteen 
and  fifty.  This  depends  not  only  on  the  ability  of  the  fishermen,  but 
also  on  the  abundance  of  oysters  and  the  ease  with  which  they  may 
be  collected.     Sometimes  they  are  held  together  in  loose  bunches  of 

'  Supra.,  p.  100.  -  Hornell,  "  Reports  on  the  Pearl  Fisheries  of  1904,"  Colombo,  p.  31. 


I    iiinadiiig  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 


PEARLS  FROM  ASIA  115 

five  to  ten  in  each,  and  a  diver  can  easily  gather  one  hundred  in  the 
short  length  of  time  he  remains  submerged.  In  other  localities  they 
may  be  somewhat  firmly  attached  individually  to  the  bottom,  so  that 
some  force  is  necessary  to  release  them,  thus  reducing  the  possible 
quantity.    Ordinarily  one  dive  clears  a  space  of  several  square  yards. 

Since  1904,  a  steamer  has  been  employed  each  season  by  the  govern- 
ment for  dredging  oysters  in  connection  with  experiments  in  oyster- 
culture.  The  officer  in  charge  of  this  work  concludes  that  "dredging 
is  economically  a  more  sound  method  of  fishing  than  is  diving."^  This 
view  is  disputed  by  the  superintendent  of  the  fishery,  who  points  out 
that  the  average  catch  by  the  steamer  when  dredging  mature  oysters 
only  slightly  exceeds  that  of.  an  ordinary  diving  boat,  and  the  cost  of 
maintenance  and  operation  is  vastly  greater.^  A  remarkable  tribute  to 
the  skill  of  the  nude  divers,  brought  out  by  this  discussion,  is  that, 
during  some  days  when  they  were  at  work,  the  sea  was  too  rough  for 
dredging  by  the  steamer,  notwithstanding  that  she  was  a  typical 
Grimsby  or  North  Sea  trawler  of  150  tons  measurement,  built  in  1896.'' 

A  rough  comparison  of  the  Ceylon  method  of  catching  pearl-oysters 
with  that  practised  by  the  American  oyster-growers  may  not  be  un- 
interesting. On  a  basis  of  400  to  the  bushel,  the  total  Ceylon  catch  of 
81,580,716  pearl-oysters  in  1905  represents  a  trifle  more  than  200,000 
bushels,  or  about  the  quantity  annually  produced  by  each  of  the  half 
dozen  leading  oyster-growers  of  this  country.  Each  one  of  these 
growers  requires  only  about  three  steamers,  at  a  total  cost,  maybe,  of 
$25,000,  and  manned  by  twenty-five  men;  instead  of  one  steamer  at  a 
cost  of  $25,000  and  318  diving  boats  manned  by  10,000  men,  which  was 
the  equipment  in  Ceylon.  To  be  sure,  the  conditions  under  which  the 
work  is  prosecuted  are  different— however,  not  so  entirely  unlike  as 
might  be  supposed— and  the  American  season  is  about  six  months  long 
instead  of  the  two  months  in  Ceylon ;  but  the  comparison  is  presented 
simply  as  a  suggestion  of  the  possibilities  of  dredging  on  the  Ceylon 
reefs. 

Until  1885,  one  of  the  most  novel  features  of  the  fishery  was  the 
employment  of  shark-charmers  or  "binders  of  sharks"  {kadal-kotti 
in  the  Tamil  language,  hai-banda  in  Hindustani),  whose  presence 
was  rendered  necessary  by  the  superstition  of  the  Indian  divers.  The 
fishermen  placed  implicit  reliance  upon  the  alleged  supernatural  pow- 
ers of  these  impostors,  resembling  in  some  respects  that  reposed  in  the 
"medicine  men"  by  the  American  Indians,  and  would  not  dive  without 
their  supervision.    It  is  unknown  at  what  period  the  influence  of  these 

1"  Reports  on  the  Pearl  Fishery  for  1904,"  -  "Reports  on  the  Pearl  Fishery  for  1905," 

p.  7-  P-  23. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  22. 


ii6  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

semi-priests  developed,  but  at  the  time  of  Marco  Polo's  visit  about 
1294,  they  were  in  the  full  bloom  of  their  authority,  receiving  one 
twentieth  of  the  total  catch  of  oysters,^  which  amounted  to  a  very 
considerable  sum.  It  is  probable  that  the  number  of  shark-charmers 
was  then  quite  large,  some  writers  more  recently  referring  to  one  for 
each  boat.  During  the  Portuguese  occupation  the  number  was  re- 
duced to  twelve,  and  at  the  beginning  of  the  British  influence,  it  was 
further  reduced  to  two. 

Interesting  descriptions  have  been  given  of  the  methods  by  which 
these  men  exercised  their  alleged  powers.    In  1807,  Cordiner  stated: 

One  goes  out  regularly  in  the  head  pilot's  boat.  The  other  performs  certain 
ceremonies  on  shore.  He  is  stripped  naked,  and  shut  up  in  a  room,  where  no 
person  sees  him  from  the  period  of  the  sailing  of  the  boats  until  their  return. 
He  has  before  him  a  brass  basin  full  of  water,  containing  one,  male  and  one 
female  fish  made  of  silver.  If  any  accident  should  happen  from  a  shark  at 
sea,  it  is  believed  that  one  of  these  fishes  is  seen  to  bite  the  other.  The  divers 
likewise  believe  that,  if  the  conjurer  should  be  dissatisfied,  he  has  the  power  of 
making  the  sharks  attack  them,  on  which  account  he  is  sure  of  receiving 
liberal  presents  from  all  quarters.^ 

Amusing  stories  are  told  of  the  shrewdness  displayed  by  these  fel- 
lows in  inventing  explanations  to  redeem  their  credit  when  a  fisher- 
man became  a  victim  of  the  sharks.  These  accounts  are  by  men  who 
evidently  bore  no  good-will  toward  the  shark-charmers,  and  it  would 
be  of  interest  to  hear  from  the  other  side ;  but  we  have  been  unable  to 
find  any  one  who  has  appeared  in  print  in  their  defense. 

The  British  government,  in  its  policy  of  noninterference  with  the 
superstitions  or  semi-religious  customs  of  the  natives,  tolerated  these 
seeming  impostors,  owing,  probably,  in  a  measure,  to  the  fact  that  the 
superstitious  belief  in  their  necessity  was  favorable  to  the  preservation 
of  the  resources,  since  it  restricted  poaching  on  the  reefs.  However, 
the  government  endeavored  to  prevent  an  extravagant  misuse  of  the 
influence,  and  restricted  the  compensation  of  the  shark-charmers  to 
one  oyster  per  day  from  each  diver.  Later,  they  were  remunerated  by 
the  government,  and  were  not  allowed,  under  any  pretense  whatever, 
to  demand,  exact,  or  receive  oysters  or  any  other  compensation  from 
the  boatmen,  divers,  or  any  other  persons.  And,  finally,  in  1885,  the 
shark-charmers  were  done  away  with  entirely,  after  having  exacted 
their  toll  for  upward  of  six  centuries  at  least. 

The  dangers  to  which  the  Ceylon  divers  are  exposed  have  been 
greatly  exaggerated,  and  especially  the  risks  from  sharks.    Poets  tell 

i"The  Book   of  Ser  Marco  Polo,"   Lon-  -  Cordiner,  "  Description  of  Ceylon,"  Vol. 

don,  1871,  Vol.  II,  p.  267.  II,  p.  52. 


PEARLS  FROM  ASIA  117 

how  "the  Ceylon  pearler  went  all  naked  to  the  hungry  shark,"  and 
the  struggle  of  the  diver  has  been  a  favorite  theme  with  sensational 
writers.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  trouble  from  this  source  is  very 
slight,  and  the  occupation  is  less  dangerous  than  that  of  most  of 
the  deep-water  fisheries,  not  to  be  compared,  for  instance,  with  that  of 
the  winter  haddock-fishery  oflf  the  New  England  coast.  Even  in  1905, 
when  4991  divers  and  an  equal  number  of  assistants  were  employed  in 
pearling,  not  a  single  fatal  accident  was  reported,  and  although  much 
rough  weather  prevailed,  not  a  fishing  boat  was  lost.  In  the  impor- 
tant fishery  of  1904,  with  3049  divers,  only  one  fatal  accident  occurred, 
this  was  an  elderly  Moorman,  whose  death  at  the  bottom  was  ap- 
parently due  either  to  apoplexy  or  to  exhaustion  from  remaining  under 
water  too  long. 

The  superintendent  of  the  fishery  reported  that  not  a  single  shark 
was  seen  during  the  1904  season.^  According  to  the  statement  of  Sir 
William  Twynam,  whose  Ceylon  pearl  fishing  experience  and  observa- 
tion equal  those  of  any  European,  he  has  never  known  of  a  diver  being 
carried  ofif  by  a  shark,  and  has  heard  of  only  one  case — "which  was  a 
very  doubtful  one."^  Prof.  James  Hornell,  the  inspector  of  pearl 
banks,  reported  in  1904:  "During  all  the  months  I  have  spent  upon 
the  pearl  banks  during  the  last  two  years  and  a  half  I  have  never 
had  a  glimpse  of  a  shark  dangerous  to  man.  Several  times  the  boat- 
men have  caught  basking  sharks  of  considerable  size,  but  all  were  of  a 
species  that  lives  almost  entirely  upon  small  crustaceans."*  The  late 
Mr.  A.  M.  Ferguson  wrote  in  1887:  "I  think  it  is  pretty  certain  that  in 
the  whole  course  of  the  Ceylon  fisheries  only  two  human  beings  have 
fallen  victims  to  these  fierce  fishes."* 

The  diving  continues  until  a  signal  is  given  from  the  guard  vessel 
about  twelve  or  one  o'clock,  this  time  depending  largely  on  the  begin- 
ning of  the  sea  breeze  which  roughens  the  water  and  interferes  with 
the  work,  and  likewise  serves  to  speed  the  passage  of  the  sail  vessels 
to  the  shore.  Occasionally  the  breeze  is  unfavorable,  and  the  boatmen 
are  obliged  to  row  for  miles,  delaying  their  return  in  some  instances 
imtil  nightfall.  Then  the  shore  is  lighted  up  to  guide  them  to  the 
landings,  and  extra  precautions  are  maintained  to  prevent  them  from 
getting  away  with  some  of  the  oysters  in  the  darkness. 

It  is  claimed— and  doubtless  with  much  truth— that  it  is  not  unusual 
for  the  boatmen  to  take  advantage  of  the  time  spent  in  reaching  the 
shore  to  surreptitiously  open  many  of  the  oysters  and  extract  the 
pearls  therefrom,  throwing  the  refuse  back  into  the  sea.    It  would  ap- 

1  "Reports  on  the  Pearl  Fisheries  of  1904,"  '  Ibid. ,  p.  34. 

p.  17.  *"  Royal     Asiatic     Society     Proceedings," 

^Jbid.,  p.  17.  1887-1888,  p.  100. 


ii8  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

pear  from  some  authorities  that  this  is  a  general  practice.  One  official 
— and  probably  the  one  in  the  best  position  to  know — reported  in  1905 
that  more  than  15,000,000  oysters,  or  nearly  one  fifth  of  the  enormous 
catch  during  that  season,  were  illicitly  opened.^  However,  this  state- 
ment is  strongly  disputed  by  the  superintendent  of  the  fishery,  who 
states : 

As  a  matter  of  fact  the  opening  of  oysters  that  goes  on  in  the  boats  is  of 
a  much  more  casual  description  than  this.  The  divers  occasionally  pick  out 
some  of  the  best  looking  oysters  that  happen  to  be  conspicuous,  or  some  that 
open,  and  look  inside  them.  It  is  quite  possible  that  a  valuable  pearl  might  be 
found  in  this  way,  but  the  chances  are  against  it.  It  is  hardly  likely  that  the 
divers  would  throw  into  the  sea  an  enormous  quantity  of  perfunctorily  ex- 
amined oysters  in  which  they  have  a  share  and  which  contain  pearls,  while 
they  were  aware  that  immediately  on  landing  they  could  get  good  prices  for 
their  shares. - 

The  government  ofl^icials  have  endeavored  to  put  a  stop  to  whatever 
looting  may  exist,  searching  boats  and  occupants  at  the  shore,  revoking 
the  license  of  any  boat  showing  evidence  of  oysters  having  been  opened 
or  carrying  knives  or  other  appliances  for  that  purpose.  The  fisher- 
men are  alleged  to  resort  to  all  sorts  of  devices  to  secrete  their  illicit 
find  of  pearls,  concealing  them  in  the  nose,  ears,  eyes,  and  other  parts 
of  the  body,  and  even  hiding  them  in  parcels  in  the  furled  sails  or  at- 
tached to  the  embedded  anchor.  In  some  seasons — as  in  1904  and 
1905— the  government  employed  a  guard  for  each  boat.  But  serious 
criticism  has  been  made  of  the  integrity  of  these  guards,  who,  with 
compensation  of  only  one  rupee  per  diem,  could  scarcely  be  expected 
to  resist  the  action  of  thirty  or  forty  fishermen  and  report  their  doings, 
when  by  silence  they  would  have  much  to  gain,  and  "the  guards  simply 
add  to  the  number  of  thieves  on  board  "  was  reported  by  one  superin- 
tendent. 

Doubtless  the  most  interesting  sight  in  the  Ceylon  fishery  is  af- 
forded by  the  return,  about  mid-afternoon,  of  the  hundreds  of  novel, 
sail-spreading  boats  running  before  the  wind  and  crowded  with  tur- 
baned  fishermen  dressed  in  their  few  brilliant  rags,  and  each  anxious 
to  be  the  first  at  the  wave-washed  beach,  where  they  are  welcomed  by 
an  equal  if  not  greater  number  of  officials,  merchants,  laborers,  and 
camp  followers,  gathered  on  the  shore  to  learn  the  result  of  the  fishery. 
The  fantastic  appearance  of  the  boats,  the  diversified  costumes  of  the 
people,  the  general  scene  of  animation,  afford  a  view  which  for  novelty 
is  rarely  equaled  even  in  the  picturesque  Orient. 

The  average  number  of  oysters  brought  in  daily  by  each  boat  is 

1  "  Reports  on  the  Pearl  Fisheries  of  1905,"  p.  40.  ^  Ibid.,  p.  24. 


PEARLS  FROM  ASIA  119 

about  10,000.  Some  days  when  the  weather  is  unfavorable  many  of 
the  boats  return  empty;  on  other  days  they  may  have  25,000  or  more. 
In  1905  the  maximum  catch  in  one  day  for  one  boat  was  29,990,  while 
in  1904  a  single  boat  brought  in  37,675  oysters.  The  catch  by  the  en- 
tire fleet  one  day  in  1905  was  4,978,686  oysters,  or  an  average  of 
16,485  for  each  of  the  302  boats  out  on  that  occasion. 

Each  person  taking  part  in  the  fishery  receives  as  his  compensation 
a  definite  portion  of  the  oysters.  By  government  regulations,  pub- 
lished in  1855  and  yet  operative,  each  sammatti,  tindal,  and  todai  re- 
ceives daily  one  dive  of  oysters  from  each  diver  in  the  boat  to  which 
they  are  respectively  attached.  In  some  instances  the  hire  of  the  boat 
is  paid  for  in  cash — about  Rs.1.50  per  day  from  each  diver, — but  in 
most  cases  either  one  fifth  or  one  sixth  of  each  diver's  portion  is  de- 
voted to  this  purpose.  After  these  provisions  have  been  made,  each 
diver  gives  one  third  of  his  remaining  portion  to  his  manduck,  retain- 
ing the  balance  for  himself.  The  Moormen  divers  from  Kilakarai 
commonly  contribute  one  dive  daily  to  the  mosque  of  their  native 
town,*  in  addition  to  the  portions  given  to  the  sammatti,  tindal,  and  to- 
dai. Previous  to  1855,  the  Hindu  temples  of  the  Madras  Presidency 
were  allowed  to  operate  a  certain  number  of  boats  on  their  own  ac- 
count, but  this  led  to  so  many  abuses  that  it  was  abolished. 

After  the  boats  are  run  up  on  the  firm,  hard  beach,  all  the  oysters  are 
removed  by  the  crews  of  the  boats  into  the  government  koddu  or  pali- 
sade, a  large  wattle-walled  and  palm-thatched  inclosure  with  square 
pens,  each  bearing  a  number  corresponding  to  that  of  each  boat.  This 
is  done  under  close  supervision  to  prevent  a  diversion  of  the  oysters 
from  the  regular  channels,  which  otherwise  would  be  relatively  easy 
among  the  animation  and  excitement  caused  by  the  thousands  of  per- 
sons about  the  landing-place. 

Within  the  government  inclosure,  the  oysters  taken  by  each  boat  are 
divided  by  the  fishermen  themselves  into  three  portions  as  nearly  equal 
as  possible.  This  applies  not  only  to  the  oysters  falling  to  the  share  of 
the  divers  and  mandiicks,  but  also  to  those  set  apart  for  the  sammatti, 
tindals,  and  todais,  for  hire  of  the  boat  and  even  for  the  Kilakarai 
mosque.  An  official  indicates  one  of  these  as  the  share  of  the  fisher- 
men, who  at  once  remove  their  portion  from  the  inclosure  through  a 
narrow  gate  on  the  landward  side.  By  this  arrangement  a  satisfac- 
tory division  of  the  oysters  is  secured  and  all  cause  for  complaint  or 
imfairness  is  removed.  Previous  to  1881,  the  fishermen  received  only 
one  fourth  of  the  catch  as  compensation  for  their  work;  but  in  that 
year  their  portion  was  increased  to  one  third,  at  which  it  has  since  re- 
mained. 

1 "  Reports  on  the  Pearl  Fishery  for  1904,"  Colombo,  p.  6. 


I20  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

As  soon  as  the  fishermen  pass  out  of  the  government  koddii  with 
their  quota,  they  are  met  by  a  crowd  of  natives  eager  to  buy  the  oysters 
in  small  lots,  and  frequently  at  so  many  per  rupee — ranging  from  eight 
to  twelve  ordinarily.  This  "outside  market"  is  one  of  the  many  inter- 
esting features  of  the  camp,  for  there  are  few  persons  on  the  shore 
who  do  not  risk  small  sums  in  testing  their  fortunes  in  this  lottery. 
And  a  wonderful  lottery  it  is  too,  in  which  a  man  may  risk  a  few  cop- 
pers and  win  a  prize  worth  hundreds  of  dollars.  A  poor  Tamil  once 
bought  five  oysters  for  half  a  rupee,  and  in  one  of  them  he  found  the 
largest  pearl  of  the  season.  Any  not  sold  among  this  eager,  animated 
throng  are  at  once  marketed  with  a  native  buyer.  The  diver  then 
hastens  to  immerse  himself  in  one  of  the  bathing  tanks  provided  for 
the  purpose.  It  is  claimed  that  if  this  bath  is  omitted  after  immersion 
all  the  morning  in  the  salt  water  of  the  gulf,  the  diver  is  liable  to  fall 
ill;  and  a  sufficient  supply  of  fresh  water  for  this  purpose  is  an  im- 
portant factor  in  the  arrangement  of  the  camp. 

Owing  to  their  sale  in  much  smaller  lots,  or  as  we  may  say,  at 
retail,  the  fishermen  succeed  in  getting  relatively  high  prices  for  their 
oysters,  and  their  earnings  exceed  one  half  of  the  government's  share. 
In  1905  this  amounted  to  probably  £86,000,  or  an  average  of  about 
$1350  for  each  of  the  318  boats.  However,  some  crews  made  very 
much  more  than  this,  with  a  corresponding  decrease  for  the  others. 
Although  1905  was  a  record  year  for  large  returns,  even  in  an  ordi- 
nary season  pearl  fishing  is  relatively  profitable,  as  a  skilled  diver 
earns  five  or  six  times  as  much  as  a  common  laborer  in  Ceylon.  The 
regulations  particularly  forbid  the  employment  of  divers  for  a  mone- 
tary consideration  instead  of  for  a  share  of  the  oysters  according  to 
the  established  custom. 

The  remaining  two  thirds  of  the  oysters  in  the  koddu  are  the 
property  of  the  government.  These  are  combined  and  counted.  At 
nine  o'clock  each  evening  they  are  sold  at  auction,  and  by  noon  of  the 
following  day  all  have  been  removed,  and  the  inclosure  is  ready  for 
the  incoming  catch. 

At  the  auction  the  number  of  oysters  to  be  sold  that  evening  is  an- 
nounced, and  bids  are  invited.  Some  one  starts  the  bidding  at,  maybe, 
Rs.20  or  25,  and  this  is  advanced  by  successive  bids  until  the  limit  ap- 
pears to  be  reached,  which  may  possibly  be  Rs.50  or  60.  The  suc- 
cessful bidder  is  permitted  to  take  as  many  oysters  in  multiples  of  1000 
as  he  chooses ;  and  after  he  is  supplied,  other  merchants  desiring  them 
at  that  particular  price  are  accommodated.  If  there  is  no  further  de- 
mand for  them  at  that  price,  the  bidding  on  the  remaining  oysters  is 
begun  precisely  as  at  first,  and  when  the  maximum  bid  is  reached,  all 
merchants  willing  to  give  that  amount  are  furnished  with  as  many  as 


Indian  pearl  merchants  ready  fur  business 


Children  of  Persian  pearl  dealers 


PEARLS  FROM  ASIA  121 

they  wish  in  muhiples  of  1000  as  before.  If  this  does  not  exhaust  the 
oysters,  the  bidding  on  the  remainder  is  started  up  again,  and  so  on 
until  all  are  sold.^  No  one  knows  at  the  time  whether  he  is  buying  a 
fortune  in  gems  or  only  worthless  shells. 

The  prices  at  which  the  oysters  are  sold  at  auction  may  differ  greatly 
from  the  estimated  valuation  of  the  samples  secured  in  the  February 
examination.  For  instance,  in  1905  the  valuation  of  the  South  Mada- 
ragam  oysters  was  Rs.  17.86  per  1000,  yet  the  auction  sales  on  the 
first  day  began  at  Rs.53  and  went  up  to  Rs.6i  per  1000,  or  three 
times  the  valuation ;  and  about  the  same  general  proportion  of  increase 
prevailed  for  the  oysters  from  the  remaining  banks,  a  result  of  great 
advances  in  the  market  for  pearls. 

The  auction  prices  for  the  different  lots  and  from  day  to  day  are 
fairly  constant.  But  the  shrewd  Indian  merchants  know  their  busi- 
ness well  and  keep  in  close  touch  with  the  yield,  so  that  there  are  many 
variations  in  the  selling  price  that  are  puzzling  to  the  uninitiated.  A 
somewhat  higher  estimation  is  placed  on  the  oysters  from  certain 
banks,  and  also  on  those  from  rocky  portions  of  a  particular  reef, 
owing  to  their  reputation  for  yielding  a  larger  percentage  of  pearls. 
The  estimation  of  particular  oysters  varies  to  some  extent  according  to 
the  amount  of  adhering  rock  and  coral  growth.  As  already  shown, 
the  prices  in  1906  covered  the  remarkable  range  of  from  Rs.20  to 
309  per  1000.  Superstitious  belief  in  luck  also  has  its  influence, 
and  a  buyer  may  consider  a  certain  day  as  unfavorable  for  him  and 
abstain  from  bidding  on  that  occasion;  or  considering  a  particular 
day  as  lucky,  he  may  bid  very  high  to  secure  a  considerable  portion  of 
the  sales. 

The  prices  in  different  seasons  vary  greatly.  In  i860,  the  average 
was  Rs.  134.23  per  1000,  which  was  unprecedentedly  large;  the  nearest 
to  this  was  Rs.79.07  in  1874  and  Rs.49  in  1905.  In  1880,  the  average 
price  per  1000  was  only  Rs.ii,  which  was  the  lowest  ever  recorded. 
The  records  for  individual  days  greatly  exceed  these  limits.  The 
highest  figures  at  which  oysters  have  sold  on  any  one  day  was  Rs.309 
per  1000  in  1906,  the  equivalent  for  each  oyster  of  10^  cents  in 
American  money.  In  1874,  the  price  reached  Rs.210  per  1000,  and  in 
1905,  the  maximum  price  was  Rs.124,  or  about  4^  cents  for  each 
oyster. 

The  oyster-buyers  are  principally  wealthy  Chetties  from  Madura, 
Ramnad,  Trichinopoli,  Parambakudi,  Tevakoddai,  Paumben,  Kumbha- 
konam,  and  other  towns  of  southern  India.  These  are  quite  differ- 
ent from  the  scantily  clothed  Naddukoddai  Chetties  so  common  in 
Ceylon.     Many  of  them  are  fashionably  dressed  in  semi-European 

1  "  Colonial  Sessional   Papers,"  1904,  Colombo,  p.  653. 


122  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

costume,  with  walking-stick,  patent  leather  boots,  and  other  evidences 
of  contact  with  Europe.  Smaller  quantities  of  oysters  are  purchased 
by  Moormen  of  Kilakarai,  Ramnad,  Bombay,  Adrampatam,  Tondi, 
etc.  A  few  oysters  are  also  purchased  by  the  Nadans  or  Chanar  caste 
people  of  Perunali,  Kamuti,  and  Karakal.  Over  99  per  cent,  of  the 
50,346,601  oysters  sold  by  the  government  in  1905  were  secured  by 
Indian  buyers,  and  less  than  one  per  cent,  by  Cingalese.  A  few  of  the 
oysters — from  two  to  five  per  cent. — are  sent  to  Indian  and  Ceylon 
ports,  but  most  of  them  are  opened  at  the  fishing  camp. 

The  purchaser  of  only  a  small  number  of  oysters  may  open  them  at 
once  by  means  of  a  knife,  and  with  his  fingers  and  eyes  search  for  the 
pearls.  By  this  method  very  small  pearls  may  be  easily  overlooked, 
and  it  is  scarcely  practicable  in  handling  large  quantities  of  oysters. 
These  are  removed  to  private  inclosures  known  as  toddis  or  tottis, 
situated  some  distance  from  the  inhabited  portions  of  the  camp ;  where, 
exposed  to  the  solar  heat,  they  are  permitted  to  putrefy,  and  the  fleshy 
parts  to  be  eaten  by  the  swarms  of  big  red-eyed  bluebottle  flies,  and  the 
residue  is  then  repeatedly  washed. 

Shakspere  may  have  had  in  view  some  such  scene  as  this  when  he 
spoke  of  the  "pearl  in  your  foul  oyster."  The  lady  who  cherishes  and 
adorns  herself  with  a  necklace  of  Ceylon  pearls  would  be  horrified 
were  she  to  see  and  especially  to  smell  the  putrid  mass  from  which  her 
lustrous  gems  are  evolved.  The  great  quantity  of  repulsive  bluebottle 
flies  are  so  essential  to  success  in  releasing  the  pearls  from  the  flesh, 
that  a  scarcity  of  them  is  looked  upon  as  a  misfortune  to  the  merchants. 
However,  except  it  may  be  at  the  beginning  of  a  fishery,  there  is  rarely 
ever  a  cause  for  complaint  on  this  score,  for  commonly  they  are  so 
numerous  as  to  be  a  great  plague  to  persons  unaccustomed  to  them, 
covering  everything,  and  rendering  eating  and  drinking  a  difficult  and 
unpleasant  necessity,  until  darkness  puts  a  stop  to  their  activities.  But 
the  intolerable  stench,  impossible  of  description,  the  quintessence  of 
millions  of  rotting  oysters,  fills  the  place,  and  makes  existence  a  burden 
to  those  who  have  not  acquired  odor-proof  nostrils.  This  animal  de- 
composition seems  almost  harmless  to  health ;  indeed,  the  natives  evi- 
dently thrive  on  it,  and  eat  and  sleep  without  apparent  notice  of  the 
nauseous  conditions.  And  yet  vegetable  decomposition  in  this  region 
is  usually  followed  by  fatal  results.  Notwithstanding  sanitary  pre- 
cautions and  the  usual  quarantine  camp  and  hospitals,  cholera  occa- 
sionally becomes  epidemic  and  puts  a  stop  to  the  fishery,  as  was  the 
case  in  1889;  but  this  probably  was  due  more  to  the  violation  of  ordi- 
nary sanitary  laws  than  to  the  decaying  oysters. 

In  a  large  toddi  the  oysters  are  placed  in  a  ballain,  or  a  dug-out 
tank  or  trough,  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  long  and  two  or  three  feet  deep. 


PEARLS  FROM  ASIA  123 

smooth  on  the  inside  so  that  pearls  may  not  lodge  in  the  crevices.  This 
tank  is  covered  with  matting,  and  the  toddi  is  closed  up,  sealed,  and 
guarded  for  a  week  or  ten  days,  when  the  fly  maggots  will  have  con- 
sumed practically  all  o£  the  flesh  tissues,  leaving  little  else  than  the 
shells  and  pearls.  The  tank  is  then  filled  with  sea  water  to  float  out 
the  myriads  of  maggots.  Several  nude  coolies  squat  along  the  sides 
to  wash  and  remove  the  shells.  The  valves  of  each  shell  are  separated, 
the  outsides  rubbed  together  to  remove  all  lodgments  for  pearls,  and 
the  interior  examined  for  attached  or  encysted  pearls.  The  washers 
are  kept  under  constant  supervision  by  inspectors  to  prevent  conceal- 
ment of  pearls ;  they  are  not  permitted  to  remove  their  hands  from  the 
water  except  to  take  out  the  shells,  and  under  no  circumstances  are  they 
allowed  to  carry  the  hands  to  the  mouth  or  to  any  other  place  in  which 
pearls  could  be  concealed. 

After  the  shells  have  been  removed,  fresh  supplies  of  water  are 
added  to  wash  the  debris,  which  is  turned  over  and  over  repeatedly, 
the  dirty  water  being  bailed  out  through  sieves  to  prevent  the  loss  of 
pearls.  After  thorough  washings,  every  particle  of  the  sarrakn,  or 
material  at  the  bottom  of  the  ballani,  consisting  of  sand,  broken  pieces 
of  shell,  pearls,  etc.,  is  gathered  up  in  a  cotton  cloth.  Later  the  sar- 
raku  is  spread  out  on  cloths  in  the  sun  to  dry,  and  the  most  conspicuous 
pearls  are  removed.  When  dry,  the  material  is  critically  examined 
over  and  over  again,  and  winnowed  and  rewinnowed,  and  after  it 
seems  that  everything  of  value  has  been  secured,  the  refuse  is  turned 
over  to  women  and  children,  whose  keen  eyes  and  deft  fingers  pick  out 
many  viasi-tul  or  dust-pearls;  and  even  after  the  skill  of  these  has  been 
exhausted,  the  apparently  worthless  refuse  has  a  market  value  among 
persons  whose  patience  and  skill  meets  with  some  reward.  It  is  due 
largely  to  the  extreme  care  in  the  search  that  so  many  seed-pearls  are 
found  in  Ceylon. 

And  this  leads  to  a  discussion  of  what  is  commonly  known  in  Ceylon 
as  the  "Dixon  washing  machine."  This  is  an  invention  of  Mr.  G. 
G.  Dixon  who  constructed  it  at  Marichchikadde  in  1904  and  1905, 
at  a  total  cost  to  the  government  of  about  Rs.  162,000,^  including  all 
expenses  incidental  to  the  experiment.  The  machine  involves  two 
separate  processes ;  the  first  consists  in  separating  the  shells  from  the 
soft  portion  of  the  oysters,  and  the  second  in  recovering  the  pearls 
from  the  resultant  sarrakn  after  it  has  been  dried.  In  1905,  about 
5,000,000  oysters  were  put  through  this  machine,^  but  with  what 
result  has  not  been  announced. 

The  shells  having  pearls  attached  to  the  interior  surface  are  turned 

'  "Colonial    Sessional    Papers,"    1906,   Col-  '  "Reports  on  the  Pearl  Fisheries  for  1905," 

ombo,  p.  330.  Colombo,  p.  25. 


124  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

over  to  skilled  natives,  who  remove  the  valuable  objects  by  breaking 
the  shell  with  hammers,  and  then  with  files  and  other  implements 
remove  the  irregular  pieces  of  attached  shell  and  otherwise  improve 
the  appearance. 

In  no  fishery  in  the  world  is  the  average  size  of  the  pearls  secured 
smaller,  nor  is  the  relative  number  greater  than  in  that  of  Ceylon.  It 
is  rare  that  one  is  found  weighing  over  ten  grains,  and  the  number 
weighing  less  than  two  grains  is  remarkable.  For  roundness  and 
orient  they  are  unsurpassed  by  those  of  any  region.  However,  Ceylon 
pearls  worth  locally  Rs.iooo  ($400)  are  by  no  means  abundant.  The 
most  valuable  one  found  in  the  important  fishery  of  1904,  is  said  to 
have  been  sold  in  the  camp  for  Rs.2500.  The  fishery  of  1905  yielded 
one  weighing  76)^  chevu,  and  valued  at  Rs.  12,000. 

The  quantity  of  seed-pearls  obtained  in  the  Ceylon  fishery  exceeds 
that  of  any  other — probably  all  other  parts  of  the  world.  The  very 
smallest — the  masi-tiil, — for  which  there  is  no  use  whatever  in  Europe, 
have  an  established  value  in  India,  being  powdered  for  making  chu- 
iiani  for  chewing  with  betel.  Those  slightly  larger.  —  fid  pearls  —  for 
which  also  there  is  no  market  in  Europe,  are  placed  in  the  mouth  of 
deceased  Hindus  of  wealth,  instead  of  the  rice  which  is  used  by  poorer 
people. 

The  great  bulk  of  the  Ceylon  pearls  are  silvery  white  in  color,  but 
occasionally  yellowish,  pinkish,  and  even  "black"  pearls  are  found,  al- 
though the  so-called  "black"  pearls  are  really  brown  or  slate-colored.  In 
some  seasons  these  are  relatively  numerous,  as  in  1887,  for  instance. 

Notwithstanding  the  large  product  at  the  fishery  camp,  it  is  difficult 
to  purchase  single  pearls  or  small  quantities  there  at  a  reasonable 
price,  the  merchants  objecting  to  breaking  a  miidichchii,  or  the  lot 
resulting  from  washing  a  definite  number  of  oysters. 

The  shells  obtained  in  the  Ceylon  fisheries  do  not  possess  sufficient 
thickness  of  lustrous  nacre  for  use  as  mother-of-pearl,  and  are  mostly 
used  for  camp-filling.  A  few  are  burned  and  converted  into 
chnnam,  i.e.:  prepared  lime  for  building  purposes,  or  to  be  used  by 
natives  for  chewing  with  the  betel-nut.  Forty  or  fifty  years  ago,  be- 
fore the  large  receipts  of  mother-of-pearl  from  Australia  and  the 
southern  Pacific,  there  was  a  good  market  for  the  shell  for  button 
manufacture  and  the  like,  but  since  1875  only  the  choicest  have  been 
used  for  this  purpose,  and  these  are  worth  only  about  $25  per  ton 
delivered  in  Europe. 

It  will  be  observed  that  up  to  the  close  of  the  season  of  1906,  the 
Ceylon  fisheries  were  operated  by  the  colonial  government  as  a  state 
monopoly.  In  1904,  proposals  were  made  to  the  British  colonial  office 
by  a  London  syndicate  with  a  view  to  leasing  the  fisheries  for  a  term 


PEARLS  FROM  ASIA  125 

of  years.  The  original  suggestion  was  that  they  should  be  leased  for 
thirty  years  in  consideration  of  an  annual  rental  of  £13,000  or  Rs.195,- 
000,  together  with  a  share  of  the  net  profits  after  payment  of  a 
reasonable  rate  of  interest  on  the  investment;  and  later  it  was  sug- 
gested that  the  rental  be  Rs.  100,000  a  year  and  twenty  per  cent,  of  the 
profits  after  seven  per  cent,  on  capital  had  been  paid  to  the  share- 
holders. But  the  government  preferred  a  definite  money  payment 
without  any  rights  to  share  in  the  profits  realized;  and  after  lengthy 
negotiations  this  was  fixed  at  Rs.3 10,000  annually,  with  certain  pre- 
liminary payments.  Accordingly,  on  November  30,  1905,  a  prelimi- 
nary agreement  was  executed  between  the  crown  agents  for  the 
colonies,  acting  on  behalf  of  the  government  of  Ceylon,  and  represen- 
tatives of  the  Ceylon  Company  of  Pearl  Fishers,  Limited.  On  Febru- 
ary 27,  1906,  this  agreement  was  confirmed  and  made  effective  by 
special  ordinance^  of  the  governor  and  legislative  council  of  Ceylon, 
and  the  crown  agents  were  authorized  to  execute  the  lease  as  of 
January  i,  1906. 

The  principal  financial  terms  of  this  lease  required  the  company  to 
purchase  the  expensive  Dixon  pearl-washing  machine  at  a  cost  of 
Rs.  1 20,000,  which  was  Rs.42,000  less  than  it  cost  the  government 
during  the  preceding  two  years;  to  purchase  at  a  cost  of  Rs.62,501 
the  steamship  Violet,  which  the  government  had  used  in  its  experi- 
mental oyster-culture;  to  reimburse  the  government  each  year  the 
amount  spent  in  policing,  sanitation  and  hospital  services  at  the  fishery 
camp,  which  had  in  some  individual  seasons  amounted  to  more  than 
Rs. 200,000;  to  expend  each  year  from  Rs. 50,000  to  Rs.  150,000  in  the 
development  of  pearl-oyster  culture;  and  to  pay  an  annual  rental  of 
Rs. 315, 000,  a  rate  based  roughly  on  the  average  return  of  the  preced- 
ing twenty  years,  including  the  record  year  of  1905. 

The  company  was  authorized  to  take  up  the  pearl-oysters  by  means 
of  divers,  or  by  steam  dredges,  or  by  such  other  mechanical  means  as 
might  appear  most  advantageous,  and  to  carry  on  such  experiments 
with  the  immature  oysters  as  appeared  most  conducive  to  the  profitable 
working  of  the  fisheries,  provided  they  do  nothing  to  make  the  re- 
sources less  valuable  at  the  expiration  of  the  lease. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  features  of  the  lease  is  that  relating  to 
the  power  of  the  colonial  government  to  grant  an  exclusive  right  of 
fishing  on  the  banks  outside  the  three-mile  limit.  The  question  of  this 
exclusive  right  arose  in  1890,  but  was  not  conclusively  determined. 
Fearing  lest  this  authority  did  not  exist,  the  terms  in  which  the 
right  of  fishing  was  conveyed  were  carefully  chosen  by  the  attorney 
general  to  protect  the  government  from  liability  "should  any  inter- 

'  Ordinance  No.  8  of  1906. 


126  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

national  question  arise";'  and  the  government  leased  to  the  company 
"all  the  right  or  privilege  which  the  lessors  have  hereto  exercised 
and  enjoyed  of  fishing  for  and  taking  pearl-oysters  on  the  coasts  of 
Ceylon  between  Talaimannar  and  Dutch  Bay  Point,  to  the  intent  that 
the  company  so  far  as  the  lessors  can  secure  the  same  may  have  the 
exclusive  right,  liberty  and  authority  to  fish  for,  take  and  carry  away 
pearl-oysters  within  the  said  limits.  .  .  .  But  nothing  in  this  lease 
shall  be  taken  to  make  the  lessors  answerable  in  damages  if  ozving  to  any 
cause  beyond  the  control  of  the  lessors  the  company  is  prevented  from 
fully  exercising  and  enjoying  such  exclusive  right  and  privilege."  ^ 

In  the  meantime,  while  the  negotiations  were  in  progress,  there 
occurred  the  very  profitable  fishery  of  1905,  from  which  the  colonial 
government  derived  a  revenue  of  Rs.2,5 10,727,  or  approximately  eight 
times  the  proposed  annual  rental;  and  before  the  lease  was  finally 
concluded  occurred  the  fishery  of  1906,  with  its  revenue  of  Rs.  1,376,- 
746.  While  it  is  true  that  a  succession  of  barren  seasons  prevailed 
from  1892  to  1902,  yet,  as  the  revenue  in  1903  was  Rs.829,548,  and  in 
1904  it  was  Rs. 1,065,751,  there  was,  in  the  four  years  ending  in  1906, 
a  revenue  to  the  government  of  Rs. 5, 782,772,  or  nearly  as  much  as 
the  total  amount  to  be  derived  from  the  lease  during  the  twenty  years 
it  was  to  run.  These  figures  seemed  to  furnish  strong  reasons  for 
retaining  such  a  valuable  source  of  revenue,  with  its  possibilities  of 
still  greater  expansion  imder  the  supervision  and  direction  of  special- 
ists in  the  employ  of  the  government. 

Many  of  the  inhabitants  of  Ceylon  saw  in  this  a  decided  objection 
to  the  lease,  and  there  was  a  general  feeling  of  indignation  in  the 
colony,  with  public  meetings  in  protest,  and  the  like.  In  reply  to  a 
memorial  prepared  at  one  of  these  meetings  held  in  Colombo,  Lord 
Elgin,  the  British  secretary  of  state  for  the  colonies,  wrote  under  date 
of  May  9,  1906: 

The  memorialists  have  protested  against  the  lease  on  the  double  ground 
that  a  lease  on  any  terms  is  contrary  to  the  best  interests  of  Ceylon,  and  that 
the  rent  agreed  upon  is  "under  existing  circumstances  wholly  inadequate." 
There  must  always  be  in  cases  of  this  kind  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to 
whether  a  fixed  annual  sum,  with  immunity  from  all  expense  and  sundry 
other  advantages,  is  or  is  not  preferable  to  continuing  to  face  all  the  risks  for 
the  sake  of  all  the  profits.  In  the  present  instance  the  lease  appears  to  me  to 
have  been  drafted  with  a  sincere  desire  to  safeguard  to  the  utmost  the  property 
and  interests  of  the  Colony. 

It  may  be  true  that  the  development  of  the  fishery  upon  a  scientific  system 
affords  good  prospect  of  a  greater  return  in  the  future  than  has  been  obtained 
in  the  past,  and  affords  at  least  the  hope  that  the  barren  cycles  which  have 

'  "Ceylon  Sessional  Papers,"  1906,  p.  328.  'Ibid.,  pp.  333>  335- 


PEARLS  FROM  ASIA  127 

been  so  common  in  the  past  will  not  recur  to  the  same  extent.  But  the  opera- 
tions necessary  to  that  end  are  of  a  highly  technical  and  experimental  char- 
acter, and  I  am  very  doubtful  whether  any  machinery  which  could  be  set  in 
motion  by  the  Government  would  be  suited  to  develop  processes  at  once  so 
doubtful  and  so  delicate.  In  twenty  years'  time  the  Colonial  Government  will 
receive  back  the  fishery,  not  only  intact,  but  in  the  most  perfect  state  to  which 
commercial  enterprise  and  scientific  methods  can  raise  it,  and,  in  the  mean- 
while, a  regular  and  substantial  payment  is  assured.  Twenty  years  are  no 
doubt  a  considerable  period  in  the  lifetime  of  individuals;  but  if  within  that 
time  all  the  resources  that  science  can  contribute  toward  systematic  develop- 
ment of  the  fisheries  have  been  applied  and  thoroughly  tested,  the  period  will 
not,  I  think,  be  regarded  as  excessive  or  unfortunate  in  the  history  of  a  fishery 
which  has  lasted  for  more  than  two  thousand  years.* 

The  Ceylon  Company  of  Pearl  Fishers,  Limited,  with  a  paid  up 
capital  of  £165,000,  has  just  entered  into  possession  of  its  lease,  and  it 
is  uncertain  what  changes  will  be  made  in  the  methods  of  the  fish- 
ery or  what  measure  of  success  will  follow  the  attempts  at  pearl  oyster- 
culture  and  the  growth  of  pearls.  The  attention  of  the  pearling 
interests  of  the  world  is  now  directed  to  the  work  of  this  company  in 
the  development  of  its  magnificent  leasehold,  and  it  seems  not  unlikely 
that  greater  changes  will  be  made  in  the  methods  of  the  industry  dur- 
ing the  ensuing  decade  than  have  occurred  in  the  whole  of  the  last  ten 
centuries.* 

A  curious  fishery,  with  the  Placuna  placenta  for  its  object,  exists 
in  Tablegram  Lake,  a  small  bay  in  northeastern  Ceylon  adjacent  to 
the  magnificent  harbor  of  Trincomali,  which  Nelson  declared  to  be 
"the  finest  in  the  world."  At  intervals  during  the  nineteenth  century, 
the  Ceylon  government  leased  the  Tablegram  Lake  fishery  to  native 
bidders  for  a  period  of  three  consecutive  years.  In  1857,  Dr.  Kelaart 
visited  the  place  and  calculated  that  in  the  three  years  preceding,  eigh- 
teen million  oysters  had  been  removed.^  Owing  to  scarcity  of  the 
mollusk,  no  fisheries  have  existed  since  1890,  but  from  1882  to  1890 
they  were  regularly  leased  at  an  average  of  Rs.5000  for  each  term 
of  three  years.  Prof.  James  Hornell,  who  made  a  careful  examina- 
tion in  1905,  reported  that  if  the  business  were  carried  on  provi- 
dently and  systematically,  "it  should  become  the  source  of  a  fairly 
regular  annual  revenue  to  Government  of  from  Rs.  10,000  to  Rs.12,- 
000,  possibly  even  more."^ 

'  "Ceylon  Sessional  Papers,"  1906,  p.  650.  '  Kelaart,  "Report  on  the  Tablegram  Pearl- 

'  The  Government  Commission  has  inter-  Oysters,"  Trincomali,  1857,  6  pp. 

dieted   the   fishing   for   this   year    (1908),  as  *  Hornell,  "Report  on  the  P/arwHa  /'/of ffi/o 

experts  have  reported  the  pearl-oysters  were  Pearl    Fishery    of    Lake    Tampalakamam," 

not  plentiful  enough  and  were  also  immature,  Colombo,  1906. 

being  only  five  years  old.     The  next  fishery 

will  be  in  1909. 


128  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

The  Placnna  oysters  are  caught  by  Moormen  divers,  who  are 
scarcely  equal  physically  to  the  pearl  fishery  in  the  sea.  They  rarely 
descend  more  than  four  fathoms,  and  most  of  the  work  in  Tablegram 
Bay  is  in  less  than  two  fathoms.  Each  diver  returns  with  from  one  to 
five  or  more  oysters,  depending  on  their  abundance,  and  receives  one 
half  of  the  catch  as  his  share  of  the  proceeds.  Unlike  the  method  in  the 
pearl-oyster  fishery  of  Ceylon,  the  Placnna  oysters  are  opened  while 
fresh,  this  work  being  performed  by  coolies,  who  are  compensated  at 
the  rate  of  about  Rs.3  per  1000. 


THE  PEARL  FISHERIES  OF  INDIA 

There  are  two  moments  in  a  diver's  life : 
One,  when  a  beggar,  he  prepares  to  plunge ; 
Then,  when  a  prince,  he  rises  with  his  prize. " 

Robert  Browning. 

Notwithstanding  the  great  fame  of  the  pearl  fisheries  of  India, 
those  prosecuted  within  the  limits  of  British  India  proper  are  of  small 
extent.  The  only  pearl  resources  within  the  empire  are  the  rarely 
productive  reefs  on  the  Madras  coast  in  the  vicinity  of  Tuticorin,  the 
relatively  modern  fisheries  of  Mergui  Archipelago,  and  some  small 
reefs  of  only  local  importance  on  the  Malabar  coast  and  in  the  Bombay 
presidency. 

The  celebrity  of  India  in  connection  with  the  pearl  fisheries  has  never 
rested  on  the  extent  of  those  within  the  territorial  limits  or  under  the 
control  of  this  government.  It  originated  in  the  fact  that  it  is  largely 
Indian  capital  which  finances  the  fisheries  of  Ceylon  and  of  the 
Persian  Gulf;  nearly  all  of  the  divers  and  others  employed  in  Ceylon 
are  from  the  coast  of  this  empire,  and  most  of  the  pearls  are  pur- 
chased by  merchants  of  Bombay,  Madura,  Trichinopoli,  and  other 
large  towns.  Thus,  from  an  economic  and  industrial  point  of  view, 
the  pearl  fisheries  of  Ceylon,  and  to  a  less  extent  those  of  the  Persian 
Gulf,  have  contributed  to  the  fame  and  to  the  wealth  of  the  Empire 
of  India. 

The  pearl  fisheries  ofif  Tuticorin  in  the  Madras  presidency  have  been 
referred  to  incidentally  in  the  account  of  the  fisheries  of  Ceylon.  They 
are  separated  by  only  a  few  miles  of  water,  and  are  prosecuted  by  the 
same  fishermen  and  in  precisely  the  same  manner.  Consequently,  it 
is  difficult  to  discuss  them  separately,  especially  in  their  early  history 
and  during  the  time  that  this  part  of  the  world  was  under  the  rule  of 
the  Portuguese  and  later  of  the  Dutch. 


PEARLS  FROM  ASIA 


129 


The  fisheries  of  the  Madras  coast  compete  in  antiquity  with  those 
of  Ceylon.  Indeed,  from  the  time  of  Ptolemy  to  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, the  industry  seems  to  have  been  prosecuted  largely  from  the  Mad- 


The  pearling  regions  in  Ceylon  and  British  India 

ras  side  of  the  gulf,  centering  at  Chayl  or  Coil  on  the  sandy  promon- 
tory of  Ramnad.  This  place  appears  to  be  the  KoXxot  of  Ptolemy, 
the  Ramana  Koil  of  the  natives,  as  well  as  the  Cael  of  the  travelers 
of  the  Middle  Ages.     But  during  the  last  three  hundred  years,  the 


130  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

Ceylon  side  has  been  the  scene  of  the  greatest  pearHng  operations ;  and 
from  the  Madras  coast,  the  fisheries  have  not  been  prosecuted  except 
at  long  intervals,  averaging  once  in  fifteen  or  twenty  years. 

Owing  to  the  scarcity  of  oysters  and  to  other  causes,  the  fishery 
was  prosecuted  on  the  Madras  coast  in  only  eight  years  of  the  whole 
period  from  1768  to  1907.  These  years  of  productivity  were  1822, 
1830,  i860,  1861,  1882,  1889,  1890,  and  1900;  and  even  then  the  yield 
was  relatively  small.  The  largest  was  15,874,500  oysters  in  i860, 
from  which  the  Madras  government  derived  a  revenue  of  Rs. 250,276; 
and  about  half  as  many  oysters  were  obtained  in  1861  with  a  revenue 
of  Rs.  1 29,003.  Numerous  and  prolonged  experiments  in  conserving 
the  reefs  and  in  cultivating  the  oysters  have  been  made  without  suc- 
cess. The  reason  usually  given  for  the  greater  wealth  of  oysters  on 
the  Ceylon  side  is,  that  it  is  more  sheltered  from  the  strong  currents 
which  sweep  down  the  Bay  of  Bengal  into  the  Gulf  of  Manaar  and  im- 
pinge directly  on  the  coast  of  the  mainland. 

The  headquarters  of  the  fishery  are  at  Tuticorin,  near  to  Madura, 
the  Benares  of  the  south,  the  holy  "City  of  Sweetness"  which  the  gods 
have  delighted  to  honor  from  time  immemorial.  But  the  camp  is  com- 
monly erected  of  palmyra  and  bamboo  on  the  barren  shore  several 
miles  distant  from  Tuticorin.  The  1890  fishery  was  at  Salapatturai, 
and  that  of  1900  at  a  place  which  received  the  mouth-filling  name  of 
Veerapandianpatanam. 

The  preparations  for  pearling  at  Tuticorin  are  similar  to  those  on 
the  Ceylon  coast.  In  the  autumn  the  reefs  are  examined  by  govern- 
ment inspectors,  and  if  the  conditions  seem  to  warrant  a  fishery  in  the 
following  spring,  arrangements  are  made  therefor  and  the  proper 
notification  issued.  The  announcement  follows  the  general  plan  of 
that  in  Ceylon.  The  following,  from  the  Fort  St.  George  "Gazette," 
Madras,  January  16,  1900,  is  a  copy  of  the  notification  preceding  the 
last  fishery  which  has  occurred : 

Notice  is  hereby  given  that  a  pearl  fishery  will  take  place  at  Veerapandian- 
patanam on  or  about  the  12th  March,  1900. 

1.  The  bank  to  be  fished  is  the  Theradipulipudithapar,  estimated  to  employ 
100  boats  for  twenty  days  with  average  loads  of  7,000  oysters  per  day. 

2.  It  is  therefore  recommended  that  such  boat  owners  and  divers  as  may 
wish  to  be  employed  shall  be  at  Tuticorin  on  or  before  the  ist  of  March  next 
and  anchor  their  boats  abreast  of  the  government  flagstaff;  the  first  day's  fish- 
ing will  take  place  on  the  12th  of  March,  weather  permitting. 

3.  The  fishery  will  be  conducted  on  account  of  Government,  and  the  oysters 
put  up  for  sale  in  such  lots  as  may  be  deemed  expedient. 

4.  The  arrangements  of  the  fishery  will  be  the  same  as  have  been  usual  on 
similar  occasions. 


PEARLS   PRESENTED    BY   THE   IMAM    OF   MUSCAT   TO   PRESIDENT   VAN    BUREN 
Now  in  the  United  States  National  Museum,  Washington,  D.  C. 


PEARLS  FROM  ASIA  131 

5.  Payments  to  be  made  in  ready  money  in  rupees  or  in  Government  of 
India  notes.  Checks  on  the  Bank  of  Madras  or  Bank  Agencies  will  be  re- 
ceived on  letters  of  credit  being  produced  to  warrant  the  drawing  of  such 
checks. 

6.  All  particulars  can  be  obtained  on  application  to  the  Superintendent  of 
Pearl  Fisheries,  Tuticorin. 

Tinnevelly  Collector's  Office,  Sd/ — J.  P.  Bedford, 

i6th  November  1899.  Collector. 


On  the  long  sweep  of  desolate  shore  at  a  place  convenient  to  the 
reefs,  a  temporary  camp  is  erected,  just  as  is  done  on  the  Ceylon  coast. 
However,  this  camp  is  not  nearly  so  large,  only  about  one  fourth  or 
one  fifth  the  size  of  that  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  gulf.  It  resembles 
the  larger  one  in  the  quarters  for  divers  and  merchants,  the  bazaars, 
the  bungalows  for  the  officials,  the  hospital,  the  sale  and  washing  in- 
closures,  etc. ;  in  addition  to  these  is  the  temporary  Roman  Catholic 
chapel. 

The  divers  are  mainly  of  the  Parawa  caste  from  Tuticorin,  Pinna- 
coil,  Pamban,  etc.  on  the  Madras  coast.  Although  influenced  by  many 
Hindu  superstitions,  they  are  nominally  Roman  Catholics,  as  evidenced 
by  the  scapulars  suspended  from  the  neck,  their  ancestors  having  been 
converted  and  baptized  through  the  zealous  work  of  that  prince  of 
missionaries,  St.  Francis  Xavier,  in  the  sixteenth  century.  Even  yet 
a  chapel  at  Pinnacoil  is  held  in  special  reverence  by  these  people  as  a 
place  where  the  saintly  father  preached.  Professor  Hornell  writes 
that  the  present  hereditary  head  of  this  caste  is  Don  Gabriel  de  Croos 
Lazarus  Motha  Vaz,  known  officially  as  the  Jati  Talaiva  More,  or 
Jati  Talaivan.  He  resides  at  Tuticorin,  and  is  largely  the  intermediary 
between  the  government  and  the  Parawa  fishermen. 

In  the  details  of  its  prosecution,  the  Madras  fishery  dififers  in  no 
important  particular  from  that  of  Ceylon.  The  boats  are  manned  and 
operated  in  precisely  the  same  way ;  they  fish  in  the  morning  only,  tak- 
ing advantage  of  the  prevailing  favorable  winds ;  the  divers  carry  the 
oysters  into  the  government  inclosure,  and  divide  them  into  three  equal 
lots,  of  which  they  receive  one;  the  share  of  the  government  is  auc- 
tioned daily,  the  divers  disposing  of  theirs  as  they  choose;  and  the 
oysters  are  rotted  and  washed  in  the  same  manner  as  in  Ceylon. 

In  addition  to  the  fishery  for  pearl-oysters  at  Tuticorin,  two  other 
species  of  pearl-producing  mollusks  are  collected  in  the  Madras  presi- 
dency; one  of  these  is  a  species  of  mussel  (Mytilus  sntaragdiiiiis,  ac- 
cording to  Dr.  Edgar  Thurston  of  the  Madras  Museum),  which  is 
collected  from  the  estuary  of  the  Sonnapore  River  near  Berhampore; 


132  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

and  the  other  is  the  Placuna  placenta,  found  in  many  places  in  this 
presidency,  and  especially  in  Pulicat  Lake  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Tuti- 
corin. 

The  Sonnapore  mussels,  which  are  small  and  bright  green  in  color, 
are  found  adhering  to  the  masses  of  edible  oysters  in  depths  of  ten  or 
twelve  feet  of  water.  They  are  caught  in  a  novel  manner,  as  described 
in  a  letter  from  the  acting  collector  of  customs  at  Ganjam.  Thrusting 
a  long  bamboo  pole  deep  into  the  bottom  of  the  reef,  the  fisherman 
dives  down,  and  holding  on  to  this  bamboo,  breaks  off  as  large  a  mass 
of  the  oysters  as  he  can  bring  to  the  surface  in  one  hand,  helping  him- 
self up  the  bamboo  pole  with  the  other.  Removing  the  mussels  from 
the  mass,  he  opens  them  with  a  suitable  knife  and  by  running  his 
thumbs  and  fingers  over  the  flesh  tissues,  detects  the  pearls  therein. 
These  pearls  are  of  very  inferior  quality  and  of  little  ornamental 
value.  They  are  sold  mostly  for  chunam  and  for  placing  in  the  mouth 
of  deceased  Hindus. 

Along  the  west  coast  of  India,  in  the  Bombay  presidency,  a  few 
pearls  are  found  at  various  places,  but  the  output  is  of  slight  value. 
The  most  important  of  these  is  off  the  coast  of  Nawanagar,  on  the 
south  side  of  the  Gulf  of  Cutch,  where  the  true  pearl-oyster  is  found. 

According  to  the  "Jamnagar  Diwan,"  the  yearly  value  of  the  Nawa- 
nagar fisheries  is  about  Rs.4000.  This  is  smaller  than  formerly,  as 
the  reefs  are  in  a  depleted  state;  to  give  them  a  chance  to  recuperate, 
a  close  season  was  established  in  1905.  The  oysters  are  found  along  a 
coast-line  eighty  miles  in  length  extending  from  Mangra,  near  Jodya 
Bunder,  to  Pindera  in  the  Gulf  of  Cutch,  and  also  about  the  islands  of 
Ajad,  Chauk,  Kalumbar,  and  Nora,  which  are  also  situated  in  the 
Cutch  Gulf.  They  are  not  procured  by  diving,  but  are  gathered  off 
the  rocks  when  the  tide  is  out.  During  the  monsoon,  the  collection  is 
limited  to  eight  days  in  the  month;  i.e.,  from  the  twelfth  to  the  fif- 
teenth of  each  half  according  to  the  Hindu  calendar. 

The  fisheries  are  by  law  restricted  exclusively  to  the  ivaghers  of 
ten  villages,  which  are  Varinar,  Sashana,  Sika,  Balachedi,  Jhakher, 
Sarmat,  Bharana,  Salaya,  Chudesar,  and  Bedi.  The  collection  of  the 
pearls  is  left  entirely  to  these  men,  who  at  Divala — the  Hindu  new 
year — bring  all  the  pearls  gathered  by  them  to  the  durbar.  There  an 
estimate  is  made  of  their  value,  one  fourth  of  which  is  paid  to  the 
waghers,  and  the  pearls  are  turned  over  to  the  representatives  of  the 
state  treasury  for  sale.  This  method  of  conducting  the  industry  has 
been  long  established.  In  recent  years  the  government  experimented 
in  farming  out  the  revenue,  but  the  old  custom  has  been  resumed  in 
order  to  placate  the  native  fishermen. 

A  few  pearl-oysters  are  also  found  on  the  Ratnagiri  coast  below 


PEARLS  FROM  ASIA  133 

Bombay,  and  likewise  at  Kananur  in  the  Malabar  district.  In  1901- 
1902,  there  was  some  local  excitement  about  pearls  found  at  Belapur 
and  quantities  were  reported  as  collected ;  but  since  then  little  has  been 
heard  of  the  industry  in  that  region. 

Elsewhere  on  the  west  coast  of  India,  pearls  are  obtained  from  the 
so-called  "window-glass"  shell,  of  the  genus  Placuna.  The  individual 
shells  are  flat,  thin,  and  transparent,  and  are  still  used  in  Goa  and 
vicinity  as  a  substitute  for  glass  in  windows.  This  moUusk  is  abun- 
dant from  Karachi,  near  the  Baluchistan  border,  to  the  Kanara  dis- 
trict south  of  Bombay;  and  wherever  it  occurs  in  any  abundance  it  is 
collected  for  the  sake  of  the  small  pearls  found  therein. 

Of  the  fishery  at  Karachi,  Mr.  E.  H.  Aitken  writes:  "It  is  farmed 
out  by  Government  for  a  good  sum.  In  1901,  the  amount  real- 
ized was  Rs.3650  for  a  period  of  three  years;  but  the  lessee  lost 
heavily,  and  in  1904  the  highest  offer  for  a  similar  period  of  three 
years  was  Rs.1851.  Pearls  may  be  found  in  as  many  as  ten  to  twenty 
per  cent,  of  the  mature  mollusks."  Pearls  are  far  more  numerous  in 
the  Placuna  than  in  the  pearl-oysters,  but  few  of  them  are  of  sufficient 
size  or  luster  to  be  used  as  ornaments,  ranking  with  the  so-called 
medicinal  pearls  of  Europe.  They  are  much  softer  in  texture  than 
the  pearls  of  the  Margaritiferae.  The  largest  are  commonly  of  irreg- 
ular form,  with  the  surface  slightly  botryoidal  or  like  the  "strawberry" 
pearls  of  the  Mississippi.  While  not  often  used  as  ornaments,  they 
are  highly  valued  by  the  Hindus  in  calcined  or  powdered  form  for 
medicinal  purposes,  and  especially  to  be  chewed  with  the  betel-nut, 
and  are  also  used  in  the  original  form  in  funeral  rites,  a  small  quan- 
tity being  placed  in  the  mouth  of  a  deceased  person. 

In  the  Mergui  Archipelago,  which  is  within  the  territory  of  lower 
Burma  and  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  government  of  British  India, 
patches  of  pearl-oyster  reefs  are  scattered  over  an  area  roughly  com- 
puted at  11,000  square  miles,  taking  97°  40'  as  the  western  boundary. 
They  occur  principally  in  the  strong  tidal  passages  among  the  islands. 
The  bottom  is  formed  largely  of  porphyritic  granite  interspersed  with 
sand  and  thinly  covered  with  corals,  coral  cups,  the  long  whip-like 
black  coral  {Antipathcs  arborca),  and  other  submarine  animal  and 
vegetable  growths.^  These  constitute  a  home  most  favorable  to  the 
growth  and  development  of  molluscan  life. 

Of  the  several  species  of  pearl-bearing  mollusks  occurring  in  the 
Mergui  Archipelago,  by  far  the  most  important  is  the  "mok,"  or  large 
Australian  pearl-oyster  (Margaritifera  maxima).  The  shell  attains 
a  maximum  size  of  about  thirteen  inches  in  diameter,  and  the  nacre  is 
of  a  milky  or  silvery  color.    This  species  occurs  in  its  two  varieties  of 

^  Jardine,  "Report  Relating  to  the  Mergui  Pearl  Fisheries,"  Rangoon,  1894,  p.  6. 


134  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

"golden  lip"  and  "silver  edge,"  the  former  being  in  greater  abundance. 
The  "silver  edge"  shell  is  the  more  valuable  owing  to  its  uniformity 
of  coloring,  and  the  pearls  found  therein  are  of  superior  luster  and 
orient. 

The  "pate  goung,"  or  Lingah  pearl-oyster  (Margaritifera  vul- 
garis), is  similar  to  that  of  the  Gulf  of  Manaar.  It  is  circular  in  shape 
and  measures  about  two  and  one-half  inches  in  diameter.  The  nacre 
is  silvery,  with  slight  yellowish  tinge.  Many  of  the  pearls  from  this 
species  are  of  a  silvery  color,  but  most  of  them  are  yellowish  or 
golden.  The  fishery  for  this  mollusk  is  of  little  importance  compared 
with  that  for  the  larger  pearl-oyster,  which  is  the  species  referred  to 
in  Mergui  when  not  otherwise  mentioned. 

The  pearl  fisheries  of  Mergui  originated  with  the  Selangs  or 
Salangs,  a  nomadic  race  of  maritime  gipsies,  the  last  remnants  of 
whom  live  among  the  three  thousand  islands  of  this  group.  They  are 
supposed  to  be  of  Malay  descent ;  but  their  early  history  is  unknown, 
and  they  are  rapidly  passing  away  in  the  conflict  of  existence  with  the 
neighboring  peoples.  Probably  in  no  part  of  the  world  are  the  pearl 
fisheries  prosecuted  by  a  more  primitive  class  of  men.  With  their 
women  and  children,  they  live  mainly  in  roomy  dug-out  boats;  but 
during  the  southwest  monsoon  they  erect  temporary  shelters  on  the 
shore,  these  consisting  of  a  few  frail  sticks,  supporting  coverings  of 
braided  mats,  and  floors  of  bamboo  strips. 

They  have  few  wants  and  derive  a  livelihood  principally  from  gath- 
ering and  bartering  shells,  pearls,  cured  thadecon,  and  nests  of  the  sea- 
swallow  (Collocalia).  Within  depths  of  six  or  eight  fathoms  they  are 
fairly  good  divers,  both  the  men  and  the  women,  but  their  physical 
endurance  is  slight.  Their  trade  is  mostly  with  Chinese  merchants 
who  visit  them  in  small  vessels.  No  information  exists  as  to  when  the 
Selangs  first  found  profit  in  searching  for  pearls ;  but  it  was  probably 
many  centuries  ago,  and  for  a  long  time  they  made  contributions  of 
them  to  the  Buddhist  rulers  of  Burma. 

Shortly  after  the  acquisition  of  Mergui  Archipelago  in  1826,  repre- 
sentatives of  the  British  government  brought  experienced  divers  from 
southern  India  to  examine  more  fully  the  resources  which  the  Selangs 
had  made  known;  but  as  only  seed-pearls  were  secured,  the  govern- 
ment concluded  that  they  would  yield  an  insignificant  revenue,  and  the 
attempt  to  develop  these  resources  was  given  up.^ 

However,  the  Selangs  continued  to  fish  in  their  primitive  fashion; 
and  as  the  market  for  the  shell  developed,  the  profits  increased.  But 
their  wants  were  easily  appeased,  and  the  increased  profits  were  coun- 
terbalanced by  decreased  activities.     Old  traders  among  the  islands 

^  Nisbet,  "Burma  Under  British  Rule  and  Before,"  Westminster,  igoi,  Vol.  I,  p.  362. 


PEARLS  FROM  ASIA  135 

tell  of  the  opportunities  of  those  days  when  choice  pearls  could  be 
obtained  for  a  pinch  of  opium  or  for  a  few  ounces  of  tobacco. 

Far  from  the  highways  of  the  world,  the  Selangs  remained  undis- 
turbed in  their  beautiful  seas  until  nearly  twenty  years  ago.  Mean- 
while, 800  miles  distant,  Singapore  had  arisen  from  a  desert  shore  to 
the  rank  of  a  great  seaport,  and  the  headquarters  for  the  pearl  fishery 
of  the  Malay  Archipelago  and  of  the  northwestern  coast  of  Austraha. 
In  this  fishery  the  vessels  were  well  equipped  and  depended  on  the  use 
of  diving  apparatus  rather  than  on  nude  divers. 

Beginning  about  1888,  some  of  these  vessels  made  occasional  visits 
to  the  Mergui  pearl-oyster  reefs,  and  usually  with  very  profitable  re- 
sults. This  was  the  first  instance  in  which  diving  apparatus  was  suc- 
cessfully introduced  on  any  part  of  the  Asiatic  coast  from  the  Red 
Sea  to  Malacca  Strait.  So  great  was  the  profit  that  nearly  every  one 
on  the  lower  coast  of  Burma  with  sufficient  capital  or  credit  hastened 
to  obtain  a  boat  and  diving  equipment.  The  success  of  some  of  these 
early  ventures  was  remarkable,  single  pearls  worth  $3000,  $5000,  and 
even  $10,000  each  being  secured.  The  reefs  in  the  shoal  waters  were 
rapidly  depleted,  to  the  great  disadvantage  of  the  nude  Selangs,  who 
can  do  little  in  deep  water. 

With  a  view  to  deriving  a  revenue  from  these  well-equipped  vessels, 
the  government  of  Burma  in  1898  divided  the  11,000  square  miles  of 
pearling  territory  into  five  definite  areas  known  as  "blocks."  The 
area  within  each  of  these  blocks  was  surveyed,  marked,  and  charted; 
and  the  financial  commissioner  from  time  to  time  determined  as  to  each 
block  whether  licenses  for  pearl  fishing  should  be  issued,  or  whether 
the  exclusive  right  therein  should  be  leased.  These  leases  were 
disposed  of  either  by  inviting  tenders  and  granting  the  lease  to  any 
of  the  persons  who  might  tender,  or  by  public  auction,  as  the  financial 
commissioner  might  direct.  By  the  terms  of  the  lease,  the  lessee  was 
obliged  to  register  at  the  office  of  the  deputy  commissioner  of  finance 
the  number  of  boats  and  pumps  employed  by  him ;  to  declare  by  letter, 
at  the  end  of  each  month,  the  number,  weight,  and  estimated  value  of 
all  mother-of-pearl  shell  and  pearls  collected  during  the  month,  and  to 
refrain  from  taking  any  mother-of-pearl  measuring  less  than  six 
inches  from  lip  to  hinge. 

Outside  the  limits  of  blocks  in  which  the  exclusive  pearl  fishing  was 
leased,  licenses  to  use  diving  implements  were  granted  in  such  number 
and  on  payment  of  such  fees,  not  exceeding  Rs.iooo  per  apparatus, 
as  might  from  time  to  time  be  fixed,  every  such  license  expiring  on 
June  30  next  following  the  date  on  which  it  was  granted,  and  no  li- 
cense was  transferable. 

The  five  blocks  in  which  the  Mergui  pearling  rights  were  leased  are 


136  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

of  large  area,  averaging  somewhat  over  2000  square  miles  each.  The 
lessees  customarily  granted  permits  to  subsidiary  fishermen  to  operate 
in  their  respective  blocks,  on  payment  of  a  royalty,  this  ranging  in 
amount  from  123^2  to  25  per  cent,  of  the  mother-of-pearl  secured,  and 
the  pearls  found  were  the  absolute  property  of  the  fishermen. 

Until  1900  the  pearling  rights  were  leased  by  blocks  as  above  noted. 
Rights  to  catch  trochus,  green  snail  shells,  and  sea-slugs,  were  in- 
cluded in  the  lease.  It  was  noticed  that  European  pearlers  always  sub- 
let the  trochus  and  green  snail  rights,  and  it  was  decided  to  auction 
these  separately;  while  as  regards  pearling  proper  the  auction  system 
was  abolished  in  that  year  in  favor  of  a  system  of  licensing  individual 
vessels  for  a  fee  of  Rs.400  each.  The  right  to  collect  pearls  by  nude 
diving  was  thought  for  some  time  to  have  been  left  free;  but  sub- 
sequently it  was  auctioned  along  with  the  rights  to  collect  green  snails, 
trochus  and  sea-slugs. 

The  following  summary,  compiled  from  data  furnished  by  Mr.  I. 
H.  Burkill  of  the  Indian  Civil  Service,  shows  the  extent  of  the  pearl 
and  shell  fisheries  of  Mergui  for  a  series  of  years. 


Year. 

No.  of 
Pumps. 

Revenue  from 

Pumps. 

Rs. 

Revenue  from 

Auction  Rights. 

Rs. 

Reported  Value 

of  Yield. 

Rs. 

1904 

70 

28,000 

22,500 

149.239 

1905 

77 

30,800 

14,200 

131,921 

1906 

80 

32.000 

15-300 

124,798 

1907 

76 

30,400 

19,700 

The  local  headquarters  of  the  industry  are  at  Mergui,  but  most  of 
the  supplies  are  drawn  from  Maulmain  and  Rangoon,  or  from  the 
more  distant  Singapore,  where  the  industry  is  financed.  The  season 
extends  from  October  to  April  or  May,  when  the  southwest  monsoon 
begins  and  puts  a  stop  to  the  fishery  on  this  exposed  coast. 

The  boats  used  are  mostly  of  Burmese  build.  They  measure  from  25 
to  35  feet  in  length,  and  7  or  8  feet  in  width,  and  have  18  to  24  inches 
of  draft,  with  curved  or  half -moon  shaped  keels,  and  with  high  square 
sterns.  Owing  to  the  very  light  draft  and  the  amount  of  free-board, 
they  are  deficient  in  weatherly  qualities ;  but  are  fast  sailors  before  the 
wind  and  are  easily  rowed  from  place  to  place.  For  this  reason  they 
are  especially  suited  to  the  industry  in  Mergui,  because  during  the 
pearling  season  calms  and  light  winds  prevail  and  oars  form  the  prin- 
cipal motive  power,  especially  in  the  channels  and  passageways  be- 
tween the  islands  where  the  tides  are  frequently  very  swift. 

If  a  number  of  boats  are  of  the  same  ownership,  a  schooner  of 
thirty  to  one  hundred  tons'  capacity  is  commonly  provided  as  a  floating 
station  and  base  of  supplies  for  them;  the  gathering  of  such  a  fleet 


FROM  THE  TREASURY  OF  THE  EMIR  OF  BOKHARA 

Necklace  and  earrings.     Property  of  an  American  lady 


PEARLS  FROM  ASIA  137 

presents  an  interesting  sight,  like  a  great  white  hen  among  her  brood 
of  chickens. 

Most  of  the  boats  are  from  Mergui,  and  are  chartered  at  a  monthly- 
rate  of  from  Rs.105  to  Rs.i20  each,  including  a  crew  of  four  or  five 
Burmans  with  their  subsistence,  consisting  principally  of  rice  and 
salted  fish ;  the  charterer  is  further  required  to  pay  each  member  of 
the  crew'  four  annas,  or  one  rupee,  for  each  day  actually  employed  in 
operating  the  diving  pump.  In  addition  to  these  men,  each  boat  car- 
ries one  diver  and  an  attendant,  commonly  known  as  "tender."  The 
boat  is  sailed  or  rowed  by  the  crew,  as  directed  by  the  diver ;  and  while 
the  latter  is  submerged,  the  boat  and  crew  are  under  the  supervision 
of  the  attendant. 

The  divers  are  the  most  important  men  in  the  fleet,  for  on  their 
ability  and  efficiency  depends  the  success  of  the  enterprise.  A  very 
considerable  portion  of  them  are  natives  of  the  Philippine  Islands, 
although  many  Japanese  have  been  employed  recently,  and  the  number 
is  increasing.  The  compensation  is  at  the  rate  of  £2  to  £4  per  month, 
and  £20  for  each  ton  of  mother-of-pearl  secured.  The  attendants  are 
likewise  mostly  Manilamen,  but  many  Malayans  and  Burmans  are 
employed;  the  wages  range  from  Rs.so  to  Rs.8o  per  month,  including 
provisions.  The  peculiar  duties  of  the  attendant  are  to  help  the  diver 
into  his  dress,  place  the  shoulder  leads  into  position,  screw  on  the 
helmet,  and  especially  to  receive  and  respond  to  signals  and  to  direct 
the  movements  of  the  vessel  in  accordance  therewith. 

The  scaphander,  or  diving-dress,  is  composed  of  solid  sheet  rubber, 
covered  on  both  sides  with  canvas.  The  head-piece  is  made  of  tinned 
copper,  and  is  fitted  with  three  glasses,  one  at  the  front  and  one  on 
each  side,  so  as  to  afiford  the  diver  as  wide  a  view  as  is  consistent  with 
strength  of  construction.  It  has  a  valve  by  which  he  can  regulate  the 
pressure  of  the  atmosphere.  The  dress  has  a  double  collar,  the  inner 
portion  coming  up  around  the  neck,  and  the  other  hermetically  fastened 
to  the  breastplate.  The  breastplate  is  likewise  made  of  copper.  The 
suit  is  connected  with  the  air-pump  by  means  of  a  stout  rubber  tube 
which  enters  the  helmet,  and  through  which  air  is  supplied  to  the  diver 
incased  therein.  This  air-tube  consists  of  three  or  four  lengths  — each 
of  fifty  feet — of  light  hose,  commonly  called  "pipe."  This  is  buoyant 
so  that  it  may  be  easily  pulled  along,  and  may  not  readily  foul  among 
the  rocks.  However,  when  working  on  very  rough  bottom  with 
sharp-edged  stones,  the  lower  length  is  of  stouter  material  in  order 
to  resist  the  chafing  on  the  bottom.  Before  descending,  the  air-line 
is  loosely  coiled  around  the  diver's  arm  to  prevent  a  sudden  strain  on 
it  when  it  is  tightened,  and  a  signal-line  is  attached  to  his  waist  to 
enable  him  to  communicate  with  the  men  above. 


138  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

In  fishing,  if  the  current  is  slight,  the  boat  is  permitted  to  drift 
therewith,  and  if  there  is  Httle  or  no  current,  it  is  propelled  by  oars 
as  may  be  required.  The  diver  — fully  dressed  in  the  rubber  suit  with 
helmet,  etc., — goes  overboard  easily  by  means  of  a  Jacob's  ladder  of 
five  or  six  rungs  on  the  port  side  of  the  boat,  and  is  lowered  by  an 
attendant,  who  gives  close  attention  to  the  lines,  the  crew  having 
manned  the  pump  in  the  meantime.  On  reaching  bottom,  the  diver 
walks  along,  following  the  course  of  the  moving  boat  and  swinging 
his  shoulders  from  side  to  side  to  take  in  a  wide  vision  in  his  search 
for  oysters.  In  clear  water  he  can  discover  them  at  a  distance  of 
twenty-five  or  thirty  feet,  even  when  fifteen  fathoms  below  the  sur- 
face; but  sometimes  the  water  is  so  clouded  that  it  may  be  necessary 
for  him  to  go  almost  on  hands  and  knees  to  see  them,  and  when  the 
seaweeds  are  thick  and  high,  he  may  locate  them  almost  as  much  by 
feeling  as  by  sight.  Owing  to  this  difficulty  in  seeing  the  oysters,  the 
work  is  suspended  in  rough  weather  and  for  many  days  following. 
The  catch  is  placed  in  a  sack  or  basket  of  quarter-inch  rope,  which  is 
raised  when  filled,  emptied,  and  returned  to  the  bottom  by  means  of 
a  rope. 

Finding  the  shell  is  by  no  means  an  easy  matter,  and  much  natural 
hunter-craft  is  necessary.  Of  a  neutral  color,  it  is  not  at  all  con- 
spicuous as  it  lies  on  a  gray  coral  bed,  itself  covered  with  coral  or 
sponge  or  hidden  in  dense  masses  of  gorgeous  seaweeds.  Still  less 
visible  is  the  shell  on  a  muddy  bottom,  for  there  it  embeds  itself  and 
exposes  only  half  an  inch  or  so  of  the  "lip."  As  the  boat  is  impelled 
by  the  tide,  the  diver  may  have  to  walk  rapidly  in  a  swinging  gait; 
and  if  he  should  stumble  or  fall  while  stooping  to  pick  up  the  shell, 
recovery  of  balance  may  be  difficult.  He  must  be  constantly  on  the 
alert  and  has  many  dangers  to  avoid.  Sharks  are  numerous  in  these 
clear  tropical  waters ;  but  although  disaster  sometimes  results,  they  are 
timid,  a  stream  of  air  bubbles  from  the  sleeve  of  the  dress  sending 
them  away  in  fright.  More  fruitful  sources  of  danger  are  fouled  air- 
pipes,  broken  pumps,  falling  into  holes,  and  especially  paralysis  from 
recklessly  deep  diving. 

When  the  diver  wishes  to  come  up,  he  closes  the  escape  valve  in  his 
helmet ;  his  dress  fills  and  distends  with  air,  causing  a  speedy  return 
to  the  surface,  and  the  tender  hauls  him  alongside  by  means  of  the 
life-line.  After  "blowing"  for  a  few  minutes  with  the  helmet  re- 
moved, and  usually  enjoying  the  indispensable  cigarette,  he  returns 
to  the  bottom. 

When  the  jNIergui  reefs  were  first  exploited  by  diving  apparatus, 
the  bulk  of  the  shells  were  secured  from  depths  of  ten  to  twelve 
fathoms.     These  shallow  reefs  have  been  exhausted,  temporarily,  at 


PEARLS  FROM  ASIA  139 

least,  and  the  divers  now  work  in  deeper  water,  fifteen,  twenty,  and 
even  twenty-five  fathoms,  if  the  bottom  is  very  uneven  and  rocky. 
Many  shells  are  found  in  the  depressions  between  the  large  boulders, 
which  may  be  twenty  .or  thirty  feet  deeper  than  the  surrounding  areas. 

The  oysters  are  opened  by  means  of  the  long-bladed  working-knife 
of  the  country,  known  as  dah-she.  The  flesh  is  thrown  into  a  large 
basket  or  washtub,  where  it  is  searched  by  the  proprietor  of  the  boat, 
who  takes  each  piece  between  the  hands  and  squeezes  and  feels  through 
every  part  of  it.  After  the  flesh  has  been  carefully  examined,  the 
sediment  at  the  bottom  of  the  tub  is  washed  and  panned  to  obtain 
those  pearls  which  have  fallen  through  the  flesh  tissues.  The  Mergui 
pearls  are  commonly  of  good  color  and  luster,  and  compare  favorably 
with  those  from  the  Sulu  Archipelago  or  the  Dutch  East  Indies. 

The  sea-green  shell  of  the  snail  {Turbo  marmoraHis)  is  gathered 
m  large  quantities  by  the  nude  diving  Selangs,  who  barter  it  to  Chinese 
traders  at  the  equivalent  of  Rs.8  or  10  per  100  in  number.  The 
flesh  is  also  dried  and  disposed  of  to  these  traders  under  the  name  of 
thadecon,  at  about  Rs.3  per  viss  of  3.33  pounds.  This  mollusk  vields 
a  few  greenish  yellow  pearls. 

In  1895,  three  pearl  reefs  were  discovered  oflf  the  Bassein  coast  in 
the  district  of  Irawadi.^  These  proved  fairly  remimerative  for  one 
season  and  a  portion  of  another,  when  they  were  abandoned. 


THE  PEARL  FISHERIES  OF  THE  RED  SEA, 
GULF  OF  ADEN,  ETC. 

Under  the  Ptolemies,  and  even  long  after — under  the 
Califs — these  were  islands  whose  merchants  were  princes; 
but  their  bustle  and  glory  have  since  departed  from  them, 
and  they  are  now  thinly  inhabited  by  a  race  of  miserable 
fishermen. 

James.Bruce  (1790). 

The  Red  Sea  was  one  of  the  most  ancient  sources  of  pearls,  furnish- 
ing these  gems  for  centuries  before  the  Christian  era,  and  particularly 
during  the  reign  of  the  Ptolemies.  These  pearls  were  alluded  to  by 
Strabo,  ^lianus,  and  other  classical  writers.  Although  the  prom- 
inence of  the  fisheries  has  suffered  by  comparison  with  those  of  Persia 
and  Ceylon,  the  yield  has  been  more  or  less  extensive  from  the  days  of 
Solomon  up  to  the  present  time. 

Of  the  several  pearl-yielding  mollusks  in  the  Red  Sea  and  on  the 

'  Nisbet,  "Burma  Under  British  Rule  and  Before,"  Vol.  I,  p.  363. 


140 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


southeast  coast  of  Arabia,  the  largest  and  best  known  is  that  called 
"sadof"  by  the  Arabs,  and  which  has  been  identified  by  Jameson  as 
Margaritifera  m.  erythrccensis.  This  is  closely  related  to  the  large 
species  in  the  Persian  Gulf.  It  is  commonly  four  or  five  inches  in 
diameter,  and  in  exceptional  instances  attains  a  diameter  of  eight 
inches  and  a  weight  of  three  pounds  or  more.     In  addition  to  its 


Persian  Gulf  and  the  Red  Sea,  the  pearling  center  of  the  world 


size,  it  is  distinguished  by  a  dark  green  coloring  about  the  edges,  and 
a  more  or  less  greenish  tint  over  the  nacreous  interior  surface;  this 
color  is  darker  in  the  vicinity  of  Jiddah  and  Suakin  than  at  the  south- 
ern end  of  the  sea,  or  in  the  Gulf  of  Aden.  This  species  occurs  singly 
rather  than  congregated  in  beds  or  reefs.  Although  it  is  found  in 
depths  of  fifteen  fathoms  or  more,  most  of  the  fishing  is  in  less  than 
five  fathoms  of  water. 

The  "sadof"  yields  pearls  only  rarely,  and  is  sought  principally  for 


PEARLS  FROM  ASIA  141 

the  shells,  which  afford  good  qualities  of  mother-of-pearl,  the  pearls 
furnishing  an  additional  but  always  looked-for  profit  to  the  regular 
source  of  income.  As  in  other  regions,  there  is  no  constant  relation 
between  the  value  of  the  pearls  and  the  quantity  of  mollusks  taken. 
The  oysters  of  some  reefs  are  comparatively  rich  in  certain  years ; 
while  in  other  seasons  or  on  other  reefs  the  mollusks  may  be  numerous 
but  yield  very  few  pearls. 

The  second  species  of  importance  in  the  Red  Sea  is  similar  to  the 
Lingah  oyster  and  is  known  to  the  Arabs  as  "bulbul."  This  is  much 
smaller  than  the  "sadof,"  averaging  less  than  three  inches  in  diameter. 
It  is  collected  for  the  pearls  exclusively,  the  shells  being  too  small 
for  industrial  use;  but  only  3  or  4  per  cent,  of  the  individuals  yield 
pearls. 

It  is  claimed  by  writers  of  authority  that  it  is  the  red  Pinna  pearl 
from  this  sea  that  is  referred  to  in  the  Scriptures  under  the  name 
peninim  as  the  most  precious  product,  and  which  has  been  translated  as 
rubies.'  The  shell  is  extremely  fragile,  and  the  nacreous  interior  is 
white  tinged  with  a  beautiful  red.  It  is  of  little  importance  in  the  com- 
mercial fisheries  of  the  Red  Sea  at  the  present  time. 

The  "sadof"  is  more  scattered  and  less  numerous  than  the  "bulbul" ; 
and  in  order  to  save  much  useless  diving,  it  is  customary  to  inspect 
the  bottom  before  descending.  Therefore,  operations  are  largely 
restricted  to  calm  weather,  when  the  water  is  sufficiently  clear  to 
enable  the  divers  to  sight  the  individual  oysters  on  the  bottom.  In 
recent  years,  water-telescopes  have  been  used  to  assist  in  locating 
them.  The  most  popular  form  consists  of  a  tin  can  with  a  sheet  of 
glass  inserted  in  the  bottom.  The  glazed  end  of  the  tin  is  submerged 
several  inches  below  the  surface,  affording  a  far-reaching  and  much 
clearer  vision.  In  this  fishery  the  divers  work  from  small  canoes 
(iiri),  each  manned  by  two  men,  one  of  whom  rows  while  the  other 
leans  over  the  bow  and  searches  for  the  oysters.  When  one  is 
sighted,  he  dives  into  the  water  for  it,  and  then  returns  to  the  boat 
to  resume  the  search. 

The  pearling  season  begins  commonly  in  March  or  April,  and  con- 
tinues until  about  the  end  of  May;  it  is  renewed  in  the  autumn,  con- 
tinuing through  September  and  October.^  The  vessels  employed  are 
of  two  varieties :  dhows  carrying  from  twenty  to  eighty  men  each,  and 
the  much  smaller  sambuks  or  sail-boats  without  decks,  each  with 
from  six  to  twenty-five  men,  most  of  whom  are  Negro  slaves.  Many 
of  the  large  vessels  are  from  the  Persian  Gulf.  The  sambuks  are 
owned  principally  by  Zobeid  Bedouins  inhabiting  the  coast  between 
Jiddah  and  Yambo,  and  also  the  islands  near  the  southern  end  of  the 

*See  Proverbs  xxxi,  i.  ^  Hesse,  "Der  Zoologische  Garten,"  Dec.  1,1898. 


142  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

sea,  which  are  very  hot-beds  of  pearls,  shells,  religious  frenzy  and 
half  famished  Arabs  and  Negro  slaves. 

The  "bulbul"  oysters  are  taken  in  nearly  the  same  manner  as  in  the 
Persian  Gulf.  When  the  vessel  is  located  over  the  reef,  each  diver 
descends,  commonly  with  a  short  stick  of  iron  or  hard  wood,  with 
which  he  releases  the  oysters  within  reach ;  placing  them  in  a  sack,  he 
is  pulled  up  by  an  attendant  when  his  breath  is  nearly  exhausted. 

The  fisheries  are  prosecuted  along  both  sides  of  the  Red  Sea  and 
in  the  channels  among  the  islands,  from  the  Gulf  of  Akabah  to  Bab-el- 
Mandeb.  They  are  especially  extensive  among  the  Dahlak  Islands 
on  the  coast  of  the  Italian  colony  Eritrea,  where  the  population  is 
largely  supported  by  them.  This  was  the  center  of  the  industry 
during  the  time  of  the  Ptolemies  and  in  the  early  Christian  era.  The 
fisheries  are  also  important  in  the  vicinity  of  Jiddah,  the  port  of 
entrance  for  Mecca  and  Medina,  holiest  places  of  Islam.  They  like- 
wise exist  near  Kosseir  at  the  northern  end  of  the  sea,  and  at  Suakin, 
Massawa,  the  Farsan  Islands,  and  Loheia,  near  the  lower  end.  They 
are  carried  on  by  Arabs,  who  succeed  in  evading  efforts  at  control  on 
the  part  of  the  local  governments.  Even  on  the  African  side,  the  Arab 
fishermen  predominate,  for  the  native  Egyptian  has  never  evinced 
much  fondness  for  venturing  on  the  sea. 

On  the  southeast  coast  of  Arabia,  pearl  fishermen  are  to  be  found 
at  the  various  harbors  from  Aden  to  Muscat.  Their  fantastic  dhows 
are  met  with  in  the  harbor  of  Makalla,  and  also  in  that  of  Shehr. 
On  the  Oman  coast,  the  ports  of  Sur  and  of  sun-scorched  Muscat  do  a 
considerable  pearling  business,  not  only  locally  but  to  the  Sokotra 
Islands,  and  even  on  the  coast  of  East  Africa  and  Zanzibar,  the  trading 
baggalas  adding  pearling  and  illicit  slave-trading  to  their  many  sources 
of  income.  A  number  of  these  traders,  each  with  an  instinct  for 
pearls  equal  to  that  of  a  trained  hound  for  game,  visit  the  fishing 
centers  at  intervals,  and  exchange  needful  commodities  for  pearls 
and  shells. 

The  Arab  pearl  divers  of  the  Red  Sea  have  been  noted  for  the  depths 
to  which  they  can  descend.  Lieutenant  J.  R.  Wellsted,  of  the  Indian 
Navy,  who  had  unusual  facilities  for  acquaintance  with  their  exploits, 
reported  that  in  the  Persian  Gulf  the  fishermen  rarely  descended  be- 
yond eleven  or  twelve  fathoms,  and  even  then  they  exhibited  signs  of 
exhaustion;  but  that  in  the  Red  Sea  they  go  down  twice  that  depth. 
Among  the  most  noted  of  these  divers  of  the  last  century  was  old 
Serur,  who  attracted  the  notice  of  many  travelers.  Lieutenant  Well- 
sted states  that  he  saw  him  descend  repeatedly  to  twenty-five  fathoms 
without  the  slightest  evidence  of  distress ;  that  he  frequently  dived  in 
thirty  fathoms,  and  is  reported  to  have  brought  up  mud  from  the 


CARVF.n    "JF.RUSALKM   SHKLL"    FROM    THE    RED  SEA 
III  Ihe  collection  of  Dr.  Bashford  Dean 


PEARLS  FROM  ASIA  143 

bottom  at  a  depth  of  thirty-five  fathoms,  which  is  about  the  record, 
the  pressure  of  the  water  being  nearly  90  pounds  to  the  square 
inch.  His  sons  were  also  remarkably  expert;  one  of  them  when 
scarcely  thirteen  years  of  age  would  descend  to  a  depth  of  twenty-five 
fathoms/ 

An  interesting  story  of  an  Arab's  diving  ability  is  told  by  Lieutenant 
Wellsted:  "In  1827,  we  were  cruising  in  the  sloop  Teniate  on  the  pearl 
banks.  Whilst  becalmed  and  drifting  slowly  along  with  the  current, 
several  of  the  officers  and  men  were  looking  over  the  side  at  our  Arab 
pilot,  who  had  been  amusing  himself  in  diving  for  oysters.  After 
several  attempts,  his  search  proved  unsuccessful.  'Since  I  cannot  get 
oysters  I  will  now,'  said  he,  'dive  for  and  catch  fish.'  All  ridiculed  the 
idea.  He  went  down  again,  and  great  was  our  astonishment  to  see 
him,  after  a  short  time,  rise  to  the  surface  with  a  small  rock-fish  in 
each  hand.  His  own  explanation  of  the  feat  was,  that  as  he  seated 
himself  at  the  bottom,  the  fish  came  around  and  nibbled  at  his  skin. 
Watching  his  opportunity,  he  seized  and  secured  his  prey  by  thrusting 
his  thumb  and  forefinger  into  their  expanded  gills."^ 

Owing  to  the  character  of  the  fishery  and  the  lack  of  government 
supervision,  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  determine  accurately  the  extent 
of  this  industry  in  the  Red  Sea  and  the  Arabian  Gulf.  All  over  this 
coast  extends  the  influence  of  the  Hindu  traders,  who  finance  the 
fisheries  and  purchase  most  of  the  catch.  The  pearls  are  sent  mostly 
to  Bombay,  and  are  not  reported  in  the  official  returns  of  the  Red  Sea 
ports.  The  fishermen  are  suspicious  of  outside  inquiries,  and  are  far 
from  anxious  to  impart  reliable  information.  Probably  the  best  esti- 
mates of  the  catch  are  to  be  obtained  from  Bombay  merchants,  from 
whom  A.  Perazzoli  learned  in  1898  that  pearls  to  the  value  of  2,000,000 
lire  ($400,000)  were  carried  from  the  Red  Sea  to  Bombay  each  year.^ 
In  the  last  four  or  five  years  the  output  has  been  smaller  than  usual, 
owing  to  disturbed  political  conditions. 

The  annual  product  of  "Egyptian"  and  "Bombay"  shells  in  these 
fisheries  is  usually  upward  of  1000  tons,  worth  from  $100  to  $600 
per  ton,  according  to  quality.  Most  of  these  go  to  Austria  and 
France,  only  about  200  tons  reaching  London  each  year.  Owing  to 
the  dark  color  and  the  lack  of  thickness  in  the  nacreous  layer,  they 
are  scarcely  suitable  for  anything  else  than  button-manufacture. 
Many  of  them  are  sent  to  Bethlehem  and  Jerusalem,  where  they  are 
cut  into  various  shapes  for  crosses,  crucifixes,  wafer-boxes,  beads, 
and  nearly   every   conceivable   article    in    which   mother-of-pearl    is 

'Wellsted,   "Travels    in   Arabia,"   London,  '"Bolletino     della     Societa     d'esplorazione 

1838,  Vol.  II,  p.  238.  commerciale  in  Africa,"  Milan,  June,  1898. 

'-Ibid.,  Vol.  I,  pp.  268,  269. 


144  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

manufactured.  Many  of  the  choicest  shells  are  incised  with  scriptural 
or  allegorical  designs  for  sale  to  tourists  as  well  as  for  export.  The 
best  of  the  engraved  shells  sell  for  $io  to  $50,  and  the  cheaper  ones 
for  less  than  $1  each.  This  industry  is  of  great  importance  in  Beth- 
lehem, giving  employment  to  a  considerable  percentage  of  the  eight 
thousand  inhabitants  of  the  village. 

Doubtless  in  no  pearl  fishery  in  the  world  are  greater  hardships 
endured  than  in  the  Red  Sea  and  along  the  coast  of  the  Arabian  Gulf. 
In  practically  every  other  region,  the  industry  is  carried  on  under 
government  supervision,  and  there  is  little  opportunity  for  ill-treat- 
ment of  the  humbler  fishermen.  But  the  fanatics  who  control  the 
fishery  on  the  Arabian  coast — untrammeled  by  authorities  and  re- 
sponsible to  none — show  little  consideration  for  the  poor  divers,  and 
particularly  for  the  unfortunate  black  slaves  brought  from  the  coast 
of  Africa. 

These  pearl  fishermen  lead  a  very  eventful  life,  the  divers  especially. 
They  see  some  wonderful  sights  down  below  the  surface — plant  life 
and  creeping  things  and  enemies  innumerable.  Dropping  from  the 
sun-scorched  surface  down  into  the  deep  cool  waters,  everything  shows 
"a  sea  change,  into  something  rich  and  strange,"  just  as  the  eyes  of 
the  drowned  man  in  Ariel's  song  are  turned  into  pearls  and  his  bones 
into  coral. 

And  there  are  enemies  innumerable.  The  terrible  sharks,  prowling 
about  near  the  bottom,  prove  a  source  of  perpetual  uneasiness,  and  in 
the  aggregate  many  fishermen  are  eaten  by  these  blood-thirsty  tigers 
of  the  sea.  There  are  horrible  conflicts  with  devil-fish  equaling  that 
in  Hugo's  "Toilers  of  the  Sea."  The  saw-fish  is  also  a  source  of 
danger,  particularly  in  the  Arabian  Gulf,  and  instances  are  reported 
in  which  divers  have  been  cut  in  two  by  these  animals,  which  some- 
times attain  a  length  of  twelve  or  fifteen  feet,  and  possess  a  saw  five 
feet  long  and  three  inches  broad,  armed  on  each  edge  with  teeth  two 
inches  in  length.  Another  menacing  peril  is  the  giant  clam  (  Tridacna 
gigas),  a  monster  bivalve,  whose  shell  measures  two  or  three  feet 
in  diameter,  and  is  firmly  anchored  to  the  bottom.  This  mollusk 
occurs  on  many  of  the  Asiatic  pearling  grounds.  Lying  with  the 
scalloped  edges  a  foot  or  more  apart,  a  foot  or  a  hand  of  the  diver 
may  be  accidentally  inserted.  When  such  a  fate  befalls  a  fisherman, 
the  only  escape  is  for  him  to  amputate  the  member  immediately.  Once 
in  a  while  on  the  pearling  shores  a  native  may  be  found  who  has  been 
maimed  in  this  manner,  but  usually  the  unfortunate  man  does  not 
escape  with  his  life. 


CAP  OF   STATE,  FROM    LOOTING   OF   SUMMER  PALACE,   PEK.IN,   IN    i860 
Now  in  South  Kensington  Museum 


PEARLS  FROM  ASIA  145 


THE  PEARL  FISHERIES  OF  CHINA,  JAPAN, 
SIBERIA,  ETC. 

Do  churls 
Know  the  worth  of  Orient  pearls? 
Give  the  gem  which  dims  the  moon 
To  the  noblest  or  to  none. 

Emerson,  Friendship. 

It  appears  from  ancient  Chinese  literature,  noted  in  the  first 
chapter  of  this  book,  that  pearl  fisheries  have  existed  in  the  rivers 
of  China  for  several  thousand  years.  The  Chinese  also  derived 
pearls  from  the  sea,  and  especially  from  the  coast  of  the  province 
of  Che-kiang.  Little  is  known  of  the  early  fisheries,  but  the  frag- 
mentary literature  contains  so  many  allusions  to  pearls  as  to  lead  us 
to  believe  that  they  were  of  considerable  extent  and  importance. 

It  is  related  that  about  200  b.c,  a  pearl  dealer  at  Shao-hing,  an 
ancient  city  between  Hang-chau  and  Ning-po,  on  the  shore  of  Hang- 
chau  Bay,  furnished  to  the  empress  a  pearl  one  inch  in  diameter,  for 
which  he  received  five  hundred  pieces  of  silver;  and  to  an  envious 
princess  the  same  dealer  sold  a  "four-inch  pearl."  A  hundred  years 
later,  the  reigning  emperor  sent  an  agent  to  the  coast  to  purchase 
"moon  pearls,"  the  largest  of  which  were  two  thirds  of  an  inch  in 
diameter. 

In  the  tenth  century  a.d.,  Mingti,  one  of  the  most  extravagant  of 
the  early  monarchs,  used  so  many  pearls  —  not  only  in  his  personal 
decoration  but  on  his  equipage  and  retinue.  —  that  after  a  formal  pro- 
cession the  way  would  be  rich  in  the  jewels  which  dropped  from  the 
gorgeous  cortege.  About  1000  a.d.,  an  embassy  to  the  emperor 
brought  as  tribute  an  ornament  composed  of  strings  of  pearls,  and 
also  105  Hang  (8^  lbs.)  of  the  same  gems  unmounted. 

An  interesting  story  is  told  of  "pearl-scattering"  by  an  embassy 
to  the  Chinese  court  from  a  Malayan  state  about  1060.  Following 
the  customs  of  their  country,  the  ambassadors  knelt  at  the  threshold 
of  the  audience  chamber,  and  then  advanced  toward  the  throne,  bear- 
ing a  golden  goblet  filled  with  choice  pearls  and  water-lilies  wrought 
of  gold.  These  they  scattered  upon  the  floor  at  the  feet  of  the 
emperor;  and  the  courtiers,  hastening  to  pick  them  up,  secured  ten 
Hang  (15  oz.)  of  pearls.^ 

The  Keh  Chi  King  Yuen,  a  Chinese  encyclopedia,  describes  a  pearl 
fishery  in  the  southern  part  of  Kwang-tung  province,  in  the  depart- 

1  Von  HessHng,  "Die  Perlenmuscheln,"  Leipzig,  1859,  p.  6. 
10 


146  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

ment  of  Lien-chau  and  near  the  city  of  Hohpu.  Fishing  began  in  the 
spring,  and  was  preceded  by  conciliating  the  gods  through  certain 
sacrifices,  in  order  that  the  weather  might  be  propitious  and  that  no 
disaster  might  be  sufifered  through  sharks  and  other  agencies.  The 
five  sacrificial  animals, — horses,  cattle,  sheep,  swine,  and  fowls, — were 
presented;  but  ordinarily  paper  images  of  these  were  economically 
substituted,  as  equally  acceptable  to  the  Chinese  rulers  of  destiny. 
In  the  details  of  the  diving,  the  fishery  resembled  somewhat  that  prose- 
cuted about  the  same  period  in  the  Gulf  of  Manaar.  The  diver  was 
let  down  by  a  rope,  and  after  collecting  the  moUusks  and  placing  them 
in  a  basket,  he  was  drawn  up  at  a  given  signal.  Much  complaint  was 
made  that  the  divers  would  open  the  mollusks,  extract  the  pearls  and 
conceal  them  in  the  mouth  before  returning  to  the  surface. 

The  business  became  so  perilous  and  the  loss  so  great,  that  about 
the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  according  to  the  same  encyclo- 
pedia, dredges  were  adopted.  These  at  first  were  simple  rakes;  later 
large  dredges  were  trailed  along  between  two  boats,  by  means  of 
which  great  quantities  of  shells  were  gathered.  So  important  was  the 
industry  that  an  officer  was  designated  by  the  viceroy  of  Canton  to 
collect  a  revenue  therefrom.  It  does  not  appear  that  pearls  have  been 
collected  in  considerable  numbers  on  this  part  of  the  Chinese  coast  for 
very  many  years,  probably  not  since  the  advent  of  Europeans. 

Pearls  are  yet  found  in  the  river  mussels  in  all  parts  of  eastern 
Asia,  from  Siberia  to  the  Indian  Ocean,  and  from  the  Himalayas  to 
the  Pacific.  It  is  represented  that  they  are  not  from  the  Unio  marga- 
ritifcra,  the  common  river-mussel  of  Europe,  but  from  other  species, 
such  as  Unio  mongolicus,  U.  dahuricus ,  Dipsas  plicatiis,  etc.  It  is 
quite  impossible  to  obtain  a  reliable  estimate  of  the  total  number  of 
persons  employed,  or  the  output  of  pearls  in  China,  but  these  items  are 
certainly  very  much  larger  than  the  average  Occidental  believes. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Canton  the  Dipsas  plicatiis  has  been  used  for  cen- 
turies by  the  Chinese  in  the  production  of  artificial  pearls,  this  industry 
giving  employment  to  thousands  of  persons.^ 

The  pearl-mussel  fishery  is  of  importance  in  Manchuria,  where  it 
has  been  carried  on  for  hundreds  of  years,  not  only  by  the  citizens,  but 
by  the  military  department  on  account  of  the  government,  and  espe- 
cially in  the  streams  which  flow  into  the  Songari,  a  tributary  of  the 
Amur.  Jacinth  relates  that  in  case  of  a  deficit,  the  officers  and  sub- 
alterns were  punished  by  a  deduction  from  their  pay,  and  also  by  cor- 
poral chastisement.'  Witsen  speaks  of  the  pearls  from  the  River  Gan, 
a  tributary  of  the  Amur,  and  also  from  the  islands  of  the  Amur,  the 

'  See  p.  288  for  an  account  of  the  methods.  '  Statist,     "Beschreibung    des     chines. 

Reiches,"  1842,  Vol.  II,  p.  11. 


PEARLS  FROM  ASIA  147 

boundary  river  of  Manchuria.  Pearl  fisheries  were  estabHshed  at 
these  places  by  the  Russians  nearly  two  centuries  ago.' 

Pearls  become  finer  and  more  plentiful  the  further  we  penetrate 
into  Manchuria;  and  they  are  numerous  in  the  lake  of  Heikow  or 
Hing-chou-men,  "Black  Lake"  or  "Gate  of  Precious  Gems,"  where 
they  have  long  been  exploited  for  the  account  of  the  emperor  of  China. 

The  occurrence  of  pearls  in  many  parts  of  Asiatic  Russia  was  noted 
by  Von  Hessling.  In  northern  Siberia,  according  to  Witsen,  writing  in 
1705,"  pearls  were  found  in  the  waters  about  the  town  of  Mangasea 
on  the  Turuchan;  and  Von  Middendorf  notes  that  they  were  found  in 
the  Tunguska  River,  which  flows  into  the  Yenisei.  Whether,  however, 
they  come  from  the  Unio  margaritifera  is  considered  doubtful  by  Von 
Middendorf.  Witsen  referred  to  their  occurrence  in  the  rivers  and 
streams  of  Irkutsk  and  Onon,  and  this  is  confirmed  by  several  writers 
of  more  recent  times.  Pallas  says  that  the  mussels  found  there  are 
quite  large,  and  speaks  of  the  Ilim,  which  flows  into  the  Angara,  as 
another  river  where  they  occur. 

Ancient  books  relating  to  Japan  repeatedly  allude  to  the  occur- 
rence of  pearls  on  the  coasts  of  that  country.  They  are  mentioned  in 
the  Nihonki,  of  the  eighth  century,  the  oldest  Japanese  history. 

Tavernier  wrote  about  1670:  "It  is  possible  that  of  those  who  have 
written  before  me  concerning  pearls,  none  have  recorded  that  some 
years  back  a  fishery  was  discovered  in  a  certain  part  of  the  coasts  of 
Japan,  and  I  have  seen  some  of  the  pearls  which  the  Dutch  brought 
from  thence.  They  were  of  very  beautiful  water,  and  some  of  them 
of  large  size,  but  all  baroques.  The  Japanese  do  not  esteem  pearls. 
If  they  cared  about  them  it  is  possible  that  by  their  means  some  banks 
might  be  discovered  where  finer  ones  would  be  obtained."* 

In  1727,  Kaempfer  wrote  that  pearls,  called  by  the  Japanese  kaino- 
tamma  or  shell  jewels,  were  found  in  oysters  and  other  mollusks  al- 
most everywhere  about  Saikokf.  Every  person  was  at  liberty  to  fish 
for  them.  Formerly  the  natives  had  little  or  no  value  for  them,  till 
they  learned  of  their  estimation  by  the  Chinese,  who  were  ready  to  pay 
good  prices  for  them,  their  women  being  very  proud  of  wearing  neck- 
laces and  other  ornaments  of  pearls.  "The  largest  and  finest  pearls 
are  found  in  the  small  sort  of  oysters,  called  akoja,  which  is  not  unlike 
the  Persian  pearl-oyster.  These  are  found  only  in  the  seas  about 
Satzuma  and  in  the  Gulf  of  Omura  (Kiusiu).  Some  of  the  pearls 
weigh  from  four  to  five  candareens'*  and  these  are  sold  for  a  hundred 

'  Ranft,     "Vollstiindige    Beschreibung    des  °  Tavernier,   "Travels   in   India,"   Ball   edi- 

russischen  Reiches,"  Leipzig,  1767,  p.  415-  tion,  London,  1889,  Vol.  H,  pp.  113,  114. 

■  Witsen,  "Nord  en  Oost  Tartarye,"  170S,  *  One  candareen  equals  5.72  grains, 
p.  762. 


148  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

kobans  each.^  The  inhabitants  of  the  Loochoo  Islands  buy  most  of 
those  about  Satzuma,  since  they  trade  to  that  province.  Those  found 
on  the  Gulf  of  Oniura  are  sold  chiefly  to  the  Chinese  and  Tun- 
quinese,  and  it  is  computed  that  they  buy  for  about  3000  taels  -  a  year. 
This  great  profit  occasioned  the  strict  orders,  which  were  made  not 
long  ago  by  the  princes  both  of  Satzuma  and  Omura,  that  for  the 
future  there  should  be  no  more  of  these  oysters  sold  in  the  market 
with  other  oysters,  as  had  been  done  formerly."^ 

Kaempfer  also  noted  that  the  Japanese  obtained  pearls  from  the 
yellow  snail  shell  and  from  the  faira  gai  (Placuna)  in  the  Gulf  of 
Arima,  and  especially  from  the  awabi  or  abalone  (Haliotis).  This  mol- 
lusk  was  much  sought  after  for  food,  being  taken  in  large  quantities  by 
the  fishermen's  wives,  "they  being  the  best  divers  of  the  country."'* 

Of  the  several  species  of  pearl-oysters  which  occur  in  the  coastal 
waters  of  Japan,  the  only  one  of  importance  at  present  is  the  Margari- 
tifcra  martensi.  While  this  occurs  in  very  many  localities,  it  is  most 
numerous  among  the  southern  islands,  where  some  fine  pearls  have 
been  secured.  The  fishery  for  this  species  was  quite  extensive  thirty  or 
forty  years  ago,  and  the  reefs  were  largely  depleted.  For  nearly  a 
score  of  years  it  has  been  used  in  growing  culture-pearls,  an  account 
of  which  is  given  on  pages  292,  293. 

A  few  pearls  are  obtained  from  several  other  bivalve  mollusks  in 
Japan.  Among  the  collections  of  the  present  writers  are  pearls  from 
Margaritifera  martensi,  collected  at  Bay  Agu;  from  M.  panasiscB, 
about  the  Liu-kiu  Islands ;  from  Pecfcii  yeaocitsis.  in  Sokhaido ;.  from 
Mytilns  crasitesta,  in  the  Inland  Sea,  and  from  North  Japan,  and  from 
a  species  of  Dipsas  found  in  Lake  Biwa. 

While  the  pearl  fisheries  of  Japan  are  not  of  great  importance  in 
any  single  locality,  the  distribution  of  the  reefs  is  so  extensive  that  the 
aggregate  yield  is  considerable. 

The  awabi  or  ear-shell  {Haliotis  gigantea) ,  found  on  the  coast  of 
Japan,  Korea,  etc.,  yields  many  pearly  forms.  This  species  is  much 
smaller  than  the  California  abalones.  It  has  a  fairly  smooth,  nacre- 
ous surface,  but  its  value  is  depreciated  by  the  great  size  of  the  mar- 
ginal perforations,  which  render  useless  for  commercial  purposes  all 
of  the  shell  external  to  the  line  of  perforations.  While  its  opalescent 
tints  make  it  desirable  for  manufacturing  into  certain  styles  of  but- 
tons and  buckles,  its  principal  use  is  for  inlaying  work  or  marquetry, 
for  which  it  is  especially  adapted,  owing  to  its  fineness  of  texture  and 
beauty  of  coloring  even  when  reduced  to  thin  sheets. 

'One  koban  equals  66  cents.  '  Kaempfer,  "History  of  Japan,"  1728,  Vol. 

'$4200.  I,  pp.  IIO,  III. 

*Ibid.,  Vol.  I,  p.  139. 


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PEARLS  FROM  ASIA  149 

Probably  the  most  interesting  of  the  abalone  fisheries  is  that  on 
the  shores  of  Quelpaerd  Island,  about  sixty  miles  south  of  the  Korean 
coast,  which  is  prosecuted  largely  by  the  women.  Dressed  only  in  a 
scanty  garment,  these  women  swim  out  to  the  fishing  grounds,  distant 
several  hundred  yards  in  some  cases,  carrying  with  them  a  stout  knife 
and  a  small  sack  suspended  from  a  gourd.  On  reaching  the  reefs, 
they  dive  to  the  bottom — sometimes  to  a  depth  of  six  or  eight  fathoms 
— and  by  means  of  the  knife,  remove  the  abalones  from  the  bottom 
and  place  them  in  the  sack.  They  may  remain  out  an  hour,  diving  re- 
peatedly until  the  sack  is  filled,  when  they  swim  back  to  the  shore. 
Pearls  are  found  only  rarely;  in  one  lot  of  one  hundred  shells,  only 
five  were  found  bearing  pearls;  two  with  three  pearls  each,  two  with 
two  pearls  each,  and  one  with  a  single  pearl.  The  flesh  of  this  mollusk 
after  it  has  been  cleaned  and  dried,  is  quite  popular  as  an  article  of 
diet.  Although  white  when  fresh,  the  color  changes  to  a  dark  red. 
The  pieces  of  dried  flesh,  in  the  form  of  flat  reddish  disks  four  or  five 
inches  in  diameter,  are  fastened  on  slender  sticks — about  ten  to  each 
stick — and  displayed  in  the  grocery  shops  in  Seul  and  other  cities. 

In  the  Gulf  of  Siam  on  the  Asiatic  coast,  pearls  are  obtained  from 
a  small  oyster  with  a  thin  shell,  presumably  a  variety  of  the  Lingah 
oyster.  The  beds  have  not  yet  been  thoroughly  exploited,  as  the 
Siamese  do  not  especially  value  pearls,  attributing  some  superstitious 
sentiments  of  ill  luck  to  them.  However,  from  time  to  time  Chinese 
traders  have  bought  them  from  the  Malay  divers  and  sold  them  at 
great  profit  in  the  Singapore  market.  The  known  beds  occur  chiefly 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  gulf,  on  the  west  coast,  and  extend  in  a 
narrow  belt  for  a  distance  of  about  one  hundred  miles.  The  fishing 
is  prosecuted  by  nude  divers  in  shallow  water.  A  recent  letter  from 
Dr.  K.  Van  Dort,  a  mining  engineer  of  Bangkok,  Siam,  states  that  in 
1906  in  six  weeks,  with  the  aid  of  half  a  dozen  divers  he  was  able  to 
collect  720  grains'  weight  of  pearls,  mostly  small  ones,  but  including 
one  of  20  grains,  one  of  14  grains,  two  of  12  grains  each,  and  seven 
over  9  grains  in  weight.  He  reports  that  the  total  value  of  the  large 
ones  in  Bangkok  was  $1500,  but  the  small  ones  could  not  be  sold  to 
any  advantage,  as  they  are  little  prized  by  the  Siamese.  The  shells 
are  of  no  commercial  value,  as  they  are  too  thin  for  industrial  use 
other  than  for  inlaid  work.  Some  fine  old  specimens  of  marquetry  in 
which  these  shells  were  used  exist  in  the  Buddhist  temples  at  Bangkok. 
This  art  of  inlaying  is  almost  lost  among  the  Siamese,  and  there  is  said 
to  be  only  one  man  in  the  king's  palace  who  can  lay  any  claims  to 
proficiency  in  working  mother-of-pearl  shell. 


VII 
PEARLS  FROM  THE  AFRICAN  COASTS 


VII 
EAST  AFRICAN  PEARL  FISHERIES 

The  Islanders  with  fleecy  curls, 
Whose  homes  are  compass'd  by  the  Arabian  waves ; 
By  whom  those  shells  which  breed  the  orient  pearls 
Are  dived  and  fish'd  for  in  their  green  sea  caves. 

"o,  Jerusalem  Delivered. 

THE  principal  pearl  fisheries  of  the  coasts  of  Africa  are  those 
prosecuted  in  the  Red  Sea,  between  this  continent  and  Asia. 
These  have  already  been  described  in  the  preceding  chapter, 
among  the  Asiatic  fisheries;  for,  although  situated  between 
the  two  continents,  they  are  prosecuted  largely  by  Arabs  rather  than 
by  natives  of  the  western  shores  of  the  sea. 

Other  than  those  in  the  Red  Sea,  the  only  pearl  resources  in  Africa 
which  have  received  attention  are  on  the  eastern  coast,  south  of  the 
Gulf  of  Aden.  Little 'information  exists  as  to  the.  origin  of  these  fish- 
eries. In  a  paper  published  by  the  Lisbon  Geographical  Society, 
January,  1903,  Seiior  Ivens  Ferranz  states  that,  according  to  tradi- 
tion, in  remote  times  the  Ibo  Archipelago,  on  the  northeast  coast  of 
Portuguese  East  Africa,  was  inhabited  by  a  Semitic  colony,  which 
located  there  to  fish  for  pearls,  and  these  were  carried  through  the 
Red  Sea  to  King  Solomon.  He  adds  that  there  is  little  doubt  that, 
after  the  great  emigration  which  started  from  the  Persian  Gulf  in  982 
and  founded  Zanzibar,  Kilwa,  and  Sofala  on  this  coast,  some  Arabs 
engaged  in  fishing  for  pearls  about  the  islands  near  Sofala. 

In  1609  Joao  dos  Santos  wrote  that  on  the  sandy  sea-bottom  about 
the  Bazaruto  Islands,  which  are  about  150  miles  south  of  Sofala,  there 
were  many  large  oysters  which  bore  pearls,  and  the  natives  fished  for 
them  by  diving  in  practically  the  same  manner  as  in  the  Persian  Gulf.' 

In  a  personal  memorandum.  Sir  Robert  Edgcumbe  states  that  in  the 
very  early  times  of  Portuguese  exploitation  on  the  eastern  coast  of 
Africa,  pearl  fishing  was  carried  on  in  these  waters.  For  a  long  pe- 
riod the  tenure  of  power  exerted  by  the  Portuguese  was  of  a  feeble 
character;  they  practically  occupied  no  position  of  importance  on  the 

'  Joao  dos  Santos,  "Ethopia  Oriental,"  Lisbon,  1609,  Vol.  i,  c.  27. 

153 


154  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

mainland,  but  seized  upon  stations  on  the  islands  which  offered  decent 
harbors.  Thus  their  chief  settlements,  such  as  Mozambique  and  Ibo, 
were  on  islands  lying  off  the  coast,  and  until  recent  years  they  made 
no  serious  attempt  to  occupy  the  mainland. 

Arabs  and  Banyans  carried. on  the  commercial  traffic  of  the  country, 
as  they  still  do,  and  they  were  more  truly  the  masters  of  this  coast  than 
were  the  Portuguese,  who  were  little  more  than  nominal  rulers.  Trad- 
ing to  and  from  India  in  their  small  dhows,  the  Arabs  and  Banyans 
had  full  knowledge  of  the  value  of  pearls,  and  undoubtedly  secured  all 
that  were  obtainable.  But  they  observed  no  restrictions,  and  without 
doubt — for  a  time,  at  any  rate — greatly  impaired  the  productive  power 
of  the  fisheries. 

The  principal  pearl  reefs  of  East  Africa,  so  far  as  known  at  present, 
extend  along  the  coast  of  the  German  East  African  territory  from  the 
Province  of  Uzaramo  to  the  Rovuma  River,  the  southern  limit  of  that 
territory,  and  also  into  Portuguese  East  Africa  as  far  south  as  Pemba 
Bay,  a  total  distance  of  about  300  miles.  Along  much  of  this  coast, 
there  are  islands  lying  from  one  to  two  miles  off  shore,  and  between 
these  islands  are  barriers  of  reefs,  which  create  a  series  of  lagoons. 
In  these  lagoons,  protected  by  the  islands  and  the  reefs  from  the  in- 
fluence of  the  surf  formed  by  the  Indian  monsoons,  there  are  large 
patches  of  coral  rock  and  groups  of  living  coral,  which  form  excellent 
attachments  for  the  pearl-oysters. 

It  is  only  recently  that  serious  attention  has  been  paid  to  these  pearl 
resources,  although  year  by  year  a  considerable  number  of'  pearls  have 
been  collected  by  the  natives  and  sold  to  Arabs  and  Banyans,  who  have 
sent  them  chiefly  to  India  by  way  of  Zanzibar.  The  natives  of  these 
parts  are  not  very  expert  in  diving,  and  they  collect  the  oysters  prin- 
cipally by  wading  out  as  far  as  they  can  at  low  tide.  They  do  not  wait 
for  the  mollusks  to  attain  a  proper  age,  and  as  a  result  they  find  few 
pearls  of  large  size.  Many  parcels  of  pearls  fished  in  this  very  elemen- 
tary way  pass  through-  the  custom-house,  where  they  are  subject  to  a 
small  duty  for  export,  and  others  are  smuggled  out  of  the  country. 
Quantities  of  seed-pearls  are  sent  to  India,  where  they  are  used  prin- 
cipally as  a  medicine  and  in  cosmetics ;  and  occasionally  there  are  ru- 
mors that  some  choice  pearls  have  been  discovered. 

In  the  German  territory  a  concession  of  the  fisheries  was  granted  a 
few  years  ago  to  Dr.  Aurel  Schulz ;  and,  although  we  are  not  in  posi- 
tion to  say  what  success  he  has  met  with,  it  is  reported  that  he  has 
secured  a  considerable  number  of  pearls  under  four  grains  in  weight, 
of  fair  shape  and  quality  and  of  good  marketable  value. 

A  concession  of  the  pearl  fishery  on  the  Portuguese  coast  north  of 
Ibo  has  been  granted  to  the  East  African  Pearl  Company.     For  this 


PEARLS  FROM  THE  AFRICAN  COASTS  155 

company  an  examination  of  the  resources  is  now  being  made  by  Mr. 
James  J.  Simpson,  acting  under  direction  of  Prof.  W.  A.  Herdman,  of 
the  Liverpool  University,  the  technical  advisor  of  the  Ceylon  Company 
of  Pearl  Fishers. 

At  least  four  species  of  pearl-bearing  mollusks  exist  here;  these  are 
Margaritifera  vulgaris,  M.  viargaritifcra,  Pinna  nobilis,  and  a  species 
of  Perna,  named  in  the  order  of  their  importance.  A  preliminary  re- 
port of  Mr.  Simpson  (supplied  through  the  courtesy  of  Sir  Robert 
Edgcumbe),  states  that  among  the  Ibo  Islands  about  one  half  of  the 
bottom  is  sandy  and  the  other  half  is  covered  with  detached  pieces  of 
coral  rock,  groups  of  living  corals,  masses  of  nullipore,  and  expanses 
of  fixed  seaweed.  On  all  of  these  in  the  shoal  waters,  there  is  such  an 
abundance  of  pearl-oysters  {M.  vulgaris)  that  a  single  diver,  by 
simply  descending  and  bringing  up  a  few  in  his  hands  each  time,  can 
secure  about  200  in  fifteen  minutes.  Oysters  also  occur  singly  on  the 
sandy  bottom,  but  not  so  abundantly.  Within  the  three-year-old 
oysters  there  are  many  seed-pearls.  It  is  evident  that  there  has  been 
an  extensive  removal  of  large  oysters  in  recent  years  and  that  large 
pearls  were  then  found;  but  the  depredations  of  the  natives  now  pre- 
vent the  mollusks  from  attaining  an  age  and  size  which  render  them 
useful  as  pearl-bearers. 

Said  Mr.  Simpson  in  his  report :  "The  women  here  play  great  havoc 
on  the  reefs  "by  going  out  daily  and  collecting  the  pearl-oysters  at  low 
tide.  All  along  the  coast  from  Muliga  Point  to  Arimba  the  shores  are 
covered  with  shells.  At  one  place  we  came  across  a  heap  of  freshly- 
opened  oysters  which  consisted  of  thirty  or  forty  thousand  at  the  low- 
est estimate ;  while  an  older  heap  contained  between  forty  to  sixty 
millions.  Four  women  who  were  fishing  on  the  reefs  while  we  were 
there  had  over  two  thousand  oysters  in  their  baskets.  Thus  it  is  evident 
that  immense  quantities  are  annually  destroyed.  And  the  worst  feature 
is  that  out  of  those  destroyed,  not  one  per  cent,  were  over  two  years  old." 

It  is  the  intention  of  the  East  African  Pearl  Company,  as  soon  as  the 
investigation  of  the  resources  is  completed,  to  police  the  fishing  grounds 
so  as  to  put  an  end  to  the  removal  of  immature  oysters,  which  yield 
only  seed-pearls,  and  to  permit  them  to  attain  maturity.  In  addition  to 
this,  it  is  their  purpose  to  utilize  the  extensive  beds  of  oysters  lying  in 
comparatively  deep  water,  which  are  now  inaccessible  to  the  natives 
owing  to  their  lack  of  diving  skill. 

Sir  Robert  Edgcumbe  writes  that  it  is  impossible  to  say  more  at  pres- 
ent than  that  these  fisheries  at  one  time  bore  a  high  repute,  and  that 
the  oysters  have  continued  to  exist  in  multitudes  though  fished  by  the 
natives  in  the  immature  state;  and  there  is  every  indication  that  if 
properly  policed  and  worked  in  a  scientific  way  these  fisheries  should 


156  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

once  again  become  of  much  importance.  The  fact  that  the  pearl-bear- 
ing oysters  are  found  there  in  large  quantities,  notwithstanding  that 
they  have  been  poached  without  restriction  by  the  natives,  indicates 
that  only  proper  management  and  policing  are  necessary  to  make  them 
valuable  and  productive. 

On  the  lower  coast  of  Portuguese  East  Africa,  pearl  fishing  has  been 
of  some  local  importance.  The  reefs  are  most  extensive  about  the 
Bazaruto  Islands,  previously  referred  to  as  about  150  miles  south  of 
Sofala.  In  1888,  when  famine  prevailed  on  this  coast,  the  inhabitants 
of  this  archipelago,  of  both  sexes  and  of  all  ages,  fished  for  the  large 
pearl-oysters  (known  locally  as  mapalo),  selling  their  catch  at  Chi- 
loane  to  Asiatic  traders,  who  gave  them  a  handful  of  rice  for  a  large 
basket  of  the  moUusks.  It  was  estimated  that  during  two  months  of 
that  year,  pearls  to  the  value  of  eighty  contos  ($83,500)  were  taken.^ 
In  1889  three  British  subjects  attempted  to  renew  the  fishery  by  using 
dredges,  but  without  success,  owing,  it  is  said,  to  the  great  weight  of 
the  implements. 

The  Kafirs  of  Bazaruto  continue  to  fish  irregularly,  but  their  catch 
is  not  of  importance.  These  pearls  are  carried  by  traders  to  Zanzibar, 
Muscat,  and  Bombay.  The  American  consul  writes  that  some  years 
ago  the  Portuguese  government  granted  a  concession  to  a  company  of 
American  fishermen  to  exploit  the  Bazaruto  reefs,  but  the  attempt  to 
work  the  concession  failed  through  "bad  management,  lack  of  funds, 
heavy  expenses,  and  political  difficulties,"  a  combination  apparently 
sufficient  to  wreck  a  similar  attempt  in  the  most  favorable  locality. 

The  American  consul  at  Tamatave  states  that  in  1907  the  govern- 
ment of  Madagascar  awarded  two  grants  for  pearl  fisheries,  covering 
the  entire  western  coast,  a  distance  of  one  thousand  miles,  excepting 
two  hundred  miles,  for  which  two  grants  were  given  in  1906.  Appar- 
ently no  efifort  was  made  to  develop  the  earlier  grants ;  the  later  ones 
may  be  operated,  perhaps  jointly.  These  concessions  are  personal,  and 
may  not  be  sold  or  transferred  without  the  governor-general's  consent. 
The  use  of  divers,  machinery,  dredges,  and  other  apparatus,  and  the 
building  of  necessary  stations  are  allowed,  if  there  be  no  interference 
with  navigation,  fishing,  or  coast  travel.  An  annual  tax  is  to  be  paid, 
with  a  stated  increase  each  year,  and  revised  according  to  the  success 
of  the  enterprise.  A  report  must  be  sent  yearly  to  the  governor-gen- 
eral. The  grants  may  be  revoked  if  work  is  not  begun  within  a  stated 
period;  if  the  work  is  needlessly  abandoned  during  one  year,  or  if  the 
tax  is  not  paid.  Whenever  the  interests  of  the  colony  or  of  the  public 
service  require  it,  the  privilege  may  be  withdrawn  without  indemnity. 

'  Lisbon  Geographical  Society  Report,  January,  1903. 


VIII 
EUROPEAN  PEARL  FISHERIES 

THE  BRITISH  ISLES,  THE  CONTINENT  OF  EUROPE 


VIII 
PEARL  FISHERIES  OF  THE  BRITISH  ISLES 

And  Britain's  ancient  shores  great  pearls  produce. 

Marbodus  {circa  1070). 

THE  occurrence  of  pearls  in  the  British  Isles  was  known  two 
thousand  years  ago,  and  frequent  references  to  them  were 
made  in  Roman  writings  of  the  first  and  second  centuries 
of  the  Christian  era. 

In  his  "Lives  of  the  Caesars,"  the  biographer  Suetonius,  after  speak- 
ing of  the  admiration  which  Julius  Cassar  had  for  pearls,  states  that 
their  occurrence  in  Britain  was  an  important  factor  in  inducing  the 
first  Roman  invasion  of  that  country  in  55  B.C.'  If  this  be  true,  the 
English-speaking  people  owe  a  vast  debt  of  gratitude  to  these  pearls 
in  bringing  their  Briton  ancestors  in  contact  with  Roman  civilization; 
and  the  influence  which  they  have  thus  exercised  on  the  world's  his- 
tory has  been  greater  than  that  of  the  pearls  from  all  other  regions  or, 
we  might  add,  than  all  other  jewels. 

The  naturalist  Pliny  (23-79)  stated:  "In  Brittaine  it  is  certain 
that  some  do  grow;  but  they  bee  small,  dim  of  colour,  and  nothing 
orient.  For  Julius  C?esar  (late  Emperor  of  famous  memorie)  doth 
not  dissimble,  that  the  cuirace  or  breast-plate  which  he  dedicated  to 
Venus  mother  within  her  temple  was  made  of  English  pearles."^ 

This  decoration  of  pearls  was  a  very  proper  offering  to  the  goddess 
who  arose  from  the  sea. 

The  historian  Tacitus  noted  in  "Vita  Agricolas"  that  the  pearls 
from  Britain  were  dusky  or  brownish  {suhfusca  ac  liventia)? 
In  his  commentaries  on  the  Gospel  of  Matthew,  Origen  (185-253), 
one  of  the  Greek  fathers  of  the  church,  described  the  British  pearls  as 
next  in  value  to  the  Indian.  Their  surface,  he  stated,  was  of  a  golden 
color,  but  they  were  cloudy  and  less  transparent  than  those  from 
India. 

'  "Britanniam    petiisse    spe     margaritarum,  -  "Naturall  Historic,"  Holland  edition,  Lon- 

qiiarum  amplitudinem  conferentem,  interdum  don,  1601,  Lib.  IX,  c.  35. 

sua  nianu  exegisse  pondus."     "Divus  Julius  "Vita  Agricols,"  c.  12. 
Caesar,"  c.  47. 


i6o  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

We  have  no  certain  information  whether  the  pearls  secured  by  the 
Romans  were  from  the  edible  mussel  (Mytilus  edulis)  of  the  sea-coast 
or  from  the  Unios  of  the  fresh-water  streams.  Tacitus's  statement 
that  they  were  collected  "as  the  sea  throws  them  up,"  seems  to  locate 
them  on  the  sea-coast ;  but  conditions  in  modern  times  make  it  appear 
more  probable  that  they  were  from  the  fresh  waters. 

Some  of  the  very  early  coins  of  the  country  indicate  that  pearls  were 
used  to  ornament  the  imperial  diadem  of  the  sovereigns  of  ancient 
Britain.  In  "Historia  ecclesiastica  gentis  Anglorum,"  the  celebrated 
English  monk,  Bede  (673-735)  surnamed  "The  Venerable,"  enu- 
merated among  other  things  for  which  Britain  was  famous  in  his  day, 
"many  sorts  of  shell-fish,  among  which  are  mussels,  in  which  are  often 
found  excellent  pearls  of  all  colours;  red,  purple,  violet  and  green, 
but  mostly  white."  ^  And  Marbodus,  Bishop  of  Rennes,  in  his  lapi- 
darium,  written  about  1070,  refers  to  the  British  pearls  as  equaling 
those  of  Persia  and  India.  About  1094  a  present  of  an  Irish  pearl 
was  made  to  Anselm,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  by  Gilbert,  Bishop 
of  Limerick.^ 

In  the  twelfth  century  there  was  a  market  for  Scotch  pearls  in 
Europe,  but  they  were  less  valued  than  those  from  the  Orient.*  An 
ordinance  of  John  II,  King  of  France,  in  August,  1355,  which  con- 
firmed the  old  statutes  and  privileges  of  goldsmiths  and  jewelers,  ex- 
pressly forbade  mounting  Scotch  and  oriental  pearls  together  in  the 
same  article,  except  in  ecclesiastical  jewelry  (Orfevre  ne  pent  mettre 
en  oeuvre  d'or  ne  argent  paries  d'Ecosse  avec  paries  d'orient  se  ce 
n'est  en  grands  joyaulx  d'eglise).^ 

Writing  in  the  sixteenth  century,  the  historian.  William  Camden 
(1551-1623)  stated  in  his  "Britannia": 

The  British  and  Irish  Pearls  are  found  in  a  large  black  Muscle.  .  . 
They  are  peculiar  to  rapid  and  stony  rivers ;  and  are  common  in  Wales,  and  in 
the  North  of  England,  and  in  Scotland,  and  some  parts  of  Ireland.  In  this 
country  they  are  called  by  the  vulgar  Krcgin  Dilizv,  i.e.  Deluge  shells ;  as  if 
Nature  had  not  intended  the  shells  for  the  rivers ;  but  being  brought  thither  by 
the  Universal  Deluge,  they,  had  continued  there,  and  so  propagated  their  kind 
ever  since.  Those  who  fish  here  for  Pearls,  know  partly  by  the  outside  of  these 
Muscles,  whether  they  contain.any ;  for  generally  such  as  have  them  are  a  little 
contracted  or  distorted  from  their  usual  shape.  A  curious  and  accomplished 
Gentleman,  lately  of  these  parts,  showed  me  a  valuable  Collection  of  the  Pearls 
of  the  Conway  River  in  Wales;  amongst  which  I  noted  a  stool-pearl  [button- 

'  Giles's  edition,  London,  1840,  p.  6.  Also    "Alberti    Magni    Opera    Omnia,"    ed. 

'  Joyce,    "Social    History    of    Ancient    Ire-       .Au<?iisti  Borgnet,  Paris.  1890,  Vol.  V.  p._  41. 

land,"  New  York,  igo.l.  Vol.  IT,  p.  227.  '  "Histoire  de  rOrfevrerie-Joaillerie."  Paris, 

'Nicolai,  "Anglia  Sacra,"  Vol.  II,  p.  236.       1850,  p.  46.     De  Laborde,  "Emaux,"   Paris, 

1852,  Vol.  II,  p.  437. 


INICAC  "D\BV'LAFOL:43lNSERENQ\5'ICNincAN'n'P.  4  PISCATIO: 


PnrruiS  f^rjnzii^Wnsiurn  Rrtilrus  pifca.na:    yioi^iis-.  |  '  jc.  .,-..■>.  ; 


T}i'l;us  Or  v.;:..-.  J.-..  ■■  i  .- 


Qij«r/i.j  Honorii-m  .•■r  fjuuns  viQu-ndi   fnoiii 


OLD  PRINT  SHOWING   FOUR   .METHODS  OF  CATCHING  PEARL-BEARING   MOLLUSKS 
Reproduced  fr^mi  "  Margaritologia,  sive  Dissertalio  de  Margaritis,"  by  Malachias  Geiger,  Munachii,  1637 


EUROPEAN  PEARL  FISHERIES  i6i 

pearl],  weighing  seventeen  grains,  and  distinguished  on  the  convex  side  with 
a  fair  round  spot  of  a  Cornelian  colour,  exactly  in  the  center. ^ 

In  1560  "large  handsome  pearls"  were  sent  from  Scotland  to  Ant- 
werp.'^ In  1620  a  great  pearl  was  found  in  the  Kellie  Burn,  in  Aber- 
deenshire. This  was  carried  to  King  James  by  the  provost,  who  was 
rewarded  with  "twelve  to  fourdeen  chalder  of  victuals  about  Dun- 
fermline, and  the  Customs  of  Merchants'  goods  in  Aberdeen  during 
his  life."  No  record  appears  of  the  reward  paid  to  the  finder ;  possibly; 
it  was  not  worth  recording. 

In  1 62 1  the  Privy  Council  of  Scotland  issued  a  proclamation  that 
pearls  found  within  the  realm  belonged  to  the  Crown;  and  conserva- 
tors of  the  pearl  fisheries  were  appointed  in  several  of  the  counties, 
including  Aberdeen,  Ross,  and  Sutherland.  It  was  the  duty  of  the 
conservators,  among  other  things,  to  nominate  experts  to  fish  for 
pearls  during  July  and  August,  "when  they  are  at  chief  perfection." 
The  conservators  and  fishermen  were  compensated  by  selling  those 
pearls  of  ordinary  quality,  but  "the  best  for  bignesse  and  colour"  were 
to  be  remitted  to  the  king.  It  was  reported  to  the  Privy  Council  that 
the  conservator  in  Aberdeenshire  did  very  well  in  the  first  year.  "He 
hath  not  only  taken  divers  pearls  of  good  value,  but  hath  found  some 
in  waters  where  none  were  expected."  The  first  parliament  of 
Charles  I  abolished  these  privileges. 

Robert  Sibbald,  physician  to  Charles  II,  wrote  that  he  had  seen  a 
necklace  of  Scotch  pearls  which  was  valued  at  two  thousand  crowns; 
they  were  "larger  than  peas,  perfectly  round,  and  of  a  brilliant  white- 
ness.   ■* 

It  is  said  that  Sir  Richard  Wynne  of  Gwydir  presented  to  Catherine 
of  Braganza,  queen  of  Charles  II  of  England,  a  pearl  from  the  Con- 
way in  Wales,  which  is  said  to  be  even  yet  retained  in  the  royal  crown. 
In  his  "Faerie  Queene"  (1590),  Spenser  speaks  of  the 

Conway,  which  out  of  his  streame  doth  send 
Plenty  of  pearles  to  deck  his  dames  withal. 

The  White  Cart  River  in  Scotland,  on  which  the  city  of  Paisley  is 
situated,  was  distinguished,  according  to  Camden,  "for  the  largeness 
and  the  fineness  of  the  Pearls  that  are  frequently  found  hereabouts 
and  three  miles  above."'*  And  the  pearls  from  Irton  in  Cumberland, 
England,  were  so  noted  at  that  time  that  "fair  as  Irton  pearls"  became 

'  Camden.     "Britannia."  and  edition,  Lon-          '  Sibbald,  "Hist.  Nat.  Scotiae,"   1684.  Vol. 

don,  1722,  Vol.  II,  p.  802.  Ill,  p.  27. 

°  Macpherson,     "Annals     of  Commerce,"           'Camden,      "Britannia,"      London,      1695, 

Vol.  II,  p.  131.  p.  924. 

11 


i62  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

a  byword  in  the  north  country.  In  their  history  of  Westmoreland  and 
Cumberland/  Nicolson  and  Burn  state  that  "Mr.  Thomas  Patrickson, 
late  of  How  of  this  county  (Cumberland),  having  employed  divers 
poor  inhabitants  to  gather  these  pearls,  obtained  such  a  quantity  as  he 
sold  to  the  jewellers  in  London  for  above  £800."  But  in  1794  Hutch- 
inson^ stated  that  none  had  been  seen  for  many  years  past. 

Pearl  fishing  in  Ireland  was  of  some  consequence  in  the  seventeenth 
century.  Speaking  of  the  Slaney  River,  Solomon  Richards,  in  a  de- 
scription of  Wexford  about  the  year  1656,  said:  "It  ought  to  precede 
all  the  rivers  in  Ireland  for  its  pearle  fishing,  which  though  not  abun- 
dant are  yet  excellent,  for  muscles  are  daily  taken  out  of  it  about 
fowre,  five  and  six  inches  long,  in  which  are  often  found  pearles,  for 
lustre,  magnitude  and  rotundity  not  inferior  to  oriental  or  any  other 
in  the  world." ^  In  1693  Sir  Robert  Redding  wrote  that  there  were  four 
rivers  in  the  county  of  Tyrone  in  northern  Ireland  which  abounded  in 
pearl  mussels,  all  four  emptying  into  Lough  Foyle  and  thence  into  the 
sea.  They  were  also  to  be  found  in  several  rivers  in  the  adjacent 
Donegal  County.  Redding  gave  an  interesting  description  of  the 
fishery : 

In  the  warm  months  before  harvest  is  ripe,  whilst  the  rivers  are  low  and 
clear,  the  poor  people  go  into  the  water  and  take  them  up,  some  with  their  toes, 
some  with  wooden  tongs,  and  some  by  putting  a  sharpened  stick  into  the  open- 
ing of  the  shell;  and  although  by  common  estimate  not  above  one  shell  in  a 
hundred  may  have  a  pearl,  and  of  these  pearls  not  above  one  in  a  hundred  be 
tolerably  clear,  yet  a  vast  number  of  fair  merchantable  pearls,  and  too  good 
for  the  apothecary,  are  offered  to  sale  by  those  people  every  summer  assize. 
Some  gentlemen  of  the  country  make  good  advantage  thereof,  and  I  myself, 
whilst  there,  saw  a  pearl  bought  for  £2,  los.  that  weighed  36  carats,  and  was 
valued  at  £40,  and  had  it  been  as  clear  as  some  others  produced  therewith  it 
would  certainly  have  been  very  valuable.  Everybody  abounds  with  stories  of 
the  good  pennyworths  of  the  country^  but  I  will  add  but  one  more.  A  miller 
took  a  pearl,  which  he  sold  for  £4,  los.  to  a  man  that  sold  it  for  £10  to  an- 
other, who  sold  it  to  the  late  Lady  Glenanly  for  £30,  with  whom  I  saw  it  in  a 
necklace;  she  refused  £80  for  it  from  the  late  Duchess  of  Ormond. 

The  young  muscles  never  have  any  pearl  in  them.  The  shells  that  have  the 
best  pearls  are  wrinkled,  twisted,  or  bunched,  and  not  smooth  and  equal,  as 
those  that  have  none.  And  the  crafty  fellows  will  guess  so  well  by  the  shell, 
that  though  you  watch  them  never  so  carefully,  they  will  open  such  shells  un- 
der the  water,  and  put  the  pearls  in  their  mouths,  or  otherwise  conceal  them. 
Yet  sometimes  when  they  have  been  taking  up  shells,  and  believing  by  such 
signs  as  I  have  mentioned,  that  they  were  sure  of  good  purchase,  and  refused 
good  sums  for  their  shares,  they  found  no  pearl  at  all  in  them.   Upon  discourse 

^  London,  1777,  Vol.  II,  p.  24.  ^  Joyce.    "Social    History   of   Ancient    Ire- 

" "History  of  Cumberland,"  London,  1794,       land,"  New  York,  1903,  Vol.  II,  p.  227. 
Vol.  I,  p.  573. 


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EUROPEAN  PEARL  FISHERIES  163 

with  an  old  man  that  had  been  long  at  this  trade,  he  advised  me  to  seek  not  only 
when  the  waters  were  low,  but  on  a  dusky,  gloomy  day  also,  lest,  said  he,  the 
fish  see  you,  for  then  he  will  shed  his  pearl  in  the  sand ;  of  which  I  believe  no 
more  than  that  some  muscles  have  voided  their  pearls,  and  such  are  often 
found  in  the  sands.  ^ 

For  several  years  following  1760,  the  Scotch  pearl  fisheries  were  of 
considerable  local  value.  The  zoologist,  Thomas  Pennant,  wrote  of 
them  several  times  in  his  "Tour  of  Scotland."  Referring  to  the 
Tay  and  Isla  rivers,  then  as  now  the  center  of  the  Scotch  pearling,  he 
states :  "There  has  been  in  these  parts  a  very  great  fishery  of  pearl, 
got  out  of  the  fresh-water  muscles.  From  the  year  1761  to  1764, 
£10,000  worth  were  sent  to  London,  and  sold  from  los.  to  £1  6s.  per 
ounce.  I  was  told  that  a  pearl  had  been  taken  there  that  weighed  33 
grains.  But  this  fishery  is  at  present  exhausted,  from  the  avarice  of 
the  undertakers.  It  once  extended  as  far  as  Loch  Tay."^  And  he 
adds  later  that,  some  years  preceding,  a  pearl  fishery  was  prosecuted 
in  Loch  Dochart  with  great  success  and  the  pearls  were  esteemed  the 
fairest  and  largest  of  any. 

From  1770  to  i860  the  pearl  resources  of  Scotland  remained  almost 
dormant,  and  Scotch  pearls  were  rarely  met  with  in  the  markets.  In 
1 86 1  a  German  merchant,  who  was  acquainted  with  the  beauty  of 
these  gems,  traveled  through  the  districts  of  Tay,  Doon  and  Don, 
obtaining  a  great  number  which  the  poor  people  kept  for  their  own 
pleasure,  not  esteeming  them  of  any  market  value,  and  interested  the 
fishermen  in  searching  for  the  mussels.  The  seemingly  high  prices 
which  he  paid  and  the  abundance  of  the  pearls  sent  hundreds  of  per- 
sons to  the  rivers  and  small  brooks.  Those  who  were  otherwise  em- 
ployed during  the  day  devoted  hours  of  the  long  summer  nights  to 
diligent  search  after  the  coveted  shells;  while  boys  and  old  persons, 
who  were  without  regular  avocations,  waded  day  after  day  where 
there  was  a  probability  of  reward.  In  the  course  of  a  short  time 
pearls,  good,  bad  and  indifferent,  reached  the  originator  of  the  move- 
ment at  Edinburgh,  from  Ayrshire,  from  Perthshire,  and  from  the 
Highland  regions  far  beyond  the  Grampians.  He  was  soon  the  pos- 
sessor of  a  collection  which,  for  richness  and  variety,  had  seldom  been 
surpassed.  A  trade  in  these  gems  was  developed,  the  patronage  of 
royalty  was  obtained,  and  once  more  Scotch  pearls  became  fashion- 
able, and  their  vogue  was  enhanced  by  the  fondness  which  Queen  Vic- 
toria entertained  for  them. 

In  addition  to  the  rivers  named,  pearls  were  found  in  the  Forth, 

'  "Transactions    of   the    Royal    Society    of  '  Pennant,    "Tour    in    Scotland,"    Chester, 

London,  for  1693,"  Vol.  XVIII,  No.  198,  pp.       1771. 
659-663. 


i64  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

the  Teith,  the  Ythan,  and  the  Spey  in  eastern  Scotland.  The  summer 
of  1862  was  most  favorable  for  pearling,  owing  to  the  dryness  of 
the  season  and  the  low  water,  and  unusually  large  quantities  of 
pearls  were  found,  the  prices  ranging  ordinarily  from  los.  to  £2  6s. 
Queen  Victoria  is  said  to  have  purchased  one  for  forty  guineas; 
others  were  bought  by  Empress  Eugenie  and  by  the  Duchess  of  Ham- 
ilton. A  necklace  of  them  was  sold  for  £350  in  1863.^  The  value  of 
the  entire  catch  in  Scotland  in  1864  was  estimated  at  £12,000  to  the 
fishermen,  the  yield  being  unusually  large  in  that  season  owing  to  the 
unprecedented  drought  which  permitted  access  to  the  deep  beds  of  the 
rivers.  In  some  of  the  streams  the  resources  were  quickly  depleted, 
but  in  others  the  fisheries  yielded  profitable  returns  for  many  years. 
While  most  of  the  pearls  were  small,  some  of  them  were  choice  and 
of  considerable  individual  value,  ranging  from  £5  to  £150,  and  £500 
is  said  to  have  been  paid  for  one  fine  specimen. 

The  pearl-mussel  of  the  British  Isles  (Unio  margaritifera)  has  a 
thick,  coarse  and  unsightly  shell,  from  3  to  7  inches  in  width  and  i  yi 
to  23/2  inches  in  length  from  the  umbo  to  the  lip.  The  rough  exterior 
is  dark  brown,  and  it  is  sometimes  twisted,  distorted  and  barnacled. 

It  generally  lies  scattered  and  detached  over  the  pebbly  bottoms, 
but  it  also  exists  in  reefs  or  beds  which  are  sometimes  of  considerable 
extent.  These  occur  usually  where  a  stretch  of  water  is  still  and 
deep,  and  oftentimes  where  the  depth  places  the  mussels  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  fishermen.  Apart  from  the  pearls  it  contains,  the  mussel 
is  of  no  economic  value  except  that  in  some  localities  the  mollusk  is 
used  for  bait  in  cod-fishing. 

In  recent  years  the  pearl-mussel  has  been  numerous  in  several  of 
the  rivers  of  Scotland,  such  as  the  Tay,  Earn,  and  Teith  in  Perth- 
shire; the  Dee,  the  Don,  and  the  Ythan  in  Aberdeenshire;  the  Spey 
and  Findhorn  in  Inverness-shire,  and  also  the  classic  Doon  of  Burns, 
the  Nith,  the  Annan  and  others  in  southern  Scotland;  however,  it  is 
rare  in  the  Clyde  and  the  Tweed. 

The  Teith  has  long  been  famed  for  pearl-bearing,  though  like  other 
rivers  it  has  become  nearly  fished  out.  The  Tay  produces  many  pearls, 
yet  as  a  rule  they  are  not  of  the  best  class.  Some  of  its  tributaries,  as 
the  Tummel  and  the  Isla,  also  bear  pearls ;  those  in  the  Isla  are  usually 
fine  and  rank  higher  than  those  from  the  Tay.  The  Earn  is  also 
famous  for  the  fine  quality  of  its  pearls,  but  the  whole  river  was 
robbed  of  its  wealth  some  years  ago  by  a  body  of  professional  fisher- 
men, and  it  has  not  yet  recovered  from  the  raid ;  few  pearls  now  exist 
there  save  in  the  deeper  pools,  where  dotibtless  may  still  be  hid  "full 
many  a  gem  of  purest  ray  serene." 

'  London  "Times,"  December  24,  1863. 


EUROPEAN  PEARL  FISHERIES  165 

In  Ireland  pearls  have  been  found  principally  in  the  rivers  of  coun- 
ties Kerry,  Donegal,  Tyrone,  Antrum,  etc.  In  an  article  in  "The 
Field,"  December  10,  1864,  Mr.  F.  T.  Buckland  stated  that  they 
abound  near  Oughterard,  and  that  a  man  called  "Jemmy  the  Pearl- 
catcher,"  who  lived  there,  told  him  that  he  knevvr  when  a  mussel  had  a 
pearl  in  it  even  without  opening  the  shell,  because  "she  [the  mussel] 
sits  upright  with  her  mouth  in  the  mud,  and  her  back  is  crooked," 
that  is,  corrugated  like  a  ram's  horn.  Pearls  are  yet  found  in  several 
localities  in  the  Emerald  Isle,  notably  in  the  river  Bann  in  the  north- 
eastern part  and  in  the  beautiful  Connemara  district  in  western  Ire- 
land. In  1892  the  Bann  yielded  one  of  the  choicest  pearls  that  ever 
came  from  Ireland.  Within  the  last  twelve  months  Lady  Dudley, 
wife  of  the  Viceroy  of  Ireland,  presented  to  Queen  Alexandra  a 
number  of  pearls  from  the  Connemara.  These  were  mounted  in 
a  green  enameled  brooch,  and  excited  so  much  admiration  that  an 
active  demand  for  similar  gems  quickly  developed  in  County  Gal- 
way. 

Mr.  D.  MacGregor,  a  well-known  jeweler  of  Perth,  to  whom  we 
are  indebted  for  much  information  relative  to  pearls  in  Scotland, 
states  that  no  attention  whatever  is  given  to  conserving  the  mussel; 
on  the  contrary,  the  waters  are  unscrupulously  despoiled  by  the 
greedy  pearl  fisherman  who  destroys  all  that  he  finds,  since,  by 
chance,  they  may  yield  the  coveted  gem.  Immense  numbers  are  thus 
wantonly  destroyed,  which  if  allowed  to  grow  and  propagate  would 
be  more  likely  to  contribute  to  the  pearl  yield,  as  it  is  well  known  that 
it  is  the  aged  mussels  in  which  a  pearl  is  most  likely  to  be  found. 
There  is  no  close  time,  and  so  extensive  have  been  the  raids  upon  the 
mussels  in  recent  years  that  they  have  been  rapidly  exterminated  in 
places  accessible  to  the  fishermen;  and  should  the  spoliation  continue 
and  extend  to  the  deep  waters,  the  pearl-mussel  may  soon  become 
extinct. 

Pearl  fishing  is  not  prosecuted  throughout  the  year,  as  it  can  be 
carried  on  only  in  the  dry  season  when  the  waters  are  low.  There  are 
a  number  of  professional  fishermen  who  search  in  their  favorite 
streams,  and  sometimes  very  profitably,  as  much  as  £200  having  been 
gained  in  a  single  season  by  one  fisherman.  One  of  the  most  noted  of 
these  was  "Pearl  Johnnie,"  who  a  few  years  ago  hailed  from  Compar- 
Angus,  in  Perthshire,  and  who  styled  himself  "Pearl  Fisher  to  the 
Prince  of  Wales,"  by  reason  of  some  dealings  he  once  had  with  his 
Royal  Highness.  He  was  very  successful  in  his  experience  of  more 
than  thirty  years.  There  is  little  mystery  in  the  search ;  skill  does  not 
always  avail,  and  men,  women  and  children  are  rewarded  or  disap- 
pointed indiscriminately.    The  bed  of  the  stream  is  searched  until  the 


i66  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

patches  of  mussels  are  discovered,  and  this  is  usually  the  most  tedious 
part  of  the  work.  These  may  be  in  very  shoal  water,  where  a  small 
boy  has  only  to  wade  with  water  above  his  knees  and  pick  up  the  mus- 
sels by  stooping;  but  more  frequently  the  water  covers  a  man's  hips, 
and  at  times  he  is  immersed  almost  to  the  shoulders. 

The  equipment  of  a  pearl  fisherman  is  simple.  If  he  wades,  he  com- 
monly wears  long  boots  with  tops  reaching  to  his  breast.  Provided 
with  a  pole  five  or  six  feet  long  having  a  cleft  at  the  lower  end,  and 
with  a  tube  several  inches  in  diameter  with  the  lower  end  closed  by  a 
glass,  he  invades  the  home  of  the  pearl-mussel.  Thrusting  the  tube  or 
water  glass  beneath  the  surface,  he  scans  the  bed  of  the  stream,  and 
when  a  mussel  is  sighted,  the  cleft  pole  is  brought  into  use  and  it  is 
picked  up  by  means  of  these  primitive  tongs.  Owing  to  the  close 
resemblance  which  the  pearl-mussel  bears  to  the  stones  in  the  river- 
bed, good  eyesight  is  required  to  avoid  overlooking  it.  A  bag  by  the 
fisher's  side  receives  the  catch ;  and  when  this  is  well  filled,  he  goes  to 
the  bank  of  the  stream  and  opens  his  lottery,  in  the  great  majority  of 
cases  to  find  that  he  has  drawn  a  blank. 

A  boat  is  seldom  used,  simply  because  it  is  not  available,  but  in  the 
tidal  waters  it  is  indispensable.  The  "box"  is  a  risky  device  for  fish- 
ing in  the  deeper  waters.  It  is  a  small  contrivance,  somewhat  like  the 
ancient  British  coracle,  in  which  the  fisherman  sits  or  lies  over  on  his 
chest;  venturing  out  in  the  deeper  parts  which  can  not  be  waded,  he 
carefully  peers  through  the  tube  and  draws  up  his  find  with  the  long 
cleft  stick.  This  is  a  tiresome  method,  but  some  places  can  not  be 
readily  fished  in  any  other  manner. 

In  Aberdeenshire,  Perthshire,  etc.,  there  are  a  few  men  who  regu- 
larly spend  the  season  "at  the  pearls."  The  knowing  ones  dispose  of 
their  best  finds  to  wealthy  residents  or  to  strangers  and  tourists  who 
frequent  the  vicinity.  In  addition  to  these  experienced  fishermen, 
many  of  the  idlers  and  unemployed  about  the  riverside  towns,  and 
also  the  farm  servants  in  the  country,  search  the  waters  in  their  neigh- 
borhood in  the  hope  of  picking  up  some  gems.  But  very  often  it  is 
severe  and  disappointing  labor,  for  the  pearl-seeker  may  travel  far 
and  endure  privation  and  hardships  for  days,  and  yet,  after  destroy- 
ing hundreds  and  even  thousands  of  mussels,  he  may  be  rewarded  with 
only  a  little  almost  worthless  dross;  but  again  and  again  he  returns  to 
the  elusive  game,  inspired  by  the  "hope  which  springs  eternal  in  the 
human  breast." 

The  British  pearls  are  in  great  variety  of  colors,  but  most  of  them 
are  practically  valueless  on  account  of  the  absence  of  orient  or  luster ; 
for  one  possessing-  the  white  pearly  luster,  fifty  may  be  foimd  of  a 
dull  color  and  devoid  of  value.    Many  of  these  opaque  pearls  are  dark, 


The  Valley  uf  the  Tay 


The  Ri\er  K:ir 


Plii.lugrajilia  \,y  Tlit  Km-lnirii  Pnrlr.nl  Stiulii>.  !'< 


rtl..  Smtlaliri 


SCOTCH    PKARL   RIVERS 


EUROPEAN  PEARL  FISHERIES  167 

lusterless  brown,  and  handfuls  of  them  sell  for  only  a  few  shillings.  A 
large  percentage  are  of  a  grayish  or  milky  color,  or  of  a  bluish  white 
tinge;  these  seldom  attain  much  value  unless  aided  by  excellence  of 
shape  and  purity  of  skin.  A  few  are  of  a  dark,  fiery  tint  and  of  great 
luster.  Sometimes  the  pearl  is  of  a  beautiful  pink  tint,  sometimes  of 
a  light  violet,  or  other  exquisite  shade.  The  fine  pink  ones  are  very 
rare  and  are  highly  prized.  The  best  are  those  having  the  sweet,  pure 
white  light  which  constitutes  the  inimitable  loveliness  of  a  pearl; 
but  few  of  them  are  found  even  in  the  most  favorable  seasons,  and 
usually  these  are  from  the  streams  in  the  northeastern  counties  and 
some  of  the  streams  in  the  southwest.  Very  few  combine  the  qualities 
of  perfection  in  shape  and  luster;  and  the  product  of  many  seasons 
might  be  examined  in  vain  to  furnish  enough  pearls  to  make  a  well- 
matched  necklace  of  gems  weighing  from  five  to  teii  grains  each.  But 
occasionally  beautiful  specimens  are  discovered,  weighing  fifteen  or 
twenty  grains  or  more.  One  found  in  Aberdeenshire  a  few  years  ago, 
perfect  in  shape  and  luster,  weighed  twenty-five  grains,  and  sold  at 
first  hand  for  £50.  Another  one,  found  at  the  confluence  of  the 
Almond  and  the  Tay  in  1865,  weighed  thirty  grains. 

While  most  of  these  pearls  are  sold  to  jewelers  in  Edinburgh,  Aber- 
deen, Inverness,  Perth,  and  other  towns,  many  of  the  finest  specimens 
have  gone  into  the  possession  of  prominent  Scotch  and  English  fami- 
lies, who  have  a  fancy  for  collecting  them.  Queen  Victoria  possessed 
a  fine  collection  of  Scotch  pearls,  choice  specimens  of  many  years' 
search,  obtained  almost  exclusively  from  the  Aberdeenshire  waters 
which  murmur  round  her  beautiful  Highland  home.  In  1907,  a  Scotch 
pearl  was  sold  in  Perth  for  the  sum  of  £80;  this  was  of  a  good  luster 
with  a  bluish  tint,  it  was  spherical,  measured  seven  sixteenths  of  an 
inch  in  diameter,  and  weighed  twenty-one  grains. 

The  falling-ofif  in  the  yield  of  pearls  in  some  streams  is  credited  to  a 
certain  extent  to  the  building  of  bridges  and  the  consequent  abandon- 
ment of  fords.  This  is  based  on  the  theory  that  injury  to  the  mollusk 
has  something  to  do  with  the  production  of  pearls,  and  that  they  are  to 
be  found  more  plentiful  about  fords  and  places  where  cattle  drink.  The 
theory  is  beautifully  stated  by  the  lamented  Hugh  Miller:  "I  found 
occasion  to  conclude  that  the  Unio  of  our  river-fords  secretes  pearls 
so  much  more  frequently  than  the  Unionidae  and  Anadonta  of  our 
still  pools  and  lakes,  not  from  any  specific  peculiarity  in  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  creature,  but  from  the  efifects  of  the  habitat  which  it 
chooses.  It  receives  in  the  fords  and  shallows  of  a  rapid  river  many 
a  rough  blow  from  the  sticks  and  pebbles  carried  down  in  time  of 
flood,  and  occasionally  from  the  feet  of  men  and  animals  that  cross 
the  stream  during  droughts,  and  the  blows  induce  the  morbid  secre- 


i68  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

tions,  of  which  pearls  are  the  result.  There  seems  to  exist  no  inherent 
cause  why  Anadon  cygnea,  with  its  beautiful  silvery  nacre— as  bright 
often,  and  always  more  delicate,  than  that  of  Unio  margaritiferiis — 
should  not  be  equally  productive  of  pearls;  but  secure  from  violence 
in  its  still  pools  and  lakes,  and  unexposed  to  the  circumstances  that 
provoke  abnormal  secretions,  it  does  not  produce  a  single  pearl  for 
every  hundred  that  are  ripened  into  value  and  beauty  by  the  exposed, 
current-tossed  Unionidae  of  our  rapid  mountain  rivers.  Would 
that  hardship  and  suffering  bore  always  in  a  creature  of  a  greatly 
higher  family  similar  results,  and  that  the  hard  buffets  dealt  him  by 
fortune  in  the  rough  stream  of  life  could  be  transmitted,  by  some 
blessed  internal  pre-disposition  of  his  nature,  into  pearls  of  great 
price."  ^ 

The  small  blue  mussel  (Mytilus  cdnlis)  of  the  British  seas  yields 
opaque  pearls  of  a  deep  blue  color,  but  most  of  them  are  more  or  less 
white  in  some  part.  Sometimes  a  shell  is  found  in  which  a  blue  pearl 
will  be  adhering  to  the  blue  lip  of  the  shell  while  a  dull  white  one 
adheres  to  the  white  portion  of  the  shell.  These  pearls  are  commonly 
flattened  on  one  side,  doubtless  where  they  have  been  adjacent  to  the 
shell.    None  of  them  is  of  more  than  very  slight  value. 

Probably  the  principal  fishery  for  the  salt-water  mussel  pearls  is 
that  in  the  estuary  of  the  Conway  in  Wales.  These  are  mostly  quite 
small  and  well  answer  the  designation  of  seed-pearls,  although  a  few 
are  of  fair  size.  In  color  most  of  them  range  from  dirty  white  to  the 
dusky  or  brownish  tint  noted  by  Tacitus  eighteen  centuries  ago,  but  a 
few  are  of  a  pure  silvery  tint.  In  some  seasons  London  dealers  have 
agents  at  Conway  for  purchasing  these  pearls.  The  price  is  usually 
from  eight  to  thirty  shillings  per  ounce. 


THE  CONTINENT  OF  EUROPE 

Apres  I'esprit  de  discernement,  ce  qu'il  y  a  au  monde  de  plus  rare,   , 
ce  sont  les  diamants  et  les  perles. 

La  Bruyere,  Les  caracteres. 

Pearls  occur  in  species  of  mussels  found  in  the  streams  and  lakes  of 
Europe,  in  some  of  which  the  fisheries  have  been  of  considerable  local 
interest.  It  appears  that  these  resources  were  exploited  by  the 
Romans,  then  by  the  Goths  and  the  Lombards,  and  later  the  natives 
continued  to  draw  forth  the  treasures  which  lay  hidden  about  their 

*Hugh  Miller,   "My  Schools  and   Schoolmasters,"  1852,  p.  201. 


EUROPEAN  PEARL  FISHERIES  169 

homes.  These  pearls  have  attracted  attention  up  to  the  present  time; 
and  while  they  do  not  compare  with  those  of  the  seas,  either  in  quality 
or  in  aggregate  value,  yet  they  are  prized  on  account  of  their  intrinsic 
worth  as  well  as  because  they  are  a  product  of  the  fatherland.  In  the 
densely  populated  valleys,  the  rivers  are  so  polluted  by  refuse  and 
sewage  that  the  mollusks  have  been  greatly  depleted ;  but  in  the  streams 
of  clear,  cool  water,  draining  the  mountain  regions  of  France,  Ger- 
many, Austria,  and  also  in  the  rivers  of  Norway,  Sweden,  Russia,  etc., 
the  fisheries  are  not  unimportant. 

The  most  celebrated  of  the  pearl  fisheries  in  France  are  those  of  the 
Vologne,  a  small  river  in  the  extreme  eastern  part  of  the  country,  in 
the  department  of  Vosges.  Its  sources  are  in  Lake  Longmere  in  the 
Vosges  mountains  on  the  Alsace  frontier,  and  it  flows  into  the  Moselle 
at  Jarmenil,  between  Remiremont  and  fipinal.  While  the  pearl-mussel 
occurs  to  some  extent  in  nearly  the  whole  length  of  this  river,  and,  in- 
deed, is  to  be  met  with  in  the  wild  brooks  and  forest  streams  of  nearly 
all  the  mountainous  parts  of  France,  it  is  most  abundant  in  the  vicinity 
of  Bruyeres,  where  the  Vologne  receives  the  waters  of  the  Neure. 
These  resources  were  described  in  1845  '^7  Ernest  Puton,^  and  in  1869 
by  D.  A.  Godron;-  to  whom — and  especially  to  Godron — we  are  in- 
debted for  much  of  our  information. 

The  fisheries  of  the  Vologne  have  been  celebrated  for  nearly  four 
centuries.  Writing  in  1530,  Volcyr  stated:  "In  the  river  Vologne  be- 
tween Arche  and  Bruyeres,  near  the  ancient  castle  of  Perle,  beautiful 
pearls  are  found.  In  the  opinion  of  jewelers  and  artists  they  closely 
resemble  the  oriental."^  A  few  years  later  Francis  Reues  wrote: 
"There  is  near  the  Vosges  mountains  in  Lorraine  a  river  fertile  in 
pearls,  yet  they  are  not  very  brilliant.  The  strange  thing  is  that  the 
quality  which  they  lack  by  nature  is  supplied  by  the  aid  of  pigeons, 
which  swallow  them  and  restore  them  purer  than  before."  ■*  In  a  pub- 
lication of  1609,  this  little  river  is  represented  in  the  frontispiece  by 
the  figure  of  a  nymph  bearing  many  pearls,  while  beneath  is  the  em- 
blem: Vologna  margaritifera  sitas  margaritas  osfentat.^ 

In  his  paper  above  noted,  Godron  recites  several  orders  issued  from 
i6i6to  i6i9by  the  Duke  of  Lorraine,  who  then  had  jurisdiction  over 
the  present  department  of  Vosges,  showing  that  a  high  value  was 

'  Puton,  "Mollusques  terrestres  et  fluviales  "Volcyr,  "Cronicque  abregee  par  petits  vers 

des  Vosges :  Le  Departement  des  Vosges,  sta-  huytains  des  Empereurs,  Roys,  et  Ducz  d'Au- 

tistique,    histxjrique,    et    adirnnistrative,    par  straisie,"  etc.,  Paris,  1530. 

Henri  Lepaye  et  Ch.  Charton,"  Nancj',  184S,  *  Reues,  "De  Gemmis  aliquot,"  etc.,  Tiguri, 

8vo,  2  vols.,  Vol.  I.  1566.  p.  47. 

'  Godron,  "Les  paries  de  la  Vologne,  et  le  '  Claude  de  la  Ruelle,  "Les  pourtraicts  des 

Chateau-sur-Perle."      "Memoires    de    T.^ca-  ceremonies,  .  .  .  et  pompe  funebres  faitez  au 

demie  de  Stanislas,   1869,"  Nancy,   1870,  pp.  corps  de  feu  Charles  III,  Due  de  Lorraine," 

10-30.  etc.    Nancy,  i6og. 


170  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

attached  to  these  pearls  and  that  the  resources  were  well  looked 
after.  Writing  in  1699,  Dr.  Martin  Lister  alluded  to  the  many 
pearls  taken  from  the  rivers  about  Lorraine  and  Sedan.  A  Paris 
merchant  showed  him  a  fresh-water  pearl  of  23  grains,  valued  at 
£400,  and  assured  him  that  he  had  seen  some  weighing  60  grains 
each.' 

In  1779  Durival  gave  an  extensive  account^  of  the  Vologne  fishery. 
He  records  that  for  sixty  years  pearls  had  been  abundant,  but  at  the 
time  he  wrote  they  were  very  scarce. 

Puton  states  that,  in  1806,  when  taking  the  baths  at  Plombieres  in 
the  Vosges,  Empress  Josephine  formed  a  great  liking  for  the  Vologne 
pearls,  and  at  her  request  some  of  the  mussels  were  sent  to  stock  the 
ponds  at  Malmaison.  It  does  not  appear  that  any  favorable  result 
followed  this  transplanting. 

Owing  to  the  extensive  fisheries,  the  mussels  became  so  scarce  that 
in  1826,  when  the  Duchesse  d'  Angouleme  was  visiting  in  the  Vosges,  it 
was  impossible  to  secure  enough  pearls  to  form  a  bracelet  for  her.  This 
scarcity  has  continued  up  to  the  present  time ;  and  yet  in  the  aggregate 
many  pearls  have  been  secured,  so  that  there  are  few  prominent  fami- 
lies in  the  neighborhood  who  do  not  possess  some  of  them.  They  are 
especially  prized  as  bridal  presents  to  Vosges  maidens. 

While  the  Vologne  pearls  are  of  good  form  and  of  much  beautv, 
they  do  not  equal  oriental  pearls  in  luster.  The  color  is  commonly 
milky  white,  but  some  of  them  have  a  pink,  yellow,  red,  or  greenish  tint. 
In  size  they  rarely  exceed  4  grains.  The  Nancy  museum  of  natural 
history  possesses  one  which  weighs  5J4  grains  and  measures  6V2  mm. 
in  diameter. 

In  western  France,  according  to  Bonnemere,''  the  pearl-mussel  is 
widely  difl^used,  and  in  the  aggregate  many  pearls  are  secured  there- 
from. They  are  somewhat  numerous  in  the  river  Ille  near  its  union 
with  the  Vilaine  at  Rennes ;  though  small,  these  are  commonly  of  good 
color  and  luster.  In  the  department  of  Morbihan  and  that  of  Finis- 
tere,  many  pearls  have  been  secured,  especially  in  the  Steir,  the  Odet, 
and  in  the  Stang-Alla  near  Ouimper.  Small  pearls,  frequently  of 
some  value,  are  found  in  the  Menech  near  the  town  of  Lesneven,  a  few 
miles  northeast  of  Brest,  the  great  naval  port  of  France. 

The  Unio  simiatns  (pictontm),  the  miilcttc  of  the  artists,  which  has 
a  shorter  and  smaller  shell  than  the  pearl-mussel,  has  also  yielded 
many  small  pearls  of  good  quality,  as  well  as  shells  for  manufacturing 

'Lister,    "Journey    to    Paris    in    the    year  '  Bonnemere,  "Les  pedes  fines  de  I'Ouest 

l6g8,"  London,  p.  143.  de  la  France,"  "Revue  des  sciences  naturelles 

"  Durival.   "Description   de   la   Lorraine   et  de  I'Ouest,"  1899,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  97-99- 
du  Barrois,"  Nancy,  1779,  Vol.  I,  p.  280. 


GREAT  CAMEO  PEARL,  ACTUAL   SIZE  22  INCHES 

Sold  at  auction  in  Amsterdam  in  1776  for  180,000  florins.     Note  great  baroque  pearl 
forming  body  of  the  swan  at  the  base,  diameter  1,37  inches. 


EUROPEAN  PEARL  FISHERIES  171 

purposes.  This  species  has  heen  regularly  exploited  in  the  Adour,  in 
the  Charente,  in  the  Gironde  and  its  tributaries — the  Garonne  and  the 
Dordogne  and  their  affluents,  and  in  some  other  streams  in  western 
France. 

There  is  a  pearl  fishery  in  the  Charente  River  near  the  western 
coast  of  France,  and  likewise  in  the  Seugne,  a  small  tributary  entering 
it  from  the  south.  The  mussel  is  known  locally  under  the  name  of 
palourde.  In  an  account  of  this  fishery,^  Daniel  Bellet  states  that  in 
the  Seugne,  where  the  water  is  shallow  and  clear,  the  mussel  is  se- 
cured by  entering  the  pointed  end  of  a  wooden  staff  or  stick  between 
the  valves  of  the  open  shell  as  the  mollusk  lies  feeding  on  the  bottom; 
as  the  shell  is  immediately  closed  tightly  upon  the  intruding  stick,  it 
is  easily  removed  from  the  water. 

In  the  deeper  waters  of  the  Charente,  the  fishery  is  prosecuted  on  a 
larger  scale.  Until  recently,  the  palourdcs  were  caught  by  means  of  a 
dredge  towed  by  a  small  boat,  which  was  raised  from  time  to  time  and 
the  catch  removed.  Ten  or  fifteen  years  ago  the  scaphander  or  diving 
apparatus  was  introduced,  requiring  seven  men  for  its  operation,  and 
by  its  use  large  catches  have  been  made.  The  mussels  are  taken  to  the 
bank  and  there  boiled  for  a  time  to  cause  the  shells  to  open,  so  that  the 
contents  may  be  easily  removed. 

The  shells  are  examined  one  by  one  to  find  any  pearls  that  may  ad- 
here thereto,  and  then  the  flesh  of  the  mollusk  is  crushed  between  the 
fingers  to  locate  pearls  contained  in  the  mass;  this  is  done  largely 
by  children,  working  under  competent  supervision.  Many  pearls  of 
fairly  good  size  and  luster  are  obtained.  The  flesh  of  this  mollusk  is 
edible  and  well-liked  in  southwestern  France ;  and  the  shells  are  also  of 
value  in  the  manufacture  of  buttons  and  similar  objects. 

In  Germany  the  pearl  fisheries  are  most  important  in  streams  of  the 
southern  districts,  in  Bavaria,  Saxony,  and  Silesia.  The  pearl-mussel 
in  these  waters  is  not  so  abundant  as  formerly ;  yet,  owing  to  the  care 
which  has  been  given  to  these  resources,  it  is  probably  as  numerous 
here  as  in  any  other  part  of  the  continent.  The  mussel  rarely  occurs 
singly,  generally  in  small  beds  or  banks  contiguous  to  each  other,  and 
in  some  favorable  regions  these  are  extensive. 

The  pearl  fisheries  of  Bavaria  have  been  prominent  since  the  six- 
teenth century.  They  exist  principally  in  the  districts  of  Upper  Fran- 
conia  (Oberfranken)  and  Upper  Palatinate  (Oberpfab),  the  several 
tributaries  of  the  Danube  between  Ratisbon  and  Passau,  and  in  those 
tributaries  of  the  Main  and  the  Saale  which  rise  in  the  Bavarian 
mountains,  such  as  the  Oelsnitz,  the  Lamnitz,  Schwesnitz,  Griinebach, 
Vils,  and  the  Perlbach ;  also  in  the  district  of  Lower  Bavaria,  where  in 

'"La  Nature,"  1899,  pp.  347,  348. 


172         THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

nine  districts  alone  there  are  one  hundred  pearl-bearing  streams  and 
lakes,  of  which  the  most  important  are  the  Regen,  the  Isar,  and  the  Ilz.^ 

Early  in  the  sixteenth  century,  the  river  Ilz  had  the  reputation  of 
yielding  the  choicest  pearls  in  Lower  Bavaria.  The  right  to  them  was 
reserved  to  the  bishop  of  Passau,  and  a  decree  was  made  in  1579  that 
persons  convicted  of  poaching  on  these  reserves  should  be  hanged.^ 
Since  that  time  there  have  been  few  decades  in  which  the  gems  have 
not  been  found  in  the  woodland  brooks  and  mountain  streams  that 
flow  through  the  ravines  and  past  quaint,  interesting  castles  of  the 
wonderful  Bavarian  highlands.  Most  of  the  prominent  families  in 
this  beautiful  region  have  collections  of  native  pearls,  and  there  is  still 
some  trade  in  them  in  picturesque  Passau.  at  the  junction  of  the  Dan- 
ube, the  Ilz  and  the  Inn. 

Tavernier  wrote  about  1670:  "As  for  the  pearls  of  Scotland,  and 
those  which  are  found  in  the  rivers  of  Bavaria,  although  necklaces 
are  made  of  them  which  are  worth  up  to  1000  ecus  (£225)  and  be- 
yond, they  cannot  enter  into  comparison  with  those  of  the  East  and 
West  Indies."  ^ 

The  official  returns  for  the  Bavarian  fisheries,  dating  from  the  latter 
part  of  the  sixteenth  century,  were  examined  by  Von  Hessling  in  1858. 
He  noted  many  gaps  in  the  statements  of  the  yearly  returns,  partly  on 
account  of  the  loss  of  the  records  and  partly  because  the  pearls  were 
delivered  directly  into  the  hands  of  the  princes.  The  results  of  the 
first  fisheries  are  recorded  in  the  district  of  Hals  for  the  years  1581- 
99,  in  Viechtach  for  1581-83  and  1590-93,  and  in  Weissenstadt  and 
Zwiesel  for  1583.  The  range  of  the  fisheries  was  enlarged  through 
the  discovery  of  new  areas  during  the  first  half  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury; but  this  was  offset  by  the  bad  seasons  and  by  disturbed  condi- 
tions during  the  Thirty  Years'  War.  From  1650  to  1783  the  pearls 
in  the  forest  lands  of  the  Palatinate  were  exploited  regularly  and  un- 
interruptedly, with  the  exception  of  the  district  of  Wetterfeld  and  that 
of  Neunburg  vor  dem  Wald,  where  they  were  prosecuted  for  a  few 
years  only.  From  1783  to  1814,  they  were  almost  entirely  neglected, 
and  the  take  was  confined  to  a  few  streams  in  Upper  Palatinate 
and  in  the  Bavarian  forests.  In  the  former  episcopal  principality  of 
Passau,  where,  according  to  general  accounts,  the  waters  were  rich  in 
pearls,  the  records  were  scanty  previous  to  1786;  this  was  probably 
owing  to  the  fact  that  the  head  gamekeeper  was  obliged  to  transmit 
the  catch  of  pearls  directly  to  the  prince-bishop.    The  records  for  the 

iVon    Hessling,    "Ueber    die    Erzeugusg  ^Weinmann,     "Bresslauer     Naturgeschich- 

kiinstlicher  Perlen,"  "Gelehrte  Anzeigen  der       ten,"  1725. 

Miinchener  Akademie,"  1856,  VoL  II,  p.  159.  ^Tavernier,  "Travels  in  India,"  1889,  Vol. 

II,  p.  113- 


EUROPEAN  PEARL  FISHERIES  173 

fisheries  in  the  districts  of  Rehau  and  Kulmbach  began  with  the  year 

1733- 

From  these  fragmentary  returns— making  no  estimate  for  the  years 

for  which  there  were  no  figures  available — Von  Hessling  found  that 
from  1600  to  1857  there  were  taken  15,326  pearls  of  the  first  class, 
which  were  clear  white  in  color  and  of  good  luster;  27,662  pearls  of 
the  second  class,  which  were  somewhat  deficient  in  luster,  and  251,778 
pearls  of  the  third  or  poorest  class,  or  "Sandperlen,"  which,  though  of 
poor  quality,  had  sufficient  whiteness  and  luster  to  be  used  as  orna- 
ments. Had  the  records  been  complete,  these  figures  would  probably 
have  been  at  least  fifty  per  cent,  greater,  or  a  total  of  about  445,000 
pearls  in  the  257  years.  In  the  last  forty-three  years  of  this  period, 
for  which  the  records  are  fairly  complete,  the  annual  average  was  208 
pearls  of  the  first,  395  of  the  second,  and  3091  of  the  third  class,  a 
total  each  year  of  3694  pearls  of  all  grades.  This  was  divided  among 
the  districts  as  follows : 

ANNUAL  AVERAGE 
District  First  class       Second  class 

Upper  Franconia   13  34 

Upper  Palatinate    38  yy 

Lower  Bavaria    157  284 

Total    208  395  3091  3694 

Probably  the  most  interesting  of  the  pearl  fisheries  in  Germany  are 
those  prosecuted  in  the  extreme  southwestern  part  of  the  kingdom  of 
Saxony,  in  the  picturesque  region  known  as  Vogtland.  This  is  not  on 
account  of  their  extent,  for  the  output  rarely  exceeds  $2000  in  value 
in  any  season ;  but  because  for  nearly  three  hundred  years  they  have 
been  conducted  with  the  utmost  care  and  regard  for  the  preservation 
of  the  resources.  Indeed,  a  record  exists  of  practically  every  pearl  ob- 
tained for  nearly  two  centuries. 

The  waters  in  which  the  Saxon  Vogtland  fisheries  are  prosecuted 
are  the  Elster  River,  from  the  health  resort  of  that  name  to  a  short 
distance  below  Elsterberg;  its  tributaries,  the  Miilhaiiser,  Freiber- 
ger,  and  Marieneyer  brooks ;  the  Hartmannsgriiner  and  the  Triebel 
brooks,  the  Trieb,  the  Meschelsgriiner,  the  Teil,  and  Loch  brooks,  and 
twenty-five  or  more  small  ponds. 

For  most  of  the  data  relative  to  these  fisheries,  we  are  indebted  to 
J.  G.  Jahn's  "Die  Perlenfischerei  im  Voigtlande,"  Oelsnitz,  1854;  to 
Hinrich  Nitsche's  "Siisswasserperlen,  Internationale  Fischerei- 
Ausstellung  zu  Berlin,"  1880,  and  to  O.  Wohlberedt's  "Nachtrag  zur 
Molluskenfauna   des    K5nigreiches    Sachsen,"    "Nachrichtsblatt   der 


Third  class 

{  Total 

52 

99 

207 

322 

2832 

3273 

174  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

deutschen  Malakozoologischen  Gesellschaft,"  Frankfurt-am-Main, 
1899,  pp.  97-104. 

In  the  year  1621,  the  electoral  prince,  Johann  Georg  I,  reserved  the 
pearl  fishery  of  the  Vogtland  in  Saxony  as  a  royal  privilege,  and  ap- 
pointed Moritz  Schmerler  as  superintendent  and  fisherman.  From 
that  time  until  the  present,  this  fishery  has  remained  a  royal  preroga- 
tive; and,  remarkable  to  state,  except  at  the  close  of  the  seventeenth 
century  when  the  father-in-law  of  a  Schmerler  enjoyed  the  privilege, 
all  the  superintendents  of  the  fishery — twenty-four  persons  in  number 
— have  been  direct  descendants  of  the  second  pearler,  Abraham 
Schmerler,  who,  in  1643,  succeeded  his  brother  Moritz.  The  present 
superintendent  Julius  Schmerler  has  been  in  charge  since  1889. 

This  fishery  is  conducted  in  accordance  with  regulations  of  the  chief 
inspector  of  forests  for  the  district  of  Auerbach.  The  present  regu- 
lations date  from  June  15,  1827.  In  compliance  therewith  an  inspec- 
tion is  made  of  the  waters  each  spring  to  remove  all  obstructions  and 
debris  that  would  injure  the  resources ;  and,  if  necessary,  entire  beds 
of  mussels  are  removed  from  one  locality  to  another  which  appears 
more  favorable.  No  mussels  are  opened  at  that  time,  for  the  real 
search  for  pearls  does  not  begin  until  the  season  is  far  advanced  and 
the  fishermen  can  wade  up  to  the  waist  in  the  water  without  discom- 
fort. 

Dr.  Nitsche  states  that  the  whole  pearling  district  is  not  searched 
over  every  year,  but  is  divided  into  313  sections,  each  one  constitu- 
ting a  daj^'s  work  for  three  fishermen,  and  rarely  are  more  than 
twenty  or  thirty  of  these  fished  in  any  one  year.  Thus  each  section  or 
district  is  permitted  to  rest  and  recuperate  for  ten  or  fifteen  years  be- 
fore it  is  again  invaded.  Every  mussel  is  opened  carefully  by  hand, 
with  the  aid  of  a  peculiarly  constructed  iron  instrument.  By  inserting 
the  edge  of  this  between  the  nibs  of  the  shell  and  turning  it  at  right 
angles,  the  valves  are  opened  sufficiently  to  determine  whether  a  pearl 
is  contained  therein.  If  none  is  observed,  the  instrument  is  released 
and  the  mussel  returned  uninjured  to  the  water;  but  if  a  pearl  is  found 
within,  the  shell  is  forced  open  and  the  find  removed.  In  case  small 
pearls  are  observed  which  give  promise  of  growing  larger  in  time, 
they  are  not  removed,  but  the  year  is  marked  upon  the  shell  with  the 
opening  implement  and  the  mussel  returned  to  the  water.  It  often 
happens  that  good  pearls  are  later  removed  from  shells  marked  in  this 
manner. 

Complete  records  exist  of  the  yield  of  this  fishery  during  each  year 
since  1719,  when  the  Vogtland  passed  to  the  electorate  of  Saxony. 
The  following  is  a  summary  of  these  records  arranged  in  series  of 
twenty  3-ears  each. 


3 

o 

> 

o 

7= 


g^UtU\^Vyi.tMMMlU,..hAaUAMMM)MMMMMMMMtrirH7; 


> 


n 


?3 


n 
X 


> 
< 

b 
<: 

> 


Half  clear 

Sand  pearls 

Damaged 

Total 

Average 

pearls 

pearls 

per  year 

No. 

No. 

No. 

No. 

No. 

727 

1,201 

552 

4,289 

214 

578 

484 

281 

2,755 

138 

272 

427 

219 

1,960 

98 

243 

357 

179 

2,040 

102 

261 

325 

203 

2,392 

120 

340 

326 

326 

2,651 

133 

610 

387 

505 

3.386 

169 

682 

450 

514 

3.264 

163 

394 

86 

373 

1.324 

66 

161 

2.2 

86 

348 
24,409 

58 

4,268 

4,065 

3.238 

23 

22 

17 

131 

EUROPEAN  PEARL  FISHERIES  175 

Years  Clear  pearls 

No. 
I72O-I739  ...       1,809 

I74O-I759 1,412 

I760-I779 1,042 

I780-I799 1,261 

180O-1819 1,603 

182O-1839 1,659 

184O-1859 1,884 

1860-1879 1,618 

1880-1899 471 

1900-1905 79 

Total  in  186  years   12,838 
Average  per  year  69 

In  recent  years  the  development  of  manufacturing  industries  in 
Saxony  and  the  resultant  pollution  of  the  water  has  greatly  reduced 
the  abundance  of  the  moUusks  and  consequently  the  output  has  been 
much  restricted.  The  average  annual  yield  in  the  twenty  years  ending 
in  1879  was  163  pearls;  in  the  twenty  years  ending  in  1899  it  was  66 
pearls,  and  in  the  six  years  ending  in  1905  the  annual  average  was  58 
pearls.  Owing  to  high  water,  there  was  no  fishing  in  1888;  and  with 
a  view  to  permitting  the  resources  to  recuperate,  the  fishery  was  sus- 
pended from  1896  to  1899,  inclusive.  Omitting  these  five  years,  the 
average  yield  during  each  season  in  the  two  decades  ending  1899  was 
88  pearls. 

At  the  end  of  each  season,  the  pearls  secured  are  turned  over  to  the 
director  of  forestry  for  the  district  of  Auerbach;  by  him  they  were 
formerly  sent  to  the  royal  cabinet  of  natural  history,  or  to  the  royal 
collection  at  Dresden,  but  since  1830  they  have  been  sent  to  the  royal 
minister  of  finance,  by  whom  they  are  sold  each  year.  The  total  pro- 
ceeds from  these  sales  now  amount  to  about  55,000  marks. 

In  former  times,  according  to  Dr.  Nitsche,  it  was  customary  to  use 
these  pearls  in  making  royal  ornaments.  This  was  the  origin  of  the 
famous  Elster  necklace,  consisting  of  177  pearls,  now  in  the  art  col- 
lection in  the  Griine  Gewolbe  in  the  palace  at  Dresden.  Another  as- 
sortment in  that  collection  consists  of  nine  choice,  well-matched  pearls, 
weighing  140  grains.  For  a  necklace  of  Saxon  pearls,  the  property  of 
a  duchess  of  Sachsen-Zeitz,  the  sum  of  40,000  thalers  ($28,400)  is 
said  to  have  been  refused. 

In  Prussian  Silesia  the  pearl-mussel  is  found  in  the  upper  tributa- 
ries of  the  Oder,  especially  in  Bober  River  from  Lowenberg  to  the 
sources  among  the  foot-hills  of  the  beautiful  Riesengebirge,  in  the  Lu- 


176  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

satian  Neisse  to  Gorlitz,  the  Queiss  above  Marklissa,  and  in  the  Juppel 
as  far  as  Weidenau.  The  Queiss  has  been  famous  for  its  pearls  since 
the  sixteenth  century,  and  even  yet  specimens  of  great  beauty  are  ob- 
tained therefrom.  As  long  ago  as  1690,  Ledel  complained  of  the 
diminution  of  the  number  of  mollusks  owing  to  their  wilful  destruction 
by  children;  and  in  1729  the  government  issued  a  rescript  in  Upper 
Lusatia  {Oberlausit::)  recommending  the  care  of  the  young  mollusks.^ 

Pearls  are  also  found  in  the  White  Main  a  short  distance  from  its 
source,  in  the  head  waters  of  the  Saale,  and  in  numerous  other  moun- 
tain-draining streams  of  middle  Germany.  Indeed,  references  could 
be  made  to  the  discovery  of  pearls  in  nearly  every  stream  of  Germany 
at  some  time  during  the  last  three  or  four  centuries. 

The  records  of  pearl  fisheries  in  the  province  of  Hanover  were 
traced  by  Von  Hessling  as  far  back  as  the  sixteenth  century,  when 
they  were  prosecuted  in  the  Aller,  Ovia  or  Oni,  Lua  or  Low,  and  in  the 
Seva  in  the  district  of  Liineburg.  During  the  reign  of  Christian  Lud- 
wig  (1641-65)  and  in  that  of  George  William  (1666-1705),  pearl 
fishing  was  carried  on  by  the  state,  and  old  records  of  the  former  dis- 
trict of  Bodenteich  note  the  customs  and  practices  of  that  period  and 
of  earlier  times,  and  the  implements  employed.  In  1706,  for  in- 
stance, 265  clear  and  292  imperfect  pearls  were  taken  by  three  offi- 
cial fishermen  from  the  Gerdauerbach.  Gradually,  however,  owing 
to  indifferent  management,  the  brooks  yielded  less  and  less ;  the  gov- 
ernment seems  to  have  entirely  abandoned  supervision  of  them,  so 
that,  according  to  Taube's  "Communication,"  ^  slight  results  were  ob- 
tained in  1766;  indeed,  only  a  few  pearls  could  be  shown  as  curiosities.^ 

Regarding  the  condition  of  the  Hanoverian  pearl-brooks,  especially 
of  those  in  the  vicinity  of  Uelzen,  Mobius  wrote:  "Uelzen  lies  at  the 
confluence  of  eleven  small  rivulets,  three  of  which,  the  Wipperau,  the 
Gerdau  and  the  Barnbeck,  contain  pearl-mussels.  Fishing  has  been 
pursued  here  for  centuries,  and  there  exists  an  old  regulation  of  the 
sixteenth  century  in  regard  to  the  pearl  fisheries  in  the  Ilmenau.  Even 
at  the  present  day,  hundreds  of  pearls  are  found  here  which  command 
a  good  price  when  they  are  bright  and  of  good  form.  These 
either  have  a  silvery  sheen  or  they  are  of  a  reddish  color.  The 
season  for  fishing  is  during  the  months  of  July  and  August.  The 
pearls  are  usually  found  in  deformed  shells.  Their  shape  varies 
greatly ;  most  of  them  are  flat  on  one  side.  Naturally  those  which  are 
spherical  are  the  best,  but  the  pear  shapes  are  highly  prized."    Mobius 

'Von     Hessling,     "Die     Perlenmuscheln,"  'Von     Hessling,     "Die     Perlenmuscheln," 

Leipzig,  1859,  p.  179.  p.  180. 

^  "Beitrage   zur   Naturkunde   des   Herzog- 
thums  Celle,"  Halle,  1766,  Pt.  I,  p.  70. 


MITER  OF  PATRIARCH  NIKON 

Presented  by  the  Czar  Alexis  Mikhailovitch  and  the  Czarina  Marie  IIHinichna.    Decorated  largely 
with  European  fresh-water  pearls.      Now  in  the  treasury  of  the  Patriarchs,  Moscow. 


EUROPEAN  PEARL  FISHERIES  177 

frequently  failed  to  find  one  pearl  in  a  hundred  shells,  but  at  other 
times  he  came  across  six  or  eight  in  this  quantity.  Most  of  the  mus- 
sels are  found  in  the  deepest  places,  especially  near  the  banks  of  the 
streams.  One  end  of  the  shell  usually  projects  out  of  the  sand.  The 
fisherman  is  represented  as  feeling  about  the  bottom  with  his  feet,  and 
when  he  finds  a  shell,  he  seizes  it  between  his  toes,  picks  it  out,  and 
then  places  it  in  the  basket  suspended  from  his  neck.^ 

In  Baden  and  in  Hesse  are  small  pearl  fisheries.  In  1760,  Elector 
Maximilian  III  sent  to  Mannheim,  then  in  the  Palatinate,  eight  hun- 
dred living  pearl-mussels  from  the  Bavarian  forests,  and  again  in 
1769,  he  sent  four  hundred  mussels  from  Deggendorf  on  the  Danube, 
so  that  they  might  be  established  in  the  Palatinate.  The  mussels  were 
placed  in  the  Steinbach  not  far  from  Heidelberg,  where  they  thrived 
so  well  that  fishing  was  instituted  in  1783.  Soon,  however,  most  of 
the  mussels  became  buried  in  the  sand,  and  the  remainder  were  trans- 
planted into  a  quieter  portion  of  the  Steinbach,  between  Kreutzsteinach 
and  Schonau,  about  five  miles  northeast  of  Heidelberg.  Here  they 
seem  to  have  been  forgotten,  and  were  left  undisturbed  until,  about 
1820,  a  fine  pearl  valued  at  two  louis  d'or  was  found  near  Schonau. 
This  discovery  soon  led  to  such  reckless  exploitation  that  the  govern- 
ment reserved  the  fishery  as  a  state  monopoly.  The  mussels  were 
examined  and  sorted,  and  a  portion  of  the  brook  was  specially  pre- 
pared for  their  reception.  However,  the  cost  of  supervision  was 
greater  than  the  proceeds  of  the  fishery,  and  the  business  was  rented 
to  private  parties  for  a  very  small  amount.  This  was  paid  as  late  as 
1840  by  the  Natural  History  Society  of  Mannheim,  the  annual  rate 
then  being  ten  florins. 

An  efl^ort  was  made  nearly  two  hundred  years  ago  to  develop  the 
pearl  fisheries  in  Hesse.  In  1717,  Landgrave  Prince  William  requested 
his  cousin,  Duke  Moritz  of  Saxony,  to  send  a  pearl  fisherman  "to  ex- 
amine some  streams  in  his  territory  where  mussels  have  been  found 
and  to  determine  whether  they  are  fitted  for  pearl  fishing  and  whether 
fisheries  can  be  established."  ^  In  the  following  year,  a  member  of  the 
famous  Schmerler  family  from  the  Saxon  fisheries  was  sent  to  Cassel, 
but  with  what  result  is  unknown. 

When  the  pearling  excitement  developed  at  Schonau  about  1820. 
Landrath  Welker.  of  Hirschhorn  on  the  Neckar,  requested  the  grand 
duke  of  Hesse  to  place  him  in  charge  -of  the  fishery,  and  when  the 
proposition  was  declined,  he  formed  a  small  company  for  pearl  culture. 
In  1828  his  company  had  558  mussels,  88  of  which  showed  pearl  for- 

'  Mobius,  "Die  echten   Perlcn,"  Hamburg,      p.  165  ;  Von  Hessling,  "Die  Perlenmuscheln," 
1858.  p.  47.  p.  182. 

''Jahn,     "Voigtiandische     Perlenfischerei," 
12 


178  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

mations;  in  1833,  out  of  651,  98  contained  such  objects,  and  in  1851, 
117  mussels  were  found  with  pearl  formations  out  of  867  examined.^ 
Owing  to  the  policy  of  the  company  in  selling  the  pearls  only  among 
the  members  thereof,  the  profits  were  altogether  insufificient  to  cover 
the  expenses,  and  gradually  the  fishery  dwindled  down  until  it  was 
prosecuted  only  as  a  pastime. 

Pearls  are  found  in  the  province  of  Schleswig-Holstein,  which  for- 
merly belonged  to  Denmark,  but  since  1866  has  been  a  part  of  the 
kingdom  of  Prussia.  Mobius  relates  that  the  Bavarian  soldiers  in 
1864  collected  large  quantities  of  pearls  from  the  streams  of  this  prov- 
ince and  sold  many  of  them  to  jewelers  in  Hamburg."  Most  of  them 
were  of  good  form  and  luster ;  milky  white  was  the  prevailing  tint,  but 
some  were  pink  and  others  were  rose-tinted. 

In  Austria,  pearl  fisheries  are  most  important  in  the  province  of 
Bohemia,  where  they  are  prosecuted  in  the  headwaters  of  the  A'loldau 
from  Krumau,  a  few  miles  above  Budweis,  to  below  Turenberg,  and 
to  a  much  less  extent  in  its  tributary,  the  Wottawa,  on  the  northeast- 
ern slopes  of  the  Bohmer  Wald  or  Bohemian  Forest  mountains.  From 
very  early  times  the  right  of  fishery  belonged  to  those  domains  and 
estates  through  which  the  streams  flow,  as  for  example,  the  cloister  of 
Hohenfurth,  the  domain  of  Rosenberg,  of  Krumau,  etc.  The  Schwar- 
zenberg  family  formerly  drew  a  considerable  revenue  therefrom.  Over 
a  hundred  years  ago  the  fishery  was  actively  prosecuted  by  Count 
Adolph  Schwarzenberg,  who  exhibited  at  the  Bohemian  Exposition, 
held  in  Prague  in  1791,  an  interesting  collection  of  shells,  apparatus 
employed  in  the  fishery,  and  many  beautiful  pearls  obtained  from  his 
domains.  The  fisheries  of  the  Wottawa  were  noted  in  1560  by  the 
Swiss  naturalist  Konrad  von  Gesner,^  and  again  in  1582  by  the  district 
treasurer,  Wolf  Huber  von  Purgstall.  In  1679,  Balbinus  referred  to 
the  excellent  qualities  of  the  pearls,  estimating  the  value  of  many  of 
them  at  twenty,  thirty,  and  even  one  hundred  golden  florins  each.  He 
described  the  methods  by  which  they  were  taken,  and  also  complained 
of  the  destruction  of  the  reefs  by  depredations  of  poachers.* 

The  Wottawa  or  Otawa  River  has  long  had  linked  with  its  name  the 
epithet  "the  gold-  and  pearl-bearing  brook."  Formerly,  along  its 
shores  gold  washing  was  more  or  less  carried  on,  as  well  as  the  fresh- 
water pearl-mussel  industry.  At  the  present  time,  every  third  or 
fourth  year,  these  mussels  are  gathered,  by  means  of  small,  fine-woven 
nets,  from  the  bed  of  the  river,  and  a  goodly  number  of  pearls  are  col- 
lected. 

'  "Von    Hessling,    "Die    Perlenmuscheln,"  '  Gesner.  "De  aquatilibus,"  Tiguri,  1560. 

p.  182.  'Bohuslai    Balbini,    "Miscellanea    historica 

""Die  echten  Perlen,"  p.  48.  regni  Bohemiae,"  Prague,  1679,  Vol.  I,  p.  73. 


EUROPEAN  PEARL  FISHERIES  179 

The  reefs  in  the  Moldau  from  Hohenfurth  to  Krumau  were  ahnost 
entirely  ruined  in  1620  by  the  troops  who  were  cantoned  there  when 
the  Bohemian  Protestants  were  overthrown  near  the  beginning  of  the 
Thirty  Years'  War,  and  they  never  regained  the  reputation  they  for- 
merly enjoyed.  According  to  the  Vienna  "Handels-  und  Borsen- 
zeitung,"  the  output  of  the  pearls  fifty  years  ago  in  the  upper  Moldau, 
in  the  Wottawa,  and  in  the  Chrudimka  — a  tributary  of  the  Elbe — 
reached  in  some  years  the  sum  of  one  million  florins  in  value,  and  as 
much  as  eighty  and  sometimes  even  one  hundred  and  twenty  florins 
were  paid  for  an  individual  specimen.^  These  pearls  closely  resemble 
those  from  Passau  in  Bavaria,  and  some  approach  the  oriental  gems 
in  luster. 

In  the  archduchy  of  Austria,  pearls  occur  in  several  of  the  tribu- 
taries of  the  "beautiful  blue  Danube."  They  are  especially  important 
in  streams  within  the  former  district  of  Scharding,  such  as  the  Lud- 
hammerbach,  the  Ranzenbergerbach,  the  Glatzbachenbach,  the  Bram- 
bach,  the  Schwarzbergerbach,  the  Mosenbach,  and  the  Hollenbach; 
those  in  the  former  district  of  Waizkirchen,  including  the  Pirninger- 
bach,  the  Kesselbach,  and  many  of  their  tributary  brooks,  and  the 
Michel,  the  Taglinsbach,  the  Fixelbach,  and  the  Haarbach,  in  the 
domain  of  Marbach.^  Fishing  in  the  Pirningerbach  and  the  Kessel- 
bach was  prosperous  about  1765,  and  Empress  Maria  Theresa  received 
a  beautiful  necklace  and  bracelets  of  the  pearls  therefrom.  In  the 
district  of  Marbach,  the  fishing  was  prosecuted  as  long  ago  as  1685 
for  the  account  of  the  archbishop  of  Passau. 

In  Hungary  from  time  immemorial,  the  native  pearls  have  been 
popular  with  the  Magyar  women,  and  very  many  yet  exist  in  the  old 
Hungarian  jewelry  worn  with  the  national  costume.  A  century  ago 
there  was  scarcely  a  family  of  local  prominence  which  did  not  possess 
a  necklace  of  pearls,  although  these  were  frequently  not  of  choice 
quality  or  of  considerable  size.  With  a  falling  off  in  the  output  of  the 
native  streams  there  has  been  a  great  increase  in  the  quantity  of  choice 
oriental  pearls  purchased  by  the  wealthy  families,  and  some  of  the 
most  costly  necklaces  in  Europe  are  now  owned  here. 

In  the  kingdom  of  Denmark  no  pearl  fisheries  are  now  prosecuted, 
but  three  centuries  ago  the  gems  were  taken  in  the  Kolding  Fjord  in 
the  province  of  Veile,  Jutland.  The  great  Holberg,  who  ranks  first  in 
Danish  literature,  wrote  that  the  governor  of  the  castle  at  Kolding 
employed  as  a  pearl  fisherman  a  Greenlander  who  had  come  to  Den- 
mark in  1605  or  1606,  and  who  "had  given  the  governor  to  under- 
stand that  in  his  native  land  he  was  accustomed  to  fish  for  pearls." 

'  "Allg.  Zeitung,"  Nov.  i,  1858,  No.  305.  '  Von     Hessling,     "Die     Perlenmuscheln," 

Leipzig,  p.  178. 


i8o  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

Being  required  to  work  continuously,  both  winter  and  summer,  he  fell 
ill  and  died,  and  as  no  one  else  wished  to  pursue  the  occupation,  the 
fishery  ceased.' 

In  many  of  the  Norwegian  brooks,  pearl  fishing  has  been  carried  on 
for  two  or  three  centuries,  and  often  with  satisfactory  results.  It  ap- 
pears from  ordinances  dated  November  lo,  1691,  May  14,  1707,  and 
May  28,  1 718,  that  the  fisheries  were  under  special  supervision  as  a 
royal  prerogative  of  the  queen  of  Denmark.^  Jahn  notes  that  in  1719 
and  in  1722,  Saxon  pearl  fishermen  were  sent  for.  In  1734  Charles  VI 
of  Denmark  requested  the  elector  of  Saxony  to  send  one  of  the  pearl 
fishermen  of  Vogtland  to  examine  the  brooks  of  Norway  in  reference 
to  the  pearl  resources,  and  to  determine  the  practicability  of  establish- 
ing fisheries  there.  In  response  to  this  request,  C.  H.  Schmerler  was 
sent  to  Copenhagen  and  thence  to  Christiania,  where  he  began  an 
investigation  of  the  Norwegian  waters,  the  governor  himself  attend- 
ing at  the  beginning  of  the  work.  So  great  was  the  estimation  of  its 
importance,  that  Schmerler  was  soon  afterward  received  in  audience 
by  the  king  and  queen  of  united  Denmark  and  Norway  at  Frederiks- 
borg  palace  near  Copenhagen,  and  was  awarded  a  gift  of  one  hundred 
ducats  and  a  life-pension.^ 

In  1751,  according  to  Pontoppidan,  Bishop  of  Bergen,  the  Nor- 
wegian pearl  fisheries  were  placed  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  diocese 
of  Christiansand.  Among  the  principal  pearling  regions  at  that  time 
were  the  Gon,  Narim  and  Quasim  rivers  in  the  Stavanger  district  or 
amt;  the  Undol,  Rosseland  and  other  brooks  in  the  Lister  and  Man- 
dal  province ;  and  several  streams  in  the  district  of  Nadenas.'* 

The  returns  from  the  Norwegian  fisheries  gradually  decreased. 
After  1768  the  rights  were  leased,  and  the  revenue  therefrom  was  paid 
into  the  royal  treasury.  Owing  to  small  returns,  this  source  of  revenue 
received  less  and  less  attention,  and  about  a  century  ago  it  was  alto- 
gether neglected,  although  from  time  to  time  choice  finds  were  made. 
Due  to  unusually  low  water  in  1841,  a  number  of  valuable  pearls  were 
found  near  Jedderen  in  the  province  of  Christiansand,  some  selling  as 
high  as  $300  each ;  several  of  these  were  shown  at  the  London  Indus- 
trial Exhibition  by  the  diocese  of  Christiania. 

The  pearl  fisheries  of  Sweden  were  noted,  nearly  four  centuries 
ago,  by  Olaus   Magnus,  Archbishop  of  Upsala.^     The  gems   were 

'  Holberg,     "Danmarks     Riges     Historie,"  p.    175 ;    and    Von    Hessling,    "Die    Perlen- 

Reicharot  edition,  1743.  Vol.  II,  p.  632.  miischeln,"  p.  189. 

"  Thaaruys,    "Versuch    einer    Statistik    der  *  Pontoppidan,  "Versuch   einer  natiirlichen 

danischen     Monarchic,"     Copenhagen,     179S,  Historie  von  Norwegen,"  Copenhagen,   1754, 

Pt.  I,  p.  416.  Vol.  II,  p.  309. 

"Jahn,     "Voigtlandische     Perlenfischerei,"  '  Olaus  Magnus,  "Historia  de  gentibns  sep- 

tentrionalibusV'  Antwerp,  1562,  c.  6,  p.  192. 


"  >  >  / 


fjT>^ 


PANAOIA  OK   URNAMENT   WORN   ON  THE  BREAST  OF  A  BISHOP   IN   RUSSIA 


EUROPEAN  PEARL  FISHERIES  i8i 

sought  for  by  expert  fishermen  in  the  interior  districts,  and  were 
brought  in  large  quantities  to  the  coasts  for  sale,  the  women  and  girls 
of  all  classes,  rich  and  poor,  using  them  extensively  in  personal  deco- 
ration. 

The  celebrated  Linnaeus  left  a  detailed  account  of  the  method  by 
which  mussels  were  caught  in  Sweden  nearly  two  centuries  ago.  He 
wrote:  "In  the  summer  season,  if  the  water  is  shallow,  the  fishermen 
wade  in  the  stream  and  gather  the  mussels  with  their  hands.  Should 
the  water  be  deeper,  they  dive  for  the  mussels  and  place  such  as  they 
find  in  a  vessel  made  of  birch  bark,  which  they  carry  with  them.  Sunny 
days  are  selected,  because  then  they  can  see  deeper  into  the  water. 
But,  should  this  not  suffice,  they  traverse  the  river  on  rafts  which  are 
painted  white  beneath  so  that  the  bed  of  the  stream  may  be  illumined 
by  the  reflected  light.  The  men  lie  prone  on  the  rafts  and  look  down 
into  the  depths  so  that  they  may  immediately  seize  with  wooden  tongs 
the  mussels  which  they  discover.  Or  else,  hanging  by  their  hands  to 
the  rafts,  they  seize  them  in  the  water  with  their  toes.  If  the  water  is 
too  deep  even  for  this,  they  dive  and  feel  around  on  the  bottom  with 
their  hands  until  it  becomes  necessary  to  rise  again  to  the  surface  in 
order  to  breathe.  However,  out  of  a  hundred  mussels,  scarcely  one 
contains  a  good  pearl ;  but  sometimes  as  many  as  twenty  pearls  of  the 
size  of  a  grain  of  sand  are  found  in  one  shell.  Many  of  the  larger 
pearls  are  reddish  or  dark,  but  occasionally  a  beautiful  white  pearl  is 
hidden  under  such  a  covering ;  although,  naturally,  it  is  rare  that  this 
is  altogether  perfect.  It  has  been  noted  that  mussels  seven  years  old 
contain  pearls :  and  in  each  of  two  mussels  eighteen  years  old,  a  pearl 
was  found  attached  to  the  shell." ^ 

The  list  of  streams  in  Sweden  from  which  pearls  were  taken,  as 
noted  by  Olaf  Maimer,  J.  Fischerstein,  and  Gissler^  a  century  and  a 
half  ago,  seems  to  cover  nearly  all  the  rivers  and  brooks  which  flow 
from  the  mountains  of  this  beautiful  country. 

In  Russia  the  love  for  the  pearl  has  been  almost  as  great  as  in  Persia 
and  India.  During  the  Middle  Ages,  pearls  were  worn  upon  the 
clothes  of  nearly  all  well-to-do  Russians.  The  great  head-dresses  of  the 
women  were  ornamented  with  them ;  and  they  were  used  in  decorating 
the  stoles,  vestments,  crosses,  and  the  priceless  relics  in  the  churches. 

The  pearl-mussel  is  found  in  very  many  of  the  Russian  streams.  It 
occurs  throughout  Archangel,  in  most  of  the  rivers  which  flow  into 
the  White  Sea,  into  Lake  Ladoga,  Lake  Onega,  and  the  Baltic  Sea; 
and  likewise  in  the  Volga  watershed.    Von  Hessling  states  that  east 

'Linnaeus,  "Lach.  Lapponica,"  Vol.  II,  pp.       Akademie,"  1742,  Vol.  IV,  p.  240;  1759,  Vol. 
104-107.  XXI,  p.  136,  and  1762,  Vol.  XXIV,  p.  64. 

'  See    "Abhandlungen    der     Schwedischen 


iS2  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

of  the  Volga  its  southern  boundary  extends  to  Lat.  56°,  while  on  the 
west  it  extends,  further  southward,  so  that  in  the  region  of  the  Dnieper 
it  reaches  Lat.  51°.  The  extreme  southern  limit  is  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Don,  about  47°  north  latitude/ 

In  northern  Russia  pearls  are  secured  in  the  provinces  of  Livonia, 
Esthonia,  and  Olonetz,  and  in  the  grand  duchy  of  Finland,  where  they 
have  been  sought  after  for  three  centuries  or  more.  Most  of  them  are 
bluish  gray  in  color  and  they  attain  a  maximum  weight  of  about  twelve 
grains.  Although  not  equaling  the  oriental  gems,  these  pearls  are  of 
good  quality  and  are  highly  esteemed,  not  only  by  the  peasants  but  by 
the  nobility  and  by  the  royal  family  of  Russia.  For  reference  to  most 
of  the  historical  data  relative  to  the  fishery  in  Livonia,  we  are  indebted 
to  an  account  written  by  H.  Kawall.^ 

So  long  ago  as  161 2,  Dionysius  Fabricius  compared  the  pearls  of 
Livonia  with  those  of  India.  Said  he:  "Nor  should  I  omit  to  mention 
that  there  are  rivers  in  Livonia  wherein  large  pearls  are  produced  in 
shells ;  and  I  myself  have  seen  some  as  large  as  the  oriental,  especially 
when  they  are  well  grown.  But  because  the  peasants  of  this  region  are 
too  ignorant  to  determine  with  certainty  when  they  mature,  they  are 
unable  to  collect  them  properly,  and  therefore  the  pearls  have  become 
rarer.    ■* 

According  to  Mylius,'*  in  the  seventeenth  century,  when  Livonia 
belonged  to  Sweden,  the  pearl  resources  received  attention  from  the 
government.  Charles  IX  of  Sweden  decreed  October  22,  1694,  that 
the  pearls  therefrom  should  not  be  exported  but  should  be  sold  to  offi- 
cers of  the  crown  at  a  definite  price.  In  1700,  an  inspector  of  the 
fishery  in  Livonia,  whose  name  was  Krey,  reported  that  the  peasants 
collected  pearls  secretly  from  the  small  rivers  and  brooks,  and  for- 
warded them  to  Moscow  for  sale.  As  the  peasants  objected  to  selling 
them  to  the  king's  commissioners  at  the  prices  fixed,  the  fishery  soon 
dwindled  in  extent.  However,  on  the  annexation  of  Livonia  to  Russia 
in  1 71 2,  and  the  removal  of  these  restrictions,  it  revived  and  became  of 
local  importance  during  the  last  years  of  the  reign  of  Peter  the  Great. 

In  1742  the  Livonian  fishery  was  reorganized  at  the  suggestion  of  a 
Swede  named  Hedenberg.  Furnished  by  the  government  with  funds 
and  an  escort,  he  began  an  exploration  of  the  pearl-bearing  waters, 
commencing  with  Lake  Kolk,  where  he  secured  many  pearls  of  value, 
some  of  which  were  presented  to  Empress  Elizabeth.^ 

'"Die  Perlenmuscheln,"  Leipzig,  1859,  p.  194.  '  G.    F.    Mylius,   "Memorabilium    Saxoniae 

^Kawall,  "La  peche  des  perles  en  Livonie,"  subterraneae,"  Leipzig,  1709-1718,  Vol.  II,  p. 

"Annales    de    la    Societe    Malacologique    de  20. 

Belgique,"  1872,  Vol.  VII,  pp.  38-46.  ^  Charles    Zeze,    "Considerations    sur    les 

^Dionysius     Fabricius,     "Scriptor     rerum  lievres  blancs  en  Livonie,"  1749,  p.  52. 

Livonicarum,"  1612,  Vol.  II,  p.  440. 


EUROPEAN  PEARL  FISHERIES  183 

The  fishery  then  came  into  great  favor.  To  the  nobihty  of  Livonia, 
in  whose  domains  the  brooks  were  situated,  the  crown  accorded  sixty 
rubles  for  each  half  ounce  of  choice  pearls  secured,  and  for  every 
half  ounce  of  the  second  class,  thirty  rubles ;  but  the  nobles  were 
obliged  to  renounce  their  rights  to  the  fisheries  and  to  permit  the  lakes 
and  brooks  to  be  guarded  by  imperial  soldiers.  Owing  to  the  very 
great  destruction  of  mussels  which  yielded  no  pearls,  a  reward  was 
offered  to  any  one  who  would  discover  a  method  of  determining  from 
external  characteristics  those  individual  shells  which  contain  gems  of 
value. 

In  1746,  when  the  Empress  Elizabeth  passed  the  summer  in  Livonia, 
large  quantities  of  pearls  from  the  neighboring  brooks  were  presented 
to  her.  But,  owing  to  the  cost  of  supervision,  the  expenditures  soon 
exceeded  the  revenues  and  the  government  abandoned  the  guard  and 
dismissed  the  fishermen.  Little  by  little  the  search  decreased,  and  by 
1774  relatively  few  pearls  were  found.^ 

According  to  Hupel,  the  Schwarzbach  River,  near  Werro,  was  cele- 
brated for  its  pearls,  which  were  noted  for  their  size  and  beauty;  one 
of  the  tributaries  of  this  river  is  named  Perlenbach  (Pearl  Brook). 
The  Ammat  and  Tirse  streams,  and  forty  other  brooks  and  lakes  also 
yielded  them.  Pearls  of  slight  value  were  likewise  produced  in  the 
Palze  and  the  Rause,  near  Palzmar;  the  Paddez,  a  tributary  of  the 
Evest  which  empties  into  the  Diina,  and  the  Voidau  and  the  Petribach, 
each  of  which  flows  into  the  Schwarzbach.  Near  the  Tirse  was  a  very 
old  road  house,  patronized  by  the  peasants,  which  from  time  imme- 
morial had  borne  the  name  Pehrlu-kroghs  (Pearl  Tavern). 

Formerly  some  of  the  brooks  of  Esthonia  on  the  Gulf  of  Finland, 
and  principally  those  near  Kolk  and  the  adjacent  lakes,  furnished 
beautiful  pearls.  From  these  waters  came  the  beautiful  necklace  which 
is  yet  an  heirloom  in  the  Kolk  family.  The  choicest  of  these  weighed 
from  five  to  ten  grains,  and  the  color  was  grayish  blue.  The  Emperor 
Alexander  I  is  said  to  have  received  a  present  of  pearls  collected  in  the 
vicinity  of  Tammerfors,  in  the  government  of  Tavastehus,  in  the 
grand  duchy  of  Finland.  The  development  of  manufacturing  in  that 
region,  however,  has  destroyed  most  of  the  mussels. 

Von  Hessling  notes  that  in  the  province  of  Olonetz,  pearls  are 
found  in  the  Poventshanka,  in  the  Ostjor,  and  in  the  Kums,  where  the}^ 
are  secured  by  the  neighboring  peasants  who  sometimes  make  valuable 
finds. ^  When  the  brooks  dry  up,  the  mussels  are  easily  secured;  old 
inhabitants  note  that  on  one  occasion  of  this  kind  many  superb  pearls 

'  A.   H.  Hupel,  "Nouvelles  topographiques  ^  "Dig  Perlenmuscheln,"  Leipzig,  p.  196. 

de    Livonie    et    d'Esthionie,"    1774,    Vol.    I, 
P-  134- 


i84  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

were  found  in  the  Poventshanka,  and  a  necklace  of  them  was  presented 
to  the  Empress  Catherine  Alexievna.  These  pearls  rarely  leave  the 
province  in  which  they  are  collected,  as  the  inhabitants  are  fond  of 
using  them  for  personal  decoration.  Young  girls  attend  to  the  fishing, 
and  workmen  pierce  them  for  about  two  copecks  each.  Choice  ones  sell 
for  thirty  to  one  hundred  rubles  apiece. 

In  the  government  of  Archangel  pearls  have  been  collected  for  cen- 
turies from  the  streams  flowing  into  the  White  Sea  and  the  Arctic 
Ocean.  An  extended  account  of  the  fisheries  of  this  region  was  given 
by  Von  Middendorfif.^  He  states  that  the  Unio  margaritifera  inhabits 
all  the  rivers  in  which  the  descent  is  not  too  rapid,  and  especially  in  the 
Tjura,  the  Tuloma,  the  Kovda,  Kereda,  the  Kanda,  etc.  The  fisheries 
have  been  conducted  exclusively  by  the  shore  Laplanders;  but  they 
have  been  neglected  in  recent  years  owing  to  the  small  returns.  Von 
Hessling  notes  that  the  pearls  are  dull  in  color ;  in  the  opinion  of  the 
fishermen  this  is  caused  by  the  mysterious  influence  of  the  copper 
money  which  they  carry  with  them.  The  Tuloma  was  formerly  a 
productive  river;  its  pearls  were  sold  in  Kola,  whence  they  were  car- 
ried to  Archangel,  335  miles  distant,  where  they  were  pierced  by  ex- 
pert workmen.  The  Tjura  also  yielded  many  pearls;  but  since  a  Lap- 
lander was  drowned  while  fishing  for  them,  a  legend  has  spread  that 
the  spirit  of  the  river  guards  the  pearls,  and  the  natives  hesitate  about 
seeking  them. 

Probably  the  occurrence  of  so  many  in  the  home  streams  had  much 
to  do  with  developing  in  Russia  that  great  love  for  the  pearl  which  has 
made  it  the  national  ornament,  all  classes  finding  pleasure  in  its  pos- 
session. While  the  superb  gems  treasured  by  the  nobility  are  mostly 
from  oriental  seas,  a  considerable  percentage  of  those  worn  by  the 
peasantry  are  from  the  native  waters.  An  interesting  account  of  this 
fondness  among  a  certain  class  of  Russian  women — the  Jewesses  of 
Little  Russia — was  given  sixty  years  ago  by  the  German  traveler 
Kohl. 

In  Alexandria,  a  small  city  in  the  government  of  Kherson  in  South  Russia, 
a  Jew  kept  a  cafe,  and  his  charming  daughter  served  us  with  cofifee.  We  paid 
her  compliments  on  her  beautiful  eyes  and  teeth.  But  she  seemed  to  be  much  less 
vain  of  these  natural  ornaments  than  of  the  acquired  ones  in  the  magnificent 
glittering  pearl-cap  which  she  wore  upon  her  head.  For  all  the  women  through 
South  and  Little  Russia  even  as  far  as  Galicia  wear  a  certain  stiff,  baggy  cap 
which  is  very  disfiguring,  and  is  covered  all  over  with  a  great  number  of 
pearls,  upon  a  foundation  of  black  velvet.  It  is  called  a  "mushka."  This  cap, 
with  very  unimportant  modifications,  has  almost  always  the  same  form;  the 

^Baer  and  Helmersen,  "  Beitrage  zur  Kenntniss  des  russischen  Reiches,"  St.  Petersburg, 

184s,  Vol.  XI,  pp.  143,  144. 


RUSSIAN    liOVARI)    LADIES    OF   THE   SEVENTEEMTH    CENTURY,   SHOWING 
CAPS  AND  OTHER  ORNAMENTS   OF   PEARLS 


EUROPEAN  PEARL  FISHERIES  185 

only  difference  is  that,  in  the  case  of  the  wealthy,  the  pearls  are  larger,  and 
sometimes  a  number  of  small  pearls  and  precious  stones  are  suspended  here 
and  there,  set  in  the  same  way  as  the  ear-rings  of  our  ladies.  It  is  common  for 
them  to  wear  half  their  fortune  on  their  heads  in  this  way.  For  these  caps 
generally  cost  from  five  hundred  to  one  thousand  roubles,  and  many  are  worth 
five  or  six  thousand  and  even  more;  they  wear  them  every  day,  holidays  as 
well  as  ordinary  days,  and  strut  around  the  kitchens  and  cellars  with  their 
"mushka."  They  spend  their  last  penny  in  order  to  secure  such  a  pearl-cap, 
and  even  when  they  are  clad  in  rags  their  head  is  covered  with  pearls.  In  order 
to  furnish  the  requisite  material  for  this  wide-spread  fashion,  the  commerce  in 
pearls  of  Odessa,  Taganrog  and  some  other  places  in  southern  Russia  is  not 
unimportant.  There  may  live  in  the  region  where  the  pearl-caps  of  which  I 
speak  are  worn  at  least  2,000,000  Jewesses.  Let  us  estimate  that  among  them 
there  are  but  300,000  adults,  and  that  only  half  of  these,  150,000,  wear  pearl- 
caps  (only  the  most  indigent  and  the  most  aristocratic  do  not  wear  the 
"mushka")  ;  let  us  then  estimate  the  average  value  of  such  a  cap  at  only  five 
hundred  roubles — these  are  the  lowest  minima  and  fall  far  short  of  the  real 
figures — and  we  have  a  total  capital  of  76,000,000  roubles,  which  the  Jewesses 
of  this  region  wear  upon  their  heads.  Naturally  the  annual  diminution  of  this 
capital  is  small,  since  these  pearls  are  transmitted  from  the  mothers  to  their 
daughters  and  granddaughters.  Still,  if  we  estimate  that  they  last  for  a  cen- 
tury, the  necessary  yearly  contribution  amounts  to  nearly  one  million.  It  is, 
however,  probable  that  a  much  larger  capital  is  employed  in  the  commerce  of 
pearls.  They  are,  for  the  most  part,  oriental  and  come  by  way  of  Turkey  and 
Odessa  or  else  by  way  of  Armenia  and  Tiflis.  We  inquired  of  our  beautiful 
Jewess  whether  she  was  not  in  perpetual  dread  on  account  of  her  pearl-cap, 
and  how  she  protected  it  from  thieves.  She  answered  that  she  wore  it  on  her 
head  all  day  and  at  night  placed  it  in  a  casket  which  rested  under  her  pillow. 
So  that  the  whole  short  life  of  these  Jewesses  of  the  steppes  revolves  around 
their  pearl-cap  as  the  earth  does  around  the  sun.* 

Several  species  of  marine  mollusks  on  the  coasts  of  Europe  yield 
pearly  formations,  but  none  of  much  ornamental  or  commercial  value. 
Probably  the  most  interesting  of  these  are  from  the  Pinna  on  the 
Mediterranean  coasts,  and  especially  on  the  coast  of  Sardinia  and  the 
shores  of  the  Adriatic.  An  interesting  collection  of  these  Pinna  pearls 
was  furnished  to  the  writers  by  Alexandre  Castellani  of  Rome. 

'  Kohl,  "Reisen  in  Siidrussland,"  2nd  edition,  Leipzig,  1846,  Vol.  I,  p.  15. 


IX 

ISLANDS  OF  THE  PACIFIC 

SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS,  AUSTRALIAN  COASTS, 
MALAY  ARCHIPELAGO 


IX 

PEARL  FISHERIES  OF  THE  SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS 

Sea-girt  isles, 
That,  like  to  rich  and  various  gems,  inlay 
The  unadorned  bosom  of  the  deep. 

Milton. 

GATHERING  pearl  shells  and  pearls  is  the  principal  indus- 
try of  the  semi-amphibious  natives  of  the  hundreds  of  palm- 
'  crowned  and  foam-girdled  islands  of  the  southern  Pacific, 
'  commonly  known  as  the  South  Sea  Islands.  Among  these 
the  most  prominent  for  pearl  fishing  are  the  Tuamotu  Islands  or  Low 
Archipelago,  the  Society  Islands,  the  Marquesas,  the  Fiji  Islands,  Pen- 
rhyn  or  Tongareva,  and  New  Caledonia.  These  are  under  the  pro- 
tection of  the  French  government,  except  Fiji  and  Penrhyn,  which 
belong  to  Great  Britain. 

Almost  ever  since  the  South  Sea  Islands  have  been  known  to  civil- 
ization they  have  contributed  pearls ;  and  the  fishery  has  been  one  of 
the  principal  industries,  not  only  for  the  natives,  but  also  for  the  not 
inconsiderable  number  of  sailors  who,  preferring  the  lotus  on  shore 
to  the  salt  pork  and  monotony  of  ship  life,  have  yielded  to  the  insular 
attractions  and  formed  domestic  ties.  The  industry  has  been  especially 
extensive  during  the  last  seventy  years,  when  there  has  been  a  profit- 
able market  for  the  shells.  Most  of  the  natives— men,  women,  and 
children — follow  it  for  a  living.  Domestic  duties  rest  very  lightly 
upon  the  women,  and  many  of  these,  and  even  young  girls,  find  em- 
ployment in  diving,  in  which  at  moderate  depths  these  dusky  mermaids 
are  nearly,  if  not  quite  as  expert  as  the  men  and  boys. 

Tahiti,  the  largest  of  the  eleven  Society  Islands,  is  the  center  of  the 
pearling  industry  of  French  Oceanica.  It  is  situated  in  about  Lat. 
17°  S.  and  Long.  150°  W.,  and  has  an  area  of  approximately  410  square 
miles  and  a  population  of  11,000,  nearly  one  half  of  whom  live  in  Pa- 
peiti,  the  principal  town.  This  is  one  of  the  most  agreeable  of  the 
"Summer  Isles  of  Eden,"  Nature  furnishing  food  in  abundance,  and 
climate  and  social  customs  requiring  little  in  the  way  of  dress  and 
habitation.     Notwithstanding  its  importance  as  the  headquarters  of 


I90  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

the  pearling  industry,  few  pearl-oysters  are  caught  at  Tahiti,  most  o£ 
them  coming  from  the  archipelagoes  of  Tuamotu,  Gambler,  and  occa- 
sionally Tubai. 

The  Tuamotu  Archipelago  is  the  scene  of  the  principal  pearl  fisheries 
of  the  South  Seas ;  and  from  the  local  importance  of  this  industry  the 
group  is  sometimes  called  the  Pearl  Islands.  These  coral-formed 
islands  are  strung  out  for  a  distance  of  900  miles  in  a  northwest  and 
southeast  direction,  and  extend  from  Lat.  14°  to  23°  S.  and  from 
Long.  136"  to  149°  W.  They  number  about  seventy-eight,  many  of 
them  made  up  of  small  atolls  only  a  few  feet  above  the  surface  of  the 
ocean,  and  with  an  aggregate  area  of  about  360  square  miles.  The 
total  population  is  approximately  6000,  with  many  visitors  from  Tahiti 
and  other  neighboring  islands  during  the  pearling  season.  The  prin- 
cipal products  are  pearl  shell  and  pearls,  copra,  and  cocoanut  oil;  and 
nearly  one  half  of  the  islands  yield  nothing  but  shell  and  pearls.  The 
chief  port  is  Fakarava  on  an  island  of  the  same  name,  and  the  trade  is 
almost  entirely  with  Tahiti. 

As  the  Tuamotus  are  of  coral  formation,  they  produce  little  vege- 
table growth,  and  the  people  seem  often  on  the  brink  of  starvation, 
forming  a  striking  contrast  with  those  of  the  neighboring  Society 
Islands.  Drawing  their  subsistence  entirely  from  the  sea,  except  for 
the  native  cocoanuts  and  breadfruit,  these  people  have,  at  times,  been 
in  great  straits  for  food,  and  it  was  doubtless  severe  hunger  that  drove 
them  to  the  acts  of  cannibalism  with  which  they  have  been  charged. 
And  the  sea  which  supplies  them  with  food  has  also  visited  them  with 
great  destruction.  As  recently  as  January,  1903,  a  great  storm  swept 
over  this  group,  drowning  over  500  of  the  inhabitants,  and  destroying 
a  very  considerable  portion  of  the  pearling  fleet  and  other  property. 

The  pearl-oyster  reefs  of  the  Tuamotu  Archipelago  are  very  ex- 
tensive, only  eight  or  ten  of  the  islands  failing  to  contribute  to  the 
supply.  They  occur  in  the  protected  lagoons  of  the  atolls,  where  the 
bottom  is  well  covered  with  coral  growth,  with  numerous  elevations 
and  depressions  of  various  sizes ;  and  it  is  about  the  bases  and  in  the 
recesses  of  these  coral  growths  that  the  best  shells  are  usually  found. 
Most  of  them  are  of  the  black-edged  variety  of  Margaritifera  marga- 
rififcra,  which  here  attains  a  great  size,  reaching  a  diameter  of  twelve 
inches  in  extreme  cases. 

While  pearl-oysters  are  found  about  nearly  all  of  the  Tuamotu 
Islands,  the  reefs  are  richest  at  Hikueru  or  Melville  Island.  When 
that  lagoon  is  open  it  is  the  scene  of  the  greatest  operations,  and  it  is 
credited  with  nearly  one  half  of  the  total  product  of  the  archipelago. 
At  the  opening  of  the  season,  this  is  the  resort  of  fishermen  from  all 
over  the  group,  even  from  a  distance  of  five  hundred  miles,  and  thou- 


192  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

sands  of  natives  camp  in  temporary  leaf-thatched  huts  among  the 
cocoanut-palms  on  the  beach,  those  from  the  different  islands  con- 
gregating in  isolated  settlements.  As  many  as  five  thousand  persons 
are  sometimes  brought  together  in  this  way. 

The  volcanic-formed  Gambler  Islands,  with  high  peaks  reaching,  in 
one  instance,  an  altitude  of  over  1200  feet,  present  a  striking  contrast 
to  the  Tuamotu  atolls.  This  group  consists  of  five  large  and  several 
small  islands,  surrounded  by  a  coral  reef  of  an  irregular  triangular 
figure.  The  iioo  inhabitants  of  the  Gambler  Islands  derive  a  large 
percentage  of  their  support  from  the  pearl  fishery.  The  patches  of 
pearl-oysters  are  located  between  the  islands  and  the  barrier  reefs. 
They  are  numerous  about  the  island  of  Mangareva,  which  is  well  sur- 
rounded by  them  on  the  north,  east,  and  southeast.  Oysters  from  the 
reef  of  Tearae,  which  extends  from  the  eastern  point  of  Mangare\a 
to  the  small  island  of  Aukena,  a  distance  of  two  miles,  are  especially 
rich  in  pearls.  On  this  reef,  where  the  water  is  from  one  to  four 
fathoms  in  depth,  the  moUusks  are  small,  rarely  exceeding  five  or  six 
inches  at  maturity,  but  the  shell  is  very  thick  and  coral  covered;  these 
yield  many  pearls.  In  greater  depths,  the  oysters  attain  a  larger  size, 
but  they  yield  few  pearls. 

The  first  white  man  to  attempt  the  exploitation  of  the  pearl  re- 
sources of  the  Tuamotus  appears  to  have  been  Morenhout.  In  a  voy- 
age to  the  Oceanic  Islands  in  1827,  he  learned  of  the  great  wealth  of 
pearl  shell,  and  applied  to  Queen  Pomare  at  Tahiti  for  permission  to 
employ  the  natives  in  the  fishery.  With  an  eye  to  business,  she  required 
a  fee  of  $5000  for  herself  before  granting  the  desired  authority.^ 
Considering  this  excessive,  Morenhout  attempted  to  deal  with  the 
natives  without  permission  of  the  dusky  queen,  but  vmder  these  ad- 
verse conditions  he  found  the  trade  unsatisfactory  and  soon  aban- 
doned it. 

In  1830,  and  the  years  immediately  succeeding,  desultory  pearling 
voyages  were  made  from  Valparaiso,  Chile,  and  these  were  followed 
by  expeditions  from  America  and  elsewhere.  An  interesting  account 
of  the  trade  at  that  time  is  contained  in  Lucatt's  "Rovings  in  the 
Pacific  from  1837  to  1849,"  published  in  London  in  185 1. 

The  Mormon  influx  in  1846  resulted  in  a  further  development  of  the 
pearl  fishery;  and  Grouard,  the  local  leader  of  that  denomination,  is 
credited  with  making  a  fortune  in  the  business. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  industry  up  to  1880,  when  control  of  the 
islands  passed  to  the  French  government,  it  is  estimated  that  about 
15,000  tons  of  pearl-oysters  were  secured.  The  eN:tent  of  tte  fishery 
during  the  few  years  preceding  1880  made  such  drains  upon  the  pro- 

'  "Voyage  aux  lies  du  Grand  Ocean,"  Paris,  1838;  also  "Le  Correspondant,"  March  10,  igo6. 


ISLANDS  OF  THE  PACIFIC  193 

ductiveness  of  the  reefs  that  many  of  them  gave  signs  of  exhaustion. 
With  a  view  to  adopting  methods  for  conserving  the  industry,  so  es- 
sential to  the  welfare  of  the  natives,  the  French  Ministry  of  Marine 
and  Colonies  in  1883  inaugurated  an  investigation  of  its  condition,  and 
of  the  possibilities  for  improvement.  This  was  made  under  the  im- 
mediate direction  of  G.  Bouchon-Brandely,  whose  interesting  report* 
contains  much  data  on  this  subject. 

As  a  result  of  these  investigations  and  recommendations,  a  re- 
stricted season  for  fishing  was  adopted,  and  only  a  portion  of  the 
reefs  was  thrown  open  each  year,  a  decree  of  the  governor,  published 
in  the  "Journal  Officiel"  of  the  colony,  determining  the  islands  in 
which  the  fishery  might  be  prosecuted.  This  interdiction,  known 
locally  as  rahiii,  is  for  the  purpose  of  permitting  the  oysters  to  develop, 
and  thus  prevent  the  exhaustion  of  the  reefs. 

By  decree  of  January  24,  1885,  a  restriction  was  made  against  tak- 
ing shells  measuring  less  than  17  centimeters  in  diameter  on  the  in- 
terior nacre,  or  weighing  less  than  200  grams  per  valve.  But  this  was 
repealed  in  1890,  and  since  then  there  has  been  no  restriction  on  the 
size  of  the  oysters  that  may  be  fished. 

The  pearl  fishery  and  the  isolated  leper  station  are  the  principal 
claims  which  attract  the  attention  of  the  outside  world  to  the  island  of 
Penrhyn  or  Tongareva,  one  of  the  Manahiki  group,  in  Lat.  9°  S.,  and 
Long.  158°  W.  This  desolate  atoll  island  consists  of  a  ring  of  land  a 
few  hundred  yards  in  width,  inclosing  a  lagoon  nine  miles  long  and 
five  miles  wide,  and  it  produces  little  else  than  pearls  and  pearl  shell. 
The  white  gravelly  shore  yields  little  vegetation  except  cocoanuts, 
which  share  with  fish  in  furnishing  sustenance  to  the  semi-amphibious 
natives. 

At  Penrhyn  the  pearl  fishery  is  carried  on  in  the  clear,  limpid  waters 
of  the  atoll  where  the  oysters  are  undisturbed  by  storms.  The  shells 
belong  mostly  to  the  golden-edged  variety,  and  are  of  good  quality, 
the  value  in  London  ranging  from  £100  to  £250  per  ton.  Relatively 
few  pearls  are  found,  amounting  in  aggregate  value  to  only  about  one 
fourth  of  the  value  of  the  shells.  These  are  the  principal  objects  of  the 
fishery ;  the  finding  of  pearls  is  incidental,  but  careful  search  is  always 
made  for  them,  and  some  choice  specimens  have  been  secured. 

On  the  coast  of  New  Caledonia,  pearling  is  of  recent  origin,  dating 
as  an  industrial  enterprise  from  1897,  although  previous  to  that  time 
some  shells  and  pearls  had  been  secured  by  native  beach-combers.  This 
island  is  220  miles  in  length  and  30  in  width,  situated  850  miles  south- 
east of  Australia,  and  about  the  same  distance  from  New  Zealand. 

'"La  Peche  et  la  Culture  des  Huitres  Perlieres  a  Tahiti;  Pecheries  de  I'Archipel  Tua- 

motu,"  Paris,  1885. 
13 


194  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

It  is  a  French  colony,  and  has  been  used  by  that  government  as  a  penal 
settlement  since  1864. 

In  1897,  rich  beds  of  pearl-oysters  were  discovered  off  the  west 
coast  of  this  island.  They  are  most  numerous  between  the  shore  and 
the  barrier  reefs  on  the  west  coast  from  Pouembout  River  to  Gomen 
Bay,  and  especially  about  the  small  island  of  Konienne  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Pouembout  River.  They  are  also  abundant  among  the  Loyalty 
Islands  off  the  eastern  coast  of  New  Caledonia,  and  especially  at  the 
island  of  Lifu.'  The  shell  is  similar  to  that  from  Torres  Straits,  and 
the  yield  of  pearls  is  very  large.  Several  concessions  have  been  ob- 
tained to  exploit  these  beds,  one  of  them  covering  130  miles  in  length. 
The  industry  is  carried  on  by  means  of  scaphanders,  in  a  manner 
similar  to  that  of  Torres  Straits.  Virtually  all  of  the  catch  is  sent  to 
France. 

The  natives  of  the  South  Sea  Islands,  and  particularly  of  Penrhyn 
and  the  Tuamotu  group,  are  doubtless  the  most  expert  divers  in  the 
world.  This  can  be  readily  appreciated  by  those  who  have  read  of 
Hua  Manu  in  C.  W.  Stoddard's  thrilling  narrative,  or  have  heard  the 
story  of  the  brown  woman  who  swam  for  forty  hours  in  a  storm  with 
a  helpless  husband  on  her  back.  Accustomed  to  the  water  from  in- 
fancy, these  human  otters  swim  all  day  long  as  readily  as  they  would 
walk,  go  miles  from  shore  without  a  boat  in  search  of  fish  which  they 
take  by  means  of  baited  hook  and  line,  and  boldly  attack  a  shark  single- 
handed.  Seemingly  fabulous  stories  are  told  of  their  descending,  un- 
aided, 150  feet  or  more  beneath  the  surface,  and  remaining  at  lesser 
depths  for  nearly  three  minutes,  far  surpassing  any  modern  records  of 
the  divers  of  India. 

The  water  in  the  South  Seas  is  wonderfully  clear,  enabling  the 
fishermen  to  detect  small  objects  at  considerable  depths,  and  especially 
so  when  using  the  water-telescope,  similar  to  that  employed  in  the  Red 
Sea  fisheries.  By  immersing  this  to  a  depth  of  several  inches  and  cut- 
ting off  the  light  from  the  upper  end  as  he  gazes  through  it  down  into 
the  waters,  the  fisherman  can  readily  inspect  the  bottom  at  a  depth  of 
fifteen  fathoms,  and  thus  locate  the  shells  before  he  descends. 

The  diving  is  quite  unlike  that  in  Ceylon  and  Arabia.  The  men  do 
not  descend  on  stones,  but  swim  to  the  bottom.  The  diver  is  stripped  to 
his  pareu  or  breech-clout,  his  right  hand  is  protected  by  a  cotton  mitten 
or  by  only  a  wrapping  of  cotton  cloth,  and  in  his  left  hand  he  carries  a 
pearl  shell  to  assist  in  directing  his  movements  and  in  detaching  the 
oysters  at  the  bottom.  In  preparing  for  a  deep  descent,  he  sits  for 
several  minutes  in  characteristic  attitude  with  hands  hanging  over 
knees,  and  repeatedly  inflates  his  lungs  to  the  fullest  capacity,  exhaling 

'  Seurat,    "L'huitre    perliere,"    Paris,    igoo.p.  133. 


ISLANDS  OF  THE  PACIFIC  195 

the  air  slowly  through  his  mouth.  After  five  or  six  minutes  of  "taking 
the  wind,"  the  diver  inhales  a  good  breath,  drops  over  the  gunwale  into 
the  water  to  give  him  a  start,  and  descends  feet  foremost.  At  a  dis- 
tance of  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  below  the  surface,  gracefully  as  an  otter 
or  a  seal,  he  bends  forward  and  turns  head  downward  and,  with  limbs 
showing  dimly  in  frog-like  motion,  he  swims  vertically  the  remaining 
distance  to  the  bottom.  There  he  assumes  a  horizontal  position  and 
swims  slowly  just  above  the  ground,  searching  critically  for  suitable 
oysters,  in  this  way  traversing  a  distance  possibly  of  fifty  feet  or  more. 
When  he  has  secured  an  oyster,  or  his  breath  is  approaching  ex- 
haustion, he  springs  from  the  ground  in  an  erect  position  and  rapidly 
swims  upward,  the  buoyancy  of  his  body  hastening  his  ascent  so 
that  he  pops  head  and  shoulders  above  the  surface,  and  falls  back  with 
laboring  pulse  and  panting  breath.  In  case  the  dive  has  been  unusually 
extended,  a  few  drops  of  blood  mav  trickle  from  the  nose  and  mouth. 
His  find — consisting  frequently  of  nothing  and  rarely  of  more  than 
one  oyster— is  carried  in  a  cocoanut  fiber  sack  suspended  from  the 
neck,  or  is  held  in  the  left  hand,  or  may  be  hugged  beneath  the  left 
arm. 

Ordinarily  in  actual  fishing  operations,  the  fishermen  do  not  descend 
to  greater  depths  than  fifteen  fathoms,  and  remain  from  sixty  to  ninety 
seconds.  Writing  in  185 1,  a  trader  who  had  spent  several  years  in 
collecting  pearls  and  pearl  shells  among  the  Tuamotus  stated:  'T  timed 
several  by  the  watch,  and  the  longest  period  I  knew  any  of  them  to 
keep  beneath  the  water  was  a  minute  and  a  quarter,  and  there  were 
only  two  who  accomplished  this  feat.  Rather  less  than  a  minute  was 
the  usual  duration.  It  is  unusual  for  them  to  attempt  deep  diving;  and 
let  the  shells  be  ever  so  abundant,  they  will  come  up  and  swear  there 
are  none."^ 

However,  in  mutual  contests  or  in  special  exhibitions,  reports  of 
twenty,  twenty-three,  and  even  twenty-five  fathoms  are  numerous,  and 
they  have  repeatedly  been  timed  two  and  a  half  to  three  minutes.  Bou- 
chon-Brandely  speaks  of  a  woman  at  Anaa,  one  of  the  Tuamotus, 
who  would  go  down  twenty-five  fathoms  and  remain  three  minutes 
under  water.^  This  seems  very  unusual,  but  there  are  numerous  re- 
ports of  two  and  a  half  minutes  at  about  seventeen  or  eighteen 
fathoms.  In  October,  1899,  at  Hikueru  Island,  another  of  the  Tuamotu 
group,  a  young  native  made  an  exhibition  dive  for  the  officers  of  the 
United  States  Fish  Commission  steamship  Albatross.  He  reached 
bottom  at  a  depth  of  102  feet  under  the  boat's  keel,  and  remained  sub- 
merged two  minutes  and  forty  seconds.    The  water  was  so  transparent 

^  Lucatt,  "Rovings  in  the  Pacific  from  1837  '  "Bulletin    United    States    Fish    Commis- 

to  1849,"  London,  1851,  Vol.  I,  p.  245.  sion,"  Vol.  V,  p.  293. 


196  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

that  he  was  clearly  seen  from  the  surface.  After  he  touched  bottom  at 
that  great  depth,  he  calmly  picked  over  the  coral  and  shells  to  select  a 
piece  to  bring  up/  The  diver  was  ready  to  go  down  again  only  a  few 
minutes  after  he  came  up. 

In  his  work  on  French  Oceanica,  Chartier  states:  "There  are  three 
women  well  known  in  the  archipelago  [of  Tuamotu]  who  have  no 
equals  elsewhere;  they  explore  the  depth  at  twenty-five  fathoms  and 
remain  not  less  than  three  minutes  before  reappearing  at  the  sur- 
face.'' ^  However,  these  unusual  depths  and  extensions  of  time  are 
dangerous,  and  care  must  be  taken  or  serious  results  follow.  Most  of 
the  catch  is  obtained  in  about  ten  fathoms  of  water. 

At  the  request  of  the  writer,  Mr.  Julius  D.  Dreher,  American  Consul 
at  Tahiti,  made  inquiries  among  the  South  Sea  Islands  in  regard  to  the 
record  of  the  best  divers,  and  wrote  as  follows : 

Mr.  J.  L.  Young,  who  has  lived  in  these  islands  for  thirty  years,  informs 
me  that  he  has  never  seen  a  diver  remain  under  water  longer  than  80  seconds, 
and  that  at  a  depth  of  twelve  to  fifteen  fathoms.  At  one  time  he  tested  a  man 
who  claimed  to  be  able  to  stay  under  for  three  minutes,  yet  this  man  could  hold 
his  breath  on  land  less  than  80  seconds  by  the  watch. 

Elder  Joseph  F.  Burton,  who  has  spent  many  years  as  a  missionary  in  these 
islands,  states  that  once  in  Hikueru,  of  the  Tuamotu  group,  he  went  out  in  a 
boat  with  the  divers  to  time  them.  The  best  record  made  was  107  seconds,  but 
he  was  informed  that  there  were  better  divers  on  the  island  than  those  he  tested. 
He  thinks  the  water  was  ten  to  twelve  fathoms  in  depth.  A  native  of  Takaroa, 
named  Metuaro,  told  Mr.  Burton  that  he  could  stay  under  water  three  minutes 
or  longer.  When  these  divers  come  up  they  take  a  breath  and  immediately  put 
their  head  under  water  to  prevent  headache. 

Mr.  J.  Lamb  Doty,  formerly  Consul  and  now  Vice-Consul  at  Tahiti,  who 
has  spent  eighteen  years  here,  is  willing  to  be  quoted  as  affirming  that  he  once 
timed  a  diver  who  remained  under  water  2  minutes  35  seconds. 

Mr.  Henry  B.  Merwin,  a  leading  trader  with  the  Tuamotu  Islands,  is  willing 
to  be  quoted  as  saying  that  he  saw  a  diver  remain  under  water  4  minutes  45 
seconds  by  the  watch.  This  is  generally  regarded,  so  far  as  my  inquiries  go, 
as  improbable;  but  most  persons  interviewed  believe  that  men  do  remain  un- 
der water  i]^  to  3  minutes.  A  native  of  Takaroa,  named  Tai,  assured  me  in 
the  presence  of  others  that  there  were  twenty  men  in  that  island  who  could  re- 
main under  water  2j<^  to  3  minutes  at  a  depth  of  twenty  fathoms.  He  claimed 
to  be  able  to  stay  3  minutes  at  that  depth. 

Diving-suits,  or  scaphanders,  have  been  used  at  most  of  the  South 
Sea  Islands,  but  in  a  very  irregular  manner.  In  1890  the  use  of  sca- 
phanders was  restricted  in  the  Tuamotu  group,  and  by  decree  of  De- 

^  Alexander,    "Report   United    States    Fish  ^"Tahiti  et  les  Colonies  Frangaises  de  la 

Commission,"  Vol.  XXVII,  p.  764.  Polynesie,"  Paris,  1887,  p.  173- 


Pearl-divers  of  the  Tuamutu  Archipelagic;    men,  women  and  tliil<lrL-ii  i\\v:  in  tlic-c  w  .iters 


Settlement  of  pearl  fishermen  at  Hiqueru,  Tuamotu  Archipelago 


ISLANDS  OF  THE  PACIFIC  197 

cember  28,  1892,  it  was  interdicted  altogether  with  a  view  to  preserv- 
ing the  industry  to  the  natives,  as  it  represents  their  principal  means 
of  livelihood.  The  suit  commonly  employed  at  Penrhyn  consists  of  a 
helmet  and  a  jumper,  neither  boots  nor  trousers  being  worn.  Owing 
to  the  absence  of  weights  on  the  feet,  it  rarely  but  nevertheless  some- 
times happens  that  a  diver  turns  upside  down,  and  the  unwieldy  helmet 
keeps  him  head  downward  while  the  air  rushes  out  under  the  bottom 
cord  of  the  jumper  and  he  is  suffocated.  Also,  when  a  good  patch  of 
shells  has  been  located,  the  temptation  to  remain  down  too  long  is 
great,  and  paralysis  often  results.  On  the  whole,  these  diving-suits 
have  proven  very  dangerous  to  the  light,  graceful  swimmers  of  these 
southern  seas,  to  whom  they  are  about  as  much  of  an  impediment  as 
was  Saul's  armor  to  the  shepherd  lad  who  slew  the  giant  with  the 
simple  pebble  from  a  sling. 

And  there  are  dangers  also  in  nude  diving,  even  to  those  who  have 
spent  a  lifetime  about  the  water.  Sharks  and  sting-rays  and  devil-fish 
there  are  in  abundance,  and  many  of  them  know  the  taste  of  diver's 
flesh ;  on  the  other  hand  many  a  daring  South  Sea  Islander  could  tell  of 
a  fierce  combat  more  thrilling  than  even  those  pictured  by  Victor 
Hugo.  One  of  the  chief  advantages  of  the  diving-suit  is  that  in  case  a 
shark  comes  along,  the  diver  can  bide  his  time  until  the  fish  is  ready  to 
leave,  or  he  can  frighten  it  away  by  ejecting  air  bubbles  from  the 
sleeve  of  his  suit  or  by  other  demonstrations ;  whereas  a  nude  diver  is 
obliged  to  seek  the  air  without  delay,  and  in  the  retreat  is  seized  by  the 
fish  who,  human  like,  has  his  appetite  increased  by  the  visible  retreat 
of  the  object  of  his  desire. 

Not  Schiller  nor  Edgar  Allan  Poe  ever  conjured  up  a  picture  more  ghastly 
than  that  of  a  Penrhyn  diver  caught  like  a  rat  in  a  trap  by  some  huge,  man- 
eating  shark  or  fierce  kara  mauua,  crouching  in  a  cleft  of  the  overhanging 
coral,  under  the  dark  green  gloom  of  a  hundred  feet  of  water,  witli  bursting 
lungs  and  cracking  eyeballs,  while  the  threatening  bulk  of  his  terrible  enemy 
looms  dark  and  steady,  full  in  the  road  to  life  and  air.  A  minute  or  more  has 
been  spent  in  the  downward  journey ;  another  minute  has  passed  in  the  agon- 
ized wait  under  the  rock.  .  .  .  Has  he  been  seen?  .  .  .  Will  the  creature 
move  away  now,  wliile  there  is  still  time  to  return?  The  diver  knows  to  a 
second  how  much  time  has  passed ;  the  third  minute  is  on  its  way ;  but  one  goes 
up  quicker  than  one  comes  down,  and  there  is  still  hope.  .  .  .  Two  minutes 
and  a  half  ;  it  is  barely  possible  now,  but — the  sentinel  of  death  glides  forward ; 
his  cruel  eyes,  phosphorescent  in  the  gloom,  look  right  into  the  cleft  where  the 
wretched  creature  is  croucliing,  with  almost  twenty  seconds  of  life  still  left, 
but  now  not  a  shred  of  hope.  A  few  more  beats  of  the  laboring  pulse,  a  gasp 
from  the  tortured  lungs,  a  sudden  rush  of  silvery  air  bubbles,  and  the  brown 
limbs  collapse  down  out  of  the  cleft  like  wreaths  of  seaweed.  The  shark  has 
his  own.      (Beatrice  Grimshaw  in  the  "Graphic") 


198  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

At  the  end  of  the  day's  work,  the  catch  is  opened  by  means  of  a 
large  knife,  and  carefully  searched  for  the  much  prized  pearls.  Usually 
the  fisherman  finds  none ;  occasionally  he  discovers  a  small  round  one 
or  a  large  baroque,  and  at  long  intervals — possibly  once  in  two  or 
three  years — his  search  is  rewarded  with  a  fine  pearl  for  which  he 
may  receive  $50  or  $60,  and  there  is  always  the  chance  that  the  very 
next  oyster  will  disclose  a  gem  which  will  make  him  independent  for 
the  remainder  of  his  life ;  and  if  no  pearls  whatever  are  found,  there 
are  the  shells,  the  sale  of  which  furnishes  sufficient  to  purchase  tobacco, 
knives,  fish-hooks,  the  gaudy  cotton  cloths,  the  flour  and  other  simple 
articles  of  food,  and  especially  rum,  that  fatal  gift  of  civilization  which 
has  been  the  curse  of  so  many  primitive  peoples. 

Some  of  the  individual  pearls  secured  have  been  remarkably  large, 
weighing  100  grains  and  over.  Returning  visitors  from  Tahiti,  with 
views  magnified  doubtless  in  propoi"tion  to  the  distance  of  the  objects 
of  their  description,  credited  Queen  Pomare  with  the  possession  of 
some  sufficiently  large  to  be  used  for  billiard-balls.  Sixty  years  ago 
superb  pearls  could  be  obtained  from  the  natives  for  a  few  gallons  of 
rum  or  a  small  number  of  pieces  of  cheap  calico,  and  several  shrewd 
traders  made  great  profits  in  the  business.  But  as  trade  at  the  islands 
was  open  to  vessels  of  all  nationalities,  the  competition  increased,  with 
the  result  that  the  natives  gradually  learned  the  high  estimation  in 
which  pearls  are  held,  and  in  recent  years  it  has  not  been  unusual  for 
one  of  medium  grade  to  sell  higher  in  Oceanica  than  it  would  in 
Europe. 

It  is  difficult  to  form  a  reliable  estimate  of  the  value  of  the  pearling 
industry  of  the  South  Sea  Islands.  The  Tuamotu  group,  with  4000 
fishermen,  yields,  in  an  average  season,  about  450  tons  of  mother-of- 
pearl,  worth  about  £65,000  in  London,  where  most  of  it  is  mar- 
keted. The  yield  at  the  remaining  French  islands  is  less  than  that 
of  the  Tuamotus.  Probably  the  total  yield  of  mother-of-pearl 
in  all  the  South  Sea  Islands  is  not  far  from  900  tons,  worth  about 
$700,000. 

No  statistics  whatever  are  available  regarding  the  yield  of  pearls, 
and  the  estimates  sent  from  the  islands  are  small  compared  with  those 
made  by  London  and  Paris  firms  who  import  the  pearls.  A  large  num- 
ber of  persons  living  in  Papeiti  and  many  traders  visiting  the  islands 
depend  very  largely  on  pearl-dealing  for  a  livelihood.  From  the  yield 
of  pearl  shell  and  estimates  made  by  dealers,  we  are  inclined  to  put 
the  value  of  the  pearls  secured  in  an  average  season  from  all  the  South 
Sea  Islands  at  about  $125,000,  only  a  small  portion  of  which  goes  to 
the  fishermen  themselves,  the  greater  part  representing  profits  of  the 
traders. 


ISLANDS  OF  THE  PACIFIC  199 


PEARL  FISHERIES  OF  AUSTRALIA 

Ocean's  gem,  the  purest 

Of  nature's  works !    What  days  of  weary  journeyings, 

What  sleepless  nights,  what  toils  on  land  and  sea, 

Are  borne  by  men  to  gain  thee ! 

Unknown. 

As  regards  area  of  distribution  the  most  extensive  pearl-oyster 
grounds  of  the  world  are  situated  on  the  northern  and  western  coasts 
of  Austraha.  These  are  located  within  the  jurisdictions  of  Queens- 
land, Western  Australia,  and  South  Australia ;  and  extend  in  irregular 
patches  from  near  Cooktown  on  the  northeast  almost  to  Fremantle  at 
the  southwest,  a  distance  of  nearly  3000  miles.  Those  in  Queensland 
are  commonly  known  as  the  Torres  Straits  fisheries,  as  they  are  espe- 
cially important  there ;  but  they  extend  a  considerable  distance  beyond 
each  end  of  the  strait,  and  pearling  expeditions  are  made  from  the 
limits  of  the  Great  Barrier  coral  reef  northward  to  the  vicinity  of 
New  Guinea.'  Those  of  Western  Australia  are  commonly  spoken  of 
as  the  Northwest  fisheries. 

The  fisheries  of  Queensland  and  of  Western  Australia  are  approxi- 
mately equal  in  extent,  as  regards  number  of  vessels,  boats,  and  men 
employed,  and  the  quantity  and  value  of  the  catch,  with  the  advantage 
slightly  in  favor  of  the  Northwest  fishery  in  the  last  four  or  five  years. 
In  1905,  according  to  the  official  figures,  the  Queensland  fishery  gave 
employment  to  348  vessels  and  2850  men,  and  yielded  shell  and  pearls 
worth  £135,000,  which  was  the  smallest  output  since  1890.  The  West- 
ern Australia  fishery,  exclusive  of  Sharks  Ray,  employed  365  vessels 
in  1905,  and  about  the  same  number  of  men  as  in  Queensland,  and 
yielded  £196,000  worth  of  shell  and  pearls.  The  fishery  of  South 
Avistralia  employed  about  60  vessels  and  375  men,  and  yielded  about 
£25.000  worth  of  shell  and  pearls.  This  makes  for  the  whole  of 
Australia,  except  Sharks  Bay  hereinafter  noted,  a  total  of  773  vessels, 
6075  men,  and  an  output  worth  £356,000.  It  should  be  understood 
that  the  South  Australia  fishery  is  not  prosecuted  on  the  southern  coast 
of  the  continent,  but  on  the  northern  coast,  in  what  is  known  as  the 
Northern  Territory  of  South  Australia. 

Three  species  of  pearl-oysters  are  found  in  Australian  waters.  The 
largest  species,  Margaritifera  maxima,  which  is  by  far  the  most  im- 
portant and  widely  distributed,  occurs  to  a  greater  or  less  extent 
throughout  the  whole  of  this  region.    This  yields  the  standard  mother- 

'  "Report    on    Pearl    Fisheries    of    North  Queensland,"  Brisbane,  1890. 


200  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

of-pearl  of  commerce.  Although  the  pearls  which  it  yields  are 
among  the  largest  and  finest  in  the  world,  this  mollusk  is  sought  more 
particularly  for  the  shell,  the  value  of  which  from  season  to  season 
averages  three  or  four  times  as  much  as  that  of  the  pearls.  Ordinarily 
this  shell  is  uniformly  white  over  the  entire  inner  surface,  and  is  com- 
monly known  locally  as  "silver  lip";  but  some  "golden-edged"  shell 
occurs  on  the  muddy  grounds  in  narrow  passages  between  the  islands 
on  the  northwest  coast. 

While  this  species  is  gregarious,  it  is  not  located  in  densely  covered 
beds,  but  is  scattered  in  patches  over  the  reefs.  Some  of  these  are 
miles  in  length  and  contain  scores  of  tons,  but  usually  they  are  very 
much  smaller.  The  oysters  occur  principally  on  rocky  bottom,  and  also 
on  clay  and  sand  when  well  covered  with  seaweeds,  but  are  rarely 
found  on  muddy  ground.  They  are  most  numerous  in  the  channels 
where  the  current  is  strong.  The  small  oysters  are  generally  loosely 
attached  by  the  byssus  to  rock,  gravel  or  other  shells ;  while  the  mature 
ones  lie  loosely  on  the  bottom  or  slightly  turned  in  the  sand. 

The  second  species  of  the  Australian  pearl-oysters,  Margaritifera 
margaritifera,  is  smaller,  rarely  exceeding  eight  inches  in  diameter 
and  a  weight  of  two  pounds.  The  distinguishing  characteristic  is  the 
black  edge  bordering  the  inner  surface  of  the  shell,  whence  it  ac- 
quired the  local  designation  "black  lip."  This  variety  is  not  rare  in 
Queensland,  and  in  Western  Australia  its  range  extends  as  far  as 
Champion  Bay  in  Lat.  29°  S.  However,  the  catch  is  small  compared 
with  that  of  the  Margaritifera  maxima,  amounting  to  only  two  or 
three  per  cent,  in  Queensland.  In  1905,  the  export  of  "silver  lip"  and 
"golden-edged"  from  Thursday  Island  was  527  tons,  and  of  "black 
lip"  only  II  tons;  in  1904,  these  figures  were  778  and  7  respectively. 
In  Western  Australia  the  percentage  of  yield  is  much  larger  than  this. 

The  third  species,  Margaritifera  carcharium,  is  confined  almost 
entirely  to  the  limits  of  Sharks  Bay,  on  the  extreme  western  coast  of 
Australia.  At  maturity  it  is  the  smallest  of  the  three,  averaging  three 
or  four  inches  in  diameter,  and  about  equals  in  size  the  Lingah  pearl- 
oyster  of  the  Persian  Gulf.  The  percentage  of  pearls  therefrom  is 
relatively  greater  than  from  the  larger  variety ;  but,  owing  to  its  small 
size  and  lack  of  thickness,  the  shell  is  of  little  commercial  value.  The 
value  of  the  output  in  recent  years  has  approximated  two  or  three 
thousand  pounds  sterling,  which  is  very  much  less  than  formerly,  the 
value  of  the  shell  having  greatly  decreased  since  the  introduction  of 
the  Mississippi  shell  in  button  manufacture. 

The  pearl  fishery  on  the  coast  of  Australia  originated  about  1861. 
It  appears  that  an  American  sailor  named  Tays  was  the  pioneer  in  the 
business;  and  on  his  death  by  drowning,  the  business  was  conducted 


ISLANDS  OF  THE  PACIFIC  201 

by  his  partner  named  Seubert.'  This  was  on  the  northwest  coast,  and 
the  output  reached  the  market  by  way  of  Singapore.  At  first  the 
oysters  were  so  abundant  in  shallow  water  that  they  could  be  picked 
up  at  low  tide,  and  beach-combing  was  profitable,  especially  when 
carried  on  with  cheap  native  labor.  As  the  beach-beds  became  ex- 
hausted, the  natives  were  encouraged  to  wade  out  to  greater  depths, 
and  soon  they  became  accustomed  to  "bob  under"  for  those  oysters 
visible  from  the  surface.  The  Australian  blacks  were  thus  taught  to 
dive,  and  in  1867  diving  from  boats  in  two  or  three  fathoms  was  at- 
tempted with  such  success  that  in  the  following  year  the  practice  was 
generally  adopted,  the  depth  in  which  they  worked  gradually  extend- 
ing to  six  or  eight  fathoms.  In  diving  from  a  boat,  the  men  imitated 
"bobbing  tmder"  which  they  had  practised  in  shoaler  water;  they 
slipped  off  the  gunwale  feet  foremost,  and  when  six  or  eight  feet 
below  the  surface,  turned  and  swam  downward. 

Owing  to  the  close  labor  relations  existing  between  the  natives  and 
the  sheep-raisers  of  northwestern  Australia,  the  latter  were  brought 
into  the  business,  and  for  a  number  of  years  pearling  and  sheep-raising 
were  closely  associated.  The  blacks  were  employed  in  various  duties 
in  connection  with  raising  and  shearing  sheep,  and  it  was  important 
to  find  some  occupation  for  them  when  ranch-work  was  slack,  not  only 
for  their  own  subsistence  but  for  the  protection  of  the  herdsmen  and 
their  property.  Fortunately,  this  opportunity  was  furnished  by  the 
pearl  fishery,  for  which  these  men  were  well  qualified. 

The  profits  of  the  business  soon  attracted  many  outside  capitalists, 
and  it  became  difficult  to  procure  divers.  Not  only  did  the  pearlers — 
and  particularly  new-comers — resort  to  impressing  the  blacks  into  ser- 
vice, but  skilled  fishermen  were  brought  over  from  the  Malay  Archi- 
pelago, and  in  some  cases  the  methods  used  in  securing  them  were  by 
no  means  regular. 

In  1 87 1  the  Northwest  pearl  fishery  gave  employment  to  12  vessels 
of  15  to  50  tons  each,  and  yielded  about  180  tons  of  mother-of-pearl. 
During  the  same  year,  in  Torres  Straits,  where  the  industry  had  ex- 
tended about  1868,  there  were  10  vessels — mostly  from  the  port  of 
Sydney— and  the  catch  of  mother-of-pearl  approximated  200  tons, 
valued  at  £60,000  in  London.^  Each  vessel  was  commonly  manned  by 
two  or  three  white  men  and  from  ten  to  fifty  divers,  who  worked  from 
dinghys,  in  gangs  of  six  or  eight  each  with  an  overseer  in  charge. 

As  the  fishery  increased  rapidly  in  extent,  the  problem  of  securing 
nude  divers  became  a  serious  one,  and  "nigger  hunting"  became  rather 
common,  the  Australian  black  man  representing  the  cheapest  form  of 

'  Garran,    ".■Vustralasia    Illustrated,"    Syd-  "Gill,  "Life  in  the   Southern  Isles,"  Lon- 

ney,  1892,  Vol.  II,  p.  886.  don,  1876,  p.  294. 


202  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

labor,  working  for  his  food,  tobacco,  and  the  simplest  articles  of  cloth- 
ing. There  was  no  complaint  that  the  men  thus  impressed  were 
treated  with  inhumanity;  on  the  contrary  they  were  well  fed  and  cared 
for ;  yet,  with  a  view  to  protecting  them  and  preventing  even  a  suspi- 
cion of  wrong-doing,  the  Australian  government  enacted  regulations 
restricting  pearling  contracts  with  the  natives.  Nearly  every  year 
these  regulations  became  more  stringent,  affecting  the  hours  for  div- 
ing, and  limiting  the  work  to  depths  of  six  and  a  half  fathoms,  so 
that  the  employment  of  Australian  aborigines  in  the  fishery  became 
extremely  troublesome  and  annoying. 

The  government  of  the  Netherlands  also  placed  severe  restrictions 
on  the  employment  of  natives  of  the  Dutch  Indies,  requiring  security 
of  £20  per  head  for  the  repatriation  of  each  man ;  and  the  local  chiefs 
or  rajahs  also  expected  a  rake-off  before  permitting  their  men  to  ship. 
These  Malays— from  the  islands  of  Solor,  Allor,  Adonare,  etc.,— also 
expected  much  better  pay  and  better  provisions  than  the  Australian 
blacks. 

The  following  interesting  account  by  Henry  Taunton  gives  a 
graphic  description  of  the  fishery  as  carried  on  at  that  time : 

The  work  was  far  from  easy.  It  was  exhausting  and  perilous  for  the 
divers,  and  full  of  privation,  exposure,  and  danger  for  the  white  men.  Only 
the  hope  of  a  prosperous  season  reconciled  one  to  the  life.  When  shells  were 
plentiful  and  the  weather  fine,  the  work  was  exciting  and  interesting  enough ; 
but  during  rough  weather,  when  one  had  to  be  constantly  straining  at  the  oar 
to  keep  the  dinghy  from  drifting  too  rapidly,  or  when  hour  after  hour  might 
pass  without  the  men  bringing  up  a  single  shell,  the  discouragement  was  great. 
The  rays  of  the  vertical  sun  beating  down  on  one's  shoulders  at  such  times 
seemed  as  if  it  would  never  reach  the  western  horizon,  which  was  the  signal 
for  returning  on  board. 

As  may  well  be  imagined,  when  three  or  four  white  men  had  to  control  and 
compel  some  thirty  or  forty  natives  to  carry  on  work  which  they  detested,  a 
very  strict  discipline  had  to  be  maintained.  It  was  the  rule  that  no  talking  was 
allowed  amongst  the  divers  when  in  the  dinghy,  nor  were  they  even  permitted 
to  address  the  white  man,  unless,  maybe,  to  answer  a  question  as  to  the  nature 
of  the  bottom,  whether  nanoo  (sand)  or  bannin  (shelly  bottom),  etc.,  or 
unless  some  urgent  necessity  arose.  Sometimes,  indeed,  I  have  pushed  off 
from  the  vessel's  side  of  a  morning  and  have  not  heard  a  word  spoken  until 
we  returned  on  board  at  night,  unless  chance  might  take  me  within  hail  of 
some  other  dinghy,  when  felicitations  or  condolences  would  be  exchanged,  as 
good  or  bad  luck  might  happen.  At  times,  when  the  "patch"  was  small,  the 
dinghys  of  the  whole  fleet  might  be  congregated  on  a  very  small  area,  in  which 
case  the  scene  was  animated  enough.  On  all  sides  you  could  see  divers  slipping 
into  the  water  and  others  just  coming  to  the  surface,  puffing,  blowing,  and 
coughing  to  clear  their  eyes,  ears,  and  mouth  from  the  salt  water— some  with. 


ISLANDS  OF  THE  PACIFIC  203 

others  without  shells.  Others  would  be  swimming  to  regain  their  dinghy  or 
squatting  in  their  places  for  the  few  minutes'  rest  permitted,  and,  if  the  wind 
were  at  all  fresh,  shivering  with  cold ;  for  although  the  weather  might  be  ex- 
tremely hot,  the  constant  plunging  in  and  out  for  many  hours  at  a  time  tended 
to  reduce  the  bodily  temperature  considerably.  The  white  men  would  be  seen 
standing  up  in  each  dinghy.  They  were  lightly  clad,  with  shirt  sleeves  and 
trousers  rolled  up,  in  all  varieties  and  colours  of  costume,  from  the  regulation 
shirt,  trousers,  and  felt  hat,  with  leather  belt  sustaining  sheath-knife  and 
pouch,  to  the  more  comfortable  pyjama  suit,  or  even  the  Malay  sarong.  Some 
would  be  straining  hard  at  the  end  of  the  scull-oar,  forcing  the  boat  against 
windand  tide  in  the  endeavor  to  keep  it  as  long  as  possible  on  the  "patch,"  which 
was  marked  by  the  discoverer's  buoy,  which  also  might  be  observed  nodding 
on  the  surface,  and  canted  over  by  the  swiftly  rushing  tide.  Others,  their  men 
all  being  below,  just  kept  the  dinghy's  head  to  wind  until,  by  judicious  use  of 
the  oar  and  well-calculated  drifting,  all  the  divers  reappear  on  the  surface 
within  a  short  distance  from  their  own  boat.  This  is  the  secret  of  saving  the 
divers  from  wasting  their  powers  and  time  uselessly.  ...  As  may  be  sup- 
posed, Vv  here  the  tide  sweeps  the  divers  along  the  bottom  at  the  rate  of  three  or 
four  or  even  six  miles  an  hour,  they  have  to  be  very  smart  in  seeking  and  grab- 
bing any  shell  within  reach.  I  have  never  tested  them  with  a  time-keeper ;  but 
by  counting  seconds  on  many  occasions,  from  the  moment  a  diver's  head  sank 
below  until  it  again  came  above  the  surface,  I  estimated  the  average  time  under 
water  was  fifty-seven  seconds.  Part  of  this  is  of  course  expended  in  swim- 
ming to  the  bottom,  where  they  can  remain  only  a  very  few  seconds,  as  time 
must  be  allowed  for  reaching  the  surface  before  letting  go  their  breath.  Prac- 
tice in  ever-varying  depths  enables  them  to  gauge  this  limit  of  time  to  a  nicety. 
But  sometimes  they  cut  things  too  fine,  and  then  a  catastrophe  was  inevitable, 
unless  much  watchfulness  was  exercised  by  the  white  man,  who  has  to  keep  his 
eyes  turned  in  all  directions  once  his  men  are  down.  So  long  as  a  diver  can 
hold  his  breath  the  pressure  forces  him  to  the  surface  at  a  speed  which  seldom 
requires  accelerating  by  strokes  with  the  hands  or  feet ;  but  the  moment  he  lets 
go  his  breath  —  if  under  water — his  upward  course  is  arrested  and  his  body 
commences  to  sink.  Now,  when  the  white  man  sees  this,  either  he  must  plunge 
in  to  the  rescue  himself,  or  direct  such  divers  who  may  be  on  the  top  to  do  the 
needful. 

On  a  calm  day,  when  one  can  see  far  into  the  blue  clear  depths  below,  I  have 
often  seen  one  of  my  men  shooting  rapidly  upwards  until  within  perhaps  a  foot 
or  two  from  the  surface,  when  a  sudden  gush  of  bubbles  from  the  man's 
mouth  would  tell  its  own  tale.  Instantly  he  v.'ould  begin  to  sink  gently  down- 
wards, and  only  quick  action  could  save  this  diver  who  had  miscalculated  his 
time.  However,  as  it  was  not  infrequent  for  divers  to  go  down  and  never 
come  up  at  all,  one  may  conclude  that,  where  the  time  to  be  allowed  is  com- 
prised in  so  few  seconds,  even  the  most  experienced  make  fatal  errors.' 

The  difificulties  in  securing  labor  at  length  resulted  in  experiments 
with  the  scaphander  or  diving  dress,  and  gradually  its  adoption  by 

'  "Australind,"  London,  1900,  pp.  233-239. 


204  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

most  of  the  pearling  fleet.  The  labor  problem  and  the  exhaustion  of 
the  oysters  in  medium  depths  developed  more  quickly  in  Torres  Straits 
than  on  the  northwest  coast,  and  diving  outfits  were  introduced  there 
about  1879,  while  this  was  delayed  about  five  years  longer  on  the 
northwest  coast.  The  outfit  did  not  immediately  supplant  nude  diving 
in  either  locality.  In  1883,  only  80  of  the  206  Queensland  vessels  were 
supplied  with  scaphanders,  the  others  continuing  to  use  nude  diving, 
and  even  yet  nearly  one  third  of  the  vessels  depend  on  that  form  of 
fishery.  Of  the  353  vessels  fishing  in  1904,  108  depended  on  nude 
divers  and  245  were  supplied  with  armored  equipment. 

In  1 88 1  the  Queensland  government  took  cognizance  of  the  rapidly 
developing  industry,  and  enacted  a  license  system  and  other  regula- 
tions. For  every  boat  under  two  tons  an  annual  license  fee  of  £1  (in 
1886  this  was  reduced  to  ten  shillings)  was  enacted,  and  for  every 
vessel  of  ten  tons  or  under,  the  sum  of  £3,  with  an  additional  amount 
for  vessels  in  excess  of  that  measurement;  but  not  exceeding  £20  in 
any  case.*  In  1886  it  was  required  by  the  Queensland  government  that 
every  person  employed  "as  a  diver,  and  using  a  diving  apparatus,"  must 
be  licensed  annually,  for  which  a  fee  of  £1  is  exacted.^  And  in 
1891  it  was  required  that  "every  diving  dress  and  air-pump  and  all  air- 
tubes  and  gear  used  in  the  fishery  in  connection  with  diving  must  be 
submitted  to  an  inspector  for  examination  once  at  least  in  every 
period  of  six  months."*  The  license  system  was  adopted  in  Western 
Australia  in  1886,  a  fee  of  £1  per  annum  being  exacted  for  each  vessel 
engaged  in  the  fishery.^  In  1891,  South  Australia  adopted  the  license 
system,  requiring  that  every  boat  of  two  tons  or  under  should  pay  ten 
shillings,  and  that  each  boat  over  that  measurement  should  pay  twenty 
shillings. 

With  a  view  to  protecting  the  reefs,  the  government  of  Queensland 
in  1891  enacted  a  law  forbidding  the  sale  or  removal — except  for  culti- 
vation purposes — of  any  pearl  shell  "of  the  kind  scientifically  known 
as  Mclcagriiia  margaritifcra,  and  of  either  of  the  varieties  commonly 
known  as  'golden-edged'  and  'silver  lip,'  of  which  the  nacre  or  mother- 
of-pearl  measures  less  than  six  inches  from  the  butt  or  hinge  to  the 
opposite  edge  or  lip,  but  this  does  not  apply  to  the  variety  commonly 
called  'dwarf-shell.'  "  ^  Owing  to  the  difficulty  in  enforcing  this  regu- 
lation, the  size  restriction  was  reduced  in  1897  to  five  inches  from  the 
hinge  to  the  opposite  lip,  or  six  and  one  half  inches  exteriorly,  shells 
of  this  size  weighing  approximately  one  pound.  It  is  claimed  that 
many  oysters  less  than  five  inches  in  length  are  raised,  opened  for 

'45  Victoriae,  No.  2.  '50  Victoriae,  No.  7. 

"50  Victorias.  No.  2.  '  55  Victoria,  No.  29. 

'  55  Victoriae,  No.  29. 


Pearling  boats  at  Hiqueru,  Tuamotu  Archipelago 


Australian  pe.irl-.ilver  (.irnmred)  o.niini;  uji  fn  .m  ilii-  depths 


ISLANDS  OF  THE  PACIFIC  205 

pearls,  and  then  cast  back  into  the  water.^  In  1899  the  governor  of 
South  Austraha  interdicted  the  capture  in  the  waters  of  that  territory 
of  any  shell  of  "Meleagrina  margaritifera  measuring  less  than  four 
inches  from  the  butt  or  hinge  to  the  opposite  edge  or  lip."  Competent 
evidence  exists  that  a  good-sized  pearl  has  been  found  in  an  oyster 
measuring  one  inch  in  diameter. 

The  fishermen  of  Western  Australia  rendezvous  at  Broome,  about 
one  thousand  miles  by  water  north  of  Perth,  the  nearest  railway  sta- 
tion. With  only  a  thousand  or  so  inhabitants,  under  normal  condi- 
tions, this  is  a  scene  of  great  activity,  and  bears  a  reputation  of  being 
no  Sunday-school  when  the  fishermen  are  in,  with  tons  of  shell  and 
many  a  pickle  bottle  more  or  less  full  of  pearls.  Cossack  and  Onslow 
are  also  important  stations. 

In  1905,  340  luggers  and  25  schooners  were  employed  in  the  pearl 
fisheries  of  Western  Australia,  exclusive  of  Sharks  Bay.  Of  this 
number  about  85  per  cent,  hailed  from  Broome.  The  schooners  ranged 
in  size  from  13  to  133  tons,  and  the  luggers  were  mostly  about  12  tons, 
with  a  minimum  of  3  and  a  maximum  of  14  tons.  The  total  number 
of  fishermen  approximated  2900,  a  medley  of  races,  Japanese,  Malays, 
Chinese,  Arabs,  native  aboriginals  and  South  Sea  Islanders  working 
together  more  or  less  harmoniously.  The  yield  consisted  of  1394  tons 
of  mother-of-pearl,  with  a  declared  value  of  £146,225,  and  about 
£50,000  worth  of  pearls,  a  total  of  £196,255  for  the  year,  which  was 
an  increase  of  £32,286  over  1904.^ 

The  headquarters  for  the  fishery  of  the  Northern  Territory  of 
South  Australia  are  at  Port  Darwin.  In  1905  this  fishery  employed 
forty-nine  sail  vessels  and  two  canoes  manned  by  Europeans,  and 
two  proas  and  twelve  canoes  manned  by  Malays.  The  crews,  num- 
bering about  375,  consisted  mainly  of  Malays,  Japanese  and  Filipinos. 
In  1905,  42  per  cent,  were  Malays,  24  per  cent,  were  Japanese,  and  20 
per  cent,  were  Filipinos.  Owing  to  the  low  price  of  pearl  shell,  the 
fishery  was  not  prosecuted  actively,  and  many  of  the  Asiatics  left  for 
the  pearling  reefs  at  the  Aru  Islands.  The  total  value  of  pearl  shells 
reported  among  the  exports  for  that  year  was  £18,526;  during  the 
preceding  year  it  was  £28,391.  No  record  is  available  for  the  value 
of  the  pearls. 

The  Queensland  pearling  fleet  has  its  rendezvous  at  Port  Kennedy, 
Thursday  Island,  which  was  originally  maintained  by  the  British,  the 
Queensland,  and  the  New  South  Wales  governments  as  a  harbor  of 
refuge  for  mariners.  Politically  this  port  is  important  as  the  strategic 
key  to  the  northeast  of  Australia,  but  its  prosperity  is  almost  wholly 

'  "Departmental  Commission  on  Pearl  Shell  "  "Report  on  the  Fishing  Industry  for  the 

and  Beche-de-Mer  Fisheries,"  Brisbane,  1897.       Year  1905,"  Perth,  1906,  pp.  4-7. 


2o6  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

dependent  on  the  pearl-oyster  fishery.  The  population  approximates 
1600,  consisting  largely  of  Japanese,  Malays,  Cingalese,  Pacific  island- 
ers, and  Australian  aborigines,  with  specimens  from  nearly  every 
Asiatic  and  European  nationality,  and  some  from  America  and  Af rica> 
The  Japanese  predominate,  their  influx  dating  from  1891 ;  and  at 
present  the  industry  is  largely  dependent  on  these  Scotchmen  of  the 
Orient  for  its  most  skilful  workmen.  The  heterogeneous  national- 
ities, and  the  abundance  of  sand-flies,  mosquitos,  etc.,  make  this  island 
rather  less  desirable  as  a  place  of  residence  than  it  is  interesting  from 
a  political  and  ethnological  point  of  view. 

The  Queensland  fishery  in  1905  employed  348  vessels,  and  yielded 
543  tons  of  shell,  according  to  the  government  returns.  In  1904,  353 
vessels  were  engaged,  and  the  catch  was  798  tons  of  shell. 

During  the  last  fifteen  years  there  has  been  a  very  steady  decrease 
in  the  average  catch  of  pearl-oysters  per  boat  in  the  Australian  fish- 
ery. The  average  catch  in  the  Queensland  fleet  in  1890  approxi- 
mated 7  tons  per  boat;  from  1898  to  1903  it  was  about  3  tons  annually; 
in  1904  it  was  only  2]/^  tons,  and  in  1905  a  trifle  more  than  ij/^  tons. 
The  yearly  increasing  number  of  boats  would  naturally  lower  the 
average,  but  the  decrease  is  generally  ascribed  to  the  denudation  of 
the  reefs,  due  to  close  working  for  thirty-five  years  without  giving 
them  a  chance  to  recuperate. 

The  small  yield  in  Queensland  in  1904  and  1905  was  due  largely  tO' 
the  extended  rough  weather  and  the  accompanying  thick  or  muddy 
water,  which  presented  an  obstacle  to  the  prosecution  of  the  work. 
Mr.  Hugh  Milman,  the  government  resident  at  Thursday  Island, 
states  that  each  year  the  beds  in  the  more  sheltered  spots  have  been 
extensively  fished,  rendering  it  necessary  for  the  fleet  to  go  farther 
afield  in  places  where  the  depth  of  water  is  greater,  and  where  the  ves- 
sels are  more  exposed  to  the  full  force  of  the  southeast  winds  which 
prevail  for  about  seven  months  of  the  year,  and  which  were  unusually- 
severe  in  1905.^  The  general  denudation  of  the  beds  is  not  the  prin- 
cipal cause  of  the  decreased  take.  An  additional  cause  for  the  falling- 
ofif  in  1905  was  the  deflection  of  a  large  percentage  of  the  fleet  to  new 
fields  of  operation,  no  vessels  leaving  for  the  Aru  Islands  in  the 
Arafura  Sea,  when  the  season  was  about  half  finished. 

For  vessels  using  diving  apparatus,  the  season  continues  through- 
out the  year,  but  it  is  frequently  interrupted  by  storms,  which  may 
cause  the  boats  to  lie  in  harbor  for  ten  days,  or  even  two  weeks  at  a 
time.  The  nude  divers  suspend  work  from  December  to  March,  and 
also  during  the  season  of  gales. 

1  During  the  month  of  June,  1908,  a  severe  storm  destroyed  a  pearling  fleet,  with  a  loss  of 

40  vessels  and  270  lives. 


ISLANDS  OF  THE  PACIFIC  207 

Each  vessel  is  manned  by  a  diver,  his  attendant,  and  a  crew  of  four 
men,  who  in  pairs  take  ahernate  shifts  at  the  manual  pump  for  supply- 
ing air  to  the  diver.  The  entire  force  of  men  take  part  in  managing 
the  vessel  and  in  caring  for  the  catch.  The  vessel  is  provided  with 
full  equipment  and  supplies  of  food,  water,  etc.,  to  last  two  or  three 
weeks,  depending  on  the  distance  of  the  fishing-grounds  from  the 
shore  station,  or  the  frequency  of  trips  made  by  a  supply  vessel. 

Except  a  number  of  owners  and  their  representatives,  there  are  now 
very  few  white  persons  engaged  in  pearling  in  Australian  waters. 
Even  the  persons  in  charge  of  the  vessels  are  largely  natives  of  the 
Pacific  Islands.  Owing  to  the  hardships  encountered  and  the  small 
remuneration,  it  is  difficult  to  secure  white  labor;  and  aliens  from 
Japan,  the  Philippines,  Java,  Singapore,  India  and  New  Guinea,  are 
employed. 

The  divers  are  of  many  nationalities,  principally  Japanese  and 
Malays,  and  the  former  are  said  to  be  the  most  efficient.  Previous  to 
1890,  they  were  mostly  whites,  and  were  paid  at  the  rate  of  £40  per 
ton  of  shells ;  but  increased  competition  and  the  influx  of  cheaper  labor 
caused  a  considerable  decrease  in  the  rate  of  compensation,  driving 
most  of  the  white  men  out  of  the  employment.  At  present  the  Japanese 
almost  monopolize  the  business.  Of  the  367  divers  licensed  at  Thurs- 
day Island  in  1905,  291  were  Japanese,  32  were  Filipinos,  21  were 
from  Rotuma  Island,  16  were  Malays,  and  7  were  of  other  national- 
ities; this  shows  how  completely  the  white  man  has  been  driven  out 
of  this  skilled.branch  of  labor. 

The  oysters  are  so  scattered  that  considerable  walking  is  necessary 
to  find  them.  They  usually  lie  with  the  shells  partly  open,  and  in 
grasping  them  the  fisherman  must  be  careful  not  to  insert  a  finger 
within  the  open  shell,  or  a  very  bad  pinch  will  result.  The  progress 
of  the  vessel  must  be  adapted  to  that  of  the  diver,  and  when  a  good 
clump  of  oysters  is  found  it  may  even  be  desirable  to  anchor.  If  the 
current  and  wind  are  just  right,  the  vessel  may  repeatedly  drift  over 
a  bed,  the  diver  ascending  and  remaining  on  board  while  the  vessel  is 
retracing  its  course  to  the  windward  side  of  the  reef.  On  new 
grounds,  the  nature  of  the  bottom  is  determined  by  casting  the  lead 
properly  tipped  with  soap  or  tallow,  and  the  prospects  for  oysters  thus 
determined  without  descending. 

During  good  weather  and  in  eight  or  ten  fathoms  of  water,  a 
diver  can  work  almost  continually,  and  need  not  return  to  the  surface 
for  two  hours  or  more ;  but  as  the  depth  increases,  the  length  of  time 
he  may  remain  at  the  bottom  in  safety  decreases  almost  in  geometric 
ratio,  and  he  comes  to  the  surface  frequently  for  a  "blow"  with  helmet 
removed.     Evidence  secured  by  a  departmental  commission  of  the 


2o8  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

Queensland  government  in  1897,  showed  that  in  good  weather  at  a 
depth  of  eight  or  ten  fathoms,  a  diver  works  from  sunrise  to  sunset, 
coming  to  the  surface  only  a  few  times.  In  a  depth  of  over  fifteen 
fathoms  the  attendant  usually  has  instructions  not  to  let  him  remain 
longer  than  fifteen  minutes  at  a  time;  yet  a  diver's  eagerness  in  work- 
ing where  good  shell  is  plentiful  sometimes  impels  him  to  order  the 
attendant  to  disregard  this  rule.  The  very  great  pressure  of  the  water 
— amounting  to  thirty-nine  pounds  or  more  to  the  square  inch — is  lia- 
ble to  cause  paralysis,  and  death  occasionally  results.  In  working  at  a 
depth  of  twenty  to  twenty-five  fathoms,  a  diver  is  rarely  under  water 
longer  than  half  an  hour  altogether  during  the  day.  The  greatest 
depth  from  which  shell  is  brought  appears  from  the  same  evidence  to 
be  "30  fathoms  and  a  little  over";  but  at  that  depth — where  the  pres- 
sure is  seventy-eight  pounds  to  the  square  inch — the  fisherman  re- 
mains down  only  a  few  minutes  at  a  stretch,  and  should  be  exceedingly 
careful.  The  work  is  injurious,  and  even  under  the  best  conditions 
the  diver  not  infrequently  becomes  semi-paralyzed  and  disqualified  in 
a  few  years.  Notwithstanding  that  the  work  is  performed  by  men  in 
vigorous  health,  nearly  every  year  there  are  from  ten  to  twenty-five 
deaths  in  the  Queensland  fleet  alone;*  three  fourths  of  these  are  due 
to  paralysis,  and  most  of  the  remaining  result  from  sufifocation,  ow- 
ing largely  to  inexperience  in  use  of  gear.  From  five  to  ten  years 
is  the  usual  length  of  a  man's  diving  career,  although  in  the  fleet 
may  be  found  men  who  have  been  diving  for  twenty-five  years  or 
more. 

On  the  vessels  manned  by  Japanese,  commonly  several  members  of 
the  crew  are  competent  divers  and  take  a  turn  at  the  work,  although 
only  one  license  is  secured.  Such  a  vessel  carries  only  one  head-piece, 
but  two  otherwise  complete  suits,  the  helmet  fitting  either,  so  that  as 
soon  as  one  exhausted  diver  comes  up  to  rest,  a  successor  is  ready  to 
have  the  helmet  screwed  to  his  body-dress  and  descend  without  delay, 
thus  saving  about  half  an  hour  in  the  changing. 

The  nude  divers  in  the  Australian  pearl  fisheries  are  mostly  Malays 
and  Australian  aborigines.  They  work  from  dinghys  operated  from  a 
vessel,  each  dinghy  carrying  six  or  eight  divers,  usually  with  a  white 
man  as  overseer.  The  man  in  charge  sculls  against  the  tide  to  keep 
the  boat  stationary  over  the  ground,  and  all  the  fishermen  of  a  par- 
ticular dinghy  descend  together  for  greater  safety  from  sharks,  and 
to  cover  the  ground  systematically.  On  rising,  each  diver  swims  to 
the  boat,  throws  his  catch  over  the  gunwale,  and  climbs  in  to  rest  for 
a  few  minutes.    Sometimes  two  or  possibly  even  three  oysters  may  be 

^  "Report  of  Departmental  Commission  on  Pearl  Shell  and  Beche-de-Mer  Fisheries," 

Brisbane,  1897. 


ISLANDS  OF  THE  PACIFIC  209 

brought  up  at  a  single  descent,  but  a  diver  is  doing  well  if  he  brings 
up  one  oyster  in  ten  descents.  The  average  daily  catch  of  each  man  is 
probably  two  or  three  oysters,  but  a  fisherman  has  been  known  to  bring 
up  fifty  in  one  day.  On  some  vessels,  those  who  fall  behind  in  the 
catch  are  punished  by  extra  duty  aboard  ship. 

The  pearling  industry  has  had  a  marked  efifect  on  the  industrial  and 
social  condition  of  the  natives  of  the  Australian  coast  and  the  adjacent 
islands.  Many  of  these  natives  now  have  boats  of  their  own,  and 
others  seek  employment  on  other  vessels.  Law  and  order  and  decent 
respect  for  property  have  arisen,  with  schools  and  churches.  The 
result  is  all  the  more  remarkable  when  it  is  considered  that  scarcely 
more  than  a  generation  has  passed  since  labor  among  the  men  was 
unknown,  the  women  doing  all  the  work  necessary  to  meet  their  scanty 
requirements. 

As  now  carried  on  in  Australia,  pearling  is  a  hard  life,  the  men 
working  for  two  thirds  of  the  season  in  a  dead  calm  and  oppressive 
heat,  while  in  the  remaining  months  they  are  rolling  day  and  night. 
The  members  of  the  crew  are  not  allowed  ashore  without  a  written 
permission  from  the  captain  of  the  boat,  and  men  and  luggage  are 
searched  on  leaving  the  vessel.  In  addition  to  these  objections,  life  on 
board  is  not  unusually  made  intensely  disagreeable  by  the  myriads  of 
inch-long  cockroaches,  which  are  attracted  by  and  multiply  rapidly  on 
the  shreds  of  muscle  left  on  the  pearl  shell  stored  in  the  hold.  Storms 
are  frequent  on  the  coast.  In  February,  1899,  three  schooners  and 
eighty  smaller  vessels  were  wrecked,  and  eleven  white  and  four  hun- 
dred colored  men  were  drowned. 

At  the  end  of  each  day's  fishing,  the  oysters  are  cleaned  of  sub- 
marine growths.  Sometimes  this  is  by  no  means  an  easy  task,  as  many 
of  the  shells  are  so  covered  with  weeds,  coral,  and  sponge  as  to  bear 
little  resemblance  to  oysters.  After  they  have  been  scrubbed  and  the 
edges  have  been  chipped,  they  are  washed  and  stored  on  deck.  Early 
the  following  morning  they  are  opened  and  examined  for  pearls. 
This  opening  is  done  carefully  to  avoid  injury  to  any  pearl  that  may 
be  within.  The  hinge  of  the  shell  is  placed  on  the  deck  and  a  broad 
knife  forced  down  so  as  to  sever  the  adductor  muscle,  causing  the 
shells  to  spring  open  and  permitting  the  removal  of  the  soft  parts. 
The  flesh  is  carefully  examined,  both  by  sight  and  by  feeling,  to  locate 
all  pearls,  which  are  picked  out  by  hand  and  placed  in  a  suitable  re- 
ceptacle. Within  the  adductor  muscle  are  found  seed-pearls  and  small 
baroques ;  the  large  pearls  are  found  embedded  in  the  mantle,  where 
their  presence  may  be  detected  as  soon  as  the  shell  is  opened,  the  pearly 
gleam  contrasting  with  the  light  blue  of  the  mantle.  Sometimes, 
though  rarely,  large  pearls  are  found  loose  within  the  shell,  whence 


210  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

they  roll  out  when  the  shell  is  opened.  Valuable  pearls  are  occasionally 
removed  from  blisters  on  the  surface  of  the  shell,  or  from  within  the 
body  of  the  nacre  itself.  Even  when  empty,  these  blisters  are  valuable, 
and  are  especially  adapted  for  brooches  and  other  ornaments  requiring 
a  broad  and  relatively  flat  surface. 

After  the  flesh  has  been  carefully  examined  throughout,  it  is  dis- 
carded, as  it  is  not  considered  suitable  for  food,  and  the  shell  is  dried 
for  half  a  day  or  so  to  make  the  hinge  brittle  in  order  that  it  may  be 
broken  without  injury  to  the  mother-of-pearl.  After  the  shell  has 
been  roughly  cleaned,  it  is  placed  in  the  hold,  if  the  vessel  is  operating 
from  a  shore  station,  as  is  commonly  the  case  in  Torres  Straits.  Since 
long  exposure  to  the  sun  affects  the  quality  of  the  mother-of-pearl,  it 
is  important  that  it  be  kept  under  cover.  On  returning  to  the  station, 
it  is  thoroughly  cleaned,  assorted,  dried,  the  dark  edges  clipped  off,  and 
the  cleaned  shell  is  packed  in  shipping  cases,  each  containing  from  250 
to  325  pounds.  On  the  west  coast,  where  the  vessels  at  times  .operate 
200  or  300  miles  from  port,  the  shell  is  cleaned,  assorted  and  crated  on 
the  vessels;  whence  it  may  be  delivered  direct  to  the  steamers.  The 
Northwest  shell  is  somewhat  smaller  than  the  mature  shell  of  Torres 
Straits,  averaging  about  1 100  to  the  ton,  whereas  that  of  Thursday 
Island  runs  about  725  to  the  ton. 

It  is  very  difficult  to  prevent  the  theft  of  pearls  by  the  fishermen  as 
they  are  hable  to  treat  them  as  perquisites  if  not  carefully  watched. 
Indeed,  on  the  Torres  Straits  vessels  it  has  come  about  that  pearls  do 
not  constitute  a  recognized  source  of  income  to  the  proprietors.  There 
the  fishery  is  now  conducted  almost  exclusively  for  the  shells,  as  the 
wage-earners  secrete  probably  as  many  valuable  pearls  as  they  turn 
over  to  the  rightful  owners.  The  hot  sun  causes  many  of  the  oysters 
to  open,  and  deft  fingers  quickly  pick  out  such  pearls  as  may  be  visible. 
An  oyster  may  be  induced  to  open  its  shell  by  being  held  near  the 
galley  fire  on  the  lugger,  and  the  insertion  of  a  piece  of  cork  holds  it 
open  while  a  pearl  is  shaken  out  or  hooked  out  by  means  of  a  piece  of 
wire.  Then  the  cork  is  removed  and  the  oyster  closes  again  with  no 
evidence  of  robbery.  The  proprietors  of  boats  who  themselves  open 
the  oysters  almost  invariably  secure  larger  yields  of  fine  pearls  than 
those  who  depend  on  paid  employees,  who  rarely  have  the  luck  to  find 
choice  pearls,  judging  from  what  they  turn  in.  The  government  of 
Queensland  has  endeavored  to  put  a  stop  to  pearl  stealing,  and  by  en- 
actment^ of  1891,  it  restricted  all  selling  or  buying  of  pearls  within  the 
fishing  region  except  through  regularly  licensed  dealers,  whose  trans- 
actions are  open  to  examination. 

But  the  fishermen  seem  to  have  little  difficulty  in  evading  the  laws, 

'  55  Victorise,   No.  29. 


ISLANDS  OF  THE  PACIFIC  211 

and  throughout  the  fleet  the  men  have  become  so  adept  that  they  regard 
the  pearls  as  their  contraband  perquisites.  And  the  ease  with  which 
these  may  be  secreted  is  surpassed  only  by  the  facility  with  which  they 
may  be  sold,  notwithstanding  legislation  to  the  contrary.  Indeed, 
some  employers  make  no  claim  to  the  pearls  found,  thus  enabling  them 
to  secure  fishermen  at  lower  rates  of  wages. 

As  previously  noted,  the  pearls  constitute  only  an  incidental  catch  in 
(he  fisheries  on  the  Australian  coast,  but  in  the  aggregate  the  yield  is 
very  large.  The  yield  in  the  northwest  Australian  fishery  in  1906 
is  estimated  at  £50,000,  local  valuation;  in  the  Queensland  fishery 
£33,000;  in  that  of  South  Australia  £5000,  a  total  of  £88,000  or 
$440,000.'  Relatively  few  seed-pearls  are  obtained,  and  some  of  the 
pearls  are  of  great  size.  Some  beautiful  specimens  have  been  found, 
but  usually  they  have  less  luster  and  are  more  irregular  in  form  than 
the  Persian  or  the  Indian  output. 

Among  the  remedies  suggested  for  improving  the  condition  of  the 
Australian  pearl  reefs  may  be  mentioned  the  establishment  of  six 
inches  as  the  minimum  size  of  the  shell  that  may  be  taken  ( five  inches  is 
now  permitted  in  Queensland,  and  there  is  no  restriction  in  Western 
Australia),  the  closure  of  certain  areas  for  stated  periods  from  time 
to  time,  and  a  limit  on  the  number  of  vessels  employed.  The  govern- 
ment resident  at  Thursday  Island,  Mr.  Hugh  Milman,  who  has  had 
long  acquaintance  with  the  industry,  strongly  recommends  the  adop- 
tion of  a  system  of  artificial  culture;  and  in  the  meantime,  to  foster  the 
industry,  "licenses  should  be  granted  to  a  reduced  number  of  boats  and 
certain  sheltered  areas  should  be  closed  altogether  for  a  few  years 
to  give  the  beds  time  to  recover.  This  latter  procedure,  however,  the 
pearlers  themselves  are  not  in  favor  of,  as  they  are  of  the  opinion  that 
the  weather  conditions  against  which  they  have  to  contend  are  sufficient 
protection  to  prevent  the  denudation  of  the  principal  grounds." 

A  few  years  ago  certain  areas  in  Torres  Straits  were  proclaimed 
closed  for  a  period  against  the  removal  of  pearl  shell ;  but,  owing  to  the 
want  of  effective  patrol,  the  shell  was  poached  to  a  very  large  extent, 
and  consequently  the  good  that  should  have  resulted  from  the  experi- 
ment was  not  apparent.  Owing  to  the  impracticability  of  continuous 
patrol,  and  the  want  of  proper  legislation  to  bring  die  offenders  to 
book,  it  was  decided  to  remove  the  restrictions. 

The  Sharks  Bay  fishery,  to  which  we  have  previously  referred,^  is 
prosecuted  by  means  of  small  sail-boats  using  light  dredges,  except  in 
the  case  of  the  very  shallow  or  "pick-up  banks,"  where  the  oysters  are 
commonly  removed  by  hand.     Some  years  ago  this  fishery  was  of 

'  To  this   should  be  added   the  output  of  Sharks    Bay,    amounting   to   £2000   in    1906, 
making  a  total  of  $450,000.  "  See  pp.  70  and  200. 


212  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

much  local  importance;  but  the  developing  scarcity  of  the  oysters, 
and  the  present  low  value  of  this  grade  of  shell  in  Europe,  due  to  the 
competition  with  Mississippi  shell,  have  resulted  in  a  great 
reduction.  In  1905,  the  industry  gave  employment  to  17  small 
boats  and  42  men,  of  whom  18  were  Europeans,  13  Asiatics, 
and  1 1  aboriginal  natives.  The  yield  of  pearls,  according  to  ofificial  re- 
port of  the  government  of  Western  Australia,  approximated  £2000  in 
value,  and  of  pearl  shell  there  was  88  tons,  with  a  declared  value  of 
£607.  In  1896  the  government  of  Western  Australia  surveyed  the 
Sharks  Bay  reefs,  and  opened  them  to  preemption  in  small  areas  for 
cultivating  this  species  of  pearl-oyster.  At  present  they  are  mostly 
held  under  exclusive  licenses  for  a  period  of  fourteen  years.  The  busi- 
ness is  under  an  elaborate  system  of  regulations;  but  as  appears  from 
the  above  figures  the  results  have  not  been  important. 

Pearls  are  more  numerous  in  this  pearl-oyster  than  in  the  two  other 
Australian  species.  In  removing  them  from  the  flesh,  a  modification 
of  the  Ceylon  process  is  adopted.  The  mollusks  are  opened  by  means 
of  a  knife,  and  the  contents  of  the  shells  are  placed  in  vats  or  tubs — 
known  locally  as  "poogie  tubs";  and,  exposed  to  the  hot  sun,  are  al- 
lowed to  putrefy.  Sea-water  is  added,  and  the  putrid  mass  stirred; 
after  several  days  the  water  and  the  thoroughly  disintegrated  flesh 
tissues  are  decanted,  leaving  the  pearls  at  the  bottom.  The  odor  from 
a  number  of  these  "poogie  tubs"  is  said  to  almost  rival  that  of  the 
"washing  toddies"  at  Marichchikadde. 

The  Sharks  Bay  pearls  are  commonly  yellowish  or  straw  colored, 
and  sometimes  have  a  beautiful  golden  tinge.  Although  obtained 
from  small  shells,  they  are  sometimes  of  considerable  size — twenty 
grains  or  more  in  weight,  and  fine  specimens  sell  for  several  hundred 
dollars  each.  China  and  India  furnish  better  markets  for  them  than 
Europe  or  America. 


PEARL  FISHERIES  OF  THE  MALAY  ARCHIPELAGO 

]My  thoughts  arise  and  fade  in  solitude ; 
The  verse  that  would  invest  them  melts  away 
Like  moonlight  in  the  heaven  of  spreading  day. 
How  beautiful  they  were,  how  firm  they  stood, 
Flecking  the  starry  sky  like  woven  pearl. 

Shelley,  My  Thoughts. 

For  nearly  four  hundred  years,  pearls  and  pearl  shells  have  been  the 
most  beautiful  objects  which  have  reached  the  outside  world  from  the 
many  islands  of  the  Malay  Archipelago,     On  his  visit  to  this  part  of 


eighing,  and  packing  muther-of-pearl,  uff  the  cuast  uf  Au&lra 


ISLANDS  OF  THE  PACIFIC  ,  213 

the  world  in  1520,  Pigopitta,  a  companion  of  Magalhaes,  reported 
pearls  among  the  prized  possessions  of  the  natives.  The  fisheries  have 
never  been  of  great  importance,  although  the  reefs  are  widely  scattered 
throughout  the  archipelago,  and  the  possibilities  seem  favorable  for 
very  great  development.  Thomas  de  Comyn  stated  a  century  ago,  that 
pearl  fisheries  had  been  undertaken  "from  time  to  time  about  Min- 
danao, Zebu,  and  some  of  the  smaller  islands,  but  with  little  success 
and  less  regularity,  not  because  of  a  scarcity  of  fine  pearls,  but  on  ac- 
count of  a  lack  of  skill  of  the  divers  and  their  well-established  dread 
of  sharks."^ 

Giacinto  Gemmi,"  writing  of  Philippine  pearls,  repeats  a  strange 
tale  from  the  "Storia  de  Mindanao"  by  the  Jesuit  father.  Combes,  to 
the  effect  that  in  a  certain  spot,  under  many  fathoms  of  water,  there 
was  a  pearl  of  inestimable  value,  as  large  as  an  egg ;  but,  although  the 
king's  ministers  had  made  every  effort  to  have  it  secured,  they  had  al- 
ways been  unsuccessful. 

During  the  last  thirty  years,  pearls  and  pearl  shells  have  been 
secured  from  most  of  the  inshore  waters  of  Malaysia,  but  the  output 
has  not  been  so  regular  or  so  extensive  as  the  conditions  seem  to  war- 
rant. Our  observation  leads  to  the  conviction  that  this  is  not  due  so 
much  to  lack  of  skill  on  the  part  of  the  divers,  or  to  their  dread  of 
sharks,  mentioned  by  Comyn ;  but  to  the  fact  that  foreign  capital,  at- 
tracted to  this  part  of  the  world,  has  found  more  security  and  profit  in 
developing  plantations,  and  the  natives  have  not  had  sufficient  enter- 
prise to  systematize  and  develop  the  fishery  resources. 

Throughout  Malaysia,  including  the  Philippine  Islands,  the  pearl  is 
known  as  nmtya,  mootara,  or  a  similar  name,  closely  resembling  the 
Sanskrit  miikta  or  the  Cingalese  niootoo,  indicating  the  source  of  the 
influence  originating  the  fishery  and  trade. 

The  most  widely-known  pearl  fisheries  of  Malaysia  are  in  the  Sulu 
Archipelago,  a  group  of  islands  comprising  about  1000  square  miles 
in  area,  and  containing  a  population  of  100,000.  The  beautiful  yellow 
pearls  shared  with  the  many  acts  of  piracy  in  attracting  attention  to 
this  group  previous  to  1878,  when  the  islands  were  brought  under  the 
influence  of  Spanish  rule;  and  since  the  Spanish- American  War,  pearl 
fishing  has  been  the  leading  industry,  though  it  has  received  less  atten- 
tion from  outside  sources,  perhaps,  than  has  the  existence  of  slavery 
and  harems  as  part  of  the  social  system. 

Writing  in  1820,  John  Crawfurd  stated  that  the  annual  export  of 
pearls  from  Sulu  Islands  to  China  approximated  25,000  Spanish  dol- 
lars in  value,  and  the  mother-of-pearl  similarly  exported  was  worth 

'  ComjTi,  "State  of  the  Philippine  Islands,"  '"Storia    Naturale    delle    Genime,"  Naples, 

London,  1820,  pp.  38,  39-  I730.     Vol.  I,  p.  461. 


214  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

70,000  dollars.  "Considering  the  turbulent  and  piratical  habits  of  the 
natives  of  the  Sulu  group,  it  is  certain  that  a  greater  share  of  skill  and 
industry  than  can  at  present  be  applied  to  the  fisheries,  would  greatly 
enhance  the  value  and  amount  of  their  produce."  ^ 

In  the  Sulu  Archipelago,  the  pearl-oyster  reefs  exist  from  Sibutu 
Pass  to  Basilan  Strait,  and  roughly  cover  an  estimated  area  of  15,000 
square  miles ;  that  is,  in  the  most  favorable  localities  throughout 
this  area,  pearl-oysters  occur  to  a  greater  or  less  extent.  The  fish- 
eries are  prosecuted  by  Malays  and  Chinese,  and  are  largely  centered 
at  Sulu. 

Pearl-oysters  occur  about  many  other  islands.  They  exist  at 
Maimbun  and  Parong;  and  also  off  the  island  of  Tapul  and  its  neigh- 
bor Lagos,  both  southwest  of  Maimbun.  In  the  channels  among  these 
islands,  on  the  rocky  gravelly  bottom  where  there  is  a  good  current, 
oysters  are  commonly  found.  They  also  occur  off  Laminusa,  north- 
east of  Tawi-Tawi,  at  Cuyo  Island,  and  in  the  waters  about  Malam- 
paya  and  Bacuit. 

The  large  mother-of-pearl  oyster  (Margarififera  inaxima)  known 
locally  as  concha  de  nacr,  is  by  far  the  most  abundant.  When  full- 
grown  in  this  region  it  is  ordinarily  between  ten  and  thirteen  inches 
in  diameter.  The  young  oyster  attaches  itself  to  the  bottom  by  means 
of  the  green  byssus ;  but  after  attaining  a  weight  of  one  pound,  it  is 
too  heavy  to  be  easily  moved  by  the  tide,  and  the  ligature  gradually 
disappears.  The  Australian  "black  lip"  (Margaritifera  margari- 
tifera),  known  here  as  concha  de  nagra,  is  also  found.  In  these  waters 
it  attains  a  diameter  of  about  eight  inches,  but  most  specimens  are  con- 
siderably smaller. 

There  is  another  pearly  shell  in  the  Philippines,  a  spiral  gasteropod 
known  locally  as  caracoles,  which  is  ordinarily  five  or  six  inches  in 
diameter,  and  has  a  beautiful  pearly  surface.  This  yields  very  few 
pearls ;  it  is  sought  for  pearl-button  manufacture,  selling  for  about  the 
same  as  the  concha  de  nagra. 

Streeter  states  that  it  is  declared  by  the  natives  of  the  Sulu  Archi- 
pelago that  pearls  of  a  yellowish  hue  have  been  found  in  the  pearly 
nautilus  (Nautilus  pompilius) ,  one  of  the  group  of  cephalopodous  mol- 
lusks.  As,  however,  there  is  a  superstition  that  they  bring  ill  luck,  the 
natives  say  that  they  throw  them  away,  believing  that  any  one  who 
should  fight  while  wearing  one  of  these  pearls  in  a  ring,  would  cer- 
tainly be  killed.  If  we  consider  the  habits  and  organism  of  this  remark- 
able animal,  and  the  splendid  nacreous  coating  of  its  shell,  the  assertion 
that  pearls  are  found  in  it  seems  quite  natural.  Indeed,  the  occur- 
rence of  pearls  in  the  pearly  nautilus  is  generally  recognized. 

*  Crawfurd,  "History  of  the  Indian  Archipelago,"  Edinburgh,  1820,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  445- 


ISLANDS  OF  THE  PACIFIC  215 

For  many  years  the  successive  sultans  of  Sulu  exercised  authority 
over  the  fisheries  and— in  addition  to  exacting  certain  percentages  and 
presents  from  the  fishermen— claimed  as  their  perquisites  all  pearls 
exceeding  a  designated  weight.  The  fisheries  were  prosecuted  by 
nude  divers,  of  whom  there  were  a  large  number.  A  Chinese  com- 
pany had  been  particularly  fortunate  in  its  relations  with  the  Sulus, 
and  had  an  extensive  equipment  in  the  fishery,  consisting  of  a  number 
of  small  vessels,  each  carrying  a  crew  of  seven  men,  who  used  diving- 
suits.  In  addition  to  these,  some  of  the  native  Moros  owned  boats 
from  which  diving-suits  were  employed. 

Following  the  Spanish-American  War  and  the  transfer  of  the  Phil- 
ippine Islands  to  America,  several  vessels  proceeded  to  engage  in  the 
fisheries  without  previously  consulting  the  representatives  of  the  Sul- 
tan of  Sulu.  This  called  forth  from  that  official  an  appeal  to  the  Ameri- 
can authorities  for  protection  in  his  claims.  He  gave  an  account  of  the 
pearl  fishery  in  this  interesting  document,  which  we  quote  at  length — 
through  the  courtesy  of  the  American  Bureau  of  Insular  Affairs — be- 
cause of  the  light  it  throws,  not  only  on  the  industry,  but  also  on  the 
characteristics  of  these  people  with  whom  the  American  government  is 
now  dealing. 


STATEMENT  MADE  BY  THE  SULTAN  OF  SULU  RELATIVE  TO  THE  PEARL  FISHERIES 
(Forwarded  by  the  Governor  of  Moro  Province.) 

[Translation.]  (Seal  of  the  Sultan.) 

No  date. 

I  beg  to  inform  my  father,  the  civil  governor,  Major  Scott,  as  you  want  to 
know  about  the  mother-of-pearl  shell,  why  it  is  the  right  of  all  Sulu  people, 
above  all  my  own  right,  this  is  the  reason : 

The  forefathers  of  the  Sulu  people  used  to  take  the  mother-of-pearl  shell 
from  the  downs  because  the  mother-of-pearl  shell  belonged  to  the  downs,  and 
they  took  them  to  eat  the  oyster  with  other  food ;  of  the  shell  they  made  plates 
and  saucers  to  put  the  food  on,  and  the  pearls  they  used  to  make  a  hole  through 
and  put  them  on  a  string  as  necklaces  for  their  children.  This  was  at  a  time 
when  no  other  nation  had  come  to  Sulu  to  buy  the  mother-of-pearl  shell. 

Later,  a  big  boat,  called  the  Samfyang,  wandered  from  China  to  Sulu ;  there 
were  on  board  many  people,  all  Chinese ;  it  was  loaded  with  merchandise.  The 
people  came  ashore  and  saw  the  mother-of-pearl  shell  which  the  Sulu  people 
were  carrying.  The  captain  of  the  boat  said :  "Have  you  many  more  of  these 
things?"  and  the  people  answered.  "Plenty;  this  is  what  we  take  from  the 
downs  to  eat  with  other  food."  The  Captain  said.  "Gather  me  plenty.  I  will 
buy  them  from  you.  The  people  went  and  gathered  them  and  bartered  them 
for  plates  and  saucers.  When  all  the  shells  from  the  downs  were  finished  they 


2i6  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

looked  into  the  deep,  and  that  is  how  they  found  the  pearHng  grounds,  and  the 
people  noted  them,  and  remembered  them.  This  is  what  they  agreed  upon ; 
whoever  finds  pearling  grounds  they  belong  to  him  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion. That  is  what  they  agreed  upon.  That  is  the  reason  why  the  Sulu  people 
have  the  right,  and  that  they  came  to  make  the  dredge  (badja)  to  get  the 
mother-of-pearl  shell  from  the  deep,  because  they  can  not  see  them. 

Later  Salips  came  from  Mecca  of  the  Arab  nation ;  they  came  to  Sulu  to 
convert  the  people  into  Mohammedans,  as  they  had  no  religion.  And  when  the 
Sulu  people,  including  the  islanders,  adopted  the  faith,  then  they  agreed  to 
have  a  sultan  and  they  elected  Saripul  Hassim  to  be  sultan.  Saripul  Hassim 
said:  "I  don't  want  you  to  make  me  your  sultan  if  I  do  not  know  what  the 
rights  of  the  sultan  are,  and  who  I  have  to  govern  over,  because  this  is  not  my 
country,  this  is  your  country." 

And  this  is  how  everybody  agreed  to  accept  him  as  sultan  over  Sulu  and  all 
the  islands;  this  is  how  he  became  Sultan  and  governed  over  all,  and  this  is 
how  Saripul  Hassim  accepted  to  be  the  sultan  of  Sulu,  to  have  full  power  over 
land  and  sea,  and  the  people's  rights,  where  they  got  their  living  from  on  land 
and  sea,  were  left  to  them,  because  they  were  the  means  of  their  getting  their 
livelihood. 

But  a  law  was  made,  if  they  found  valuables  in  the  sea,  such  as  pearls,  tor- 
toise shell,  ambal  or  anything  extraordinary,  they  have  to  show  it  to  the  sultan, 
and  if  the  pearls  weigh  six  chuchuk  or  over  they  become  the  share  of  the  sul- 
tan; if  they  do  not  have  that  weight,  the  people  can  do  with  them  as  they 
please  and  sell  them.  If  the  sultan  wants  them,  he  will  buy  them  according  to 
custom.  As  to  tortoise  shell,  if  they  weigh  two  kettles,  they  go  to  the  sultan, 
and  as  to  the  ambal,  whether  it  is  much  or  little,  it  falls  to  the  sultan.  Whoever 
finds  it  must  take  it  to  the  sultan.  Whoever  of  his  subjects  violates  this  law 
as  agreed  upon,  the  sultan  can  punish  him  as  he  pleases. 

They  accepted  this  law  as  agreed  upon,  to  be  carried  out  by  them  (sultan 
and  people),  and  their  descendants,  and  not  to  be  changed;  but  they  asked  of 
the  sultan  not  to  let  any  other  nation  take  a  share  in  this  industry ;  it  is  enough 
for  them ;  and  the  sultan  agreed  to  this  because  they  did  not  know  how  to  earn 
their  living  otherwise.  This  is  what  the  sultan  and  his  subjects  agreed  to  be- 
cause the  Sulu  had  no  other  treasures  on  land  beyond  the  cultivation  ;  the  trea- 
sures came  from  the  sea  only,  therefore  other  people  are  forbidden  because  this 
is  the  property  of  all  my  subjects,  and  especially  my  own. 

Recently,  in  my  time  and  in  the  Spanish  time,  there  came  to  me  Captain 
Tiana ;  he  wanted  to  dive  for  pearl  shells.  I  said  "I  cannot  give  you  my  con- 
sent at  once  because  since  our  forefathers  (sultan  and  people)  we  have  an 
agreement,  I  will  confer  with  my  people."  I  sent  for  the  chiefs  and  the  dattos 
and  I  told  them  about  it,  that  Captain  Tiana  came  to  me  and  asked  to  dive  for 
pearl  shells.  They  said  it  cannot  be  done,  because  there  is  an  agreement  be- 
tween our  forefathers  that  other  nations  cannot  join  in  this  industry  of  the 
Sulu  seas,  because  there  is  no  other  means  of  earning  a  living  for  your  sub- 
jects. 

I  informed  Captain  Tiana  of  it.     He  said:  "Allow  me  to  dive  for  pearl 


Muru  bu^ts,  used  aiiiuiiy  the  puart  i^la[llis  ut   the  !Mj|j,y  ArLliipcl-igu 


R.ttt  usfil  Ii>r  pearl  fishin^i  in  the  Malay  Arcliipelj)^!) 


ISLANDS  OF  THE  PACIFIC  217 

shells,  I  will  give  toll  to  you  as  sultan  and  I  will  also  give  toll  to  the  owners  of 
the  pearl  grounds  according  to  what  we  agree  upon."' 

So  I  informed  all  the  owners  of  the  pearling  ground,  and  they  said,  "If  he 
is  really  in  earnest  to  give  toll  to  us  owners  of  the  ground  according  to  what 
we  agree  upon,  if  we  don't  agree,  we  will  not  allow  him  to  fish."  Thereupon 
Captain  Tiana  and  I  went  to  the  Spanish  governor  to  bear  witness.  The  gov- 
ernor said:  "All  right;  anything  you  agree  upon;  I  cannot  change  the  law  of 
the  Moro  people,  and  I  will  not  interfere." 

That  is  how  I  allowed  Captain  Tiana  to  fish,  and  I  gave  him  a  letter  of 
the  truth  according  to  agreement.  Therefore  if  any  person  of  other  nation 
wants  to  fish  for  mother-of-pearl  shell,  he  will  have  to  do  as  Captain  Tiana 
did,  and  ask  me  for  a  letter  of  truth,  and  if  he  has  no  letter  and  does  not  pay 
toll  to  the  owners  of  the  ground,  and  especially  to  me,  he  cannot  dive,  and  if 
he  violates  this  and  if  anything  befalls  him,  I  am  not  responsible  and  do  not 
want  to  be  held,  responsible,  because  the  mother-of-pearl  shells  are  like  the 
property  in  our  boxes  given  to  us  by  God.  They  do  not  go  away  from  the 
places  where  they  are  put,  they  are  not  like  fish  that  go  about.  Therefore,  we 
forbid  it.    It  is  our  heritage  from  our  forefathers. 

(Signed)   Hadji  Mohamad  Jamaul  Kiram, 

Sultan  of  Sulu. 
[Seal  of  the  Sultan.] 


Following  these  representations,  the  legislative  council  of  the  Moro 
province,  by  authority  of  the  Philippine  Commission,  interdicted  all 
fishing  for  pearl-oysters  within  three  marine  leagues  of  any  land 
within  the  territorial  limits  of  the  Moro  province,  without  license  first 
obtained  from  the  treasurer  of  the  district  within  which  the  vessel 
carries  on  the  major  part  of  its  operations.'  No  litense  was  to  be 
issued  to  any  vessel  not  owned  in  the  Philippine  Islands  or  in  the 
United  States,  and  not  wholly  owned  by  citizens  of  the  United  States, 
by  natives  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  or  by  persons  who  have  acquired 
the  political  rights  of  natives,"  except  that  foreign  vessels  which  for 
one  year  immediately  preceding  had  actually  engaged  in  pearl  fishing 
might  secure  license  to  continue  therein  for  a  period  of  five  years 
thereafter. 

Licenses  were  of  two  kinds,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  fishery. 
To  engage  in  fishing  with  the  aid  of  diving-suits,  the  fee  was  five 
hundred  pesos  annually,  for  each  of  the  greatest  number  of  divers 
beneath  the  surface  of  the  water  at  any  one  time.     For  fishing  with- 

'  Act  No.  51,  June  7,  1904.  province  to   amend   the   regulations   so  that. 

'  A    letter    from    the    Bureau    of    Insular  under  certain  restrictions,  vessels  of  foreign 

Affairs,    dated    November    20,    1906,    states:  build  may  engage  in  pearl  fisheries." 
"It  is  proposed  by  the  officials  of  the  Moro 


2i8  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

out  submarine  armor,  the  fee  was  five  pesos  annually,  for  each  of  the 
greatest  number  of  nude  divers  to  be  employed  by  the  vessel  during 
any  voyage,  and  the  same  sum  for  each  of  the  greatest  number  of 
dredges  or  rakes  to  be  employed  beneath  the  surface  at  any  one  time; 
but  this  did  not  apply  to  vessels  under  15  tons,  owned  and  operated 
wholly  by  native  Moros,  until  January  i,  1906. 

It  was  also  made  unlawful  to  catch  or  to  have  in  one's  possession 
within  the  Moro  province  "any  pearl  shell  or  any  bivalvular  or  lateral 
plate,  or  any  pearl  shell  of  less  than  4^  inches  in  diameter,  meas- 
ured with  a  flat,  rigid  measuring  rod  along  the  line  of  the 
ligament  which  joins  one  binocular  or  lateral  plate  to  the  other  at 
the  hinge,  unless  the  lateral  plate  of  such  shell  be  more  than  7  inches 
in  diameter  measured  with  a  flat,  rigid  measuring  rod  from  the  outer 
edge  of  the  horny  lips  to  the  center  of  the  hinge,  the  rod  being  so 
placed  as  to  form  a  right  angle  with  the  line  of  the  hinge." ^ 

According  to  a  report  furnished  by  the  Mining  Bureau  at  Manila, 
there  were  seven  vessels  fishing  with  diving-suits  in  the  Sulu  Archi- 
pelago in  1905,  each  representing  an  investment  of  about  6000  pesos. 
In  1906  there,  were  ten  vessels  engaged  in  this  industry,  and  the  col- 
lection on  licenses  for  that  fiscal  year  amounted  to  3375  pesos.  These 
vessels  are  mostly  small  Moro  craft  which  cannot  venture  upon  distant 
cruises  in  the  archipelago  for  prospecting  purposes,  and  their  opera- 
tions are  confined  for  the  most  part  to  the  immediate  vicinity  of 
Jolo.  Each  vessel  carries  one  diver,  a  tender,  a  cook,  and  four  sailors. 
In  addition  to  food  supplies,  the  sailors  and  the  cook  each  receive 
twelve  to  fifteen  pesos  per  month,  the  tender  thirty  to  forty  pesos  per 
month,  and  the  diver  the  same  amount  and  in  addition  thereto  a  bonus 
of  twenty  cents  for  each  shell  secured.  Near  Jolo  the  vessels  work 
throughout  the  year,  but  farther  north  very  little  fishing  is  done  from 
December  to  April,  when  monsoons  prevail.  The  man  in  charge 
of  each  vessel  is  obliged  by  law  to  keep  an  accurate  record  of  the 
number  and  weight  of  shells  found,  and  his  figures  are  checked  up 
by  a  customs  official  at  either  Jolo  or  Zamboanga,  the  ports  of 
discharge. 

To  enable  them  to  secure  pearl-oysters  at  depths  of  from  twenty  to 
forty  fathoms,  the  Sulus  have  long  made  use  of  a  dredge  (badja)  pecu- 
liarly constructed  of  native  materials,  and  admirably  adapted  to  the 
purpose.  This  consists  of  five  or  more  long  wooden  teeth  slightly 
curved  and  spreading  outward,  with  an  expanse  at  the  ends  of  twenty 
inches  or  more.  The  dredge  is  properly  balanced  by  two  stones,  and  a 
bridle  rope  is  so  attached  to  it  that,  when  thrown  overboard  and 
towed  behind  a  canoe  drifting  with  the  current  or  the  wind,  the  im- 

'Act  No.  43,  amended  June  7,  1904. 


ISLANDS  OF  THE  PACIFIC  219 

plement  rests  on  the  curve  of  the  teeth,  which  are  in  almost  a  hori- 
zontal position.  As  the  teeth  enter  the  gaping  shell  of  an  oyster  lying 
on  the  bottom,  the  animal  instantly  closes  tightly  on  the  intruder  and 
effects  its  own  capture.  The  principle  is  similar  to  that  of  the  "crow- 
foot" dredge  of  the  Mississippi  River,  although  the  design  of  the 
implement  is  radically  different.  A  second  rope  is  attached  so  as  to 
raise  and  lower  the  implement  and  to  detach  it  from  corals,  rocks,  and 
other  objects  against  which  it  may  catch  in  its  course  on  the  bottom. 
This  dredge  is  designed  for  very  deep  areas,  where  the  bottom  is 
relatively  smooth. 

The  Moros  employ  yet  another  method  of  fishing,  using  a  mag- 
tung-tting  or  three-pronged  catcher,  which  is  let  down  by  a  rattan 
rope  and  by  means  of  which  individual  shells  sighted  from  the  sur- 
face are  obtained.  When  the  water  is  perfectly  clear  this  implement 
can  be  operated  where  the  depth  is  fifteen  or  eighteen  fathoms,  but  its 
use  is  impractical  where  the  water  is  clouded  or  there  is  even  a  slight 
ripple  on  the  surface. 

However,  the  bulk  of  the  catch  is  made  by  the  nude  divers,  of  which 
there  are  hundreds  at  Maimbun,  Tapul,  Lugus  and  elsewhere.  In  their 
small  boats  these  Moro  fishermen  visit  the  reefs,  where  the  boats  are 
anchored.  Provided  only  with  a  short,  heavy  knife,  with  which  to 
release  the  shells  from  the  bottom  or,  perchance,  as  a  weapon  of 
defense  against  sharks  and  other  fish,  they  enter  the  water  feet  first, 
but  soon  turn  and  descend  head  downward,  precisely  as  on  the  Aus- 
tralian coast,  swimming  toward  the  bottom  with  bold  strokes.  The 
Sulu  pearl-divers — and  especially  those  at  Parang,  Patian  and  Sicu- 
bun — are  among  the  most  expert  in  the  world.  They  easily  penetrate 
to  twelve  fathoms  and,  if  necessary,  to  eighteen  or  twenty  fathoms. 
But  they  are  not  very  industrious,  and  seldom  descend  more  than 
twelve  or  fifteen  times  a  day,  preferring  rather  to  go  with  their  wants 
half  satisfied  than  to  satiate  them  by  more  active  exertions. 

Many  descents  may  be  necessary  to  locate  and  obtain  a  single  oyster, 
but  when  this  is  secured  the  shell  alone  may  ordinarily  be  traded  for 
sufficient  to  supply  the  fisherman's  needs  for  several  days,  and  there 
is  always  the  chance  of  a  pearl.  After  a  short  day  of  labor,  the  fisher- 
men return,  and  the  oysters  which  they  have  secured  are  opened  and 
examined  for  pearls.  After  the  flesh  has  been  carefully  searched  it  is 
placed  in  the  sun  to  dry  and,  later,  to  be  used  for  food,  and  the  shells 
are  carefully  cleaned  and  placed  under  cover  until  they  may  be  barte'-ed 
or  sold. 

The  Sulu  shell  is  characterized  by  a  peculiar  yellowish  tint  around 
the  rim,  by  means  of  which  it  is  readily  distinguished.  Its  size  and 
beautiful  iridescence  make  it  very  attractive,  and  for  choice  individ- 


220  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

ual  specimens  high  prices  are  received.  It  is  the  largest  of  the  mother- 
of-pearl  shells,  single  half-shells  of  "bold"  size  average  one  and  one 
half  pounds  in  weight,  while  some  attain  a  weight  of  six  pounds.  The 
body  of  the  shell  furnishes  the  most  beautiful  of  all  mother-of-pearl, 
yet  the  necessity  for  discarding  the  yellow  rim,  or,  rather,  for  using  it 
%|Beparate  from  the  rest,  makes  it  unpopular  with  manufacturers.  The 
annual  product  is  estimated  at  200  tons,  valued  in  London  and  New 
York  at  $200,000,  and  of  pearls  about  $30,000  worth. 

The  Sulu  pearls  are  frequently  large  and  of  choice  quality,  but  they 
are  far  more  inclined  to  a  yellowish  tint  than  those  from  Australian 
waters,  1300  miles  southward.  The  sultans  accumulated  the  finest  col- 
lection of  them,  and  some  of  these  found  their  way  into  the  markets 
from  time  to  time  as  the  condition  of  the  exchequer  ran  low  or  royal 
emergency  required,  as  in  1882,  for  instance,  when  it  was  necessary  to 
defray  the  expense  of  Sultan  Buderoodin's  pilgrimage  to  Mecca.  Dur- 
ing the  last  six  or  seven  years,  much  has  been  heard  of  the  present 
sultan's  collection,  which  he  largely  inherited,  and  some  fairly  good 
specimens  have  been  presented  to  prominent  Americans. 

Pearl-oysters  are  among  the  important  resources  of  the  inshore  wa- 
ters of  the  Dutch  East  Indies,  including  the  surrounding  seas  of  Su- 
matra, Java,  Borneo,  Celebes,  the  Aru  Islands,  the  Moluccas  or  Spice 
Islands,  and  Papua  or  New  Guinea.  For  very  many  years  the  natives 
have  gathered  pearl  shell  and  pearls  from  these  waters,  and  especially 
on  the  coast  of  the  Aru  Islands,  at  Gilolo  or  Halmahera,  and  the  islands 
thereabout,  on  the  east  coast  of  Celebes,  and  about  the  Sunda  group. 
The  collections  were  made  in  the  shallow  waters  by  beach-combing  and 
by  nude  diving,  and  were  bartered  with  the  Chinese  and  Arab  traders 
sailing  from  Singapore,  Macassar,  and  other  ports.  Occasionally  a 
pearling  vessel  from  Singapore  or  from  Torres  Straits  would  try  its 
luck  in  these  waters ;  but,  except  for  the  work  of  the  natives,  the  reefs 
were  practically  untouched  previous  to  1883. 

As  the  Australian  fleet  increased  in  size  and  the  oysters  became 
scarce  in  Torres  Straits  and  on  the  northwest  coast,  some  of  the  vessels 
occasionally  visited  the  Aru  Islands,  the  coast  of  Papua,  etc.  These 
met  with  considerable  success  and  the  number  of  trips  increased,  es- 
pecially in  1893,  when  oysters  were  unusually  scarce  in  Australia. 

The  following  year,  1894,  the  government  restricted  the  fishery  to 
inhabitants  of  the  Netherlands  and  of  Netherlands  India,  or  to  com- 
panies established  in  those  countries  and  operating  under  the  Dutch 
flag.  Owing  to  the  activity  of  Dutch  capital  in  coffee,  tobacco  and 
other  plantation  enterprises,  the  pearl  resources  received  very  little  at- 
tention from  them.  The  success  of  the  Australian  fishery  encouraged 
the  formation  in  1896  of  an  Amsterdam  company  to  exploit  the  Aru 


Pearling  village,  witli  yuullitul  fishermen.      Sulu  Islands 


•*««&■ 


Japanese  diver  in  Dutch  East  Indies,  come  up  tu  "  bluw  "   for  a  few  minutes 


ISLANDS  OF  THE  PACIFIC  221 

grounds ;  but  apparently  without  financial  success,  for  it  liquidated  in 
1898. 

In  the  meantime,  residents  of  these  islands  paid  more  and  more  at- 
tention to  the  pearl  fishery;  also  Europeans,  Chinamen  and  Arabs 
arranged  with  the  native  chiefs  for  fishing  in  their  territorial  waters, 
paying  therefor  a  fixed  sum  in  cash  or  a  percentage  of  the  catch,  which 
was  permitted  on  approval  by  the  governor  general  of  Dutch  India. 
The  fleet  continued  to  increase  from  year  to  year,  and  in  1905  there 
was  a  very  large  influx  of  vessels  from  the  Australian  fisheries,  no 
luggers  and  7  tenders  coming  from  Thursday  Island  alone. 

The  species  are  the  same  as  occur  on  the  northern  coast  of  Australia, 
the  "silver-edge"  or  "golden  lip"  (Margaritifera  maxima)  occurring 
in  greatest  abundance,  and  the  "black  lip"  (M.  margaritifera)  to  a  less 
extent. 

The  shells  are  the  principal  object  of  the  search,  and  the  pearls  found 
incidentally  form  an  additional  source  of  revenue.  These  shells  divide 
with  those  of  Australia  the  reputation  of  being  the  most  valuable  in 
the  world.  They  are  commonly  known  in  the  trade  by  the  name  of  the 
port  from  which  they  are  originally  shipped,  as  Manila,  Macassar, 
Banda,  Ceram,  Penang,  Mergui,  etc.  Before  the  exploitation  of  the 
Australian  grounds,  they  sold  at  very  high  prices,  and  $2000  or  more 
per  ton  was  sometimes  realized  for  those  of  the  best  quality.  Singa- 
pore is  the  headquarters  for  supplies  for  the  industry  in  all  this  region, 
and  it  is  from  that  port  that  the  shells  and  pearls  are  mostly  distributed. 

The  pearls  obtained  in  Netherlands  India  are  of  choice  quality  and 
of  relatively  large  size,  a  considerable  percentage  of  them  weighing 
over  eight  grains,  and  fairly  good  pearls  of  fifty  grains  or  more  are 
occasionally  reported.  Colored  pearls  are  rarely  met  with,  nearly  all 
of  them  being  clear  white,  like  the  beautiful  Macassar  shell. 

At  Pados  Bay,  island  of  Borneo,  one  hundred  or  more  persons  find 
employment  fishing  the  Placuna  oysters,  selling  the  shells  for  about 
$2  per  picul  (139  pounds  to  the  picul),  the  dried  meats  at  $4  to  $6  a 
picul,  and  the  seed-pearls  (selcesip)  at  about  $2  per  mayam.  Many 
of  these  pearls  are  sold  in  the  village  of  Batu  Batu.  When  a  fisherman 
buys  his  few  necessaries  at  the  Chinese  shops,  he  pulls  out  his  little 
package  of  seed-pearls  and  pays  in  that  currency,  the  Chinaman  mak- 
ing a  good  profit  by  the  transaction. 


X 


AMERICAN  PEARLS 

VENEZUELA,   PANAMA,   MEXICO,   AMERICAN  FRESH  WATERS, 

MISCELLANEOUS 


X 

PEARL  FISHERIES  OF  VENEZUELA 

When  I  discovered  the  Indies,  I  said  that  they  composed  the  rich- 
est country  in  the  world.  I  spake  of  gold  and  pearls  and  precious 
stones,  and  the  traffic  that  might  be  carried  on  in  them. 

Extract  from  Columbus's  Fourth  Letter. 

THE  Caribbean  Sea  furnishes  one  of  the  most  interesting  chap- 
ters in  the  history  of  the  pearl  fisheries.     In  no  region  of  the 
world  have  these  resources  caused  more  rapid  exploitation  or 
aflfected  the  inhabitants  to  a  greater  extent  than  on  the  shores 
of  Venezuela. 

Before  the  discovery  of  America,  the  natives  of  this  region  collected 
pearls  from  the  mollusks  which  they  opened  for  food  in  times  of 
necessity,  and  also  sought  them  for  ornamental  purposes.  And  al- 
though they  had  large  collections  which  they  used  for  personal  orna- 
mentation and  for  decorating  their  temples,  it  does  not  appear  that 
they  prized  them  extravagantly,  readily  bartering  them  for  small 
returns. 

In  Columbus's  account  of  his  third  and  fourth  voyages  to  America, 
he  repeatedly  refers  to  pearls.  On  the  third  voyage,  in  1498,  after 
passing  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco  River,  he  entered  the  Gulf  of  Paria, 
where  the  natives  "came  to  the  ship  in  their  canoes  in  countless  num- 
bers, many  of  them  wearing  pieces  of  gold  on  their  breasts,  and  some 
with  bracelets  of  pearls  on  their  arms  ;  seeing  this  I  was  much  delighted 
and  made  many  inquiries  with  the  view  of  learning  where  they  found 
them.  They  replied  that  they  were  to  be  procured  in  their  own  neigh- 
borhood and  also  at  a  spot  to  the  northward  of  that  place.  I  would 
have  remained  here,  but  the  provisions  of  corn,  and  wine,  and  meats, 
which  I  had  brought  out  with  so  much  care  for  the  people  whom  I  had 
left  behind,  were  nearly  wasted,  so  that  all  my  anxiety  was  to  get  them 
into  a  place  of  safety,  and  not  to  stop  for  anything.  I  wished,  how- 
ever, to  get  some  of  the  pearls  that  I  had  seen,  and  with  that  view 
sent  the  boats  on  shore.     I  inquired  there  also  where  the  pearls  were 


226  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

obtained.  And  they  likewise  directed  me  to  the  westward  and  also  to 
the  north  behind  the  country  they  occupied.  I  did  not  put  this  infor- 
mation to  the  test,  on  account  of  the  provisions  and  the  weakness  of 
my  eyes  and  because  the  ship  was  not  calculated  for  such  an  under- 
taking." 

In  his  letter  to  one  of  the  queen's  attendants,  written  in  1500, 
Columbus  says,  in  justification  of  his  conduct  toward  his  miserable 
detractors:  'T  believed  that  the  voyage  to  Paria  would  in  some  degree 
pacify  them  because  of  the  pearls  and  the  discovery  of  gold  in  the 
island  of  Espaiiola.  I  left  orders  for  the  people  to  fish  for  pearls,  and 
called  them  together  and  made  an  agreement  that  I  should  return  for 
them,  and  I  was  given  to  understand  that  the  supply  would  be  abun- 
dant." 

And  again  in  the  same  letter,  after  speaking  of  a  quantity  of  gold 
which  mysteriously  disappeared  when  Governor  Bobadilla  sent  him 
and  his  brothers  loaded  with  chains  to  Spain,  he  says:  "I  have  been  yet 
more  concerned  respecting  the  affair  of  the  pearls,  that  I  have  not 
brought  them  to  their  Majesties.  .  .  .  Already  the  road  is  opened  to 
gold  and  pearls,  and  it  may  surely  be  hoped  that  precious  stones, 
spices,  and  a  thousand  other  things  will  also  be  found." 

A  more  detailed  account  of  Columbus's  pearling  adventures,  and  of 
the  subsequent  discoveries  and  explorations  on  the  Caribbean  coast  is 
given  by  Francisco  Lopez  de  Gomara  in  his  "Historia  general  de  las 
Indias,"  published  in  1554,  of  which  the  following  is  a  literal  trans- 
lation slightly  abridged : 

Since  there  are  pearls  on  more  than  four  hundred  leagues  of  this  coast 
between  Cape  Vela  and  the  Gulf  of  Paria,  before  we  proceed  farther  it  is 
proper  to  say  who  discovered  them.  In  the  third  voyage  made  by  Christopher 
Columbus  to  the  Indies,  in  1498,  having  reached  the  island  of  Cubagua,  which 
he  called  "Isle  of  Pearls,"  he  sent  a  boat  with  certain  sailors  to  seize  a  boat  of 
fishermen,  to  learn  what  people  they  were  and  for  what  they  were  fishing. 
The  sailors  reached  the  shore  where  the  Indians  had  landed  and  were  watch- 
ing. A  sailor  broke  a  dish  of  Malaga  ware  and  went  to  trade  with  them  and 
to  look  at  their  catch,  because  he  saw  a  woman  with  a  string  of  rough  pearls 
(aljofar)  on  her  neck.  He  made  an  exchange  of  the  plate  for  some  strings  of 
rough  pearls,  white  and  large,  with  which  the  sailors  returned  highly  delighted 
to  the  ships.  To  assure  himself  better,  Columbus  ordered  others  to  go  with 
buttons,  needles,  scissors,  and  fragments  of  the  same  Valencian  earthenware, 
since  they  seemed  to  prize  it.  These  sailors  went  and  brought  back  more 
than  six  marcs  (forty-eight  ounces)  of  rough  pearls,  large  and  small,  with 
many  good  pearls  among  them.  Said  Columbus  then  to  the  Spaniards :  "We 
are  in  the  richest  country  of  the  world.  Let  us  give  thanks  to  the  Lord." 
They  wondered  at  seeing  all  those  rough  pearls  so  large,  for  they  had  never 
seen  so  many,  and  could  not  contain  their  delight.     They  understood  that  the 


AMERICAN  PEARLS 


227 


Indians  did  not  care  much  for  the  small  ones,  either  because  they  had  plenty 
of  large  ones,  or  because  they  did  not  know  how  to  pierce  them. 

Columbus  left  the  island  and  approached  the  land,  where  many  people  had 
collected  along  the  shore,  to  see  if  they  also  had  pearls.  The  shore  was  cov- 
ered with  men,  women,  and  children,  who  came  to  look  at  the  ships,  a  strange 
thing  for  them.  Many  Indians  presently  visited  the  ships,  went  on  board  and 
stood  amazed  at  the  dress,  swords,  and  beards  of  the  Spaniards,  and  the 
cannon,  tackle,  and  arms  of  the  ship.  Our  people  crossed  themselves,  and 
were  delighted  to  see  that  all  those  Indians  wore  pearls  on  their  necks  and 


8iin(&  Martft 


SB    A 


^BWNQUtLL*  .ip.\^^ 


Venezuela  and  Panama;   the  principal  pearling  regions  of  South  America 


wrists.     Columbus  asked  by  signs  where  they  fished  them,  and  they  pointed 
to  the  coast  and  island. 

Columbus  then  sent  to  the  shore  two  boats  with  many  Spaniards,  for 
greater  certainty  of  those  new  riches,  and  because  they  importuned  him. 
The  chief  took  them  to  a  place  where  there  was  a  circular  building  that  re- 
sembled a  temple,  where  presently  much  bread  and  fruits  of  different  kinds 
were  brought.  At  the  end  of  the  feast  he  gave  them  pearls  for  sweetmeats, 
and  took  them  afterward  to  the  palace  to  see  the  women  and  the  arrangement 
of  the  house.  Of  the  numerous  women  there,  not  one  was  without  rings  of 
gold  and  necklaces  of  pearls.  The  Spaniards  returned  to  the  ships,  wonder- 
ing at  such  pearls  and  gold,  and  requested  Columbus  to  leave  them  there. 
But  he  did  not  wish  to  do  so,  saying  they  were  too  few  to  settle.     He  hoisted 


228  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

sail  and  ran  along  the  coast  as  far  as  Cape  Vela,  and  from  there  came  to  Santo 
Domingo,  with  the  intention  of  returning  to  Cubagua  after  regulating  the 
affairs  of  the  government.  He  suppressed  the  joy  he  felt  at  having  found 
such  treasures,  and  did  not  write  to  the  king  regarding  the  discovery  of 
pearls,  or  at  all  events  did  not  write  it  until  it  was  already  known  in  Castile. 
This  was  largely  the  cause  for  the  anger  of  the  king,  and  the  order  to  bring 
Columbus  a  prisoner  to  Spain.  They  say  that  he  did  not  so  much  intend  to 
conceal  this  discovery  from  the  king,  who  has  many  eyes,  as  that  he  thought 
by  a  new  agreement  to  get  this  rich  island  for  himself. 

Of  the  sailors  who  went  with  Christopher  Columbus  when  he  found  the 
pearls,  the  greater  number  were  from  Palos.  As  soon  as  these  came  to 
Spain,  they  told  about  the  country  of  pearls,  displayed  many,  and  carried  them 
to  Seville  to  sell,  whence  they  went  to  the  court  and  into  the  palace.  Excited 
by  this  report,  some  persons  there  hurriedly  prepared  a  ship  and  made  Pedro 
Alonso  Nifio  its  captain.  He  had  from  the  Catholic  king  license  to  go  in 
search  of  pearls  and  land,  provided  he  should  not  go  within  fifty  leagues 
of  any  discovered  by  Columbus. 

Niiio  embarked  in  August,  1499,  with  thirty-three  companions,  some  of 
whom  had  been  with  Columbus.  He  sailed  as  far  as  Paria,  visited  the  coast 
of  Cumana,  Maracapan,  Port  Plechado,  and  Curiana,  which  lies  united  to 
Venezuela.  There  he  landed,  and  a  chief,  who  came  to  the  coast  with  fifty 
Indians,  conducted  him  amicably  to  a  large  town  to  take  water,  refreshments, 
and  the  barter  he  was  in  search  of.  He  bartered  for  and  secured  fifteen 
ounces  of  pearls  in  exchange  for  pins,  rings  of  horn  and  tin,  glass  beads, 
small  bells,  and  similar  trifles.  The  Spaniards  stayed  in  the  town  twenty 
days,  trading  for  pearls.  The  natives  gave  a  pigeon  for  a  needle,  a  turtle- 
dove for  one  glass  bead,  a  pheasant  for  two,  and  a  turkey  for  four.  For  that 
price  they  also  gave  rabbits  and  quarters  of  deer.  The  Indians  asked  to  be 
shown  the  use  of  needles,  since  they  went  naked  and  could  not  sew,  and  were 
told  to  extract  the  thorns  with  them,  for  they  went  barefooted:  Nirio  brought 
to  Galicia  ninety-six  pounds  of  rough  pearls,  among  which  were  many  fine, 
round,  lustrous  ones  of  five  and  six  carats,  and  some  of  more.  But  they  were 
not  well  pierced,  which  was  a  great  fault.  On  the  route  a  quarrel  arose  over 
the  division,  and  certain  sailors  accused  Nino  before  the  governor  in  Galicia, 
saying  that  he  had  stolen  many  pearls  and  cheated  the  king  in  his  fifth,  and 
traded  in  Cumana  and  other  places  where  Columbus  had  been.  The  governor 
seized  Nino,  but  did  not  keep  him  in  prison  very  long,  where  he  consumed 
pearls  enough.^ 

This  expedition  of  Pedro  Alonso  Niiio  was  the  first  financially  profit- 
able voyage  to  America.  After  his  return,  the  Cubagua  pearl  fishery 
became  the  object  of  numerous  speculations,  and  many  other  Spaniards 
fitted  out  voyages,  most  of  them  sailing  from  Hispaniola  or  Haiti, 
nine  hundred  miles  distant.  Owing  to  the  ill  treatment  of  the  Indians 
and  excessive  cruelties  toward  them,  much  difficulty  was  experienced 

'"Historia  general  de  las  Indias,"  by  Francisco  Lopez  de  Gomara,  i2mo,  1554,  pp.  104- 106 b. 


GRAY   PEARLS  FROM   LOWER   CALIFORNIA,  AND   DIAMONDS 

Pan-American  Exposition,  1901 


AMERICAN  PEARLS  229 

in  securing  divers.  This  was  relieved  in  1508  by  transporting  large 
numbers  of  Indians  from  the  Lucayan  or  Bahama  Islands  and  im- 
pressing them  into  the  service.  These  were  so  expert  in  the  work  that 
individuals  sold  for  upward  of  150  ducats  each.'  With  their  aid  the 
fishery  prospered  so  greatly  that  in  15 15  a  settlement,  called  New 
Cadiz,  was  established  on  Cubagua  Island  by  the  governor  of  Hispa- 
niola,  Diego  Columbus,  son  of  the  discoverer.  This  small  island  was 
dry  and  desolate,  without  water  or  wood,  which  were  brought  from 
the  mainland  twenty  miles  distant,  or  from  Margarita  Island  about 
three  miles  to  the  northward. 

An  interesting  description  of  the  manner  of  securing  the  pearls  by 
these  early  adventurers  was  given  by  Gonzalo  Fernandez  de  Oviedo 
y  Valdes  (1478-1557)  in  his  "Historia  natural  y  general  de  las  In- 
dias,"  written  less  than  thirty  years  after  the  discovery  of  the  main- 
land of  America.  A  translation  of  this  book  was  published  in  1555 
by  Richard  Eden  in  his  "Decades  of  the  New  World";  from  which 
we  extract  the  following  account,  the  retention  of  Eden's  quaint 
phraseology  seeming  permissible  owing  to  this  being  one  of  the  very 
earliest  books  on  America. 


Of  the  maner  of  fyshynge  for  perks 

The  Indians  exercise  this  kynde  of  fyschynge  for  the  moste  parte  in  the 
coastes  of  the  North  in  Cubagua  and  Cumana.  And  manye  of  theym  which 
dwell  in  the  houses  of  certeyne  particular  lordes  in  the  Ilandes  of  San  Dom- 
inico  and  Sancti  lohannis,  resort  to  the  Ilande  of  Cubagua  for  this  purpose. 
Theyr  custome  is  to  go  fyve,  syxe,  or  seven,  or  more  in  one  of  theyr  Canoas 
or  barkes  erly  in  the  mornynge  to  sume  place  in  the  sea  there  about  where  it 
appearetli  unto  them  that  there  shulde  bee  greate  plentie  of  those  shell  fyshes 
(which  sume  caule  muscles  and  sume  oysters)  wherein  perles  are  engendered. 
And  there  they  plonge  them  selves  under  the  water,  even  unto  the  bottome, 
savynge  one  that  remaynethe  in  the  Canoa  or  boate  which  he  keepeth  styll  in 
one  place  as  neare  as  he  can,  lookynge  for  theyr  returne  owte  of  the  water. 
And  when  one  of  them  hath  byn  a  good  whyle  under  the  water,  he  ryseth  up 
and  commeth  swymmynge  to  the  boate,  enterynge  into  the  same,  and  leav- 
ynge  there  all  the  oysters  whiche  he  hath  taken  and  brought  with  hym.  For 
in  these,  are  the  perles  founde.  And  when  he  hathe  there  rested  hym  selfe  a 
whyle,  and  eaten  parte  of  the  oysters,  he  returneth  ageyne  to  the  water,  where 
he  remaynethe  as  longe  as  he  can  endure,  and  then  ryseth  ageyne,  and  swim- 
meth  to  the  boate  with  his  pray,  where  he  resteth  hym  as  before,  and  thus 
continueth  course  by  course,  as  doo  all  the  other  in  lyke  maner,  being  all  moste 
experte  swymmers  and  dyvers.     And  when  the  nyght  draweth  neare,  they 

'Herrera,  "Historia  general  de  los  hechos  de  los  Castellanos  en  las  islas  y  Tierra  Firme 
del  Mar  Oceano,"  Dec.  iii,  Book  VII,  ch.  3. 


230 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


returne  to  the  Ilande  to  theyr  houses,  and  presente  all  the  oysters  to  the  master 
or  stewarde  of  the  house  of  theyr  lorde  who  hath  charge  of  the  sayde  In- 
dians. And  when  he  hath  gyven  them  sumwhat  to  eate,  he  layeth  up  the 
oysters  in  safe  custodie  untyll  he  have  a  great  quantitie  thereof.  Then  hee 
causeth  the  same  fyssher  men  to  open  them.  And  they  fynde  in  every  of 
them  pearles  other  great  or  smaul,  two  or  three  or  foure,  and  sumtymes  five 
and  syxe,  and  many  smaule  graines  accordyng  to  the  lyberalitie  of  nature. 
They  save  the  pearles  bothe  smaule  and  great  whiche  they  have  founde :  And 
eyther  eate  the  oysters  if  they  wyl,  or  caste  them  away,  havynge  so  great 
quantitie  thereof  that  they  in  maner  abhorre  them.  Those  oysters  are  of 
hard  fleshe,  and  not  so  pleasant  in  eatyng  as  are  owres  of  Spayne.  This 
Ilande  of  Cubagua  where  this  manner  of  fysching  is  exercised,  is  in  the  Northe 
coaste,  and  is  no  bygger  then  the  Hand  of  Zelande.  Oftentymes  the  sea  en- 
creaseth  greatly,  and  muche  more  then  the  fyshers  for  pearles  wold,  bycause 
where  as  the  place  is  very  depe,  a  man  can  not  naturally  rest  at  the  bottome 
by  reason  of  the  aboundaunce  of  aery  substannce  whiche  is  in  hym,  as  I  have 
oftentymes  proved.  For  althoughe  he  may  by  vyolence  and  force  descende 
to  the  bottome,  yet  are  his  feete  lyfted  up  ageyne  so  that  he  can  continue  no 
tvme  there.  And  therefore  where  the  sea  is  verye  deepe,  these  Indian  fyshers 
use  to  tye  two  great  stoones  aboute  them  with  a  corde,  on  every  side  one,  by 
the  weyght  whereof  they  descend  to  the  bottome  and  remayne  there  untyl 
them  lysteth  to  ryse  ageine :  At  which  tyme  they  unlose  the  stones,  and  ryse 
uppe  at  their  pleasure.  But  this  their  aptenesse  and  agilitie  in  swimming,  is  not 
the  thynge  that  causeth  men  moste  to  marvaile :  But  rather  to  consyder  how 
many  of  them  can  stande  in  the  bottome  of  the  water  for  the  space  of  one 
hole  houre  and  summe  more  or  lesse,  accordynge  as  one  is  more  apte  hereunto 
then  an  other.  An  other  thynge  there  is  whiche  seemeth  to  me  very  straunge. 
And  this  is,  that  where  as  I  have  oftentymes  demaunded  of  summe  of  these 
lordes  of  the  Indians,  if  the  place  where  they  accustomed  to  fysche  for  pearles 
beynge  but  lyttle  and  narrowe  wyll  not  in  shorte  tyme  bee  utterly  without 
oysters  if  they  consume  them  so  faste,  they  al  answered  me,  that  although 
they  be  consumed  in  one  parte,  yet  if  they  go  a  fyschynge  in  an  other  parte 
or  on  another  coaste  of  the  Ilande,  or  at  an  other  contrary  wynd,  and  continue 
fysshing  there  also  untyll  the  oysters  be  lykewyse  consumed,  and  then  re- 
turne ageyne  to  the  fyrste  place,  or  any  other  place  where  they  fysshed  before 
and  emptied  the  same  in  lyke  maner,  they  find  them  ageine  as  ful  of  oysters 
as  though  they  had  never  bin  fysshed.  Wherby  we  may  judge  that  these 
oysters  eyther  remove  from  one  place  to  an  other  as  do  other  fysshes,  or  elles 
that  they  are  engendered  and  encrease  in  certeyne  ordinaire  places.  This 
Hand  of  Cumana  and  Cubagua  where  they  fyshe  for  these  perles,  is  in  the 
twelfe  degree  of  the  part  of  the  said  coaste  which  inclineth  toward  the 
North. 

The  cupidity  of  the  proprietors  of  the  fishery  led  to  most  cruel  treat- 
ment of  the  divers  and,  if  the  accounts  of  the  time  are  to  be  relied 
upon,  a  large  percentage  of  them  died  under  the  harsh  regime.    About 


AMERICAN  PEARLS  231 

1515  the  unfortunate  natives  obtained  an  earnest  and  influential  ad- 
vocate in  Bartolome  de  las  Casas,  who,  in  15 16,  prevailed  upon  the 
youthful  Charles  V  to  decree  that  the  fishery  should  be  prosecuted 
only  in  summer,  that  the  divers  should  not  be  required  to  work  more 
than  four  hours  a  day  where  the  depth  exceeded  six  fathoms,  that  they 
should  receive  good  nourishment  and  half  a  quart  of  wine  daily, 
should  have  hammocks  or  beds  in  which  to  sleep,  and  should  be  pro- 
vided with  clothes  to  put  on  as  soon  as  they  left  the  water.'  And  by 
later  ordinances  it  was  stipulated  that  death  should  be  inflicted  on  any 
one  forcing  a  free  Indian  to  dive  for  pearls. 

In  1528  the  resources  of  Coche  Island  were  exploited  with  so  much 
success  that  within  six  months  "1500  marcs  ( 12,000  ounces)  of  pearls" 
were  secured.  Pearl  banks  were  successively  found  at  Porlamar, 
Maracapana,  Curiano,  and  at  various  places  on  the  coast  from  the 
Gulf  of  Paria  to  the  Gulf  of  Coro,  a  distance  of  over  five  hundred 
miles,  which  became  designated  the  "Pearl  Coast."  For  a  number  of 
years  previous  to  1530,  the  output  exceeded  in  value  800,000  piastres 
annually,  approximating  one  half  the  produce  of  the  American  mines 
at  that  time."  It  was  largely  these  pearls  that  enriched  the  cargoes  of 
many  of  those  famous  caravels  that  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  Spain.  In- 
deed, for  several  decades,  America  was  best  known  in  continental 
Europe  as  the  land  whence  the  pearls  came. 

An  interesting  account  of  an  early  eft'ort  to  use  dredges  in  the 
Cubagua  pearl  fishery  was  given  by  Girolamo  Benzoni,  who  had  lived 
in  America  from  1542  to  1555,  and  was  familiar  with  the  conditions. 
He  states : 

At  the  time  the  pearl  fishery  flourished  on  this  island  there  came  here  one 
Louis  de  Lampugnan  with  an  imperial  license  authorizing  him  to  fish  such 
quantities  of  pearls  as  he  pleased  within  all  the  limits  and  bounds  of  Cubagua. 
This  man  set  out  from  Spain  with  four  caravels  loaded  with  all  the  necessary 
provisions  and  munitions  for  such  an  enterprise,  which  some  Spanish  mer- 
chants furnished  him.  He  had  made  a  kind  of  rake,  the  fashion  of  which  was 
such  that  in  whatever  part  of  the  sea  it  was  used,  not  an  oyster  would  escape. 
At  the  same  time  he  would  have  raked  and  drawn  out  all  that  bore  pearls  if 
he  had  not  been  disappointed.  But  the  Spaniards  in  Cubagua  all  banded 
against  him  in  the  execution  of  his  privilege.  They  said  the  emperor  was  too 
liberal  with  other  people's  goods,  and  if  he  wished  to  give  he  might  give  his 
own  as  he  wished.  As  for  'themselves  they  had  conquered  and  kept  that  coun- 
try with  great  labor  and  at  the  peril  of  their  lives,  and  there  were  far  better 
reasons  why  they  should  enjoy  it  than  a  stranger.  Poor  Lampugnan,  seeing 
that  his  patents  did  not  avail  him  the  value  of  a  straw,  and  at  the  same  time 
not  daring  to  return  to  Spain,  partly  through   fear  of  being  ridiculed  and 

'  Herrera,  "Descripcion  de  las  Indias  Occi-  "  Humboldt's    "Personal    Narrative,"    Vol. 

dentales,"  Dec.  iv,  Book  VI,  ch.  12.  II,  p.  273. 


232  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

partly  on  account  of  the  money  lie  owed,  was  ruined.  In  fact,  the  business  and 
its  anxieties  drove  him  crazy  and  he  was  exposed  to  the  mockery  of  all  the 
world  as  a  lunatic.  In  the  end,  after  dragging  out  five  years  in  this  miserable 
condition,  he  died  in  this  isle  of  Cubagua."^ 

The  average  size  of  these  pearls  derived  from  the  Venezuelan  fish- 
eries was  small,  specimens  rarely  exceeding  twenty  grains.  In  1577, 
Urbain  Chauveton  wrote :  "The  pearls  of  Cubagua  are  mostly  2,  3,  4, 
and  5  carats.  Btit  the  quantity  of  them  is  so  great  that  the  fifth  part 
which  is  paid  to  the  king  of  Spain  yields  every  year  the  value  of  more 
than  15,000  ducats;  this  besides  the  frauds  committed  and  the  pearls 
which  stick  to  the  fingers  of  those  who  manage  the  business,  and  who 
pilfer  the  most  beautiful  in  great  numbers,  sending  them  here  and 
there  for  sale.  They  place  themselves  in  great  danger  if  the  facts  be- 
come known,  but  they  do  it  all  the  same."^ 

The  enormous  demands  made  by  the  Spaniards  soon  had  its  effect 
on  the  resources,  for  Chauveton  adds:  "It  is  apparent  they  decrease 
and  not  so  many  are  found  as  in  the  beginning.  The  reason  for  this 
is  that  the  Spaniards  are  so  eager  to  gather  large  quantities  of  them 
quickly  that  they  are  not  content  to  use  their  divers  to  search  for  them 
in  the  depths  of  the  sea,  but  they  have  conceived  and  invented  I  know 
not  how  many  machines  of  rakes  and  drags  to  scrape  up  everything. 
In  fact  they  have  at  times  collected  them  all  so  that  another  could  not 
be  found,  and  have  had  to  abandon  their  fishing  for  a  considerable  time 
to  give  the  oysters  a  chance  to  lay  their  eggs  and  grow  their  pearls."* 

The  decrease  noted  by  Chauveton  was  probably  not  very  serious, 
for  the  Spanish  historian,  Jose  de  Acosta,  reports  that  in  1581  he  saw 
"the  note  of  what  came  from  the  Indies  for  the  king;  there  were  18 
marcs  of  pearles,  besides  3  caskets ;  and  for  private  persons  there  were 
1265  marcs,  and  besides  them,  7  caskets  not  pierced,  which  heretofore 
we  would  have  esteemed  and  helde  for  a  lie."^  Also  the  records  show 
that  in  1597  Spain  received  from  the  Venezuelan  fisheries  "350 
pounds'  weight  of  pearls."  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  Spaniards  so 
frequently  reported  the  yield  of  pearls  by  potmds'  weight,  for — owing 
to  the  great  variation  in  quality— this  is  about  as  unsatisfactory  as  to 
report  the  wealth  of  an  individual  by  the  pounds'  weight  of  his  title- 
deeds  or  of  his  stock  certificates.  The  value  of  "350  pounds  of  pearls" 
might  have  been  anywhere  from  twenty  thousand  dollars  to  as  many 
millions.     Assuming  that  all  were  two  grains  each  in  weight  and  of 

'Translated    from    "Historia    del    Mondo  '/ftsd.,  fol.  i68. 

Nuovo,"  Geneva,  1578.  '  "Natural   and   Moral   History  of  the   In- 

'  Translation  of  Chauveton's  Notes  to  Ben-       dies,"  Hakluj't  Society,  London,  1880,  p.  228. 
zoni's  "Historia  del  Mondo  Nuovo,"  Geneva, 
1578,  fol.  170. 


AMERICAN  PEARLS  233 

good  quality,  the  total  value  would  approximate  $600,000  according 
to  the  valuation  of  that  period ;  and  on  a  basis  of  eight  grains  each,  it 
would  be  $9,600,000,  or  sixteen  times  as  much.  But  as  original  parcels 
of  pearls  from  the  fisheries,  these  figures  should  be  divided  by  three. 

Following  1597,  the  productiveness  of  the  Cubagua  beds  rapidly 
decreased.  By  acts  of  cruelty  and  oppression  the  Spaniards  had  con- 
verted the  surviving  Indians  into  deadly  foes,  ready  to  take  advantage 
of  any  opportunity  to  avenge  themselves  on  their  oppressors,  and  thus 
terrifying  the  settlers  into  abandoning  the  enterprise.  Early  in  the 
seventeenth  century  the  development  of  mining  resources  in  Mexico, 
Peru,  etc.,  attracted  the  adventurous  Spaniards.  A  considerable  de- 
crease in  the  value  of  pearls,  brought  about  by  the  skilful  manufacture 
of  imitations  at  Venice,  and  elsewhere  in  southern  Europe,  also  afifected 
the  prosperity  of  the  fisheries.  As  a  result  of  these  combined  in- 
fluences, the  output  in  Venezuela  was  greatly  reduced,  and  it  ceased 
long  before  the  close  of  the  following  century.  Thus  ended  an  enter- 
prise which,  for  a  number  of  years,  represented  the  greatest  single 
industry  of  the  European  people  on  the  American  continent. 

According  to  General  Manuel  Laudecta  Rosales,  the  Venezuela 
archives  contain  no  reference  to  any  renewal  of  the  fishery  until  early 
in  the  nineteenth  century.  At  the  time  of  Humboldt's  visit  in  1799, 
the  fishery  was  entirely  neglected  around  the  islands  of  Margarita, 
Cubagua,  and  Coche,  and  the  only  evidence  of  pearls  was  a  few  very 
insignificant  ones  picked  up  about  Cumana  and  sold  among  the  natives 
at  a  piaster  per  dozen.' 

After  the  overthrow  of  Spanish  authority  on  this  coast,  Messrs. 
Rundell,  Bridge  and  Rundell,  a  firm  of  well-known  goldsmiths  of  Lon- 
don, obtained,  in  1823,  from  the  government  of  Colombia,  a  ten-year 
monopoly  of  the  fishery  at  several  places  on  the  coast  of  the  new 
republic,  in  consideration  of  one  fifth  of  the  pearls  secured.^  After  the 
independence  of  Venezuela  in  1829,  the  taxes  imposed  were  so  heavy 
that  the  industry  languished,  and  about  1833  't  was  practically  aban- 
doned. 

Owing  to  the  improved  physical  condition  of  the  reefs,  the  fishery 
developed  largely  in  1845;  ^"^  for  several  years  an  average  of  1600 
ounces  of  pearls  were  secured,  an  ounce  of  good  quality  selling  for 
150  to  500  bolivars  (one  bolivar  =  i9i/<  cents),  and  the  inferior 
quality  at  80  to  100  bolivars.^  At  that  time  there  was  a  tax  of  sixteen 
bolivars  per  boat  monthly.  In  1853  this  was  increased  to  forty-eight 
bolivars  per  boat,  and  the  use  of  dredges  (arrastras)  was  interdicted, 

'Humboldt,  "Personal  Narrative  of  Trav-  the  Pacific  Ocean,"  London,  1831,  Vol.  I,  p. 

els  to  the  Equinoctial  Regions  of  the  New  217. 

Continent,  1799-1804."  '  Resales,    "Gran    Recopilacion    de    Vene- 

'  Findlay,  "Directory  for  the  Navigation  of  zuela,"  Caracas,  1889. 


234  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

soon  reducing  the  fishery  to  a  very  low  stage.  Subjected  to  frequent 
changes  in  regulations,  and  burdened  by  heavy  taxes,  the  industry 
remained  in  poor  condition  until  about  1895.  Since  then  the  enhanced 
value  of  pearls,  and  the  increased  industrial  activity  on  the  coast,  has 
resulted  in  a  very  large  development  of  the  fishery. 

In  recent  years  the  government  of  Venezuela  has  granted  conces- 
sions to  individuals  and  to  companies  for  the  exploitation  of  defined 
areas  for  a  limited  period,  exacting  10  per  cent,  royalty  on  the  pro- 
ceeds of  the  enterprise.  In  granting  these  concessions,  the  govern- 
ment usually  reserves  the  right  to  examine  the  books,  and  to  intervene 
when  necessary  in  any  phase  of  the  enterprise.  For  protecting  its 
revenue,  the  government  requires  that  shipments  of  the  pearls  must 
be  signed  by  its  agent,  and  bills  of  sale  must  be  countersigned  by  the 
Venezuelan  consul  in  the  place  where  the  sales  are  consummated. 

The  Venezuelan  pearl  fishery  now  gives  employment  to  about  350 
boats,  manned  by  five  or  six  men  each,  sailing  from  the  ports  of  Juan 
Griego,  Cumana,  and  Carupano.  These  are  sail  craft,  measuring 
from  two  to  fifteen  tons  each,  and  are  licensed  by  the  Venezuelan 
authorities  at  a  charge  of  15  bolivars  ($2.92)  each.  Most  of  the  boats 
use  dredges,  but  some  of  them  resort  to  nude  diving,  after  the  manner 
of  the  sixteenth  century.  Attempts  have  been  made  to  use  the  scap- 
hander, or  diving  armor,  but  without  success,  owing  largely  to  the 
difficulty  in  obtaining  experienced  workmen,  and  also  to  local  prejudice 
against  this  form  of  fishery.  It  is  claimed  that  in  using  the  scap- 
hander, all  oysters  are  removed  from  the  reefs,  whereas  the  arrastra 
or  dredge  spreads  the  oysters  and  thereby  enlarges  the  reefs.  This  is 
the  principal  and,  except  those  at  Sharks  Bay  and  the  Sulu  Islands, 
the  only  important  pearl  fishery  in  which  the  oysters  are  secured  by 
means  of  dredges.  These  are  made  of  iron  and  are  similar  to  those 
implements  used  in  the  scallop  fisheries  of  New  York  and  Rhode 
Island.  They  are  dragged  over  the  beds,  and  when  filled  are  lifted 
and  their  contents  emptied  into  the  boat,  the  fishermen  culling  out  the 
desirable  oysters  from  the  mass  and  throwing  the  refuse  material 
overboard. 

The  pearl-oyster  (Margarififera  radiata)  secured  on  the  coast  of 
Venezuela  is  closely  related  to  the  Ceylon  species.  It  averages  slightly 
larger  in  size,  and  there  is  a  much  greater  range  in  coloration.  The 
pearls  are  of  good  quality.  In  color  they  range  from  white  to  bronze, 
and  occasionally  a  so-called  black  one  is  found.  The  total  output  is 
valued  locally  at  about  1,750,000  francs  ($350,000)  per  year.  Most 
of  them  are  sold  in  Paris. 

Owing  to  their  small  size  and  lack  of  thickness,  the  shells  of  the 
Venezuela  pearl-oyster  are  of  little  or  no  value  in  the  mother-of-pearl 


AMERICAN  PEARLS  235 

trade.  Thousands  of  tons  of  them,  the  accumulations  of  scores  of  fish- 
eries, lie  in  heaps  and  ridges  along  the  coast,  as  though  in  years  long 
past  vast  armies  of  oysters,  engaged  in  deadly  combat,  had  left  their 
innumerable  myriads  of  slain  comrades  to  bleach  on  the  shores. 


THE  PANAMA  PEARL  FISHERIES 

The  bordring  Hands,  seated  here  in  ken. 

Whose  Shores  are  sprinkled  witli  rich  Orient  Pearle, 

More  bright  of  hew  than  were  the  Margarets 

That  Caesar  found  in  wealthy  Albion. 

Robert  Greene,  Orlando  Furioso  (1594). 

Prom  the  point  of  view  of  the  Spaniards  of  his  day,  the  greatest  result 
of  Balboa's  immortal  journey  in  15 13  across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama 
to  the  broad  waters  of  the  Pacific,  was  the  discovery  of  the  pearl 
resources  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Michael,  now  known  as  the  Gulf  of 
Panama.  Probably  the  best  description  of  this  is  given  by  Lopez  de 
Gomara  in  his  "Historia  general  de  las  Indias,"  published  in  1554, 
from  which  we  translate  the  following  account. 

After  Balboa  had  reached  the  Pacific  in  15 13,  he  proceeded  a  snort 
distance  along  the  coast  until  he  met  with  an  Indian  chief  by  the  name 
of  Tomaco.  Being  questioned  about  the  gold  and  pearls  which  some  of 
his  people  wore,  Tomaco  sent  for  some  gold  and  240  large  pearls  and 
a  great  number  of  small  ones— a  rich  present,  which  filled  the  Span- 
iards with  pleasure.  Seeing  the  Spaniards  so  delighted,  Tomaco  or- 
dered some  of  his  men  to  go  and  fish  for  pearls.  These  went  and  in  a 
few  days  obtained  64  ounces,  which  also  he  gave  them.  The 
Spaniards  were  surprised  to  see  such  pearls,  and  that  their  owners  did 
not  value  them ;  they  not  only  gave  them  away,  but  their  paddles  were 
decorated  therewith,  for  the  principal  income  and  wealth  of  these  chiefs 
was  the  pearl  fishery.  Tomaco  told  Balboa  that  these  riches  were  noth- 
ing in  comparison  with  those  of  Tararequi,  which  had  pearls  larger 
than  a  man's  eye,  taken  from  oysters  the  size  of  sombreros.  The 
Spaniards  wished  to  go  there  at  once,  but  fearing  another  tem- 
pest, left  it  for  their  return.  They  dismissed  Tomaco  and  rested 
in  the  country  of  Chiape,  who,  at  the  request  of  Balboa,  sent  thirty 
of  his  men  to  fish.  These  did  it  in  the  presence  of  seven  Spaniards, 
who  looked  on  and  saw  them  take  six  loads  of  small  shells.  As  it 
was  not  the  season  for  that  fishery,  they  did  not  go  into  very  deep 
water  where  the  shells  were.  Not  only  did  they  not  fish  in  Sep- 
tember and  the  following  months,  but  they  did  not  even  travel  by 


236  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

water,  on  account  of  the  stormy  weather  which  then  prevails  in  that 
sea.  The  pearls  which  they  extracted  from  those  shells  were  like 
peas,  but  very  fine  and  white.  Of  those  received  from  Tomaco,  some 
were  black,  others  green,  blue,  and  yellow. 

On  the  return  of  Balboa's  expedition  to  Darien  in  15 14,  the  sight  of 
the  pearls  and  the  wonderful  reports  made  by  the  men,  caused  his 
successor,  Pedrarias,  to  fit  out  another  expedition,  an  account  of 
which  we  likewise  translate  from  Gomara. 

By  command  of  Pedrarias,  Caspar  de  Morales  went  in  the  year  1515  to 
the  Gulf  of  St.  Michael,  with  550  Spaniards,  in  quest  of  the  island  of  Tara- 
requi,  which  was  said  by  Balboa's  men  to  be  so  abundant  in  pearls  and  so  near 
the  coast.  The  chief  of  that  island  sallied  forth  with  many  people  to  prevent 
his  entrance,  and  clamored  and  fought  three  times  with  our  people  on  equal 
terms,  but  the  fourth  time  he  was  defeated.  He  then  made  friends,  carried 
the  chief  of  the  Spaniards  to  his  house,  which  was  a  large  and  good  one,  gave 
him  food  to  eat,  and  a  basket  of  pearls  which  weighed  no  marcs  [880 
ounces].  Tlie  chief  received  for  them  some  looking-glasses,  stringed  beads, 
bells,  scissors,  axes,  and  small  wares  of  barter,  which  he  valued  more  than  he 
had  the  pearls.  He  promised  to  give  as  tribute  to  the  emperor,  in  whose 
guardianship  he  placed  himself,  100  marcs  of  pearls  every  year.  With  these 
the  Spaniards  returned  to  the  Gulf  of  St.  Michael  and  from  thence  to  Darien. 

Tararequi  is  within  five  degrees  of  the  equator.  It  possessed  a  great  fish- 
ery for  pearls,  which  are  the  largest  and  best  of  the  new  world.  Many  of  the 
pearls  which  the  cacique  gave  were  like  filberts,  others  like  nutmegs,  and  there 
was  one  of  26  and  another  of  31  carats,  pear-shaped,  very  lustrous,  and  most 
perfect,  which  Peter  of  the  Port,  a  shop-keeper,  bought  of  Gaspar  de  Morales 
for  12,000  castilians.  The  purchaser  could  not  sleep  that  night  for  thinking  on 
the  fact  that  he  had  given  so  much  money  for  one  stone,  and  so  he  sold  it  the 
very  next  day  to  Pedrarias  de  Avila,  for  his  wife  Donna  Isabel  de  Bovadilla,  at 
the  same  price,  and  afterwards  the  Bovadilla  sold  it  to  Donna  Isabella  the 
Empress. 

Pedrarias,  who  delighted  in  such  fishery,  requested  the  cacique  to  make 
his  men  fish  for  pearls  in  the  presence  of  the  Spaniards.  The  fishermen  were 
great  swimmers  and  divers,  and  seemed  to  have  spent  all  their  lives  in  that 
employment.  They  went  in  small  boats  when  the  sea  was  calm,  and  not  in 
any  other  manner.  They  cast  a  stone  for  an  anchor  from  each  canoe,  tied  by 
strong,  flexible  withes  like  boughs  of  the  hazel.  They  plunged  to  search  for 
oysters  each  with  a  sack  or  bag  at  the  neck,  and  returned  loaded  with  them. 
They  entered  four,  six,  and  even  ten  fathoms  of  water,  for  the  shell  is  larger 
the  deeper  they  go,  and  if  at  times  the  larger  ones  come  in  shallow  water  it  is 
through  storms,  or  because  they  go  from  one  place  to  another  in  search  for 
food,  and  having  found  their  pasture  they  stay  there  until  they  have  finislied  it. 
They  perceive  those  who  search  for  them,  and  stick  so  close  to  the  rocks  or 
ground,  or  one  to  another,  that  much  strength  is  needed  to  detach  them,  and 
many  times  the  fishermen  cannot  raise  them  and  leave  them,  thinking  they  are 


CLARA  EUGENIA,   DAUGHTER  OF  PHILIP  II 

Painting  by  Gonzales,  in  the  Galeria  del  Prado,  Madrid 
Most  of  these  pearls  were  doubtless  from  the  early  American  fisheries 


AMERICAN  PEARLS  237 

stones.  In  this  fishery  many  persons  are  drowned,  either  by  remaining  too 
long  at  the  bottom,  or  because  they  become  entwined  or  entangled  in  the  cord, 
or  such  carnivorous  fish  as  the  shark  devour  them.  This  is  the  manner  of 
fishing  pearls  in  all  the  Indies,  and  many  fishermen  die  from  the  dangers 
aforesaid,  and  from  the  excessive  and  constant  labor,  the  little  food,  and  the 
maltreatment  they  have.  The  emperor  was  led  to  enact  a  law  among  those 
whom  Blasco  Nunez  Vela  brought,  which  imposed  the  penalty  of  death  upon 
him  who  should  forcibly  compel  any  free  Indian  to  fi.sh  for  pearls.  He  thought 
more  of  the  lives  of  the  men  than  of  his  interest  in  pearls,  though  they  were 
of  great  value.  The  law  was  worthy  of  such  a  prince  and  of  perpetual  mem- 
ory.' 

Gonzalo  de  Oviedo  referred  to  the  pearl  resources  of  Panama  in  his 
"Historia  natural  de  las  Indias,"  Toledo,  1526,  mentioned  in  the  chap- 
ter on  pearl  fisheries  of  Venezuela.  After  describing  the  resources  of 
Cubagua  and  Cumana  on  the  Venezuelan  coast,  he  states,  according 
to  Eden's  quaint  translation : 

Lykewise  pearles  are  founde  and  gathered  in  the  South  sea  cauled  mare 
del  sur.  And  the  pearles  of  this  sea  [the  Caribbean  coast]  are  verye  bygge. 
Yet  not  so  bigge  as  they  of  the  Ilande  of  pearles  cauled  de  las  perlas,  or  Mar- 
garitca,  whiche  the  Indians  caule  Tcrarcqui,  lying  in  the  gulfe  of  saincte 
Michael,  where  greater  pearles  are  founde  and  of  greater  price  then  in  any 
other  coaste  of  the  Northe  sea,  in  Cttmana,  or  any  other  porte.  I  speake  this 
as  a  trewe  testimonie  of  syght,  havyng  byn  longe  in  that  South  sea,  and  mak- 
ynge  curious  inquisition  to  bee  certenly  informed  of  all  that  perteyneth  to  the 
fysshynge  of  perles.  From  this  Ilande  of  Tararequi,  there  was  brought  a 
pearle  of  the  fasshyon  of  a  peare,  wayinge  xxxi  carattes,  which  Petrus  Arias 
had  amonge  a  thousande  and  soo  many  poundes  weight  of  other  pearles  which 
hee  had  when  capitayne  Caspar  Morales  (before  Petrus  Arias)  passed  to  the 
saide  Ilande  in  the  yeare  15 15,  which  pearle  was  of  great  prise.  From  the 
saide  Ilande  also,  came  a  great  and  verye  rounde  pearle,  whiche  I  brought  owte 
of  the  sea.  This  was  as  bygge  as  a  smaule  pellet  of  a  stone  bowe,  and  of  the 
weight  of  xxvi  carattes.  I  boughte  it  in  the  citie  of  Panama  in  the  sea  of  Sur : 
and  paide  for  it  syxe  hundredth  and  fyftie  tymes  the  weyght  therof  of  good 
gold,*  and  had  it  thre  yeares  in  my  custodie:  and  after  my  returne  into  Spaine, 
soulde  it  to  the  erle  of  Nansao,  Marquisse  of  Zenete,  great  chamberleyne  to 
youre  maiestie,  who  gave  it  to  the  Marquesse  his  wyfe,  the  ladye  Mentia  of 
Mendozza.  I  thyncke  verely  that  this  pearle  was  the  greatest,  fayrest,  and 
roundest  that  hath  byn  seene  in  those  partes.  For  youre  maiestie  owght  to 
understande  that  in  the  coaste  of  the  sea  of  Sur,  there  are  founde  a  hundredth 
great  pearles  rounde  after  the  fasshyon  of  peare,  to  one  that  is  perfectly 
rounde  and  greate.  This  Hand  of  Terarequi  which  the  Christians  caule  the 
Ilande  of  pearles,  and  other  caule  it  the  Ilande  of  floures,  is  founde  in  the 

'  Gomara.  "Historia  general  de  las  Indias,"  '  iiiYz  ounces  of  gold;  present  value  about 

1554.  PP-  268,  269  b.  $2300. 


238  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

eyght  degree  on  the  southe  syde  of  the  firme  lande  in  the  provynce  of  golden 
Castyle  or  Beragua.  (Arber,  "The  First  Three  Enghsh  Books  on  America," 
Birmingham,  1885.) 

In  addition  to  the  gems  noted  by  Oviedo,  these  waters  furnished 
many  other  beautiful  pearls  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and  added  largely 
to  the  collections  of  the  Spanish  court  and  of  the  cathedrals  of  Seville, 
Toledo,  etc.  The  Italian  traveler,  Gemelli-Careri,  who  visited  the 
Panama  fisheries  in  1697,  reported  that  they  yielded  pearls  equal  to 
those  of  Ceylon.  He  mentioned  one  weighing  60  grains,  for  which 
the  owner — a  Jesuit  priest — refused  70,000  pesos. ^ 

In  1735,  the  Spanish  admiral,  Antonio  de  UUoa  visited  the  Panama 
pearl  fisheries  and  wrote  an  extended  description  of  them.^  Accord- 
ing to  his  account  the  pearls  were  then  found  in  such  plenty  that  there 
were  few  slaveholders  in  the  vicinity  who  did  not  employ  at  least  a 
portion  of  their  Negroes  in  the  fishery.  These  were  selected  for  their 
dexterity  in  diving,  and  were  sent  to  the  islands  in  gangs  of  from  eight 
to  twenty  men  each,  under  the  command  of  an  overseer.  They  lived 
in  temporary  huts  on  the  shore,  and  visited  the  pearl  reefs  in  small 
boats.  Anchoring  in  eight  or  ten  fathoms  of  water,  the  Negroes  would 
dive  in  succession  to  the  bottom,  returning  with  as  many  oysters  as 
possible.  It  was  laborious  work,  attended  with  danger  owing  to  the 
numerous  sharks. 

Every  one  of  these  Negro  divers  is  obliged  daily  to  deliver  to  his  master 
a  fixed  number  of  pearls ;  so  that  when  they  have  got  the  requisite  number  of 
oysters  in  their  bag,  they  begin  to  open  them,  and  deliver  the  pearls  to  the 
ofiScer,  till  they  have  made  up  the  number  due  to  their  master ;  and  if  the  pearl 
be  but  formed,  it  is  sufficient,  without  any  regard  to  its  being  small  or  faulty. 
The  remainder,  however  large  or  beautiful,  are  the  Negro's  own  property, 
nor  has  the  master  the  least  claim  to  them,  the  slaves  being  allowed  to  sell 
them  to  whom  they  please,  though  the  master  generally  purchases  them  at  a 
very  small  price.  .  .  .  Some  of  these  pearls,  though  indeed  but  few,  are  sent 
to  Europe,  the  greater  part  being  carried  to  Lima,  where  the  demand  for  them 
is  very  great,  being  not  only  universally  worn  there  by  all  persons  of  rank, 
but  also  sent  from  thence  to  the  inland  portions  of  Peru.^ 

During  the  hundred  years  following,  the  pearl  reefs  of  Panama  were 
not  very  productive,  and  relatively  little  attention  was  paid  to  them. 
The  development  of  a  market  for  the  shells  in  the  mother-of-pearl 
trade,  about  1840,  enhanced  the  profits  of  the  few  natives  engaged  in 

'  Gemelli-Careri,  "Giro  del  Mondo,"  Vene-  ^  "Ulloa's     Voyage     to     South     America," 

zia,  1719,  p.  240.  translated  by  J.  Adams,  London,  1758. 

"  Ulloa,  "Relacion  historica  del  viage  a  la 
America  meridional,"  Madrid,  174S. 


AMERICAN  PEARLS  239 

pearling  in  a  desultory  manner,  and  led  to  an  increase  in  the  number 
of  fishermen.  During  some  years  when  industrial  and  market  condi- 
tions were  favorable,  large  quantities  of  shells  were  exported.  In 
1855,  for  instance,  650  tons  of  these  shells  were  shipped  to  England 
alone,  and  in  1859  the  reported  quantity  was  957  tons.  Those  from 
the  Island  of  San  Jose,  one  of  the  Pearl  Archipelago,  were  said  to  be 
the  largest  and  choicest  in  the  bay.  Many  of  them  were  used  in  dec- 
orating the  twin  towers  of  the  stately  old  cathedral  at  Panama. 

Since  then  the  industry  has  fluctuated  greatly,  depending  on  the 
market  for  the  shell.  Many  outsiders  have  experimented  in  the  fish- 
ery, but  most  of  these  attempts  have  resulted  in  financial  loss,  through 
mismanagement,  storms,  sickness,  or  other  causes.  A  story  is  told 
locally  of  a  party  of  thirty  men,  principally  from  Scotland,  who  ar- 
rived at  Panama  equipped  with  a  diving-bell  and  such  necessary  ma- 
chinery as  air-pumps,  windlasses,  etc.  Much  was  expected  of  their 
operations,  but  soon  yellow  fever  broke  out  among  them,  and  within 
six  weeks  two  thirds  of  the  members  of  the  party  had  died.  The  re- 
maining members,  becoming  disheartened,  and  in  fear  of  the  dread 
disease,  lost  no  time  in  leaving  the  country.  The  diving-bell  and  ma- 
chinery remained  for  several  years  as  a  curiosity  at  Panama,  for  no 
one  returned  to  claim  them,  nor  has  the  use  of  similar  apparatus  been 
attempted  since  then. 

The  scattered  pearl  reefs  extend  from  the  east  side  of  the  Bay  of 
Panama  nearly  to  the  Costa  Rica  boundary.  However,  this  gives  an 
exaggerated  idea  of  their  area,  as  much  of  this  territory  yields  no 
pearl-oysters  whatever.  The  principal  reefs  and  the  headquarters  of 
the  fishery  are  at  Archipelago  de  las  Perlas  or  Pearl  Islands,  which 
are  from  thirty  to  sixty  miles  southeast  of  the  Pacific  terminus  of  the 
projected  Panama  Canal.  This  archipelago  contains  sixteen  small 
islands,  on  which  are  about  twice  that  number  of  small  settlements  of 
Negro  and  Indian  descendants,  with  a  total  population  of  perhaps  one 
thousand.  About  half  of  these  live  on  Isla  del  Rey,  the  largest  island, 
about  fifteen  miles  long  and  half  that  in  width.  The  chief  village,  San 
Miguel,  is  the  center  of  the  pearling  industry,  and  consists  mostly  of 
palm-thatched  huts  and  a  handsome  stone  church,  more  costly  than 
all  the  remaining  buildings  of  the  town  combined.  While  the  soil  is 
fertile  and  some  vegetables  are  raised,  the  inhabitants  depend  almost 
wholly  on  the  fisheries. 

In  1901,  the  Republic  of  Colombia  invited  bids  for  the  right  to 
operate  the  pearl  and  coral  fisheries  for  a  term  of  fifteen  years,  but 
nothing  seems  to  have  come  of  it,  and  the  establishment  of  the 
Panama  Republic  in  1903  terminated  the  authority  of  Colombia  in 
these  resources. 


240  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

The  Panama  fisheries  differ  widely  in  their  character  from  those  of 
Venezuela.  The  mollusk  is  much  larger,  averaging  about  six  inches 
in  diameter  when  fully  grown,  thus  furnishing  a  valuable  quality  of 
mother-of-pearl.  The  shell  constitutes  the  principal  object  of  the 
fishery;  the  pearls  themselves  are  of  incidental  importance,  but  are 
always  looked  for  and  anxiously  expected. 

The  season  extends  from  May  to  November,  with  a  rest  during  the 
remaining  five  months  of  the  year.  The  fishery  is  open  to  natives  and 
to  foreigners  alike.  While  the  leading  fishermen  employ  diving-suits, 
which  were  introduced  here  about  1890,  nude  diving  is  yet  practised 
to  a  considerable  extent,  the  men  descending  in  eight  or  ten,  and  some 
even  in  twelve  fathoms  of  water.  There  is  no  restriction  whatever  on 
the  nude  fishermen,  but  for  each  machine  diver  an  annual  license  fee 
of  $125  United  States  currency  is  exacted. 

Owing  to  the  low  market  price  for  Panama  shell  during  recent 
years,  the  fishery  has  not  been  vigorously  prosecuted,  and  it  has  even 
dwindled  to  low  proportions.  A  letter  from  one  of  the  leading  pearl- 
ing companies  in  Panama  states  that  the  machine  divers  number 
about  twenty,  while  there  are  about  four  hundred  nude  fishermen; 
and  another  firm  likewise  prominent,  estimates  these  fishermen  at 
twenty  and  three  hundred  respectively. 

Yet  a  third  pearling  company  writes  that  there  are  fifteen  machine 
divers  and  two  hundred  head  divers ;  and  adds  that  the  small  demand 
for  this  quality  of  mother-of-pearl  has  made  the  condition  of  the  in- 
dustry about  as  bad  as  it  could  be;  many  who  have  capital  invested 
are  getting  out  of  the  business,  and  unless  the  market  improves,  the 
industry  may  be  abandoned.  Probably  with  the  introduction  of  new 
capital  and  methods  in  the  infant  republic,  the  pearl  resources  may 
receive  greater  attention  and  a  large  development  ensue. 

The  Panama  pearls  are  of  good  quality  and  frequently  of  large 
size.  In  color  they  range  from  white  to  green  and  lead-gray,  and 
frequently  greenish  black.  Valuable  pearls  are  not  common,  but  oc- 
casionally the  fisherman  is  amply  rewarded.  A  letter  from  the  Ameri- 
can consul  at  Panama  states  that  in  1899  a  native  boy,  fifteen  years 
old,  fishing  in  shallow  water,  as  much  for  sport  as  for  profit,  found  a 
pearl  which  he  sold  to  a  local  speculator  for  4000  silver  dollars 
($1760) ;  this  speculator  delivered  the  same  pearl  to  a  dealer  in 
Panama  for  10,000  silver  dollars  ($4400),  and  an  offer  of  30,000 
francs  was  refused  for  it  later  in  Paris.  A  pearl  worth  $2400  was 
reported  as  found  within  half  a  mile  of  the  steamship  anchorage  at 
Panama.  A  pearl  from  a  giant  oyster  resembling  Tridacna,  was  an 
absolute  egg-shape,  pure  cocoanut  white,  and  weighed  169  grains;  it 
was  21  mm.  at  the  longest  and  16.5  mm.  at  the  narrowest  part.    The 


AMERICAN  PEARLS  241 

surface  showed  very  distinctly  a  wavy  structure,  occasionally  with  a 
tiny,  brighter  central  point ;  the  surface  under  the  glass  resembling  a 
honeycomb  network.  At  the  smallest  point  there  was  a  radiated  cen- 
ter with  quite  a  brilliant  field.    It  was  worth  only  $100. 

Not  always,  however,  does  the  poor,  ignorant  fisherman  receive  the 
full  value  of  his  find;  and  many  a  story  is  told  of  some  thoughtless 
improvident  native,  who,  for  less  than  a  mess  of  pottage,  "like  the 
base  Indian,  threw  a  pearl  away,  richer  than  half  his  tribe." 

Most  of  the  Panama  pearls  are  sold  in  Paris,  relatively  few  of  them 
coming  to  America  direct.  This  is  not  because  of  any  greater  estima- 
tion of  them  in  Paris  or  higher  prices  obtained ;  but  the  trade  relation 
has  been  long  continued  and  the  credits  are  well  established.  From 
Paris  many  of  these  pearls  reach  the  American  market. 


THE  PEARL  FISHERIES  OF  MEXICO 

Then,  too,  the  pearl  from  out  its  shell, 

Unsightly  in  the  sunless  sea, 
(As  't  were  a  spirit,  forced  to  dwell 

In  form  unlovely)  was  set  free, 
And  round  the  neck  of  woman  threw 

A  light  it  lent  and  borrowed  too. 

Thomas  Moore,  The  Loves  of  the  Angels. 

Pearl-bearing  oysters  are  found  at  various  places  on  the  Pacific 
coast  of  Mexico,  and  especially  along  the  coast  of  Lower  California, 
where  extensive  fisheries  are  prosecuted.  The  pearls  are  noted  for 
the  great  variety  of  colors  which  they  display.  A  large  percentage 
are  black,  others  are  white,  brown,  peacock  green,  etc.  Generally  they 
are  small  and  of  irregular  form,  yet  sometimes  very  large  ones  are 
secured,  weighing  100,  200,  and  even  300  grains. 

European  knowledge  of  the  pearl  resources  of  Mexico  dates  from 
the  conquest  of  that  country  by  Hernando  Cortes  about  1522.  The 
diary  of  his  lieutenant,  Fortuno  Ximines,  tells  of  finding  native  chiefs 
living  in  primitive  huts  along  the  sea-shore,  with  quantities  of  beautiful 
pearls  lying  carelessly  around.  From  a  tribe  near  the  present  site  of 
Hermosillo,  in  the  State  of  Sonora,  Cortes  secvired  great  quantities  of 
the  gems.  It  appeared  that  the  fishery  had  been  in  existence  for  cen- 
turies. The  location  of  the  pearl  reefs  was  prominently  noted  on 
Cortes'  map  of  this  coast,  made  in  1535'  ^  copy  of  which  was  procured 
by  the  Rev.  Edward  E.  Hale  when  in  Spain  in  1883. 

16 


242  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

Following  Cortes'  explorations  of  the  Pacific  coast  of  Mexico 
(1533-1538),  a  number  of  expeditions  were  fitted  out  for  securing 
pearls  by  trading  with  the  natives,  by  forcing  them  to  fish,  and  by 
even  more  questionable  means.  Several  of  these  expeditions  found 
record  in  history  either  by  reason  of  their  vmusual  success  or  through 
the  extreme  cruelty  with  which  they  were  conducted.  The  contact  of 
the  Spaniards  with  the  Indians  resulted  in  very  bitter  feelings  on  the 
part  of  the  latter,  so  that  it  became  risky  for  small  traders  to  venture 
among  them.  From  time  to  time,  successful  expeditions  were  made, 
especially  the  one  of  200  men  sent  in  1596  by  the  viceroy  of  Mexico 
to  "the  rich  Isles  of  California,"  mentioned  by  Teixeira.^  Antonio 
de  Castillo,  a  Spanish  colonist,  with  headquarters  south  of  Mazatlan, 
was  one  of  the  most  successful  of  the  early  adventurers,  and  Iturbide 
Ortega  and  Jose  Carborel  were  also  among  the  fortunate  ones  of 
that  period.-  Ortega  marketed  his  pearls  in  the  city  of  Mexico,  and 
the  reported  sale  of  one  for  4500  dollars  had  considerable  effect  in 
stimulating  the  industry. 

The  advent  of  the  Jesuits  to  western  Mexico  in  1642,  developed 
amicable  relations  with  the  Indians;  and  although  the  missionaries 
were  agriculturists  rather  than  fishermen,  the  restoration  of  harmony 
resulted  in  a  more  favorable  prosecution  of  the  fisheries.  The  col- 
onists of  Sinaloa  and  Nueva  Galicia,  who  had  formerly,  in  small 
vessels  and  with  great  danger,  made  occasional  visits  to  the  pearl 
beds,  built  larger  vessels  and  made  more  frequent  visits  without  aj)- 
prehension.  The  skilful  Yaqui  and  Mayo  Indians  were  employed  or 
impressed  as  divers,  just  as  natives  of  the  Bahamas  had  served  in 
the  fisheries  of  Venezuela.  Great  profits  resulted  from  the  operations. 
Venegas  wrote  that  "it  was  certain  that  the  fifth  of  every  vessel  was 
yearly  farmed  for  12,000  dollars."* 

So  profitable  was  the  fishery  that  the  Spanish  soldiers  and  sailors 
stationed  in  the  Gulf  of  Cortes — as  the  Gulf  of  California  was  then 
called — were  frequently  charged  with  devoting  more  attention  to 
pearling  than  to  their  official  duties.  In  order  to  put  a  stop  to  this 
evil,  in  1704,  Father  Silva-Tierra,  who  was  in  authority  in  that  part 
of  the  country,  ordered  that  no  soldier  or  sailor  should  engage  in  the 
fishery.  With  a  view  to  removing  the  demoralizing  influences  of 
promiscuous  adventurers  among  the  Indians,  the  industry  was  later 
restricted  to  persons  specially  authorized. 

Probably  the  most  successful  of  the  early  pearlers  was  Manuel 

'  Hakluyt's  "Vo3'ages,"  Glasgow,  1904,  Vol.  'Venegas,    "Noticia    de    las    Californias," 

IX,  pp.  318,  319.  Madrid,  1757,  p.  454. 

"  Clavigcro,  "Storia  della  California,"  Ve- 
nezia,  1789,  Vol.  I,  p.  161. 


AMERICAN  PEARLS 


243 


Osio,  who  is  credited  with  having  marketed  "127  pounds'  weight  of 
pearls  in  1743,"  and  "275  pounds'  weight"  in  1744.*  He  operated  in 
the  vicinity  of  Mulege  and  northward,  employing  the  Yaqui  Indians ; 


Gulf  of  California  and  the  pearling  territory  of  western  Mexico 

and  through  his  pearling  interests  is  said  to  have  become  the  richest 
man  in  Lower  California. 

The  revenue  from  the  royal  fifth,  somewhat  later,  was  reported  by 

'  Clavigero,   "Historia  de  la  Baja  antigua       Mexicana  de  Geographia  y  Estadistica,"  Vol. 
California."    Esteva,  "Boletin  de  la  Sociedad       X,  pp.  673-697. 


244  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

Alvarado^  at  12,000  dollars  per  year;  but  this  was  disputed  by  Jacob 
Baegert,  a  Jesuit  priest.  Baegert  spent  seventeen  years  in  Mexico  and, 
returning  to  Europe  on  the  expulsion  of  his  order  from  that  country  in 
1767,  published  a  report  in  1772,  containing  rather  an  unfavorable 
view  of  the  fishery.  He  stated  that  each  summer  eight,  ten,  or  twelve 
poor  Spaniards  from  Sonora,  Sinaloa,  and  elsewhere  on  the  mainland, 
crossed  the  gulf  in  small  boats  to  the  California  shore  for  the  purpose 
of  obtaining  pearls.  They  carried  supplies  of  Indian  corn  and  dried 
beef,  and  also  a  number  of  Indians  who  served  as  divers,  the  Spaniards 
themselves  showing  little  inclination  to  engage  in  the  work  when 
native  fishermen  could  be  employed  so  cheaply.  Provided  with  a  sack 
for  receiving  the  oysters  which  they  removed  from  the  bottom,  the 
fishermen  dived  head  first  into  the  sea,  and  when  they  could  no  longer 
hold  their  breath  they  ascended  with  the  gathered  treasure.  The 
oysters  were  counted  before  opening ;  and,  when  the  law  was  complied 
with,  every  fifth  one  was  put  aside  for  the  king's  revenue.  Most  of 
the  oysters  yielded  no  pearls ;  some  contained  black  pearls,  others  white 
ones,  the  latter  usually  small  and  ill-shaped.  If,  after  six  or  eight 
weeks  of  hard  labor  and  deducting  all  expenses,  a  Spaniard  gained  a 
hundred  American  pesos,  he  thought  he  had  made  a  little  fortune, 
but  this  he  could  not  do  every  season.  "God  knows,"  said  Baegert, 
"whether  a  fifth  of  the  pearls  secured  in  the  California  sea  yields  to 
the  Catholic  king  an  average  of  150  or  200  pesos  in  a  year,  even  with- 
out frauds  in  the  transaction.  I  heard  of  only  two  persons — with 
whom  also  I  was  personally  acquainted — who  had  accumulated  some 
wealth,  after  spending  20  or  more  years  in  the  business.  The  others 
remained  poor  notwithstanding  their  pearl  fishing."^ 

Father  Baegert's  statement  of  the  returns  seems  to  be  substantiated 
by  the  reports  of  the  royal  fifth  a  few  years  later.  For  the  period  from 
1792  to  1796  this  was  placed  at  "2  lbs.  2  ozs."  by  some  writers;  and 
according  to  others,  from  1788  to  1797  it  amounted  to  only  "3  lbs. 
9  ozs.,"  which  is  the  quantity  assigned  by  some  accounts  to  1797  alone.* 
These  returns  apparently  indicate  that  a  great  decrease  had  occurred 
since  the  days  of  Osio ;  but  it  seems  very  doubtful  whether,  under  the 
conditions  existing  in  Mexico  at  that  time,  the  royal  treasury  received 
its  due  share  of  the  proceeds. 

Shortly  following  the  independence  of  Mexico  in  1821,  and  after 
a  period  of  little  activity,  several  attempts  were  made  to  exploit  the 
pearl  resources.     The  great  prosperity  in  England,  ensuing  upon  the 

'  Pedro    Alvarado,    "Historia    California,"  '  Arch.  Cal.  Prov.  St.  Pap.  xvi.     Ben.  Mil. 

Vol.  I,  p.  10.  xvi,  xvii,  xviii. 

°  Baegert,  "Nachrichten  von  der  Amerika- 
nischen  Halbinsel  Calif ornien,"  Mannheim, 
1772. 


AMERICAN  PEARLS  245 

termination  of  the  Napoleonic  Wars,  resulted  in  much  speculation  and 
the  promotion  of  stock  subscriptions  in  many  visionary  schemes. 
Among  these  was  "The  General  Pearl  and  Coral-Fishing  Association 
of  London,"  which  in  1825  equipped  and  sent  out  to  Mexico,  by  way 
of  Cape  Horn,  two  vessels  prepared  to  exploit  the  pearl  resources  by 
the  use  of  diving-bells  similar  to  those  formerly  employed  in  sub- 
marine construction.  This  expedition  was  under  the  direction  of 
Lieutenant  R.  W.  H.  Hardy,  whose  report  thereon  presents  an  inter- 
esting exhibit  of  the  condition  of  the  pearl  fishery  at  that  time. 

Hardy  found  the  fishery  at  a  very  low  ebb,  owing,  largely,  to  the 
scarcity  of  oysters  and  the  uncertainty  of  depending  on  the  native 
divers.  He  adds  with  peculiar  naivete:  "I  had  almost  forgotten  to> 
mention  a  very  curious  circumstance  with  respect  to  the  pearl-oyster,, 
namely  that  on  the  coast  of  Sonora  there  are  none  at  all,  except  at 
Guaymas."  He  states  also  that  to  the  northward  of  28°  30'  not  the 
trace  of  a  shell  could  be  discovered  on  either  side  of  the  gulf. 

The  center  of  the  industry  was  then  at  Loreto,  a  village  of  250  in- 
habitants; but  another  small  station  existed  at  La  Paz.  At  Loreto 
six  or  eight  vessels  of  twenty-five  tons  each  were  employed,  each  hav- 
ing three  or  four  sailors  and  fifteen  or  twenty  Yaqui  Indians  who 
served  as  divers.  Head-diving  was  in  vogue,  the  work  proceeding 
from  II  A.M.  to  2  P.M.,  and  the  depth  ranging  from  three  to  twelve 
fathoms.  The  annual  catch  of  pearls  was  "4  or  5  pounds'  weight, 
worth  from  $8000  to  $10,000."'  After  the  government's  claim  of 
one  fifth  had  been  set  apart,  the  owner  and  captain  of  the  vessel  re- 
ceived one  half  and  the  divers  the  other  half. 

It  was  found  impossible  to  use  diving-bells  when  the  sea  was  at  all 
rough,  and  even  during  calm  weather  they  were  impracticable  on  ac- 
count of  the  unevenness  of  the  ground  and  the  strong  undercurrents. 
An  efifort  was  made  to  employ  native  divers,  but  owing  to  the  dis- 
organized state  of  affairs  only  four  could  be  secured.  In  the  Gulf  of 
Mulege  a  large  number  of  oysters  were  collected,  but  when  these  were 
opened  "six  very  small  pearls"  were  all  that  could  be  found.  After 
spending  about  three  years  on  the  coast,  Hardy  returned  to  England, 
and  the  company  abandoned  the  enterprise. 

In  the  early  history  of  the  Mexican  pearl  fishery,  the  shells  were  of 
no  market  value ;  but  about  1830  a  French  trader  named  Combier  made 
experimental  shipments  to  France,  securing  cheap  freight  rates  by 
using  the  waste  shells  largely  as  ballast  for  the  vessels.^  The  best 
quality  sold  for  about  600  francs  per  ton,  and  the  market  was  found 

'Hardy,    "Travels    in    Mexico,"    London,       d'AquicuIture,"    Paris,    189S,    Vol.    VII,    pp. 
1829,  pp.  231-238.  1-18. 

^  Diguet,   "Bulletin   de  la   Societe   Centrale 


246  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

sufficient  for  regular  shipments.  The  value  gradually  increased,  and  in 
1854  it  approximated  2000  francs  per  ton  in  France,  placing  the  in- 
dustry upon  a  very  remunerative  basis.  This  resulted  in  much  activity 
in  the  fishery,  and  an  increase  in  the  number  of  boats  and  divers. 

In  1855,  the  fishery  gave  employment  to  368  divers,  and  yielded 
$23,800  worth  of  pearls,  and  350  tons  of  shells  worth  $13,500.^  It  was 
estimated  by  Lassepas  that  from  1580  to  1857,  inclusive,  95,000  tons  of 
oysters  were  removed  from  the  Gulf  of  California,  yielding  2770 
pounds  of  pearls,  worth  $5,540,000.^ 

For  protection  of  the  reefs,  the  Mexican  government  in  1857  divided 
the  Gulf  of  California  into  four  pearling  districts,  and  provided  that 
only  one  of  them  should  be  worked  each  year,  and  then  only  in  areas 
leased  for  the  season  to  the  highest  bidders,  thereby  permitting  the 
reefs  successively  to  remain  undisturbed  for  three  years. 

The  yield  of  pearls  in  1868  approximated  $55,000,  and  that  of  shells 
$10,600  in  value;  while  in  1869  these  items  were  given  as  $62,000  and 
$25,000,  respectively.*  The  local  prices  ranged  from  $15  per  ounce 
for  seed-pearls  to  $1500  for  a  choice  gem. 

At  that  period  the  fishery  was  carried  on  from  shore  camps  or  from 
large  vessels,  each  carrying  twenty  to  fifty  divers,  who  were  mostly 
Yaqui  Indians  from  the  eastern  shore  of  the  gulf.  The  camp  or  vessel 
was  located  in  the  vicinity  of  the  reefs  or  beds,  and  the  fishing  was 
prosecuted  from  small  boats,  each  carrying  three  or  four  nude  divers. 
Fastened  to  the  waist  or  suspended  from  the  neck  was  a  net  for  the 
reception  of  oysters,  and  each  diver  carried  a  short  spud  or  stick  with 
which  to  detach  them  from  the  bottom,  and  to  some  extent  for  use  as 
a  weapon  of  defense  against  sharks  and  similar  enemies.  The  diving 
progressed  mostly  in  the  morning,  when  the  sea  was  unruffled  by  the 
breeze  which  usually  begins  shortly  after  noon.  The  season  lasted 
from  May  to  late  in  September,  when  the  water  became  too  cold  for 
further  operations. 

The  divers  were  paid  a  definite  share  of  the  catch,  and  kept  in  debt- 
bondage  by  means  of  advances  and  supplies.  Little  clothing  was  neces- 
sary, and  the  provisions  consisted  principally  of  corn,  beans,  and  sun- 
dried  beef.  Luxuries  were  added  in  the  form  of  tobacco,  and  of  mescal 
distilled  from  the  maguey  plant,  indulgence  in  these  constituting  the 
chief  remuneration  for  the  season's  labor.  The  finding  of  an  un- 
usually choice  pearl  brought  to  the  lucky  fisherman  a  gratuity  of  a  few 
dollars,  and  shore  leave  for  several  days  in  which  to  spend  it.    Dress- 

'-  Esteva,   "Memoria  sobre  la  Pesca  de  la  '  Pujol,  "Estudio  Biologico  sobre  la  ostra 

Perla,"    "Boletin    de   la    Sociedad    Mexicana  Avicula  margaritiferus."  "Boletin  de  la  So- 

de  Geographla,"  Vol.  X,  pp.  681-688.  ciedad    de    Geographia,"    Epoc.    2,   Vol.    Ill, 

'Lassepas,  "Historia   de  la  Baja  Califor-  p.  139  et  seq. 
nia,"  Mexico,  1859,  p.  65. 


AMERICAN  PEARLS  247 

ing  in  his  best  calico  garments,  he  hastened  to  the  nearest  town  to  in- 
dulge in  release  from  restraint,  in  drunkenness  and  debauchery — the 
highest  dreams  of  happiness  of  a  Yaqui  Indian — thoughts  of  which 
served  to  bring  him  to  the  fishery  each  year  from  his  home  across  the 
gulf. 

From  the  Spanish  conquest  until  1S74,  the  Mexican  pearl  fishery 
was  conducted  exclusively  by  nude  divers.  The  experiments  with  the 
diving-bell  in  1825  had  been  without  favorable  result,  and  also  an 
attempt  by  an  American  in  1854  to  use  a  diving-suit  with  air-pump, 
etc.,  this  failure  being  credited  to  imperfection  of  apparatus.  In  1874, 
through  the  influence  of  European  pearl  merchants,  two  schooners, 
each  of  about  200  tons'  measurement,  one  from  Australia  and  the 
other  from  England,  visited  the  Mexican  grounds,  with  a  dozen  boats 
fully  equipped  with  scaphanders  or  diving  armor,  including  helmets, 
rubber  suits,  pumps,  etc.  Owing  to  their  working  in  deeper  water 
than  the  nude  divers  were  able  to  exploit,  their  success  was  remark- 
able, and  they  secured  upward  of  a  hundred  thousand  dollars'  worth 
of  pearls  and  shells  during  the  first  season. 

The  hitherto  somnolent  inhabitants  of  Lower  California  were 
amazed  at  seeing  their  resources  thus  easily  removed,  and  were 
awakened  to  the  opportunities  afl^orded  them  to  acquire  the  wealth 
which  nature  had  scattered  at  their  very  doors.  With  this  object- 
lesson  before  them,  companies  were  formed  for  raising  sufiicient 
capital  for  the  business,  and  the  leading  operators  equipped  their  men 
with  scaphanders,  to  the  great  annoyance  of  the  would-be  independent 
fishermen,  who  had  not  sufficient  means  to  purchase  the  costly  equip- 
ment. Many  of  these  continued  to  employ  nude  divers,  but  after  1880 
this  method  of  fishery  was  subordinate  to  the  use  of  diving  apparatus. 
The  change  was  accompanied  by  many  accidents,  and  rarely  did  a 
month  pass  without  the  loss  of  a  man,  due  in  most  cases  to  faulty 
apparatus  or  to  inexperienced  management. 

In  1884  President  Gonzalez  inaugurated  the  policy  of  granting  ex- 
clusive concessions  to  the  pearl  reefs.  On  February  28  of  that  year, 
five  concessions  were  granted  to  as  many  persons,  giving  them  and 
their  associates  and  assigns  the  exclusive  right  to  all  shell  fisheries  in 
their  respective  zones  of  large  area,  for  a  period  of  sixteen  years, 
in  consideration  of  a  royalty  and  export  duty,  amounting  altogether  to 
about  $10  per  ton  of  shells  exported  in  the  first  three  years,  and  $15 
per  ton  for  the  remaining  thirteen  years  of  the  term.  Immediately 
these  five  grants  were  consolidated,  forming  the  Lower  California 
Pearl  Fishing  Company  ("Compania  Perlifera  de  la  Baja  Cali- 
fornia"), incorporated  under  the  laws  of  California  with  an  invested 
capital  of  $100,000. 


248  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

Other  concessions  were  given  covering  the  ocean  shore  of  Lower 
Cahfornia,  the  eastern  side  of  the  gulf  within  the  States  of  Sonora  and 
Sinaloa,  and  the  ocean  shore  of  Mexico  southward  from  Sinaloa.  In 
addition  to  these,  certain  territorial  rights  of  fishing  are  claimed 
through  grants  dating  back  very  early  in  the  history  of  the  country. 
So  eagerly  have  these  concessions  been  sought  in  recent  years,  that 
there  is  now  little  pearling  ground  on  the  coast  which  is  not  under 
corporate  or  private  claim.  And,  owing  to  speculation  in  these  con- 
cessions and  in  the  formation  of  companies  to  develop  them,  it  is  some- 
what difficult  to  obtain  wholly  reliable  data  relative  to  the  condition 
and  extent  of  the  industry. 

Two  species  of  pearl-bearing  mollusks  occur  on  the  Mexican  coast. 
The  principal  one  is  the  M.  margaritifcra  inaaatlanica,  known  locally 
as  the  concha  de  pcrla  fina.  This  species  is  closely  related  to  the  "black 
lip  shell"  of  the  Australian  coast.  It  is  considerably  larger  than  the 
Venezuelan  oyster,  averaging  four  or  five  inches  in  diameter  and  at- 
taining an  extreme  diameter  of  seven  or  possibly  eight  inches.  It 
occurs  to  some  extent  all  along  the  Pacific  coast  of  Mexico,  in  detached 
beds  intercalated  in  places.  The  principal  reefs,  which  have  been  ex- 
ploited for  nearly  four  centuries,  are  in  the  shallow  waters  of  the 
Gulf  of  California  and  especially  within  the  300  miles  between  Cape 
San  Lucas  and  Mulege  Bay.  The  fisheries  have  centered  about  the 
islands  of  Cerralvo,  Espiritu  Santo,  Carmen,  and  San  Jose,  and  in  the 
bays  of  Mulege,  Ventana,  and  San  Lorenzo.  The  depth  of  water  on  the 
reefs  ranges  from  two  to  twenty-five  fathoms,  with  an  average  of 
probably  six  or  eight  fathoms.  The  species  is  generally  isolated,  and 
firmly  attached  by  the  byssus  to  the  bottom  rocks  or  the  stone  corals, 
from  which  it  may  remove  in  case  of  necessity,  though  it  probably  does 
not  do  so  frequently. 

The  second  species  is  known  locally  under  the  name  concha  nacar, 
and  has  been  named  Margaritifera  (Avicula)  vinesi  (Rochebonne).^ 
It  occurs  only  in  the  northern  part  of  the  gulf  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Colorado  River.  Formerly  it  was  abundant  in  that  region,  occurring 
in  large  areas,  but  it  has  become  much  reduced  and  is  now  little 
sought  after.  It  is  claimed  that  this  species  is  far  more  productive  of 
pearls  than  the  M.  margaritifera,  and  that  it  yielded  the  large  quan- 
tities obtained  by  Osio  in  the  eighteenth  century.  Although  irides- 
cent, the  shell  is  so  thin  and  convex  that  it  is  without  commercial-  value. 

The  headquarters  of  the  Mexican  pearl  fishery  are  at  La  Paz,  the 
capital  of  Lower  California,  240  miles  northwest  of  Mazatlan  and  150 
miles  north  of  Cape  San  Lucas.  This  "Mantle  of  Peace"— the  literal 
translation  of  La  Paz — contains  about  5000  inhabitants,  nearly  all  of 

'  Diguet,  "Bulletin  de  la  Societe  Centrale  d'AquicuIture,"  1895,  Vol.  VII. 


THE  ADAMS  GOLD  VASE 

Ornamented  with  American  gems  and  fresh-water  pearls,  rock  crystal,  gold  quartz  and  agatjzed  wood 

Top  of  vase  and  side  view 

Now  in  ^,he  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art 


AMERICAN  PEARLS  249 

whom  are  more  or  less  dependent  on  the  pearl  fishery.  It  presents  an 
attractive  picture,  with  the  cocoanut-palms  extending  down  almost  to 
the  water's  edge,  and  the  high  mountains  forming  a  background.  The 
low,  stone  houses,  the  tile  roofs,  the  plaza  with  tropical  trees,  and  the 
beautiful  flower  beds  under  perennial  sunny  skies,  give  it  a  quaint  ap- 
pearance. The  most  conspicuous  objects  from  the  harbor  are  the  large 
old  warehouses,  with  thick  walls  and  iron-barred  windows,  for  the 
storage  of  the  pearls  and  the  shells.  During  the  season,  from  April  to 
November,  the  arrival  and  departure  of  the  pearling  vessels  presents  a 
scene  of  great  animation. 

The  present  methods  of  the  fishery  on  the  Mexican  coast  are  quite 
dififerent  from  those  of  thirty  years  ago  when  nude  diving  was  the  only 
method  in  vogue.  Instead  of  the  haphazard  work,  largely  in  shallow 
water,  the  industry  is  conducted  systematically,  and  the  hmit  of  depth 
is  increased,  much  of  the  diving  being  in  depths  of  ten  to  fifteen 
fathoms.  The  fishermen  operate  either  from  a  large  vessel  making  a 
cruise  two  or  three  months  in  length,  or  from  a  camp  on  the  shore  near 
the  reefs.  A  vessel  visits  them  frequently  to  furnish  supplies  and  to 
transport  the  catch  to  La  Paz.  The  fishing  boats  are  undecked  craft, 
each  equipped  with  an  air-pump  and  a  crew  of  six  men:  a  diver,  acabo 
de  vida  or  life-line  man,  who  is  usually  the  captain,  two  homberos  at 
the  air-pump,  and  two  rowers. 

The  greatest  depth  at  which  armored  diving  is  attempted  in  Mexico 
rarely  exceeds  twenty  fathoms ;  twenty-five  fathoms  is  fully  as  deep  as 
it  is  practicable  to  go,  and  it  is  not  advisable  to  remain  at  that  depth 
more  than  a  very  few  minutes.  At  fifteen  fathoms  a  diver  may  remain 
half  an  hour  or  more,  and  at  six  or  eight  fathoms  he  may  work  unin- 
terruptedly for  several  hours.  When  the  water  is  very  cold,  the  diver 
comes  up  frequently  to  restore  his  numbed  circulation  by  vigorous 
rubbing.  The  occupation  is  especially  conducive  to  rheumatism,  and 
paralysis  is  more  or  less  general,  due,  not  only  to  the  compressed  atmos- 
phere, but  to  the  abrupt  changes  of  temperature.  The  work  is  very 
debilitating,  with  particular  efifect  on  the  nerves,  and  partial  deafness 
is  common.  It  is  important  that  the  diver  be  careful  about  overeating 
before  descending,  as  heavy  foods,  and  meats  especially,  make  respira- 
tion difficult ;  therefore,  breakfast  consists  of  little  more  than  bread 
and  coffee.  The  risks  and  dangers  from  sharks,  devil-fish,  etc.,  have 
greatly  diminished  since  the  introduction  of  scaphanders ;  for  a  stout 
diver  in  his  waterproof  dress,  with  leads  on  the  breast,  shoulders,  and 
shoes,  and  on  his  head  a  massive  helmet  containing  great  gaping  win- 
dows for  eyes,  is  enough  to  cause  even  a  hungry  shark  to  hesitate  and 
to  seek  a  more  digestible  meal. 

There  are  yet  many  nude  divers  in  Mexico,  who  operate  in  shallow 


250  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

waters,  their  cheap  labor  making  them  successful  competitors  of  the 
armored  divers.  In  arranging  with  these,  the  pearling  company  com- 
monly grub-stakes  a  crew,  pays  a  stipulated  sum  per  hundredweight 
for  the  shells,  and  bargains  for  the  pearls,  li  the  fishermen  are  not 
satisfied  with  the  price  offered  for  these,  they  are  at  liberty  to  sell  to 
other  buyers  under  certain  restrictions. 

Nude  diving  is  confined  to  the  warm  months,  beginning  about  the 
middle  of  May  and  continuing  until  October.  Owing  to  the  cloudy  or 
muddy  condition  of  the  water  in  the  gulf,  the  nude  diver  can  not  in- 
spect the  bottom  from  the  surface  and  select  the  best  oysters  before 
descending,  nor  can  he  work  satisfactorily  at  depths  greater  than  seven 
or  eight  fathoms.  While  the  work  is  hard,  it  is  more  remunerative 
than  the  average  branch  of  labor  in  this  region. 

Each  day  tlje  boats  deliver  their  catch  of  oysters  at  the  fishing-camps 
or  on  board  the  receiving  vessels.  After  they  have  been  freed  from 
marine  growths  and  refuse,  the  mollusks  are  opened  and  searched  for 
pearls.  This  operation  is  performed  by  trusted  employees,  usually 
elderly  men  who  have  become  physically  disqualified  for  diving,  and 
who,  seated  together  at  a  low  table,  work  under  the  watchful  eyes  of 
overseers.  A  knife  is  introduced  between  the  valves  of  the  oyster,  the 
adductor  muscle  is  severed,  and  the  valves  are  separated  by  breaking 
the  hinge.  The  animal  is  removed  from  the  shell  and  carefully  exam- 
ined with  the  eyes  and  the  fingers,  and  then  squeezed  in  the  hands  to 
locate  any  pearl  which  may  be  concealed  in  the  organs  or  tissues.  The 
debris  is  passed  to  other  persons,  who  submit  it  to  further  examina- 
tions. A  man  may  work  all  day  long  and  find  only  a  few  seed-pearls, 
but  occasionally  there  is  the  excitement  of  discovering  a  beautiful  gem. 

In  some  localities  the  flesh  of  the  pearl-oyster  is  a  source  of  profit 
through  its  sale  to  Chinamen,  who  dry  and  otherwise  prepare  it  for 
sale  among  their  countrymen  in  Mexico  and  America,  as  well  as  in  the 
Orient.  Frequently  the  large  adductor  muscle  is  dried  for  food,  mak- 
ing excellent  soup-stock,  and,  indeed,  it  is  quite  palatable  when  stewed. 

It  is  difficult  to  approximate  the  output  of  the  Mexican  pearl  fish- 
eries, other  than  the  pearl  shell,  because  the  dealers  place  a  merely 
nominal  value  on  the  pearls  in  their  invoices  when  sending  them  to 
Europe,  an  invoice  of  $500  sometimes  representing  gems  valued  in 
Paris  at  several  thousand  dollars.  Furthermore,  it  is  difficult  to  ob- 
tain satisfactory  information  from  the  pearling  companies,  owing, 
presumably,  to  the  fear  of  developing  greater  competition.  Ac- 
cording to  the  estimates  at  La  Paz,  the  local  value  of  the  pearl-yield 
now  approximates  $250,000  annually,  and  the  value  of  the  same  over 
the  counters  in  Europe  and  America  probably  exceeds  one  million 
dollars. 


AMERICAN  PEARLS  251 

Some  remarkably  large  pearls  have  been  secured  in  the  Mexican 
fisheries,  especially  considering  the  small  size  of  the  oysters.  In  1871 
a  pearl  of  96  grains,  pear-shaped  and  without  a  flaw,  sold  at  La 
Paz  for  3000  pesos.  In  March,  1907,  a  beautiful  pinkish  white  one, 
found  near  the  lower  end  of  the  peninsula,  sold  for  28,000  pesos  or 
$14,000.  One  of  the  best  years  for  choice  finds  was  1881,  when  the 
scaphanders  were  first  employed  to  their  greatest  efficieiycy.  A  black 
pearl  was  then  secured  which  weighed  112  grains,  and  which  brought 
40,000  francs  in  Paris.  In  1882  two,  weighing  124  and  180  grains 
respectively,  sold  for  1 1,000  pesos.  In  the  following  year  a  light  brown 
pearl,  flecked  with  dark  brown,  and  weighing  260  grains,  sold  for  7500 
pesos.  These  are  the  prices  which  the  La  Paz  merchants  received  for 
these  pearls,  and  not  the  much  greater  amounts  for  which  they  were 
finally  sold  by  the  jewelers. 

One  of  the  finest  pearls  was  found  in  1884  near  Mulege.  This 
weighed  2;j2  grains.  The  Indian  fisherman  is  said  to  have  sold  it  for 
$90;  the  purchaser  declined  an  oft'er  of  1000  pesos,  and  also  a  second 
offer  of  5000,  and  soon  sold  it  to  a  La  Paz  dealer  for  10,000  pesos.  Its 
value  in  Paris  was  estimated  at  85,000  francs.  Probably  the  most 
famous  of  all  pearls  obtained  from  these  grounds  was  "the  400-grain 
pearl"  found  near  Loreto,  and  "which  is  now  among  the  royal  jewels 
of  Spain."  It  is  said  that  this  was  offered  by  the  lucky  fisherman  to 
the  Mission  of  Loreto,  and  by  the  Director  of  Missions  in  Lower  Cali- 
fornia was  presented  to  the  Queen  of  Spain.' 

As  in  every  other  fishery,  one  hears  in  Mexico  of  fishermen  who 
have  grasped  a  prize  only  to  lose  it  through  inexperience  or  improvi- 
dence. The  account  given  above  of  the  sale  of  the  372-grain  pearl 
found  near  Mulege  furnishes  an  instance  of  this.  It  is  related  in  La 
Paz  that  in  1883  an  Indian  sold  for  ten  pesos  a  gem  weighing  128 
grains,  for  which  the  purchaser  received  27,500  francs  in  Paris.  On 
another  occasion  a  Mexican  sold  two  pearls,  easily  worth  $4000,  for 
$16  worth  of  groceries. 

In  the  eighteenth  century,  the  Notre  Dame  de  Loreto  possessed  a 
remarkable  collection  of  Mexican  pearls,  which  had  been  presented 
from  time  to  time  by  the  fishermen.  During  the  regime  of  the  Jesuits, 
it  was  customary  to  devote  the  proceeds  of  the  last  day  of  the  fishery 
to  the  decoration  of  the  altar  of  that  mission.  After  the  expulsion  of 
this  religious  order  in  1767,  the  mission  was  pillaged  and  the  collection 
dissipated.  From  the  old  aristocracy  of  Mexico,  family  heirlooms  of 
many  choice  pearls  were  placed  on  the  European  market  during  the  civil 
wars  in  Mexico  to  contribute  to  the  support  of  the  contending  armies. 
One  lady  in  Sonora  is  said  to  have  disposed  of  her  collection  for 

'Lassepas,    "Historia    de    la    Colonizacionde  la  Baja  California,"  Mexico,  1859. 


252  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

550,000  francs.  A  fine  collection  of  these  pearls,  accumulated  from 
1760  to  1850,  and  showing  them  in  a  great  variety  of  colors,  shapes, 
and  sizes,  was  in  Chihuahua  until  recently. 


AMERICAN  FRESH  WATERS 

And  my  pearls  are  pure  as  thy  own  fair  neck, 
With  whose  radiant  light  they  vie. 

Whittier,  The  Vaudois  Teacher. 

The  most  recently  developed  pearl  fisheries  are  within  the  limits  of  the 
United  States,  in  the  rivers  and  fresh-water  lakes,  and  especially  those 
in  the  Mississippi  Valley.  As  an  important  industrial  enterprise,  these 
fisheries  are  less  than  two  decades  old,  yet  they  are  very  productive, 
yielding  annually  above  half  a  million  dollars'  worth  of  pearls,  many 
of  which  compare  favorably  in  quality  with  those  from  oriental  seas. 

The  prehistoric  mounds  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  present  evidence 
of  the  estimation  in  which  pearls  were  held  by  a  race  of  men  who 
passed  away  ages  before  America  was  first  visited  by  Europeans.  In 
some  of  these  mounds,  erected  by  a  long-forgotten  race,  pearls  have 
been  found  not  only  in  hundreds  and  in  thousands,  but  by  gallons  and 
even  by  bushels.  Some  of  these  equal  three  quarters  of  an  inch  in 
diameter,  and  in  quantity  exceed  the  richest  individual  collections  of 
the  present  day.  Damaged  and  partly  decomposed  by  heat  and 
through  centuries  of  burial,  they  have  lost  their  beauty,  and  are  of 
value  only  to  the  archaeologist  and  to  indicate  the  quantity  of  pearly 
treasures  possessed  by  these  early  people. 

Owing  to  the  great  wealth  of  pearls  which  had  been  uncovered  on 
the  Spanish  Main,  at  Panama,  and  in  the  Gulf  of  California,  Eldo- 
rado explorers,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  were  particularly  eager  in 
searching  for  them  within  the  present  limits  of  the  United  States ;  in 
the  reports  of  their  wanderings,  much  space  is  given  to  these  gems, 
and  these  reports  aided  largely  in  inducing  and  encouraging  other  ex- 
peditions. Some  of  these  accounts  read  like  the  marvelous  stories  of 
Sindbad  the  Sailor,  quantities  of  pearls — hundreds  of  pounds  in  some 
instances — being  secured  by  the  exchange  of  trinkets  and  by  more 
questionable  means.  It  would  be  easy  to  bring  together  numerous 
accounts  of  apparently  reliable  authorities  to  show  that  in  the  six- 
teenth century  pearls  were  obtained  here  in  far  greater  quantities  than 
were  ever  known  in  any  other  part  of  the  world;  but  this  conclusion 
seems  not  wholly  correct. 

The  unfortunate  wanderings  of  Hernando  de  Soto  from  1539  to 


AMERICAN  PEARLS 


253 


1542  gave  rise  to  most  of  the  reports  of  rich  pearl  finds  within  the  Hm- 
its  of  this  country.  Of  this  voyage  there  are  three  principal  accounts. 
The  first  was  by  Luis  Hernandez  de  Biedma,  who  had  accompanied  De 
Soto  as  factor  for  Charles  V  of  Spain.  His  brief  report  was  presented 
to  the  king  in  1544,  although  it  was  not  published  until  1841,  nearly 
three  centuries  later,  when  it  appeared  in  a  French  translation.'  The 
second,  and  in  our  opinion  the  most  reliable  account,^  published  at 
Evora  in  1577,  was  by  an  unnamed  Portuguese  (in  English  editions, 
commonly  spoken  of  as  the  Gentleman  of  Elvas),  who  was  a  member 
of  the  expedition.  The  third  account,^  by  far  the  longest  and  most 
widely  known,  but  which  was  not  written  until  1591,  was  by  Garcilasso 
de  la  Vega,  who  represented  that  his  information  was  from  a  Spanish 
cavalier  who  had  accompanied  De  Soto. 

The  only  reference  made  to  pearls  in  Biedma's  report  seems  to  be 
his  allusion  to  the  large  quantity  secured  at  the  village  of  Cofaciqui,  on 
the  east  bank  of  the  Savannah  River.  He  states :  "When  we  arrived 
there,  the  queen  .  .  .  presented  the  governor  with  a  necklace  of  pearls 
of  five  or  six  rows,  procured  for  us  canoes  to  pass  the  river,  and  as- 
signed the  half  of  the  village  for  our  quarters.  After  having  been  in 
our  company  three  or  four  days,  she  escaped  into  the  forest ;  the  gov- 
ernor caused  search  to  be  made  after  her,  but  without  success ;  he  then 
gave  orders  to  break  open  a  temple  erected  in  this  village,  wherein  the 
chiefs  of  the  country  were  interred.  We  took  out  of  it  a  vast  quantity 
of  pearls,  which  might  amount  to  six  or  seven  arrobas,*  but  they  were 
spoiled  by  having  been  underground."^ 

The  Portuguese  narrative  alludes  to  the  pearls  at  Cofaciqui,  stating 
that  the  queen  "took  from  her  own  neck  a  great  cordon  of  pearls,  and 
cast  it  about  the  neck  of  the  governor.  .  .  .  And  the  lady,  per- 
ceiving that  the  Christians  esteemed  the  pearls,  advised  the  governor 
to  search  certain  graves  in  the  town,  where  he  would  find  many;  and 
that  if  he  would  send  to  the  abandoned  towns,  he  might  load  all  his 
horses.  He  sought  the  graves  of  that  town  and  there  found  four- 
teen rows  of  pearls,  and  little  babies  and  birds  made  of  them."* 
This  account  makes  no  further  mention  of  pearls,  except  to  state 
that  at  the  battle  of  Mavilla  this  great  collection  was  burned,  and 
that  when  the  Queen  of  Cofaciqui  escaped  from  the  Portuguese  she  car- 
ried with  her  a  little  chest  full  of  unbored  pearls,  which  some  of  the 

'  "Recueil  des  pieces  sur  la  Floride,"  Paris,  '  "La  Florida  del  Ynca,"  Lisbon,  1605. 

1841.  'One  arroba  =  twenty-five  pounds'  weight. 

^"Relagam  verdadeira  dos  Trabalhos  q  ho  ""Discovery  of  Florida,"  Hakluyt  Society, 

gouernador   do   Fernado   de   Souto   e   certos  1831,  Vol.  IX,  p.  181. 

fidalgos   Portugueses   passarom   no   descobri-  " Ibid.,  p.  SO. 
meto  da  provincia  da  Frolida.    Agora  noua- 
mente  feita  per  hu  fidalgo  Deluas." 


254  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

Spaniards  thought  were  of  great  value  ;^  and  further,  that  on  one  or 
two  other  occasions  a  few  pearls  were  received  from  the  Indians  as 
presents. 

The  account  of  De  Soto's  wanderings,  given  by  Garcilasso,  the 
Peruvian  historian,  contains  many  references  to  pearls,  which  read 
more  like  romance  than  reality.  With  his  knowledge  of  the  jewels, 
temples,  etc.,  in  Mexico  and  Peru,  and  recognizing  some  similar- 
ities in  the  manners  of  the  people  of  those  countries  and  the  ones 
with  whom  De  Soto  came  in  contact,  Garcilasso  was  easily  led  to  state- 
ments which,  though  possibly  true  in  the  one  case,  seem  fictitious  in 
the  other. 

He  gives  the  story  of  the  Queen  of  Cofaciqui,  with  some  additional 
particulars.  The  string  of  pearls  which  she  presented  to  the  governor 
made  three  circuits  of  her  neck  and  descended  to  her  waist.  In  his 
account,  the  graves  in  Cofaciqui  became  a  temple  containing,  among 
other  riches,  more  than  a  thousand  measures  of  pearls,  of  which  they 
took  only  two.  Near  Cofaciqui  was  the  temple  of  Talomeco,  over  a 
hundred  steps  long  by  forty  broad,  with  the  walls  high  in  proportion. 
Upon  the  roof  of  the  temple  were  shells  of  different  sizes,  placed  with 
the  inside  out,  to  give  more  brilliancy,  and  with  the  intervals  "filled 
with  many  strings  of  pearls  of  divers  sizes,  in  the  form  of  festoons, 
from  one  shell  to  the  other,  and  extending  from  the  top  of  the  roof 
to  the  bottom."  Within  the  temple,  festoons  of  pearls  hung  from  the 
ceiling  and  from  all  other  parts  of  the  building.  In  the  middle  were 
three  rows  of  chests  of  graded  sizes,  arranged  in  pyramids  of  five  or 
six  chests  each,  according  to  their  sizes.  "All  these  chests  were  filled 
with  pearls,  in  such  a  manner  that  the  largest  contain  the  largest 
pearls,  and  thus,  in  succession,  to  the  smallest,  which  were  full  of 
seed-pearls  only.  The  quantity  of  pearls  was  such,  that  the  Spaniards 
avowed,  that  even  if  there  had  been  more  than  nine  hundred  men  and 
three  hundred  horses,  they  all  together  could  not  have  carried  off  at 
one  time  all  the  pearls  of  this  temple.  We  ought  not  to  be  too  much 
astonished  at  this,  if  we  consider  that  the  Indians  of  the  province  con- 
veyed into  these  chests,  during  many  ages,  all  the  pearls  which  they 
found,  without  retaining  a  single  one  of  them."^  In  the  armory  at- 
tached to  this  temple  were  long  pikes,  maces,  clubs,  and  other  weapons 
mounted  with  links  and  tassels  of  pearls. 

Garcilasso  has  an  interesting  story  of  an  incident,  said  to  have  oc- 
curred a  few  days  after  leaving  Cofaciqui,  when  the  troops  were  pass- 
ing through  the  wilderness. 

'  "Discovery  of  Florida,"  Hakluyt  Society.       nando    de    Soto   and    Florida    from    1512   to 
1851,  Vol.  IX,  p.  60.  1568,"  Philadelphia,  1881,  8vo,  p.  364. 

'Bernard    Shipp,    "The    History    of    Her- 


»r''^s:^ss!''. 


Negro  pearling  camp  on  bank  of  an  Arkansas  ri\-er 


■^   -rS-it-   . 


lirnu|.  "1  Ark.,n-,i»  ptarl  ti~luriii.ri  ,    lih-i- .;;r,i|.ln;d  shortly  after  the  woman  in  the   i  .jiUi 
of  the  group  had  found  a  pearl  for  which  she  received  $Soo 


AMERICAN  PEARLS  255 

Juan  Terron,  one  of  the  stoutest  soldiers  of  the  army,  to^vard  noon,  drew 
from  his  saddle-bags  about  six  pounds  of  pearls,  and  pressed  a  cavalier,  one  of 
his  friends,  to  take  them.  The  cavalier  thanked  him  and  told  him  that  he 
ought  to  keep  them,  or  rather,  since  the  report  was  current  that  the  general 
would  send  to  Havana,  send  them  there  to  buy  horses  and  go  no  longer  afoot. 
Ofifended  at  this  answer,  Terron  replied  that  "these  pearls  then  shall  not  go  any 
farther,"  and  thereupon  scattered  them  here  and  there  upon  the  grass  and 
through  the  bushes.  They  were  surprised  at  this  folly,  for  the  pearls  were  as 
large  as  hazel-nuts,  and  of  very  fine  water,  and  because  they  were  not  pierced 
they  were  worth  more  than  six  thousand  ducats.  They  collected  about  thirty 
of  these  pearls,  which  were  so  beautiful  that  it  made  them  regret  the  loss  of  the 
others,  and  say,  in  raillery,  these  words,  which  passed  into  a  proverb  with 
them,  "There  are  no  pearls  for  Juan  Terron."  ^ 

At  the  capital  of  Iciaha,  De  Soto  received  from  the  cacique  or  chief, 
a  string,  five  feet  in  length,  of  beautiful  and  well  matched  pearls  as 
large  as  filberts.  Upon  De  Soto's  expressing  a  desire  to  learn  how  the 
gems  were  extracted  from  the  shells,  the  chief  immediately  ordered 
four  boats  to  fish  all  night  and  return  in  the  morning. 

In  the  meantime  they  Ijurnt  a  great  deal  of  wood  upon  the  shore,  in  order 
to  make  there  a  great  bed  of  live  coals,  that  at  the  return  of  the  boats  they 
might  put  thereon  the  shells,  which  would  open  with  the  heat.  They  found,  at 
the  opening  of  the  first  shells,  ten  or  twelve  pearls  of  the  size  of  a  pea,  which 
they  took  to  the  cacique,  and  to  the  general  who  was  present,  and  who  found 
them  very  beautiful,  except  that  the  fire  had  deprived  them  of  a  part  of  their 
lustre.  When  the  general  had  seen  what  he  wished,  he  returned  to  dine ;  and 
immediately  after,  a  soldier  entered,  who  instantly  said  to  him  that,  in  eating 
oysters  which  the  Indians  had  caught,  his  teeth  had  encountered  a  very  beauti- 
ful pearl  of  a  very  lively  color,  and  that  he  begged  him  to  receive  it  to  send  to 
the  governess  of  Cuba.  Soto  politely  refused  this  pearl,  and  assured  the 
soldier  that  he  was  as  obliged  to  him  as  if  he  had  accepted  it;  and  that  some 
day  he  would  try  to  acknowledge  his  kindness,  and  the  honor  which  he  did  his 
wife;  and  that  he  should  preserve  it  to  purchase  horses  at  Havana.  The 
Spaniards  valued  it  at  four  hundred  ducats;  and  as  they  had  not  made  use  of 
fire  to  extract  it,  it  had  not  lost  any  of  its  lustre.^ 

Notwithstanding  the  strong  indorsement  given  to  Garcilasso's  nar- 
rative by  Theodore  Irving  and  some  other  writers,  his  tendency  to 
exaggerate  depreciates  greatly  the  historical  value  of  his  account,  and 
it  seems  wholly  unreliable  as  an  authority  relative  to  early  resources 
in  America.  We  may  reasonably  doubt  whether  De  Soto's  expedition 
came  in  contact  with  more  pearls  than  those  mentioned  by  Biedma  and 
the  Portuguese  writer. 

'Bernard    Shipp,    "The    History   of    Her-  ' Ibid.,  p.  372. 

nando    de    Soto   and    Florida    from    1512   to 
1568,"  Philadelphia,  1881,  8vo,  p.  369- 


256  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

The  account  of  the  first  voyage  along  the  coast  of  the  United 
States,  that  of  the  Italian,  Juan  Verrazano,  in  1524,  contains  no  refer- 
ence to  pearls,  although  he  penetrated  into  the  interior  a  score  or  two 
of  miles,  and  was  frequently  in  contact  with  the  natives,  who  lived 
largely  by  fishing,  and  who  prized  many  ornaments  of  different  colored 
stones,  copper  rings,  etc. 

The  first  expedition  which  went  far  into  the  interior  was  the  ill- 
fated  one  under  command  of  Panfilo  de  Narvaez  in  1528.  A  thrilling 
account^  of  this  journey  was  written  by  Cabeza  de  Vaca,  who  was  one 
of  the  four  survivors,  after  eight  years'  wandering  through  America 
to  Mexico.  Cabeza  had  been  controller  and  royal  treasurer  of  the 
expedition,  and  in  that  position  it  was  his  particular  duty  to  acquaint 
himself  with  all  the  pearls,  gold,  and  similar  riches  found  by  the  party. 
Notwithstanding  his  tradings  with  the  Indians  and  their  efforts  to 
gain  his  friendship  by  means  of  presents,  his  account  makes  no  men- 
tion of  pearls,  except  to  refer  to  a  statement  made  by  some  Indians 
that  on  the  coast  of  the  South  Sea  there  were  pearls  and  great  riches. 

Hernando  D'Escalante  Fontaneda,  who  was  shipwrecked  on  the 
Florida  coast  about  1550,  and  was  detained  there  a  prisoner  for  seven- 
teen years,  wrote : 

"Between  Abolachi  [Appalachicola]  and  Olagale  is  a  river  which  the  In- 
dians call  Guasaca-Esqui,  which  means  Reed  River.  It  is  on  the  sea-coast,  and 
at  the  mouth  of  this  river  the  pearls  are  found  in  oysters  and  other  shells ; 
from  thence  they  are  carried  into  all  the  provinces  and  villages  of  Florida."^ 

The  European  narrators  also  reported  great  stores  of  pearls  along 
the  Atlantic  seaboard.  Among  the  first  of  these  may  be  mentioned 
David  Ingram,  who  is  represented  as  traveling  by  land  from  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  vicinity  of  Cape  Breton  in  the  years  1568  and 
1569.  As  it  appeared  in  the  first  edition  of  Hakluyt's  Voyages,  this 
relation  states : 

"There  is  in  some  of  those  Countreys  great  abundance  of  Pearle,  for  in 
every  Cottage  he  founde  Pearle,  in  some  howse  a  quarte,  in  some  a  pottel  [half 
a  gallon],  in  some  a  pecke,  more  or  less,  where  he  did  see  some  as  great  as  an 
Acorn;  and  Richard  Browne,  one  of  his  Companyons,  found  one  of  these 
great  Pearls  in  one  of  their  Canoes,  or  Boates,  wch  Pearls  he  gave  to  Mouns 
Campaine,  whoe  toke  them  aboarde  his  shippe."^ 

Estimation  of  Ingram's  wonderful  relation  is  decreased  by  Pur- 
chas's  comment : 

'  "Relation    of    Alvar    Nunez    Cabeqa    de  '  Hakluyt,     "The     Principall     Navigations, 

Vaca,"     translated    by    Buckingham     Smith,       Voiages,    and    Discoveries    of    the    English 
New  York,  1871.  Nation,"  London,  1589. 

"  Bernard  Shipp,  "History  of  Hernando  de 
Soto  and  Florida,"  Philadelphia,  1881,  p.  586. 


AMERICAN  PEARLS  257 

As  for  David  Ingram's  perambulations  to  the  north  parts,  Master  Hakluyt, 
in  his  first  edition  printed  the  same ;  but  it  seemeth  some  incredibihties  of  his 
reports  caused  him  to  leave  him  out  in  the  next  impression ;  the  reward  of 
lying  being,  not  to  be  believed  in  truths.* 

Even  the  members  of  Raleigh's  Roanoke  Colony  of  1585  reported 
pearls.    Hariot  stated: 

Sometimes  in  feeding  on  Muscles  we  found  some  Pearle :  but  it  was  our 
happe  to  meet  with  ragges,  or  of  a  pide  colour :  not  having  yet  discovered 
those  places  where  we  heard  of  better  and  more  plenty.  One  of  our  company, 
a  man  of  skill  in  such  matters,  had  gathered  from  among  the  Savage  people 
about  five  thousand :  of  which  number  he  chooses  so  many  as  made  a  faire 
chaine,  which  for  their  likenesse  and  uniformity  in  roundenesse,  orientnesse, 
and  piednesse  of  many  excellent  colours,  with  equality  in  greatnesse.  were  very 
faire  and  rare :  and  had  therefore  been  presented  to  her  Majesty,  had  we  not  by 
casualty,  and  through  extremity  of  a  storme  lost  them,  with  many  things  els 
in  coming  away  from  the  countrey.- 

So  far  as  we  can  learn,  there  is  no  evidence  to  show  that,  during  the 
sixteenth  or  the  seventeenth  century,  any  pearls  of  value  were  re- 
ceived in  Europe  from  within  the  present  limits  of  the  United  States, 
as  was  the  case  with  the  resources  of  Venezuela,  Panama  and  Mexico. 
Many  of  the  accounts  quoted  above  seem  wholly  fictitious,  some  of 
them  possibly  drawn  up  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  exploring  expe- 
ditions. It  is  also  probable  that  knowledge  of  the  enormous  collections 
at  Venezuela  and  Panama  misled  some  of  the  narrators  into  recogniz- 
ing as  pearls  the  spherical  pieces  of  shell  or  even  the  cylindrical  wam- 
pum which  the  Indians  made  in  large  quantities  and  used  as  money. 

However,  it  is  unquestionable  that  pearls  of  value  were  in  the  pos- 
session of  some  of  the  wealthier  tribes.  Biedma's  account  of  the  150 
pounds  or  more  of  damaged  pearls  in  the  graves  at  Cofaciqui  seems 
wholly  reliable,  and  likewise  many  other  statements ;  and  it  is  an  inter- 
esting problem  to  determine  the  source  from  which  the  Indians  ob- 
tained them. 

Most  of  the  narratives  refer  to  the  pearls  as  coming  from  the  coast 
of  the  South  Sea  or  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  evidence  of  Fontaneda,  who 
had  spent  seventeen  years  in  the  country,  throws  some  light  on  this. 
He  states  that  pearls  were  obtained  at  the  mouth  of  Reed  River  near 
Appalachicola,  whence  they  were  distributed  throughout  Florida. 
This  seems  to  indicate  that  on  the  west  coast  of  Florida  there  might 
have  been  extensive  reefs  of  pearl-bearing  mollusks,  which  have  since 
become  extinct,  although  existing  shell-heaps  do  not  confirm  this. 

'  "Purchas's  Pilgrims,"  London,  1625,  Vol.  '  Hakluyt's      "Voyages,"      Glasgow,      Vol. 

IV,  p.  179.  VIII,  p.  357. 

17 


258  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

While  it  is  possible  and  even  probable  that  many  of  these  pearls  in 
the  possession  of  the  Indians  came  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  or  even 
from  the  Caribbean  Sea,  it  seems  much  more  likely  that  they  came 
largely  from  the  Unios  of  the  inland  lakes  and  rivers. 

The  voyages  of  Narvaez,  Ayllon,  De  Soto,  Ribault,  etc.,  had  been 
so  unfortunate  that  for  a  century  little  exploration  was  made  in  the 
territory  of  the  southern  part  of  the  United  States.  When  this  terri- 
tory was  again  invaded,  little  was  seen  in  the  way  of  pearls. 

Iberville,  who  established  the  French  settlement  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Mississippi  in  1699,  was  specially  directed  to  look  for  them.  His 
instructions  state:  "Although  the  pearls  presented  to  his  Majesty  are 
not  fine  either  in  water  or  shape,  they  must  nevertheless  be  carefully 
sought,  as  better  may  be  found,  and  his  Majesty  desires  M.  d'Iberville 
to  bring  all  he  can ;  ascertain  where  the  fishery  is  carried  on,  and  see 
it  in  operation."  ^  Pearls  were  found  in  the  territory  of  the  Pasca- 
goulas,  but  they  were  not  worth  the  trouble  of  securing  them.  It  ap- 
pears that  from  these  the  Pearl  River  in  Mississippi  derived  its  name. 

The  only  reference  to  pearls  in  the  seventy-one  volumes  of  Travels 
and  Explorations  of  the  Jesuit  Missionaries  in  New  France,  from  1610 
to  1 791,  is  a  note  by  Father  Gravier  stating  that  he  saw  no  choice 
pearls :  "It  is  true  the  chief's  wife  has  some  small  pearls ;  but  they  are 
neither  round  nor  well  pierced,  with  the  exception  of  seven  or  eight, 
which  are  as  large  as  small  peas,  and  have  been  bought  for  more  than 
they  are  worth. "^ 

Daniel  Coxe's  description,  in  1722,  of  pearl  resources  in  America, 
is  of  special  interest  because  of  the  extended  experience  of  his  father 
as  a  trader  in  the  country.    He  states : 

Pearls  are  found  to  be  in  great  abundance  in  this  country ;  the  Indians  put 
some  value  upon  them,  but  not  so  much  as  on  the  colored  beads  we  bring  them. 
On  the  whole  coast  of  this  province,  for  two  hundred  leagues,  there  are  many 
vast  beds  of  oysters  which  breed  pearls,  as  has  been  found  in  divers  places. 
But,  which  is  very  remarkable,  far  from  the  sea,  in  fresh  water  rivers  and 
lakes,  there  is  a  sort  of  shell  fish  between  a  mussel  and  a  pearl  oyster,  wherein 
are  found  abundance  of  pearls,  and  many  of  an  unusual  magnitude.  The  In- 
dians, when  they  take  the  oysters,  broil  them  over  the  fire  till  they  are  fit  to  eat, 
keeping  the  large  pearls  they  find  in  them,  which  by  the  heat  are  tarnished  and 
lose  their  native  lustre;  but,  when  we  have  taught  them  the  right  method, 
doubtless  it  would  be  a  very  profitable  trade.  There  are  two  places  we  already 
know  within  land,  in  each  of  which  there  is  a  great  pearl  fishery.  One  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty  leagues  up  the  River  Meschacebe  [Mississippi],  on 
the  west  side,  in  a  lake  made  by  the  river  of  the  Naches,  about  forty  miles 

'  P.    F.    X.    de    Charlevoix,    "History    of       the  Country  of  Illinois  to  the  Mouth  of  the 
New  France,"  New  York,  igoo,  p.  129.  Mississippi,"  Cleveland,  1900,  p.  141. 

^Voyage  of  Father  Gravier  in  1700  From 


0 


BROOCH,  RENAISSANCE   STYLE,  SET   WITH    TiARO(jUE  PEARLS,  FROM   AMERICAN  STREAMS 

Pan-American  Expositiun,  lyoi 


AMERICAN  PEARLS  259 

from  its  mouth,  where  they  are  found  in  great  plenty  and  many  very  large. 
The  other  on  the  River  Chiaha,  which  runs  into  the  Coza  or  Cussaw  River  (as 
our  English  call  it),  and  which  comes  from  the  northeast,  and,  after  a  course 
of  some  hundred  miles,  disembogues  into  the  Gulf  of  Florida,  about  one  hun- 
dred miles  to  the  east  of  the  Meschacebe.^ 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  first  place  mentioned  by  Coxe  as  the 
location  of  a  great  pearl  fishery  is  not  far  from  one  of  the  most  pro- 
ductive pearling  regions  of  the  last  fifteen  years,  vis.,  the  eastern 
part  of  Arkansas.  The  second  place  noted  by  him  appears  to  be 
identical  with  the  Iciaha,  where,  nearly  two  centuries  before,  the 
Indians  exhibited  the  methods  of  their  fishing  to  De  Soto  and  his  com- 
panions. 

Excepting  Coxe's  notice,  for  250  years  following  1600,  little  was 
heard  of  the  occurrence  of  pearls  within  this  country.  This  does  not 
indicate  necessarily  that  the  gems  were  absent  from  the  waters;  but, 
not  using  the  Unios  for  food  as  did  the  aborigines,  the  residents  had 
little  occasion  to  open  them  and  in  this  way  learn  of  their  con- 
tents. And  even  where  pearls  were  occasionally  found  in  mollusks 
opened  for  fish-bait,  the  people  were  in  few  instances  informed  as  to 
their  market  value,  and  did  not  attempt  to  sell  them,  although  the  most 
attractive  ones  may  have  been  treasured  as  ornaments  or  as  keepsakes. 
This  was  paralleled  in  the  diamond  fields  of  South  Africa,  where  gems 
worth  thousands  of  dollars  were  used  as  playthings  by  the  farmers' 
children.  A  jewel,  like  a  prophet,  is  frequently  without  honor  in  its 
own  country  until  the  residents  of  that  country  learn  of  the  great  es- 
teem in  which  it  is  held  elsewhere. 

And  yet,  in  some  localities  a  few  pearls  were  collected  from  time 
to  time.  The  Moravians — familiar  with  the  pearls  of  their  native 
streams  in  Europe — gathered  many  from  the  Lehigh  River  near  Beth- 
lehem, Pennsylvania,  over  a  century  ago;^  and  from  Rhode  Island  and 
elsewhere  a  few  were  obtained. 

The  first  awakening  to  a  realization  of  the  value  of  fresh-water 
pearls  in  America  occurred  fifty  years  ago,  when  several  beautiful 
gems  were  marketed  from  the  northern  part  of  New  Jersey.  The 
story  of  this  find  has  been  frequently  told.  A  shoemaker  named 
David  Howell,  who  lived  on  the  outskirts  of  Paterson,  occasionally 
relieved  the  monotony  of  his  trade  by  a  fishing  excursion  to  some  neigh- 
boring stream,  where  he  would  usually  collect  a  "mess"  of  mussels. 
Returning  from  one  of  these  visits  to  Notch  Brook  in  the  spring  of 

'  Coxe,    "A    Description    of    the    English  Meschacebe  or  Missisipi,"  London,  1722,  pp. 

Province    of    Carolana,    by    the     Spaniards  82,  83. 

call'd  Florida,  and  by  the  French  La  Louisi-  "  ".Mlgemeine      Handelszeitung,"      Leipzig, 

ane,  as  also  of  the  Great  and  Famous  River  April,  1789,  p.  218. 


26o  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

1857,  the  mussels  were  fried  with  the  usual  abundance  of  grease  and 
heat.  After  this  preparation,  one  of  them  was  found  to  contain  a  large, 
round  pearl  weighing  "nearly  400  grains,"  which  possibly  might  have 
proven  the  finest  of  modern  times,  had  not  its  luster  and  beauty  been 
destroyed  by  the  heat  and  grease/  Had  the  pearl  been  discovered 
in  time,  its  value  might  have  exceeded  $25,000,  thus  making  poor 
Howell's  fried  mussels  one  of  the  most  expensive  of  suppers. 

Hoping  to  duplicate  his  wonderful  find,  Howell  collected  and 
searched  other  mussels,  and  his  example  was  followed  by  several  of 
his  neighbors.  Within  a  few  days  a  magnificent  pink  pearl  was  found 
by  a  Paterson  carpenter  named  Jacob  Quackenbush.  This  weighed 
ninety-three  grains,  and  was  bought  by  the  late  Charles  L.  Tififany 
for  Messrs.  Tiffany  &  Co.,  New  York  City,  for  $1500.  Mr.  Tififany 
later  described  with  much  interest  the  feelings  he  experienced  after 
making  the  purchase.  Said  he:  "Here  this  man  finds  a  pearl  within 
seventeen  miles  of  our  place  of  business !  What  if  thousands  should 
be  found,  and  many  perhaps  finer  than  this  one !  However,  we  risked 
buying  the  pearl,  and  as  no  one  in  New  York  seemed  interested  in  it, 
we  sent  it  to  our  Paris  house  for  sale,  and  a  French  gem  dealer  ofifered 
for  it  a  very  large  advance  on  the  original  price,  paying  12,500 
francs."  From  this  dealer  it  passed  into  the  possession  of  the  young 
and  beautiful  Empress  Eugenie,  from  whom  and  from  its  great  luster 
it  derived  the  name  "Queen  Pearl."  Its  present  market  value  would 
doubtless  amount  to  $10,000  or  more. 

When  news  of  the  very  large  price  received  for  Quackenbush's  find 
became  public,  great  excitement  developed  in  the  vicinity  of  Notch 
Brook.  Persons  came  from  all  directions  to  search  in  the  shallow 
streams  for  valuable  pearls.  Farmers  of  the  neighborhood  tried  their 
luck,  and  also  mechanics  and  other  residents  of  the  adjacent  villages 
and  towns,  and  even  some  from  Newark,  Jersey  City,  and  New  York. 
An  old  resident,  who  was  an  eye-witness,  describes  the  scene  as  one  of 
great  animation,  the  crowds  of  people  and  the  horses  and  wagons 
alcHig  the  shore  giving  "an  appearance  of  camp-meeting  time."  At 
least  one  schoolmaster  in  the  vicinity  is  said  to  have  closed  his  school 
to  give  his  pupils  an  opportunity  to  engage  in  the  hunt. 

With  trousers  rolled  up,  the  people  waded  into  the  shallow  water 
and  sought  for  the  mussels  in  the  mud  and  sand  on  the  bottom.  Many 
pearls  were  secured,  but  none  approached  in  size  or  value  the  two 
above  noted.^  During  1857,  the  New  York  City  market  received  about 
$15,000  worth  of  pearls  from  these  waters,  and  in  addition  many  were 

'"Frank    Leslie's    Magazine,"    New    York,  1892.  pp.  211-257.     "The  Fresh- Water  Pearls 

May  23,  1857,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  384-386.  of  the  United  States,"  Washington,  1898,  50 

°  "Gems  and  Precious  Stones  of  North  Amer-  pages  and  plates, 
ica,"  by  George  F.  Kunz,  New  York,   i88g- 


AMERICAN  PEARLS  261 

sold  locally  or  retained  as  souvenirs  of  the  hunt.  At  the  low  price  of 
pearls  existing  then,  this  figure  would  mean  possibly  ten  times  as  much 
at  present,  or  $150,000. 

The  active  search  soon  depleted  the  resources  of  the  little  stream, 
so  that  in  the  following  year  the  reported  value  of  the  yield  was  only 
a  few  thousand  dollars.  The  decrease  continued  until  in  a  few  years 
practically  every  mussel  was  removed,  and  at  present  scarcely  a  single 
Unio  is  to  be  found  in  these  waters. 

The  interest  in  pearling  extended  far  from  the  place  of  the  original 
find;  and  in  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  and  even  as  far  away  as  Texas, 
search  was  made  in  the  streams.  In  the  Colorado  and  its  tributaries, 
about  20,000  were  found  in  a  short  while.  Most  of  these  were  small 
and  unattractive,  but  a  considerable  nuiTiber  were  reported  "as  large 
as  pepper-corns"  and  a  few  "the  size  of  a  small  rifle  ball,"  the  number 
decreasing  with  the  increase  in  size.  A  correspondent  in  the  "Neue 
Zeit"  wrote: 

Sometimes  they  are  round,  sometimes  cylindrical,  elliptical,  hemispherical, 
or  of  an  altogether  irregular  shape.  The  finest  have  a  milk-white,  silvery 
sheen ;  man)%  however,  are  reddish  yellow,  bluish  brown,  or  quite  black ;  the 
last  naturally  have  no  value  whatever.  As  to  their  value,  there  is  considerable 
uncertainty,  and  it  can  easily  be  understood  that  those  who  have  a  great  num- 
ber of  them  in  their  possession  greatly  overestimate  them.  So  far  they  are 
found  principally  in  the  Llano  and  the  San  Saba.' 

After  the  resources  in  northern  New  Jersey  were  depleted  and  the 
excitement  had  died  out,  little  was  heard  of  pearling  in  this  country 
until  1878,  when  many  were  found  in  Little  Miami  River  in  southwest- 
ern Ohio.  The  fishing  was  carried  on  at  low  water,  and  principally  by 
boys,  who  would  wade  out  in  the  water  and  feel  for  the  mollusks  with 
their  feet,  and  then  bob  under  and  pick  them  up  with  their  hands.  The 
senior  author  spent  a  day  in  this  fishery  with  a  party  of  six  boys  with 
some  success.  During  1878  about  $25,000  worth  of  pearls  were  col- 
lected in  the  vicinity  of  Waynesville  on  that  stream.  Mr.  Israel  H. 
Harris,  a  banker  of  Waynesville,  then  began  collecting  these  pearls ; 
and  by  purchasing  during  several  years  nearly  every  interesting  speci- 
men found  in  the  vicinity,  he  made  his  collection  one  of  the  largest  and 
best  known  in  the  country.  When  sold  in  1888,  it  contained  several 
thousand  pearls,  mostly  of  small  size,  averaging  in  weight  little  more 
than  one  grain  each.  A  large  portion  of  this  collection  was  exhibited 
in  the  American  section  of  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1889,  and  was 
awarded  a  gold  medal.  Included  in  this  exhibit  was  a  series  of  orna- 
ments in  which  the  gems  were  arranged  according  to  color,  so  that  in 
one  the  pearls  were  green,  in  another  purplish  brown,  in  another  pink, 

"  "Neue  Zeit,"  in  Ausland,  1858,  No.  8,  p.  192. 


262  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

in  another  waxy  white,  and  in  one  a  cream  white.  It  also  contained 
a  button-shaped  pearl  weighing  thirty-eight  grains  and  several  pink 
ones  almost  translucent.  A  pink  pearl  of  eight  grains  was  admired  by 
all  who  saw  it;  by  reflected  light  this  had  the  color  and  translucency 
of  a  drop  of  molten  silver.  Many  of  the  pink  pearls  found  in  the 
Little  Miami  and  its  tributaries  were  of  the  most  beautiful  rose-petal 
pink;  pearls  of  this  peculiar  color  have  never  been  found  in  any  other 
waters. 

From  Ohio  the  industry  gradually  extended  westward  and  south- 
ward, and  new  fields  were  developed,  pearls  to  the  value  of  about 
$10,000  annually  coming  on  the  market  from  such  widely  separated 
States  as  Vermont,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Florida,  Texas,  Washing- 
ton, etc.  However,  little  general  interest  was  taken  in  fresh-water 
pearls,  and  few  choice  ones  were  found  until  the  magnificent  resources 
of  the  upper  Mississippi  Valley  were  discovered.  Owing  to  the  ease 
with  which  the  mollusks  may  be  collected  by  wading,  it  was  in  the 
relatively  shallow  tributaries  that  the  fishery  first  developed,  rather 
than  in  the  deep  channels  of  the  main  stream  and  of  the  large  afiluents. 

The  first  region  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  to  attract  attention  was 
southwestern  Wisconsin.  Early  in  the  summer  of  1889,  many  beauti- 
ful pearls  were  found  in  Pecatonica  River,  a  tributary  of  Rock  River, 
which  in  turn  empties  into  the  Mississippi.  Within  three  months, 
$10,000  worth  of  gems  were  sent  from  this  region  to  New  York  City 
alone,  including  one  worth  $500,  which  was  a  very  considerable  sum 
for  a  fresh-water  pearl  at  that  time.  The  interest  quickly  spread  to 
neighboring  waters,  and  within  a  short  time  pearls  were  found  also  in 
Sugar  River,  in  Apple  River,  in  Rock  River,  in  Wisconsin  River,  and 
in  the  Mississippi  in  the  vicinity  of  Prairie  du  Chien.  The  fact  that 
little  experience  and  no  capital  was  required  for  the  business  drew 
large  numbers  of  persons  to  the  newly-found  Klondike ;  and  the  finds 
were  so  numerous  and  of  such  high  quality  that  about  $300,000  worth 
of  pearls  were  collected  before  the  end  of  1891,  greatly  exceeding  all 
records  for  fresh  waters. 

The  Wisconsin  pearls  are  remarkable  for  their  beauty,  luster,  and 
diversified  coloring,  and  some  lovely  shades  of  pink,  purple,  and  espe- 
cially metallic  green  have  been  found.  Several  of  them  have  weighed 
in  excess  of  fifty  grains  each,  and  some  individual  values  ran  well  into 
four  figures.  One  shipment  made  from  Sugar  River  to  London  in 
September,  1890,  contained  ninety-three  pearls,  weighing  from  four 
to  twenty-eight  grains  each,  for  which  £11,700  was  received  in  pay- 
ment. In  the  limits  of  one  county  in  the  following  year,  pearls  to  the 
value  of  nearly  $100,000  were  secured. 

Shortly  following  the  outbreak  of  pearling  in  Wisconsin  came  the 


BROOCHES   AM)    R1M;s   OF    FRESH-WATER    PEARLS    FROM    WISCONSIN'    AND    TENNESSEE 

Paris  Exposition,  1900 


AMERICAN  PEARLS  263 

development  of  interest  in  certain  parts  of  Tennessee.  For  many 
years  pearls  had  been  secured  from  the  Cumberland  and  Tennessee 
rivers  and  their  tributaries,  especially  Caney  Fork,  Duck,  Calf  Killer, 
and  Elk  rivers,  the  headquarters  of  the  fishery  and  the  local  markets 
being  Carthage,  Smithville,  Columbia,  and  Arlington.  The  search 
had  been  conducted  in  a  moderate  way  by  pleasure  parties  in  the  sum- 
mer, and  by  farmers  after  the  crops  had  been  laid  aside. 

In  190 1  pearling  excitement  developed  in  the  mountain  regions  of 
eastern  Tennessee,  especially  in  Clinch  River.  These  newly-discovered 
resources  proved  so  valuable  that  the  local  interest  became  very  great. 
Vivid  and  picturesque  accounts  published  in  the  local  papers  reported 
hundreds  of  persons  as  camping  at  various  points  along  the  streams, 
some  in  tents  and  some  in  rough  shanties,  and  others  going  from  shoal 
to  shoal  in  newly-built  house-boats.  They  were  described  as  easy- 
going, pleasure-loving  people,  the  men,  women,  and  children  working 
hard  all  day,  subsisting  largely  on  fish  caught  in  the  same  stream, 
and  dancing  at  night  to  the  music  of  a  banjo  around  the  camp-fires. 
The  center  of  the  new  industry  was  Clinton,  the  county  seat  of  Ander- 
son County,  whither  the  successful  hunters  betook  themselves  each 
Saturday,  the  preferred  time  for  selling  the  catch. 

The  next  outbreak  of  pearling  excitement  was  in  Arkansas,  in  the 
region  referred  to  by  Daniel  Coxe  two  centuries  ago  as  the  location  of 
great  pearl  resources.^  Although  in  recent  times  little  had  been  heard 
of  pearls  in  Arkansas  previous  to  1895,  they  were  not  unknown  in  that 
State.  For  years  they  had  been  picked  up  by  the  fishermen,  and  used 
as  lucky  stones  or  given  to  the  children  for  playthings.  Some  had 
come  into  the  possession  of  persons  acquainted  with  their  value. 
About  1875,  a  few  pearls  were  collected  by  a  party  of  men  engaged  in 
cutting  cedar  poles  on  White  River;  in  1888,  a  brilliant  pear-shaped 
pink  pearl  of  twenty-seven  grains  was  secured  from  the  same  river, 
and  sold  to  a  prominent  resident.  Little  had  been  said  about  these 
finds,  and  in  general  the  people  of  Arkansas  had  slight  idea  of  the 
occurrence  or  the  value  of  pearls  in  those  waters. 

In  1895,  a  surveying  party  on  White  River  found  pearls  in  the  Unios 
of  that  stream,  and  collected  them  to  the  value  of  about  $5000.  News 
of  this  discovery  attracted  attention  to  the  resource,  and  other  persons 
sought  for  the  gems  in  the  White  River  and  its  tributaries,  in  the 
St.  Francis  and  the  Arkansas  rivers.  The  unusually  low  water  in 
1896  facilitated  the  fishery,  and  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  many 
large  and  valuable  gems.  The  interest  developed  rapidly,  and  within 
twelve  months  nearly  every  stream  of  water  in  Arkansas  yielded 
pearls,  with  the  finds  most  extensive  and  valuable  in  White  River  and 

'  See  p.  258. 


264  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

its  tributary  the  Black  River,  which  has  proved  to  be  the  richest  pearl- 
ing region  in  America.  The  industry  centered  at  Black  Rock,  more 
than  a  thousand  persons  fishing  within  twenty  miles  of  that  place.  It 
is  estimated  that  within  three  years  following  the  development  of  this 
fishery,  this  State  yielded  pearls  to  the  value  of  more  than  $500,000. 

When  the  Arkansas  fishery  was  at  its  height,  it  was  reported  that 
ten  thousand  persons  were  employed  therein.  The  fishermen  were 
from  nearly  every  class  and  condition  in  the  State.  Women  were  not 
absent;  even  children  participated  in  the  industry,  and  some  proved 
more  fortunate  than  the  older  hunters.  It  was  not  uncommon  to  see 
several  hundred  persons  congregated  at  one  bar  or  in  one  stretch  of 
the  river,  all  intent  on  making  a  fortune,  and  all  occupied  in  fishing 
or  in  opening  the  shells.  So  complete  was  the  absorption  of  the  people 
in  this  pursuit,  and  so  many  of  the  farm-hands  were  occupied  in  the 
eager  search  for  anticipated  fortunes,  that  the  local  papers  reported 
much  apprehension  and  difficulty  in  harvesting  the  cotton  and  other 
crops. 

Within  the  main  channel  of  the  Mississippi,  the  relative  scarcity  of 
pearls  in  the  Unios,  and  the  greater  preparation  required  for  collecting 
the  mollusks  in  the  deep  waters,  retarded  the  fishery  until  the  estab- 
lishment of  button  manufacture  afiforded  a  market  for  the  shells,  this 
originating  in  1891.  The  industry  developed  rapidly,  and  for  several 
years  has  consumed  about  35,000  tons  of  shells  annually,  obtained 
principally  in  the  Mississippi  between  Quincy  and  La  Crosse,  and  to 
a  much  less  extent  in  other  streams  in  this  valley.  This  is  more  than 
twice  the  total  product  of  mother-of-pearl  shell  in  all  parts  of  the 
world.  However,  the  value  per  ton  is  very  much  less  than  that  of  the 
best  grade  of  mother-of-pearl ;  that  from  Australia,  for  instance,  com- 
monly selling  for  $1200  per  ton,  whereas  the  Mississippi  shell  usually 
sells  for  less  than  $20,  although  the  very  choicest  may  bring  upward 
of  $50  per  ton. 

The  gathering  of  shells  for  manufacture  has  extended  to  many  of 
the  large  tributaries  of  the  Mississippi,  especially  the  Arkansas,  the 
White,  the  St.  Francis,  the  Ohio  and  the  Illinois  rivers,  and  this  in- 
dustry has  added  largely  to  the  pearl  yield  in  these  waters. 

In  the  last  three  years,  the  scenes  of  greatest  activity  have  been  the 
Wabash  River  and  its  tributaries,  where  shell-collecting  developed  in 
1903,  and  the  Illinois  River,  where  the  industry  was  of  little  impor- 
tance previous  to  1906.  On  the  Wabash,  camps  were  established  at 
almost  every  town,  from  the  mouth  up  to  St.  Francis,  Illinois,  and 
about  one  thousand  persons  found  employment.  Some  of  the  most 
beautiful  American  gems  have  come  from  this  river.  They  are 
usually  silvery  white  in  color  and  of  the  sweetest  luster.     A  single 


AMERICAN  PEARLS  265 

pearl  weighing  only  ten  grains  has  been  sold  at  the  river  for  $1000; 
but  it  is  frequently  the  case  that  a  fine  gem  will  sell  for  more  at  the 
place  where  found  than  in  the  great  markets.  During  the  spring  of 
1907,  three  pearls  were  found  in  the  Wabash  near  Vincennes,  which 
weighed  forty-one,  fifty-one,  and  fifty-three  grains  respectively.  One 
of  these  was  white,  one  faint  pink,  and  the  third  was  yellow.  The 
finest  pearls  have  been  reported  from  the  vicinity  of  Mount  Carmel 
near  the  lower  end  of  the  river.  Very  large  quantities  of  baroques  or 
slugs  are  found  in  the  Wabash  and  the  Illinois ;  30,000  ounces  were 
reported  from  those  rivers  and  their  tributaries  in  1907,  for  which  the 
fishermen  received  a  total  of  $50,000.  A  large  symmetrical  pearl 
found  during  1907  weighed  a  trifle  under  150  grains,  and  a  slug  was 
found  which  weighed  fully  one  ounce,  or  606  grains. 

The  pearl-hunting  excitement  has  been  felt  even  on  the  Atlantic 
seaboard,  as  a  result  of  the  publication  of  the  discoveries  in  the  Missis- 
sippi Valley.  In  Maine  many  pearls  have  been  reported,  especially  in 
the  vicinity  of  Moosehead  Lake.  In  1901  over  one  hundred  were 
found  in  that  vicinity ;  most  of  them  were  of  little  value,  but  more  than 
a  dozen  were  worth  $10  or  $15  each.  Three  found  by  Kineo  guides 
were  sold  for  an  aggregate  of  $300.  The  choicest  one  reported  in  that 
year  weighed  twelve  and  one  half  grains  and  sold  for  $150 ;  had  it  been 
perfect  in  form  and  luster  its  value  would  have  been  several  times  that 
amount.  Most  of  these  pearls  were  found  by  Moosehead  guides,  who 
found  purchasers  among  the  visiting  fishermen  and  hunters. 

Since  1901  many  farm-boys  as  well  as  guides  have  devoted  much 
attention  to  the  business,  some  of  them  deriving  as  large  a  revenue 
therefrom  as  from  the  use  of  the  rifle.  Good  finds  have  been  made, 
during  the  last  year  or  two  especially.  In  1906,  one  choice  pearl  sold 
for  $700,  and  many  have  sold  for  $10  to  $75  each.  The  search  has 
proven  so  alluring  that  returning  visitors  have  complained  that  some 
of  the  guides  care  to  do  little  more  than  search  every  rill,  brook,  and 
creek  they  come  across  looking  for  the  mollusks.  Just  at  present  the 
principal  attention  seems  to  be  directed  to  the  streams  in  the  western 
part  of  Maine,  where  the  river-beds  are  more  sandy  and  the  shell-fish 
more  abundant  than  in  the  northern  and  eastern  part  of  the  State. 

In  Massachusetts  pearls  have  been  collected  from  many  of  the  ponds 
and  brooks.  In  Nonesuch  Pond  in  Weston,  the  Unio  complaiiata  has 
yielded  many  small  ones  of  attractive  appearance,  but  not  of  sufficient 
size  or  luster  to  sell  for  more  than  $10  each.  Ponds  in  the  town  of 
Greenwich  and  also  in  Pelham  in  Hampshire  County  are  among  the 
best  in  Massachusetts  for  pearls.  The  Sudbury  River  above  Concord 
also  yields  many.  Relatively  few  of  the  Unios  contain  pearls,  and  the 
gem-bearing  individuals  seem  to  be  grouped  in  special  localities.     Out- 


266  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

side  of  these  places,  thousands  of  mussels  may  be  opened  without  re- 
vealing a  single  gem.  A  collection  of  small  Massachusetts  pearls  was 
brought  together  a  few  years  ago  by  Mr.  Sherman  F.  Denton  of 
Wellesley  Farms,  who  has  devoted  much  time  to  exploring  the  inland 
waters  of  Massachusetts. 

Connecticut  also  has  had  a  slight  touch  of  the  pearl  fever.  In  1897, 
Mr.  C.  S.  Carwell  of  Ledyard,  explored  the  headwaters  of  Mystic 
River,  and  in  a  few  weeks  collected  a  number  of  pearls,  one  of  which 
he  is  reported  as  having  sold  for  $500,  and  two  others  were  estimated 
at  $400  each.  And  from  the  other  end  of  the  State,  along  the  Shepaug 
River,  is  reported  a  similar  account  of  the  success  of  Mr.  Arlo  Kinney 
of  Steep  Rock.  Attracted  by  these  reports,  crowds  of  seekers  have 
proceeded  in  the  usual  reckless  inanner  to  make  wholesale  destruction 
of  the  mollusks.  The  finds  have  been  especially  large  and  valuable  in  the 
lakes  and  streams  of  Litchfield  County,  particularly  in  Bantam  Lake. 

In  New  York  State,  pearls  have  been  found  in  the  swift  shallow 
streams  in  the  Adirondack  region,  and  in  several  of  those  entering  the 
St.  Lawrence,  particularly  the  Grass  River  in  St.  Lawrence  County. 
Pearls  were  first  reported  from  this  region  in  1894.  In  i8g6  the 
Grass  yielded  one  pearl  weighing  fifty-eight  grains,  worth  $600 
locally;  and  in  1897  one  weighing  sixty-eight  grains  was  found,  the 
fisherman  selling  it  for  $800.  A  resident  of  Russell  township  devoted 
most  of  his  time  to  pearling  in  Grass  River  during  1896  and  1897, 
from  which  he  is  said  to  have  realized  $2000.  In  this  region  the  mus- 
sels are  found  by  wading  in  the  shallow  water  and  scanning  the  bottom 
through  a  water-telescope.  Most  of  the  pearls  are  of  slight  value, 
but  many  individuals  are  reported  as  worth  from  $30  to  $60  each. 

Pearl  River  in  Rockland  County,  New  \'ork,  has  furnished  a  num- 
ber of  brown  pearls.  These  are  commonly  small,  weighing  from  one 
eighth  to  one  half  grain  each,  although  some  weigh  seven  or  eight 
grains  each.  Most  of  these  are  not  lustrous,  but  occasionally  a  bright 
brown  or  a  bright  copper-brown  specimen  of  from  one  to  four  grains 
is  met  with.  At  the  Paris  Exposition,  in  1900,  were  exhibited  one 
hundred  of  these  pearls,  with  an  aggregate  weight  of  281  grains; 
these  now  form  part  of  the  Morgan-Tiffany  Collection,  in  the  Ameri- 
can Museum  of  Natural  History. 

Even  in  the  rich  coal  regions  of  Pennsylvania  pearls  are  found. 
Possibly  the  most  productive  section  in  that  State  has  been  the  head- 
waters of  the  Schuylkill  River  in  the  vicinity  of  Tamaqua,  Quakake, 
and  Mahony  City.  Of  the  tributaries  of  the  Schuylkill,  those  con- 
tributing largely  to  the  yield  have  been  Lewiston,  Nipert,  Still,  Locust, 
and  Hecla.  These  rise  in  the  mountains  and  are  rivulets  of  fair  size 
by  the  time  they  reach  their  common  outlet. 


M,..h,., 


PEARL-BEARING   UNIOS 

From  the  Mississippi  Valley 
The  upper  pictures  show  the  two  valves  of  the  same  shell,  and  the  pearl  is  detachable 


w 


^ 


*■    i. 


AMERICAN  PEARLS  267 

The  original  pearl  finds  in  the  Schuylkill  date  from  half  a  century 
ago,  when  they  were  secured  by  farmers  who  used  the  mussel  shells 
in  removing  hair  from  the  hides  of  slaughtered  pigs.  During  the 
Mississippi  pearling  excitement  in  1897,  several  persons  from  New 
York,  who  were  summering  in  Schuylkill  County,  searched  the  small 
streams  for  pearl-bearing  mussels  with  such  success  that  within  a  short 
while  many  farmers  became  enthusiastic  hunters  during  their  spare 
time.  Half  a  dozen  or  more  men  did  very  well,  their  catch  amounting 
to  thousands  of  dollars'  worth.  Mr.  Frank  M.  Ebert,  of  Quakake, 
has  put  most  of  his  spare  time  in  the  business  in  the  last  ten  years,  and 
has  secured  many  good  pearls.  It  is  estimated  that  the  total  catch  in 
Schuylkill  County  alone  approximates  $20,000  at  local  values.  So 
actively  has  the  search  been  conducted  'that  at  present  few  adult  mus- 
sels of  the  pearl-bearing  species  remain,  and  a  day's  work  may  result 
in  finding  less  than  a  dozen. 

The  best  price  reported  as  received  by  a  local  fisherman  was  $200 
for  a  twenty-grain  pearl  in  the  year  1904.  Many  individual  specimens 
have  been  sold  at  prices  ranging  from  $100  to  $175.  It  is  claimed  that 
a  pearl  sold  by  a  fisherman  in  Schuylkill  for  fifty  cents  was  later  mar- 
keted in  Philadelphia  for  $125,  and  with  slight  mounting  was  ulti- 
mately sold  for  $1600.  The  most  attractive  weigh  from  ten  to  twenty 
grains  each ;  larger  ones  have  been  found,  weighing  up  to  thirty-eight 
grains,  but  as  a  rule  the  luster  is  not  so  good  as  that  possessed  by 
pearls  of  medium  size.  The  common  colors  are  dark  blue,  pink,  lav- 
ender, and  white.  A  few  are  black  and  some  are  brown.  The  brown 
pearls  are  seldom  of  value,  owing  to  deficiency  in  luster. 

In  Maryland  pearls  have  been  collected  from  the  brooks  near 
the  head  of  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  especially  in  Kent  and  Cecil  counties. 
These  are  of  almost  every  conceivable  color,  ranging  from  a  clear 
white  to  a  dainty  pink,  and  to  very  dark  colors,  especially  bronze  and 
copper.  Most  of  them  are  too  small  for  commercial  value,  and  only 
a  few  reach  sufficient  size  to  command  more  than  $5  or  $10  each,  but 
single  specimens  have  sold  as  high  as  $50. 

Georgia  has  yielded  some  pearls,  chiefly  in  the  vicinity  of  Rome,  at 
the  junction  of  the  Etowah  and  Oostanaula  rivers.  This  is  believed 
to  be  the  site  of  the  Indian  town  Cofaciqui,  where,  in  his  memorable 
expedition  of  1 540-1 541,  De  Soto  found  the  natives  in  possession  of  so 
many  pearls.  The  general  news  of  finds  in  the  Mississippi  Valley 
stirred  up  local  interest  in  this  region  in  1897,  and  when  the  streams 
were  low  and  clear  in  the  autumn  many  persons  engaged  in  hunting 
the  mussels.  An  ex-sheriflf  of  Rome  is  reported  as  having  secured 
about  fifty  pearls,  lustrous  but  irregular.  A  few  miles  above  Rome, 
a  farmer  made  a  trial  on  Johns  Creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Oostanaula; 


268  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

and  from  a  basketful  of  Unios  he  reports  finding  several  marketable 
pearls  for  which  he  received  $i8o  from  a  Baltimore  jeweler.  Others 
followed,  and  many  fine  specimens  were  secured.  Unios  are  especially 
abundant  in  the  Flint,  Ocmulgee,  and  Oconee  rivers,  and  it  seems  prob- 
able that  many  pearls  might  be  found  in  these  streams. 

Florida  has  not  yet  been  actively  exploited,  but  it  may  prove  a  pro- 
ductive region  ere  long.  The  reports  of  De  Soto's  expedition  make 
special  reference  to  the  size  and  beauty  of  the  pearls  found  at  a  point 
where  he  crossed  the  Ocklocknee  River  about  thirty  miles  above  its 
mouth,  near  the  present  site  of  Langston,  Wakulla  County.  And 
there  seems  little  doubt  that  pearls  may  be  found  in  the  Ocklocknee 
and  also  in  its  affluent,  the  Sopchoppy  River.  The  banks  of  these 
streams  are  full  of  shells,  and  pearls  of  choice  color  have  been  sent 
from  there. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  refer  in  detail  to  the  origin  of  pearling  in  each 
of  the  States.  The  general  interest  in  this  industry  from  1889  to  the 
present  time  has  resulted  in  the  examination  of  most  of  the  rivers  and 
creeks,  and  in  few  has  the  search  been  entirely  unrewarded,  although 
the  finds  have  been  relatively  much  greater  in  some  waters  than  in 
others.  As  a  rule,  pearl-bearing  Unios  are  most  numerous  in  clear, 
swift  streams,  with  sandy  or  gravelly  bottoms  and  which  flow  through 
calcareous  rocks.  With  pearlers  as  with  miners,  there  is  a  stampede 
to  the  places  where  a  good  find  is  reported,  since  the  rivers  are  free 
for  all;  consequently,  there  is  much  variation  from  year  to  year  in  the 
amount  of  attention  which  the  individual  streams  and  localities  receive. 

While  many  of  the  pearlers  operating  in  the  Mississippi  River  are 
professional  fishermen  or  rivermen,  most  of  those  in  the  smaller 
streams  have  had  no  previous  experience  in  similar  work.  Frequently 
whole  families  come  twenty  or  thirty  miles,  and  even  greater  distances, 
and  camp  on  the  river  bank.  In  many  instances  farm-hands  are  there 
who  have  abandoned  their  crops,  mechanics  who  have  left  steady  jobs, 
railway  men  who  have  taken  a  lay-off,  teachers,  merchants,  all  eager 
and  expecting  to  find  a  fortune.  In  some  localities,  pearl  fishing  has 
been  used  as  an  attraction  in  big  picnic  advertisements,  and  has  drawn 
larger  crowds  than  a  public  orator. 

The  mollusks  are  removed  from  the  river  bottoms  in  various  ways 
and  by  many  forms  of  apparatus.  In  the  shallow  streams  the  fisher- 
men simply  wade  out  in  the  water  and  pick  up  the  shells  by  hand.  If 
not  readily  visible  from  the  surface,  the  shells  may  be  located  with  the 
bare  feet  or  by  the  use  of  a  water-telescope.  Where  the  water  is  too 
deep  for  wading,  the  fishermen  work  from  small  boats,  and  use  garden 
rakes  or  other  convenient  inplements. 

Where  pearling  has  developed  into  more  of  an  industry,  special 


AMERICAN  PEARLS  269 

forms  of  rakes  and  drags  are  employed.  A  shoulder  rake,  with  a 
handle  twelve  to  twenty  feet  in  length,  is  used  extensively  under  the 
ice  in  frozen  rivers,  and  in  lakes  and  other  places  where  the  water  is 
still  and  from  eight  to  fifteen  feet  in  depth.  This  is  simply  an  over- 
grown or  enlarged  garden  rake,  armed  with  twelve  or  fifteen  iron  teeth 
about  five  inches  in  length.  A  wire  scoop  or  basket  is  attached  to  re- 
ceive the  catch  as  it  is  pulled  from  the  bottom  by  the  teeth,  and  when 
this  scoop  is  well  filled  it  is  lifted  and  the  contents  dumped  on  the  ice 
or  into  the  skifif.  This  method  is  laborious,  and  is  employed  only 
where  the  water  is  shallow  and  the  moUusks  are  abundant.  Scissor 
tongs — similar  to  those  used  by  oystermen  on  the  Atlantic  coast — are 
also  employed  in  some  localities,  especially  in  Arkansas,  where  it  is 
estimated  that  1700  pairs  were  manufactured  and  sold  in  1899  ^^^ 
1900,  at  about  $7  each. 

In  the  large  streams  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  with  their  slow  and 
steady  currents,  and  where  the  Unios  are  taken  largely  for  their  shells 
to  be  used  in  button  manufacture,  the  most  popular  form  of  apparatus 
since  1896  has  been  the  crowfoot  drag.  This  ingenious  contrivance 
consists  of  a  crossbar  of  hollow  iron  tubing  or  common  gas-pipe,  six 
or  eight  feet  long,  to  which  are  attached,  at  intervals  of  five  or  six 
inches,  stout  twine  or  chain  snoods  or  stagings,  each  about  eighteen 
inches  in  length.  To  each  of  these  are  attached  three  or  four  prongs 
or  "hooks,"  about  six  inches  apart.  These  "hooks"  are  four-pronged, 
and  are  made  of  two  pieces  of  stout  wire  bent  at  right  angles  to  each 
other.  According  to  the  depth  of  the  water,  from  twenty-five  to 
seventy-five  feet  of  three  quarter  inch  rope  is  attached  to  the  drag 
for  the  purpose  of  towing  it  behind  the  boat,  which  is  permitted  to 
drift  down  the  stream  with  the  current.  This  contrivance  costs  about 
$3,  and  each  fisherman  generally  has  at  least  two  of  them,  as  well  as  a 
wide  flat-bottom  boat  costing  $5  or  $10. 

Sometimes,  when  the  current  is  light,  the  fisherman  prepares  a 
"mule"  to  assist  the  boat  in  towing  the  resisting  drag.  This  "mule" 
consists  of  a  wooden  frame,  hinged  in  V  shape,  and  is  fastened  several 
feet  in  advance  of  the  boat  with  the  V  end  pointed  down  the  stream. 
It  sinks  low  in  the  water,  and  the  current  pressing  against  the  angle 
carries  it  along,  and  thus  tows  the  skiff  and  the  resisting  drag  at  a  uni- 
form rate  of  speed.  When  there  is  not  sufficient  current  even  for 
this  contrivance,  as  in  the  wide  reaches  and  in  the  lakes,  oars,  sails,  and 
even  power  engines  may  be  used  for  propelling  the  boat. 

As  the  crowfoot  drag  is  slowly  drawn  along  the  bottom,  it  comes  in 
contact  with  the  mollusks  feeding  with  open  shells.  When  a  hook  or 
other  part  of  the  drag  enters  an  open  shell,  the  mollusk  immediately 
closes  firmly  upon  the  intruding  object  and  clings  thereto  long  enough 


270  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

to  be  drawn  up  into  the  boat.  In  this  way,  where  the  Unios  are  thick, 
nearly  every  hook  becomes  freighted,  and  some  may  have  two  or  three 
shells  clinging  thereto.  It  is  easy  to  collect  fifty  mollusks  in  passing 
over  a  length  of  two  hundred  feet.  Two  drags  are  carried  by  each 
fisherman,  and  the  second  one  is  put  overboard  as  soon  as  the  first  one 
is  ready  to  be  raised.  This  is  suspended  with  the  bar  across  two  up- 
right forks  on  either  side  of  the  boat  with  the  prongs  swinging  freely, 
and  the  mussels  are  removed  therefrom.  When  this  operation  is  com- 
pleted, the  drag  is  put  overboard  and  the  other  one  is  ready  for  lifting. 
This  apparatus  is  very  efifective,  and  as  much  as  a  ton  of  shells  has 
been  taken  by  one  man  in  twelve  hours,  but  the  average  is  very  much 
less,  probably  not  over  four  or  five  hundred  pounds.  Objection  is 
made  to  this  manner  of  fishing,  since  many  mollusks  not  brought  to 
the  surface  are  so  injured  that  they  die. 

A  cruder  implement  of  similar  type  has  long  been  employed  on  many 
logging  streams.  The  weighted  branch  of  a  tree  is  dragged  on  the 
bottom  behind  a  raft  of  logs,  and  the  mussels  attach  themselves  to  the 
twigs  in  the  same  manner  as  on  the  crowfoot  hooks. 

During  the  pearling  excitement  in  Arkansas,  a  considerable  portion 
of  the  choice  pearls  were  found,  not  in  the  mussels,  but  lying  loosely  in 
the  mud  of  the  shores,  indicating  that  under  some  circumstances,  as 
agitation  by  freshets  or  floods,  the  loose  pearls  are  shaken  out  from  the 
Unios.  In  some  instances,  indeed,  the  pearls  were  found  upon  or  in 
the  soil  at  some  distance  from  streams  or  lakes.  It  is  reported  that  in 
October,  1897,  Mr.  J.  W.  Mcintosh,  of  the  northern  part  of  Lonoke 
County,  while  digging  post-holes  in  the  old  bed  of  Cypress  Bayou, 
found  a  number  of  pearls,  some  "as  large  as  a  44-caliber  Winchester 
ball,"  lying  within  the  shells  at  a  depth  of  a  foot  and  a  half  below  the 
surface.  This  peculiar  occurrence  is  partly  explained  by  the  wide 
extension  of  the  waters  in  flood  times  over  the  low  region,  and  by  the 
shifting  of  streams  and  the  isolation  of  cut-offs. 

Stray  pearls  have  been  found  in  many  other  odd  places,  as  in 
the  viscera  of  chickens  and  ducks,  in  the  stomachs  of  fish,  and  even 
within  a  pig's  mouth.  It  is  not  an  uncommon  scene  in  the  pearling  re- 
gion to  see  men  raking  over  the  muck  in  hog-pens  along  the  river  banks, 
hoping  there  to  find  a  stray  pearl  lost  from  the  mussels  with  which 
the  animals  had  been  fed  by  persons  who  had  indeed  "cast  pearls  before 
swine."  It  is  related  that  a  Negro  near  Marley,  Illinois,  in  this  way 
secured  a  pearl  weighing  118  grains,  for  which  he  received  $2000 
from  a  St.  Louis  buyer,  and  which  was  ultimately  sold  to  a  New  York 
dealer  for  $5000. 

During  the  height  of  the  Arkansas  pearling  excitement  in  1897,  the 
speculative  spirit  was  so  rife  that  many  persons — unwilling  to  engage 


§L 


Pearling  scene  on  Wh::'    1'     ■!,    \rkansas 
The  fislieriiieii  are  using  scissor- 1011;,^  Iroiii  l1at>buttoin  skiffs 


Pearling  camp  on  upper  Mississippi  River 
Crowfoot  drags  are  shown  on  the  flat-bottom  skilTs  at  the  river-bank 


AMERICAN  PEARLS  271 

in  the  labor  of  fishing — purchased  unopened  mussels  from  the  fisher- 
men in  the  venture  for  aleatory  profits.  The  price  for  these  ranged 
from  twenty-five  cents  to  $2  per  hundred,  and  fluctuated  rap- 
idly, according  to  the  immediate  results,  increasing  several  hundred 
per  cent,  in  a  few  minutes  under  the  influence  of  a  valuable  find.  One 
fisherman  sold  mussels  to  the  value  of  $28  in  one  .day,  and  thought  he 
had  made  an  excellent  bargain  until  over  $1000  worth  of  pearls  were 
revealed  when  the  shells  were  opened. 

While  some  pearlers  work  in  southern  streams  throughout  the  year, 
generally  the  season  is  coincident  with  warm  weather,  when  the  water 
is  low  and  the  work  may  be  conducted  with  comfort.  In  the  vicinity 
of  Muscatine  and  Rock  Island  about  twelve  years  ago,  large  quantities 
of  Unios  were  taken  during  the  winter  when  the  river  was  frozen 
over,  the  men  working  with  long  rakes  from  the  surface  of  the  ice. 

When  only  a  few  mollusks  are  taken,  they  are  readily  opened  with 
a  knife  to  permit  a  search  for  the  pearls.  But  where  there  are  many, 
as  in  the  Mississippi  River,  the  opening  is  facilitated  by  heating.  After 
a  sufificient  catch  has  been  obtained,  they  are  subjected  to  the  action  of 
steam  in  a  box,  or  they  are  heated  in  an  ordinary  kettle ;  a  few  minutes 
of  steaming  or  cooking  are  sufficient  to  cause  the  shells  to  spring  open. 
The  fleshy  parts  are  removed  and  thoroughly  searched,  the  interior 
surfaces  of  the  shells  are  likewise  examined  for  attached  pearls,  and 
the  liquid  at  the  bottom  of  the  vessel  is  strained  so  that  nothing  of 
value  may  escape. 

This  cooking  is  a  convenient  method  of  opening  the  shells,  but  un- 
questionably it  injures  the  quality  of  many  pearls.  In  some  instances 
when  the  shells  open,  the  pearls  fall  out  and  descend  to  the  heated  iron 
bottom,  where  they  are  quickly  injured.  The  surface  of  one  exposed 
too  long  to  the  heat  shows  numerous  minute  cracks,  which  increase  in 
number  and  size  when  subjected  to  changes  of  temperature.  Some 
choice  gems  have  in  this  manner  been  rendered  almost  valueless.  If 
a  jacket  boiler,  or  one  with  a  double  bottom,  were  used,  there  would  be 
less  danger  of  injuring  the  pearls ;  or  a  similar  result  could  be  accom- 
plished by  placing  a  wire  screen  a  few  inches  above  the  bottom. 

Several  fishermen  have  endeavored  to  devise  mechanical  methods 
for  removing  the  pearls  and  thus  avoid  the  painstaking  search  among 
the  flesh  tissues  now  necessary;  but  these  contrivances  have  not  proved 
satisfactory,  and  have  not  been  employed  except  experimentally. 

In  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries,  where  the  fishery  is  very  ex- 
tensive, after  the  pearls  have  been  secured,  the  shells  are  sold  to  button 
manufacturers  and  to  exporters  at  prices  ranging  from  $4  to  $40  per 
ton,  according  to  species,  quality,  and  market  conditions.  This  pro- 
vides a  fairly  remunerative  income  to  the  fishermen  even  if  no  pearls 


272  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

whatever  are  found.  But  in  the  small  tributaries  and  where  the  mol- 
lusks  are  less  numerous,  the  shells  are  of  little  value  owing  to  the 
expense  of  bringing  them  together  and  conveying  them  to  market. 

Not  every  mollusk  contains  a  pearl,  and  the  village  belle,  intent  on 
her  evening  toilet,  need  not  buy  a  bushel  of  clams  with  the  pleasant 
anticipation  of  finding  a  sufficient  number  of  gems  for  a  necklace. 
Small  and  irregular  pearls  are  not  at  all  uncommon,  but  choice  ones 
are  decidedly  scarce,  and  each  one  represents  the  destruction  of  tens 
of  thousands  of  mollusks.  Quantities  of  irregular  and  imperfect 
nodules  known  as  slugs  are  collected,  which  sell  for  only  a  few  dollars 
per  ounce.  In  some  sections  of  the  Mississippi,  the  slugs  are  so  very 
numerous  that  their  aggregate  value  exceeds  that  of  the  choice  pearls. 

In  the  Mississippi,  the  percentage  of  pearls  found  in  a  definite  quan- 
tity of  mollusks  is  less  than  in  the  tributary  streams,  yet  the  much 
greater  quantity  of  shells  collected  raises  the  total  yield  to  a  very  con- 
siderable amount.  Pearling  is  subordinate  and  incidental  to  gathering 
the  shells  for  manufacture.  In  that  length  of  the  river  from  St.  Paul 
to  St.  Louis,  a  fair  average  yield  to  the  fishermen  is  about  fourteen 
dollars'  worth  of  pearls  and  slugs  to  each  ton  of  shells.  Of  course, 
this  is  not  the  individual  experience,  for  a  single  Unio  may  contain  a 
gem  worth  $5000,  and  on  the  other  hand  several  tons  of  shells  may 
yield  only  a  few  cents'  worth  of  baroques.  The  market  for  the  shells 
places  the  Mississippi  fishing  upon  an  industrial  basis,  and  guarantees 
a  substantial  income  to  every  fisherman  even  when  no  pearls  whatever 
are  found. 

Unios  from  the  upper  part  of  the  Mississippi  yield  a  much  greater 
percentage  than  those  from  below  Davenport.  In  1904,  for  instance, 
from  the  4331  tons  of  shells  taken  in  Wisconsin  the  fishermen  secured 
pearls  which  they  sold  for  $91,345,  an  average  of  $21  per  ton;  from 
the  822  tons  in  Minnesota  the  average  was  $16  per  ton;  in  Iowa  the 
average  was  $12  for  each  of  the  7846  tons;  in  Illinois,  $5  per  ton  for 
the  2364  tons,  and  in  Missouri  less  than  $1  worth  of  pearls  was  secured 
by  the  fishermen  for  each  ton  of  shells  which  they  took  in  the  year 
named.  A  large  number  of  choice  pearls  weighing  over  thirty  grains 
each  were  found  in  the  vicinity  of  Prairie  du  Chien  and  McGregor. 
Within  a  river  length  of  one  hundred  miles  in  that  region,  the  fisher- 
men in  1904  gathered  pearls  which  ultimately  sold  for  $300,000.  It 
is  therefore  apparent  that  the  returns  vary  greatly  in  the  difl:"erent 
regions;  nevertheless,  even  in  the  less  productive  localities  fine  pearls 
are  sometimes  found,  which  contribute  to  make  the  industry  a  profit- 
able one. 

Success  in  pearling  is  like  that  in  mining.  In  the  White  River  in 
Arkansas,  for  instance,  one  man  found  $4200  worth  in  one  month. 


AMERICAN  PEARLS  273 

Another  discovered  a  $50  pearl  in  the  first  shell  he  opened.  A  Negro 
found  an  $85  pearl  the  first  day  he  worked,  while  another  fisherman 
worked  seven  months  and  secured  less  than  $10  worth.  It  is  a  ques- 
tion of  finding  or  not  finding;  the  finding  brings  riches  sometimes,  and 
though  the  failures  reduce  the  average  profits  as  low  as  in  other  local 
ventures,  the  big  prizes  affect  the  mind,  and  the  average  is  lost  to  sight. 
Taking  the  country  as  a  whole,  it  is  probable  that  the  total  find  has 
been  sufficient  to  pay  the  average  fisherman  little  if  any  more  than  $1 
for  each  day's  work. 

The  fresh-water  pearls  range  in  size  from  that  of  the  smallest  seed 
to  that  of  a  pearl  weighing  several  hundred  grains.  There  is  relatively 
only  a  small  quantity  of  seed-pearls,  especially  when  compared  with 
the  output  in  the  fisheries  of  Ceylon  and  Persia.  Possibly  this  is  due 
largely  to  a  scarcity  of  the  parasites  which  seem  to  perform  so  im- 
portant a  function  in  the  regions  noted.  A  further  reason  may  be 
found  in  the  manner  in  which  the  mollusks  are  opened  and  searched. 
Were  the  Ceylon  method  of  opening  employed  here — which,  however, 
is  not  at  all  practicable — it  seems  probable  that  the  quantity  of  seed- 
pearls  found  in  this  country  would  be  greatly  increased. 

The  pearls  from  the  tributaries  of  the  Mississippi  are  noted  for  their 
great  range  of  coloration.  From  a  dead  white,  the  color  is  gradually 
enhanced  to  faint  shades  of  pink,  yellow,  or  salmon  tints,  then  to  a 
more  decided  form  of  these.  From  the  light  shades,  the  range  extends 
to  purple  and  to  bright  copper  red,  closely  resembling  a  drop  of  molten 
copper.  Some  are  very  light  green;  others  rose,  steel  blue,  or  russet 
brown,  while  purplish  and  very  dark  brown  are  not  uncommon.  White 
pearls  are  probably  the  most  numerous ;  but  pink,  bronze,  and  lavender 
are  by  no  means  rare. 

A  large  percentage  of  the  Mississippi  River  pearls  are  very  ir- 
regular in  form,  many  of  them  resembling  dogs'  teeth,  birds'  wings, 
the  heads  or  bodies  of  different  animals,  etc. 

As  a  rule  the  fresh-water  pearls  do  not  rank  so  high  in  value  as 
those  from  oriental  seas,  since  ordinarily  they  are  not  so  lustrous. 
However,  some  of  them  have  sold  at  very  high  figures.  A  round  pearl 
weighing  103  grains,  found  in  Black  River,  Arkansas,  in  1904,  was 
eventually  sold  for  $25,000;  and  one  of  68  grains,  found,  in  1907,  on 
the  Wisconsin  side  of  the  Mississippi  River,  was  recently  marketed  at 
$15,000. 

One  of  the  largest  American  pearl  necklaces,  brought  together  in 
1904,  consisted  of  thirty-eight  pearls  weighing  1710  grains  in  the  ag- 
gregate, an  average  of  45  grains  for  each  pearl.  The  central  gem 
weighed  98 >^  grains  and  those  on  the  left  of  it  respectively  85%, 
79^.  65>4,  59^.  49H>  46M.  45^.  43%.  4r>^,  40>^,  40^,  SSH^ 

18 


274         THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

3i^>  30,  2$%,  22^4,  20}i,  and  19  grains.  The  pearls  on  the  right 
were  graduated  as  follows:  851^,  761^,  64%,  591^,  47%,  46,  45 >^, 
44>^,  42>4,  41M.  38^  37%,  36,  35,  34%,  29}^,  2514,  21,  and  20^ 
grains.  This  necklace  was  exhibited  at  the  St.  Louis  World's  Fair. 
It  was  sold  to  a  London  merchant,  who  in  turn  sold  it  to  a  Parisian 
dealer,  and  it  was  finally  purchased  by  a  Spanish  nobleman  at  a  price 
said  to  be  about  500,000  francs. 

Another  necklace  shown  at  the  St.  Louis  World's  Fair,  was  of 
American  fresh-water  pearls  from  the  rivers  of  Arkansas.  The  total 
weight  of  these  pearls,  sixteen  in  number,  was  861%  grains,  an  aver- 
age of  613^  grains  for  each  pearl.  Of  these  one  drop  pearl  weighed 
yy  grains,  and  two  others  each  65^  grains.  A  round  pearl  of  70 
grains  completed  the  adornment  of  the  pendant.  The  circlet  consisted 
of  ten  round  pearls  alternating  with  precious  stones.  The  central 
pearl  weighed  983/2  grains  and  on  each  side  were  two  of  61  grains, 
then  two  of  56  grains,  two  of  54%,  and  two  of  48  grains,  one  of  45% 
grains  being  at  the  back  of  the  necklace. 

In  the  early  days  of  pearl  hunting  in  American  streams,  the  fisher- 
men had  little  idea  of  their  value,  and  sold  choice  gems  for  insignificant 
sums.  In  1887,  a  fisherman  on  Rock  River,  Illinois,  found  a  40- 
grain  pearl  which  he  carried  in  his  pocket  for  several  months.  Show- 
ing it  one  day  in  Davenport,  he  was  offered  $20  for  it.  He  quickly 
accepted  the  offer,  and  on  his  return  home  told  his  friends  about  "the 
sucker  who  gave  $20  for  the  shell  slug."  At  present  this  "shell  slug" 
is  worth  more  than  one  hundred  times  that  amount.  Numerous  in- 
stances of  a  similar  nature  occurred  until  the  average  fisherman  lost 
all  confidence  in  his  judgment  as  to  the  values,  and  extravagant  ideas 
prevailed  regarding  even  almost  worthless  nacreous  concretions. 
Thus,  when  a  choice  pearl  is  found,  an  exorbitant  price  is  set  upon  it 
and  the  seller  feels  for  the  market  value  by  repeated  dickerings  with 
several  buyers.  And  unless  one  is  an  expert,  he  is  quite  likely  to  pay 
two  or  three  times  as  much  for  a  pearl  at  the  river  bank  as  in  a  metro- 
politan market.  Some  of  the  fishermen  collect  everything  in  the  shape 
of  nacreous  concretions,  and  very  often  pearl  buyers  in  New  York  and 
elsewhere  receive  packages  which  are  not  worth  the  postage ;  in  many 
other  packages  nine  tenths  of  the  lot  is  worthless ;  and  the  practical 
joker  and  the  swindler  have  solicited  bids  on  bright  marbles,  rounded 
pieces  of  pearl  shell,  and  even  sugar-coated  pills. 

While  many  pearls  of  fine  luster  and  beautiful  and  regular  form 
have  been  derived  from  these  fisheries,  it  occasionally  happens,  in  the 
case  of  pearls  consigned  to  the  city  pearl  dealer,  that  cracks,  breaks  or 
marks,  which  might  detract  from  their  value,  are  closed  or  removed, 
either  by  means  of  water  or  oil,   the  pearls  having  been  kept  in 


THE  EVOLUTION   OF   BUTTON'S,  MADE  FROM    MISSISSIPPI   SHELLS 


AMERICAN  PEARLS  275 

one  or  the  other  until  a  few  moments  before  they  were  shown  to  the 
merchant.  Pearls  worth  hmidreds  of  dollars  have  sometimes  shown 
breaks,  and  in  one  instance  a  pearl  valued  at  $7000  showed  these  cracks 
even  a  very  short  time  after  the  sale. 

In  many  of  the  pearling  regions  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  inquiry  of 
almost  any  fisherman  will  result  in  his  bringing  forth  from  an  inside 
pocket  a  small  box  padded  with  raw  cotton  and  containing  an  assort- 
ment of  pearls  and  slugs.  Most  of  the  slugs  he  will  sell  at  prices  rang- 
ing from  fifty  cents  to  $5  per  ounce,  for  several  of  the  small  pearls 
he  will  likely  ask  from  $2  to  $20  each,  and  one  or  two  of  the  largest 
he  may  value  at  $50  or  more.  At  very  rare  intervals,  a  choice  pearl 
will  be  found,  for  which  he  may  expect  anywhere  from  $200  to  $5000. 

While  the  highest  prices  are  not  received  by  the  fishermen,  there  are 
many  who  have  been  so  fortunate  as  to  obtain  $1000  or  more  for  a 
single  pearl,  and  several  have  received  double  that  amount.  Probably 
the  highest  figure  obtained  by  the  original  finder  was  $3800,  notwith- 
standing exaggerated  stories  of  enormous  five-figure  prices.  Recently 
the  press  credited  a  lad  sixteen  years  of  age  with  securing  $20,000  for 
a  pearl  he  had  found. 

A  particularly  striking  yarn  relative  to  a  so-called  "Queen  Mary" 
pearl  went  the  rounds  of  the  press  some  time  ago.  According  to  the 
newspaper  report,  this  pearl  was  found  by  the  wife  of  a  fisherman  who 
was  a  cripple  or  something  equally  pathetic,  and,  fortunately,  when 
the  family  resources  were  at  the  lowest.  With  tears  of  joy,  the  fisher- 
man embraced  his  wife  and  told  her  it  was  her  very  own  and  she  should 
wear  it.  However,  by  means  of  a  check  for  $17,500,  he  was  induced 
to  part  with  it,  but  only  on  condition  that  it  be  named  Queen  Mary  in 
honor  of  the  hard-working  wife.  The  report  continues  that  the  ori- 
ginal buyer  sold  it  for  $25,000,  and  at  last  accounts  it  was  held  by  a 
Chicago  dealer  who  had  "refused  $40,000  and  probably  would  not 
accept  $50,000  for  it."  The  facts  seem  to  be  that  this  pearl,  which  was 
found  near  Prairie  du  Chien  in  igoi  and  weighed  103  grains,  was 
originally  sold  for  $250,  and  the  local  buyer  sold  it  in  Chicago  for 
$550,  where  for  many  months  it  was  offered  at  $1000. 

All  sorts  of  stories  of  valuable  finds  are  told  in  the  pearling  regions: 
stories  of  mortgages  that  have  been  released,  of  homes  bought,  of  col- 
lege educations  secured  from  the  proceeds  of  a  single  gem ;  but  these 
tales  are  offset  by  the  untold  stories  of  the  undermining  of  fine,  strong 
character  in  awaiting  the  turn  of  fortune  which  never  comes.  The 
public  is  quickly  apprised  of  the  valuable  finds,  but  it  does  not  hear  of 
the  time  and  labor  lost  by  the  hundreds  who  are  unsuccessful.  Pearl- 
ing excitement  has  many  of  the  features  of  a  mining  craze.  While  a 
few  are  benefited,  hundreds  are  made  poorer,  and  in  many  instances 


276         THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

reduced  to  absolute  want.  Persons  have  given  up  their  estabhshed 
business  to  devote  their  time  to  pearHng,  staking  all  on  the  aleatory 
profits,  and  have  squandered  days  and  months  in  the  hope  that  one 
great,  immense,  all-rewarding  find  will  be  made.  The  monotony 
of  continued  disappointment  is  occasionally  brightened  by  the  news 
that  some  one— possibly  a  near  neighbor— has  made  a  lucky  find,  and 
then  the  work  is  continued  with  renewed  enthusiasm.  A  spirit  akin  to 
that  which  dominates  the  gambler  takes  possession  of  the  fisherman, 
and  the  days  go  on  and  the  seasons  go  by  while  the  gem  that  is  to  bring 
the  fortime  still  eludes  him.  In  many  localities  the  pursuit  yields  far 
less  profit  than  pleasure,  and  many  a  man  who  spends  a  summer  in 
pearling  is  in  a  fair  way  to  spend  the  winter  at  the  expense  of  some 
one  else. 

The  pearls  are  collected  for  the  trade  by  a  score  or  more  of  buyers, 
who  visit  the  fisheries  at  intervals  and  purchase  of  the  individual  fisher- 
men by  personal  dickering  and  bargaining.  The  buyers  endeavor  to 
keep  informed  of  all  choice  pearls  discovered,  and  when  an  especially 
valuable  find  is  reported  each  one  endeavors  to  have  the  first  chance  to 
secure  it.  The  principal  local  centers  of  the  pearling  industry  and 
marketing  are  Prairie  du  Chien,  Wisconsin;  McGregor,  Clinton,  and 
Muscatine,  Iowa;  Newport,  Black  Rock,  and  Bald  Knob,  Arkansas; 
Clinton,  Carthage,  and  Smithville,  Tennessee;  St.  Francisville,  Illinois; 
and  Vincennes  and  Leavenworth,  Indiana. 

However,  a  large  number  of  the  pearls  from  American  rivers  are 
consigned  by  the  finders  to  well-known  gem  dealers,  the  owners  de- 
pending for  fair  treatment  on  the  integrity  and  high  standing  of  these 
experts.  An  interesting  story  is  told  of  the  pearl  and  the  accompany- 
ing shell  in  which  it  was  found,  which  was  sent  to  a  New  York  dealer 
by  a  poor  woman.  The  price  she  received  pleased  her  immensely ;  and 
in  writing  her  appreciation,  she  added  that  she  was  especially  gratified 
at  receiving  so  good  a  price  because  it  enabled  her  to  send  her  boy  to 
school.  The  dealer  sent  another  check  as  a  gift,  and  a  few  days  before 
the  next  Thanksgiving  Day  a  thirty-five-pound  turkey  was  received 
by  the  four-score-year-old  jeweler  as  an  evidence  of  the  mother's 
gratitude. 

The  outbreak  of  pearl  hunting  in  various  parts  of  the  country  is 
frequently  chronicled  by  the  newspapers.  These  despatches  are  much 
alike,  usually  telling  how  some  fisherman  discovered  a  beautiful  pearl 
which  he  sold  to  some  responsible  jeweler  for  an  amount  varying  from 
$ioo  to  $2000.  The  despatches  generally  state  further  that  the  effect 
of  the  find  has  been  remarkable;  the  whole  region  is  seized  with  the 
fever,  and  into  the  rivers  and  creeks  swarm  the  hunters  of  both  sexes, 
of  all  ages,  and  from  all  classes  of  the  community.     Factory-men 


NECKLACE  OF   FRESH-WATER   PEARLS 
Paris  Exposition,  1900 


AMERICAN  PEARLS  277 

leave  their  mills,  fanners  their  crops,  and  merchants  their  stores,  and 
with  the  members  of  their  families  join  in  searching  for  the  gems. 
The  mussels  are  secured  by  whatever  means  is  most  convenient.  If 
valuable  finds  continue,  thousands  and  thousands  of  mollusks  are  de- 
stroyed in  the  search,  and  when  the  efiforts  begin  to  prove  futile  the 
excitement  subsides  almost  as  quickly  as  it  began.  In  very  many 
localities  the  industry  has  run  the  whole  gamut  of  the  feverish  excite- 
ment of  its  beginning,  the  humor  and  romance  of  its  existence,  and 
the  pathos  of  its  ending. 

If  disturbed  labor  conditions  at  the  height  of  the  excitement  were 
the  only  disagreeable  attendant,  these  pearling  furors  could  be  viewed 
more  favorably.  But,  unfortunately,  in  many  localities,  especially  in 
shoal  waters  of  restricted  area,  the  fishery  has  been  prosecuted  so 
vigorously  that  it  appears  probable  the  resources  will  be  very  ma- 
terially impoverished  if  not  ruined  in  a  few  years,  unless  prompt 
and  decisive  protective  measures  are  adopted.  In  some  waters  the 
crowds  engaged  in  the  search  have  removed  practically  every  mussel 
without  regard  not  only  to  protecting  the  immature  mussels,  but  even 
to  the  necessity  for  preserving  breeding  mollusks.  Many  ponds  and 
small  river  basins  have  been  so  denuded  that  not  for  many  years,  if 
ever,  can  they  recover  their  former  wealth  of  pearl-bearers. 

This  state  of  affairs  has  not  come  about  without  opposition  on  the 
part  of  those  interested  in  the  industry  and  the  general  welfare  of  the 
localities.  Intelligent  and  well-directed  efforts  have  been  made  to  pro- 
vide a  system  of  regulations  for  protecting  the  mussels  so  that  the 
maximum  yield  of  pearls  may  be  secured.  But  this  is  a  very  difficult 
problem  to  deal  with.  It  involves  not  only  the  methods  of  fishery,  but 
the  question  of  sewage  disposal  by  the  cities  and  the  large  factories, 
through  which  great  quantities  of  mussels  have  been  destroyed. 

Undoubtedly  it  will  be  difficult  to  devise  regulations  that  will  be  sat- 
isfactory alike  to  the  fishermen,  the  button  manufacturers  and  the 
farmers.  The  great  desideratum  in  the  pearl  fisheries — of  the  seas 
as  well  as  in  the  fresh-water  streams— is  a  restriction  of  the  gath- 
ering to  such  mollusks  and  to  such  seasons  and  periods  of  years  as 
produce  the  largest  results  with  the  least  injury  to  the  permanency  of 
the  resources. 

It  is  generally  agreed  that  the  young  or  immature  mollusks  should 
be  protected ;  but  it  is  not  easy  to  determine  what  is  an  immature  Unio, 
as  some  species  never  grow  large.  Likewise,  the  beds  should  not  be 
disturbed  when  the  mollusks  are  loaded  with  young,  but  it  is  difficult 
to  select  particular  months  which  would  be  better  for  close  season  than 
any  others.  The  propositions  which  seem  to  be  most  actively  advo- 
cated impose  restrictions  on  the  number  and  size  of  the  mussels  to  be 


278  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

taken,  a  cessation  of  fishing  from  January  i  to  May  31,  closing  certain 
areas  when  partly  depleted,  and  prohibiting  the  use  of  especially  in- 
jurious forms  of  apparatus.  But  whatever  is  done  should  be  done 
without  delay,  before  the  pearl  hunters  and  the  button  manufacturers 
kill  the  goose  which  for  some  years  has  been  laying  the  golden  eggs/ 


MISCELLANEOUS  PEARL  FISHERIES  OF  AMERICA 

The  deep's  wealth,  coral,  and  pearl,  and  sand 

Like  spangling  gold,  and  purple  shells  engraven 
With  mystic  legends  by  no  mortal  hand. 

Shelley,  The  Revolt  of  Islam. 

The  beautiful  pearls  of  the  conch  {Stromhus  gigas)  are  sought  for 
in  the  West  Indies  and  on  the  neighboring  continental  coasts.  They 
are  found  most  abundantly  about  the  Bahamas,  a  group  of  more  than 
four  hundred  islands  off  the  Florida  coast,  where  many  of  the  fisher- 
men devote  a  considerable  portion  of  their  time  to  collecting  them.  It 
is  from  this  industry  that  the  beach-combers  of  this  group  of  islands, 
as  well  as  those  of  the  Florida  reefs,  have  received  the  designation 
"Conchs." 

Near  the  shores,  where  they  formerly  abounded,  a  few  conchs  are  yet 
picked  up  by  wading  fishermen.  In  waters  of  medium  depth  they  are 
secured  either  by  diving  or  by  means  of  a  long  pole  with  a  hook  at  the 
end.  In  great  depths,  the  mollusks  are  located  by  means  of  a  water- 
glass  similar  to  the  type  employed  in  the  Red  Sea  or  among  the  South 
Sea  Islands. 

The  animal  is  readily  removed  from  the  shell  after  crushing  the  tip 
end  of  the  spire  where  the  large  muscle  is  attached.  The  flesh  forms 
an  important  article  of  food  to  the  fishermen  and  to  the  residents  of  the 
outlying  islands.  It  is  said  that  a  "Conch"  can  make  a  visit  to  Nassau 
of  a  week  or  ten  days,  and  subsist  almost  entirely  on  this  dried  meat, 
with  which  he  fills  his  pockets  on  starting.  A  large  demand  exists  for 
the  beautiful  shells  for  ornamenting  flower-beds,  garden-walks,  etc. 
Many  of  them  are  burned  into  lime  for  building  purposes.  Formerly 
several  hundred  thousand  shells  were  exported  annually  to  England 
for  use  in  porcelain  manufacture. 

The  pearls  are  generally  found  embedded  in  the  flesh  of  the  mollusk; 
quite  often  they  are  in  a  sac  or  cyst  with  an  external  opening,  from 
which  they  are  sometimes  dislodged  b}'  the  muscular  movement  of  the 

'Illinois  State  has  passed  a  bill  to  regulate  pearl  fishing.     See  Addendum  on  p.  513. 


AMERICAN  PEARLS  279 

animal.  The  yield  is  small,  a  thousand  shells  in  many  cases  yielding 
only  a  very  small  number  of  seed-pearls  or  perhaps  none  at  all.  Most 
of  them  are  oval,  commonly  somewhat  elongated.  The  usual  size  is 
about  one  grain  in  weight,  but  some  of  them  weigh  over  twenty,  and 
a  very  few  exceed  fifty  grains  each.  These  pearls  are  generally  of  a 
deep  pink  color,  shading  toward  whitish  pink  at  each  end.  While  this 
is  the  usual  color,  yellow,  white,  red,  and  even  brown  conch  pearls  are 
occasionally  obtained ;  these  are  not  so  highly  prized  as  the  pink  ones. 
Conch  pearls  present  a  peculiar  wavy  appearance  and  a  sheen  some- 
what like  watered  silk,  a  result  of  the  reflections  produced  by  the 
fibrous  stellated  structure.  While  many  are  beautifully  lustrous,  they 
are  commonly  deficient  in  orient,  and  the  color  is  somewhat  evanescent. 

Most  of  the  Bahama  conch  fishermen  sell  their  catch  of  pearls  at 
Nassau.  According  to  the  late  Mr.  Frederick  E.  Stearns,  there  are  in 
Nassau  four  dealers  who  have  an  arrangement  with  Paris  and  London 
houses,  to  whom  they  can  ship  pearls  in  any  number  and  draw  against 
them  with  a  bill  of  lading.  In  addition  to  these,  there  are  a  dozen 
dealers  in  Nassau  who  buy  what  pearls  they  can  secure  and  offer  them 
for  sale. 

The  value  of  conch  pearls  is  as  variable  as  their  form,  color,  and  size, 
and  they  are  sold  by  the  fishermen  at  prices  ranging  from  twenty-five 
cents  to  one  dollar  or  more  each.  Those  weighing  from  three  to  ten 
grains,  and  of  good  color  and  luster,  but  not  quite  regular  in  form,  sell 
for  about  $10  per  grain ;  those  of  exceptional  perfection  in  color  and 
form,  and  of  about  the  same  weights,  sell  for  from  $15  to  $30  per 
grain.  In  other  and  exceptional  cases,  where  the  size  is  very  large,  the 
form  perfect,  and  the  color  and  luster  choice,  the  value  is  enhanced  to 
several  hundred  and  even  several  thousand  dollars  each.  A  perfect 
conch  pearl  is  among  the  most  rare  and  most  valuable  of  gems.  An  un- 
usually choice  one  has  sold  in  New  York  City  for  more  than  $5000. 
The  yield  fluctuates  considerably,  but  perhaps  averages  about  $85,000 
in  value  annually.  One  of  the  finest  conch  pearls  ever  found  is  shown 
on  the  plate  with  the  conch  shell. 

There  are  two  important  materials  that  have  occasionally  been  sold 
and  mistaken  for  the  conch  pearl.  First,  the  pale  Italian,  Japanese, 
or  West  Indian  coral,  with  a  color  very  closely  approaching  that  of 
the  pearl.  By  means  of  a  lens  it  can  readily  be  seen  that  the  coral  is 
in  layers,  and  does  not  possess  the  concentric  structure  of  the  pearl,  or 
the  peculiar  interwoven  structure,  with  its  characteristic  sheen,  so 
frequent  in  conch  pearls.  Secondly,  the  pink  conch  shell  in  which  the 
pearl  itself  is  found;  this  is  frequently  cut  to  imitate  the  pearl  and 
sold  as  such  in  the  West  Indies  and  elsewhere.  This  can  also  be  de- 
tected by  the  fact  that  the  layers  are  almost  horizontal  and  the  struc- 


28o  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

ture  is  not  concentric  or  interwoven,  as  it  is  in  the  conch  pearl,  while 
the  luster  is  more  like  that  of  the  shell  than  that  of  the  pearly  nacre. 

Streeter  relates  that  many  years  ago  an  ingenious  American  turned 
out  some  bits  of  conch  shell  into  the  shape  of  pearls  and  placed  them 
in  the  conch  shells.  A  slight  secretion  formed  over  them,  but  it  was 
not  the  true  pearly  secretion,  and  the  layer  was  very  thin,  so  that  the 
deception  was  easily  detected. 

Not  the  least  interesting  of  the  American  pearl  fisheries  is  that 
which  has  the  abalones  (Haliotis)  for  its  object.  These  occur  in 
many  inshore  tropical  and  semi-tropical  waters,  and  particularly  in  the 
marginal  waters  of  the  Pacific.  They  attach  themselves  to  the  rocks 
by  means  of  their  large  muscular  disk-shaped  foot,  which  acts  like  a 
sucker  or  an  exhaust-cup. 

On  the  California  coast  the  abalones  are  gathered  in  large  quantities 
for  the  pearls,  for  the  shells,  and  especially  for  the  flesh,  which  is  dried 
and  used  for  food.  The  principal  fishing  grounds  are  at  Point  Lobos 
in  Monterey  County,  and  along  the  shores  of  Catalina  and  Santa  Rosa 
islands  in  Santa  Barbara  County,  with  smaller  quantities  from  Half- 
moon  Bay  and  from  the  rocks  along  the  shores  of  Mendocino  County. 
At  low  tide  the  fishermen  wade  out  in  shallow  water,  and,  by  means  of 
a  knife,  separate  the  mollusk  from  its  resting-place.  Unless  this  is 
done  quickly  and  before  the  mollusk  has  time  to  prepare  itself  for  the 
attack,  it  closes  down  on  the  rock  by  means  of  its  sucker-like  foot,  from 
which  it  cannot  be  removed  without  breaking  the  shell.  A  story  is  told 
at  Santa  Barbara  of  a  Chinese  fisherman  having  been  drowned  ofif  one 
of  the  outer  islands  by  having  his  hand  caught  underneath  the  shell 
of  an  abalone. 

A  few  years  ago,  Japanese  fishermen  introduced  the  use  of  diving- 
suits  in  taking  these  mollusks  in  three  fathoms  of  water ;  but  in  March, 
1907,  the  California  legislature  interdicted  this  form  of  fishery.  That 
legislature  also  interdicted  the  capture  of  black  abalones  measuring 
"less  than  twelve  inches  around  the  outer  edge  of  the  shell,  or  any 
other  abalone,  the  shell  of  which  shall  measure  less  than  fifteen  inches 
around  the  outer  edge." 

The  animal  is  removed  from  the  shell  by  thrusting  a  thin  blade  of 
soft  steel  between  the  flesh  and  the  shell,  and  thus  loosening  the  great 
muscle.  The  flesh  is  salted  and  boiled,  and  then  strung  on  long  rods  to 
dry  in  the  open  air.  When  properly  cured,  the  pieces  are  almost  as 
hard  and  stiff  as  sole  leather.  Most  of  it  is  packed  in  sacks  and  ex- 
ported to  China,  but  large  quantities  are  sold  on  the  Pacific  coast  at 
from  five  to  ten  cents  per  pound.  The  catch  is  much  less  than  it  was 
forty  years  ago. 

Many  pearly  masses  are  obtained  from  the  abalones,  and  a  few  of 


SHELL  OF  PEARL-BEARING  ABALONE 

From  the  coast  of  California 


AMERICAN  PEARLS  281 

these  are  of  considerable  beauty.  Some  are  very  large,  measuring  two 
inches  in  length  and  half  an  inch  or  more  in  width ;  but  they  are  rarely 
of  good  form,  and  their  value  is  commonly  far  less  than  that  of  choice 
Oriental  pearls.  Owing  to  their  irregularity  in  form,  they  are  scarcely 
suitable  for  necklaces.  One  of  the  best  necklaces  of  these  pearls  ever 
brought  together  sold  a  few  years  ago  for  $2000 ;  but  individual  speci- 
mens have  exceeded  $1000  in  market  value.  While  abalone  pearls  are 
not  on  the  market  in  any  great  quantities,  one  resident  of  Santa  Bar- 
bara has  a  collection  of  more  than  a  thousand  specimens,  ranging  in 
value  from  several  hundred  dollars  to  less  than  one  dollar  each.  Most 
of  the  objects  sold  in  curio  and  jewelry  stores  on  the  Pacific  coast  as 
abalone  pearls  are  simply  irregular  knots  or  protuberances  cut  from 
the  surface  of  the  shell.  The  California  fishermen  are  credited  with 
having  received  $3000  for  the  abalone  pearls  in  1904;  but  it  is  safe  to 
say  that  this  represents  only  a  small  fraction  of  their  final  sale  value. 

In  the  river  mussels  of  Canada,  and  especially  in  those  from  the 
Province  of  Quebec,  and  the  Ungava  Region,  pearls  are  occasionally 
found.  These  are  usually  white  and  of  good  luster.  They  are  not  the 
object  of  systematic  search,  but  in  the  aggregate  many  are  secured  by 
Indians  and  Eskimos,  and  some  by  the  trappers  and  fishermen  who  op- 
erate from  Quebec  and  Montreal.  A  number,  weighing  from  one  to 
sixty-five  grains  each,  were  shown  at  the  Colonial  Exhibition  in  Lon- 
don in  1886,  and  received  favorable  notice.  Recently,  tv,o  beautifully 
matched  pink  pearls,  weighing  about  fourteen  grains  each,  were  ob- 
tained from  one  mussel.  A  single  pearl  found  in  Canada  has  sold  for 
$1000,  but  as  a  general  rule  they  are  of  relatively  little  value.  The 
Hudson  Bay  traders  are  represented  as  having  secured  a  fair  share  of 
these  pearls. 

During  the  last  few  years,  many  pearls  have  been  found  in  the 
streams  of  Prince  Edward  Island  and  of  New  Brunswick  Province, 
and  also  in  those  of  Nova  Scotia.  Most  of  them  are  well  formed,  but 
their  color  is  generally  inferior  and  their  luster  deficient.  Many  of 
them  are  bufif  or  brown  in  color,  some  are  bright  and  fairly  good,  a  few 
are  rose-tinted,  and  others  are  slate-colored  and  even  almost  black. 
Toronto  jewelers  report  that  many  Canadian  pearls  are  in  the  posses- 
sion of  farmers  and  others  in  the  lower  provinces,  held  by  them  for 
higher  prices  than  the  jewelers  are  willing  to  pay.  The  Nova  Scotia 
pearls  are  from  a  bivalve  which  has  been  identified  as  Alasmodon  niar- 
garitifera.  They  are  especially  abundant  in  Annapolis  and  King 
counties. 

Even  in  the  streams  of  northern  Labrador  and  of  the  Caniapuscaw 
watershed,  pearls  are  obtained  by  the  natives,  and  by  the  hunters  and 
fishermen  who  resort  to  that  desolate  country.    These  closely  resemble 


282 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


the  pearls  of  Scotland  in  color,  size,  and  luster.  A  story  is  told  of  a 
fisherman  who  by  chance  found  in  one  shell  two  well-matched  pearls, 
which  he  later  sold  for  $150;  so  pleased  was  he  with  his  success  that  he 
spent  a  fortnight  in  diligent  search,  but  secured  only  half  a  dozen  small 
ones,  worth  perhaps  $3  for  the  lot.  Most  of  these  pearls  are  silvery 
white,  but  beautiful  pink  ones  are  not  rare.  An  unusually  choice  20- 
grain  pearl  from  this  region  sold  in  1905  for  $1000. 

On  the  coast  of  Ecuador,  pearl  fisheries  of  minor  importance  have 
been  prosecuted  from  time  to  time.  Dr.  H.  M.  Saville,  of  the  Ameri- 
can Museum  of  Natural  History,  states  that  in  his  explorations  in  that 
country  he  frequently  came  across  evidence  of  pearls  and  the  informa-! 
tion  that  fisheries  had  existed  on  the  coast  centuries  ago. 

An  interesting  letter  from  that  world-wide  traveler  and  interesting" 
writer,  William  E.  Curtis,  states  that  formerly  there  was  a  pearl  fish- 
ery on  the  coast  of  Ecuador  at  the  little  town  known  as  Manta,  in  the 
Province  of  Manabi ;  but  it  had  to  be  abandoned  on  account  of  a  par- 
ticularly voracious  species  of  fish  called  el  manti,  which  abounds  in 
that  locality  and  gives  the  place  its  name.  Pearls  are  said  to  be  even 
more  abundant  at  Manta  than  in  Panama  Bay.  It  is  reported  that  this 
is  the  place  where  the  Incas  obtained  those  splendid  gems  which  the 
Spaniards  found  in  the  palaces  and  temples  of  Peru. 

In  the  waters  of  Costa  Rica,  pearl-oysters  are  found,  and  at  times 
the  fishery  has  been  of  considerable  local  importance.  Owing  to  fear 
of  injury  to  the  reefs,  the  use  of  diving  machinery  was  interdicted 
there  a  few  years  ago;  but  in  1906  its  employment  was  authorized 
under  certain  restrictions.  Licenses  good  for  six  months  were 
authorized  for  a  maximum  of  thirty  machines,  which  may  work  at  a 
minimum  depth  of  thirty-seven  feet. 

On  the  coast  of  Colombia,  South  America,  scattered  reefs  of  pearl- 
oysters  occur.  A  lease  of  the  pearl  fisheries  and  those  for  corals  and 
sponges  was  granted  July  2,  1906,  but  it  is  unknown  what  results  have 
followed.    This  lease  lasts  five  years,  beginning  August  i,  1906. 

There  is  almost  an  absolute  paucity  of  information  in  regard  to  the 
occurrence  of  fresh-water  pearls  in  other  parts  of  South  America.  The 
only  data  we  have  obtained  are  from  Prof.  Eugene  Hussak  of  the 
Mining  School  of  Sao  Paulo,  Brazil,  who  writes  us  that  some  pearls 
have  been  obtained  from  one  of  the  Bahia  rivers.  Possibly,  when  the 
resources  of  the  interior  of  that  continent  are  better  known,  many 
pearls  may  be  found. 


XI 

PEARL-CULTURE  AND  PEARL-FARMING 


XI 

PEARL-CULTURE  AND  PEARL-FARMING 

Some  asked  how  pearls  did  grow,  and  where. 

Then  spoke  I  to  my  girl, 
To  part  her  lips,  and  show  them  there 

The  quarelets  of  pearl. 

Herrick,  The  Quarrie  of  Pearls. 

THE  great  profit  that  would  accrue  from  an  increased  output  of 
pearls  has  long  directed  attention  to  the  problem  of  bringing 
this  about  by  artificial  means. 
In  his  life  of  Apollonius  of  Tyana,  Philostratus,  a  Greek 
writer  of  the  third  century,  repeats  a  story  afloat  at  the  time,  which 
credited  the  Arabs  of  the  Red  Sea  with  possessing  some  method  of 
growing  pearls  artificially.  The  story  as  it  reached  Greece  was  that 
they  first  poured  oil  upon  the  sea  for  the  purpose  of  calming  the  waves, 
and  then  dived  down  and  caused  the  oysters  to  open  their  shells.  Hav- 
ing effected  this,  they  pricked  the  fiesh  with  a  sharp  instrument  and 
received  the  liquor  which  flowed  from  the  wounds  into  suitable  molds, 
and  this  liquor  there  hardened  into  the  shape,  color,  and  consistence  of 
the  natural  gems.* 

While  the  description  given  by  Philostratus  is  charged  with  many 
improbable  details,  and  could  scarcely  develop  belief,  even  in  the  most 
credulous,  as  to  the  exact  method  of  procedure,  it  seems  that  the  story 
may  not  have  been  wholly  without  foundation,  and  that  attempts  were 
made  at  that  remote  date  to  stimulate  the  growth  of  pearls. 

In  more  modern  times,  the  possibility  of  aiding  or  starting  pearly 
formations  in  mollusks  seems  first  to  have  been  conceived  by  the 
Chinese  about  the  fourteenth  century.  In  1736  there  appeared  in  that 
storehouse  of  Oriental  information,  "Lettres  edifiantes  et  curieuses 
ecrites  des  missions  etrangeres,"^  a  communication  from  F.  X.  de 
Entrecolles,  dated  Pekin,  4th  November,  1734,  which  set  forth  that 
there  were  people  in  China  who  busied  themselves  with  growing  pearls, 

'  Philostratus,   "Vita  Apollonii,"  Lib    III.  c.  57,  edit.  Olearii,  p.  139.    Also  see  Konrad 
von  Gessner,  "Historic  natura,"  Lib.  IV,  p. 634.  '  Vol.  XXII,  pp.  425-437. 

285 


286  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

and  the  product  was  not  only  vastly  superior  to  the  imitations  manu- 
factured in  Europe,  but  were  scarcely  to  be  distinguished  from  the 
genuine.  From  Father  Entrecolles's  very  detailed  quotation  of  his 
unnamed  Chinese  authority,  we  condense  this  account.  In  a  basin 
one  half  full  of  fresh  water,  place  the  largest  mussels  obtainable,  set 
this  basin  in  a  secluded  place  where  the  dew  may  fall  thereon,  but 
where  no  female  approaches,  and  neither  the  barking  of  dogs  nor  the 
crowing  of  chickens  is  to  be  heard.  Pulverize  some  seed-pearls  ( Yo 
tchu),  such  as  are  commonly  used  in  medicine,  moisten  this  powder 
with  juice  expressed  from  leaves  of  a  species  of  holly  {Che  ta-kong 
lao),  and  then  roll  the  moistened  powder  into  perfectly  round  pellets 
the  size  of  a  pea.  These  are  permitted  to  dry  under  a  moderate 
sunlight,  and  then  are  carefully  inserted  within  the  open  shells  of 
the  mollusks.  Each  day  for  one  hundred  days  the  mussels  are  nour- 
ished with  equal  parts  of  powdered  ginseng,  china  root,  pcki,  which 
is  a  root  more  glutinous  than  isinglass,  and  of  pecho,  another  medic- 
inal root,  all  combined  with  honey  and  molded  in  the  form  of  rice 
grains. 

Although  extremely  detailed  in  some  particulars,  the  Chinese  ac- 
count omits  much  to  be  desired  as  to  the  method  in  which  the  shells 
were  opened  to  receive  the  pellets  and  the  nourishment,  and  as  to  the 
importance  of  seclusion  from  females  and  loud  noises.  Admitting 
that  it  is  "inaccurate  and  misleading,"  this  letter  seems  to  indicate  very 
clearly  that  the  Chinese  had  some  method  of  assisting  nature  in  grow- 
ing pearls  in  river  mussels. 

The  first  person  in  Europe  whose  suggestion  of  the  possibility  of 
pearl-culture  attracted  general  attention  was  Linnseus,  the  Swedish 
naturalist  (1707-1778).  In  a  letter  to  Von  Haller,  the  Swiss  anato- 
mist, dated  13th  September.  1748,  he  wrote:  "At  length  I  have  ascer- 
tained the  manner  in  which  pearls  originate  and  grow  in  shells ;  and  in 
the  course  of  five  or  six  years  I  am  able  to  produce,  in  any  mother-of- 
pearl  shell  the  size  of  one's  hand,  a  pearl  as  large  as  the  seed  of  the 
common  vetch."^  There  was  much  secrecy  about  Linnseus's  discovery,, 
and  even  yet  there  is  imcertainty  as  to  the  details  of  the  method. 

The  Linnean  Society  of  London  apparently  possesses  some  of  the 
very  pearls  grown  by  Linnseus,  as  well  as  several  manuscripts  which 
throw  much  light  on  this  subject.  It  appears  from  the  latter  that, 
under  date  of  6th  February,  1761,  Linnjeus  wrote  that  he  "possessed 
the  art"  of  impregnating  mussels  for  pearl-production,  and  ofTered  for 
a  suitable  reward  from  the  state  to  publish  the  "secret"  for  the  public 
use  and  benefit.  A  select  committee  of  the  state  council  of  Sweden 
was   appointed   to   confer   with   him,    and   on   27th   July,    1761,   the 

'  Pulteney,  "General  View  of  the  Writings  of  LinnKUs,"  London,  1805. 


Shell  uf  Dipsas  plicatus,  with  attached  metal  figures  of  iiuddha  coated  with  nacre 


l£> 


Shell  uf  DipSiis  plkatus,  with  attached  porcelain  beads  coated  with  nacre 


PEARL-CULTURE  AND  PEARL-FARMING  287 

naturalist  appeared  and  verbally  explained  his  discovery.  After 
various  meetings,  the  select  committee  approved  the  "art"  and  recom- 
mended a  compensation  of  12,000  dalars  (about  $4800).  It  does  not 
appear  that  the  award  was  paid,  and  the  following  year  the  secret  was 
purchased  by  Peter  Bagge,  a  Gothenberg  merchant,  for  the  sum  of 
6000  dalars.  On  7th  September,  1762,  King  Adolph  Frederick  issued 
a  grant  to  this  merchant  "to  practice  the  art  without  interference  or 
competition." ' 

Peter  Bagge  was  unable  to  exercise  the  rights  which  he  had  ac- 
quired, nor  was  he  able  to  dispose  of  them  to  advantage.  On  his  death 
the  memorandum  of  the  secret  became  lost,  and  it  was  not  found  until 
about  1 82 1,  when  it  was  discovered  by  a  grandson,  J.  P.  Bagge.  Un- 
der the  date  of  27th  February,  1822,  the  King  of  Sweden  confirmed 
to  this  grandson  the  privileges  which  his  ancestor  had  purchased  in 
1762.  Fruitless  efforts  were  again  made  to  dispose  profitably  of  the 
rights  either  to  individuals  or  to  the  Swedish  government. 

The  details  of  Linnaeus's  "secret"  have  never  been  published  authori- 
tatively. In  his  "History  of  Inventions,"  Beckmann  states  that  before 
the  naturalist  thought  of  the  profits  that  might  accrue  from  his  discov- 
ery, he  intimated  the  process  in  the  sixth  edition  of  his  "Systema 
naturae,"  wherein  he  states:  "Margarita  testae  excrescentia  latere  in- 
teriore,  dum  exterius  latus  perforatur."*  "I  once  told  him,"  says 
Beckmann,  "that  I  had  discovered  his  secret  in  his  own  writings;  he 
seemed  to  be  displeased,  made  no  inquiry  as  to  the  passage,  and 
changed  the  discourse."* 

In  the  second  volume  of  his  edition  of  "Linnaeus's  Correspondence,"* 
Sir  J.  E.  Smith  remarks:  "Specimens  of  pearls  so  produced  by  art  in 
the  Mya  margarififera  are  in  the  Linnean  cabinet.  The  shell  appears 
to  have  been  pierced  by  flexible  wires,  the  ends  of  which  perhaps  re- 
main therein."  Referring  to  this  remark,  J.  P.  Bagge  comments: 
"This  is  the  nearest  I  have  seen  any  one  come  to  truth,  but  still  it  will 
be  remarked  by  reading  the  'secret'  that  more  information  is  required 
to  enable  persons  to  practice  the  art." 

After  a  thorough  examination  of  the  manuscripts  and  other  mate- 
rial, Professor  Herdman  concludes  that  the  essential  points  of  Lin- 
naeus's process  are  to  make  a  very  small  hole  in  the  shell  and  insert  a 
round  pellet  of  limestone  fixed  at  the  end  of  a  fine  silver  wire,  the 
hole  being  near  the  end  of  the  shell  so  as  to  interfere  only  slightly  with 
the  mollusk,  and  the  nucleus  being  kept  free  from  the  interior  of  the 

^"Proceedings   of  the  Linnean   Society  of  "Beckmann,  "History  of  Inventions,"  Lon- 

London,"  October,  1905,  p.  26.  don,  1846,  Vol.  I,  p.  263. 

'  Pearl :  an  excrescence  on  the  inside  of  a  '  London,  1821,  p.  48. 
shell  wlien  the  outside  has  been  perforated. 


288  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

shell  so  that  the  resulting  pearl  may  not  become  adherent  to  it  by  a 
deposit  of  nacre/ 

Shortly  after  Linnaeus  communicated  with  the  Swedish  government 
and  before  his  death,  it  was  learned  in  Europe  that  the  art  of  produc- 
ing "culture  pearls"  by  a  somewhat  similar  process  had  been  practised 
by  the  Chinese  for  centuries.^  They  used  several  forms  of  matrices  or 
nuclei,  but  principally  spheres  of  nacre  and  bits  of  flat  metal  or  molded 
lead,  which  were  not  infrequently  in  conventional  outline  of  Buddha. 
In  the  spring  or  early  summer,  these  were  introduced  under  the  mantle 
of  the  living  mollusk  after  the  shell  had  been  carefully  opened  a  frac- 
tion of  an  inch,  and  the  animal  was  then  returned  to  the  pond,  or  lake. 
The  mollusk  did  its  work  in  a  leisurely  way,  like  some  people  who 
have  little  to  do,  and  many  months  elapsed  before  it  was  ready  for 
opening  and  the  removal  of  the  pearly  objects. 

The  most  satisfactory  description  we  have  seen  of  this  process  ap- 
pears to  be  that  communicated  nearly  a  century  later  to  the  London 
Society  of  Arts  by  Dr.  D.  T.  Macgowan,^  through  H.  B.  M.  plenipo- 
tentiary in  China,  from  which  this  account  is  abridged  and  modified. 

The  industry  is  prosecuted  in  two  villages  near  the  city  of  Titsin, 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  province  of  Che-kiang,  a  silk-producing  re- 
gion. In  May  or  June  large  specimens  of  the  fresh-water  mussels, 
Dipsas  pUcatiis,  are  brought  in  baskets  from  Lake  Tai-hu,  about  thirty 
miles  distant.  For  recuperation  from  the  journey,  they  are  immersed 
in  fresh  water  for  a  few  days  in  bamboo  cages,  and  are  then  ready  to 
receive  the  matrices. 

These  nuclei  are  of  various  forms  and  materials,  the  most  common 
being  spherical  beads  of  nacre,  pellets  of  mud  moistened  with  juice 
of  camphor  seeds,  and  especially  thin  leaden  images,  generally  of 
Buddha  in  the  usual  sitting  posture.  In  introducing  these  objects,  the 
shell  is  gently  opened  with  a  spatula  of  bamboo  or  of  pearl  shell,  and 
the  mantle  of  the  mollusk  is  carefully  separated  from  one  surface  of 
the  shell  with  a  metal  probe.  The  foreign  bodies  are  then  succes- 
sively introduced  at  the  point  of  a  bifurcated  bamboo  stick,  and  placed, 
commonly  in  two  parallel  rows,  upon  the  inner  surface  of  the  shell;  a 
sufficient  number  having  been  placed  on  one  valve,  the  operation  is  re- 
peated on  the  other.  As  soon  as  released,  the  animal  closes  its  shell, 
thus  keeping  the  matrices  in  place.  The  mussels  are  then  deposited 
one  by  one  in  canals  or  streams,  or  in  ponds  connected  therewith,  five 
or  six  inches  apart,  and  where  the  depth  is  from  two  to  five  feet  under 
water. 

'"Proceedings  of  the  Linnean  Society  of  auf  das  Jahr  1772,"  Leipzig,  Vol.    XXXIV, 

London,"  October,  1905,  p.  29.  pp.  88-90. 

'  See  Gril!,  Abhandlungen  der  koniglichen  ^  "Journal  of  the  Society  of  Arts,"  Vol.  II, 

Schwedischen  Akademie  der  Wissenschaften  pp.  72-75. 


PEARL-CULTURE  AND  PEARL-FARMING  289 

If  taken  up  within  a  few  days  and  examined,  the  nuclei  will  be  found 
attached  to  the  shell  by  a  membranous  secretion;  later  this  appears  to 
be  impregnated  with  calcareous  matter,  and  finally  layers  of  nacre  are 
deposited  around  each  nucleus,  the  process  being  analagous  to  the 
formation  of  calculary  concretions  in  animals  of  higher  development. 
A  ridge  generally  extends  from  one  pearly  tumor  to  another,  connect- 
ing them  all  together.  Each  month  several  tubs  of  night  soil  are 
thrown  into  the  reservoir  for  the  nourishment  of  the  animals.  Great 
care  is  taken  to  keep  goat  excretia  from  the  water,  as  it  is  highly  detri- 
mental to  the  mussels,  preventing  the  secretion  of  good  nacre  or  even 
killing  them  if  the  quantity  be  sufficient.  Persons  inexperienced  in  the 
management  lose  ten  or  fifteen  per  cent,  by  deaths;  others  lose  virtu- 
ally none  in  a  whole  season. 

In  November,  the  mussels  are  removed  from  the  water  and  opened, 
and  the  pearly  masses  are  detached  by  means  of  a  knife.  If  the  matrix 
be  of  nacre,  this  is  not  removed ;  but  the  earthen  and  the  metallic  mat- 
rices are  cut  away,  melted  resin  or  white  sealing-wax  poured  into  the 
cavity,  and  the  orifice  covered  with  a  piece  of  shell.  These  pearly 
formations  have  some  of  the  luster  and  beauty  of  true  pearls,  and  are 
furnished  at  a  rate  so  cheap  as  to  be  procurable  by  almost  any  one. 
Most  of  them  are  purchased  by  jewelers,  who  set  them  in  various  per- 
sonal ornaments,  and  especially  in  decorations  for  the  hair.  Those 
formed  in  the  image  of  Buddha  are  used  largely  for  amulets  as  well  as 
for  ornaments.  They  are  about  half  an  inch  long,  and  while  in  the  shell 
have  a  bluish  tint,  which  disappears  with  removal  of  the  matrix. 
Quantities  of  them  are  sold  as  talismans  to  pilgrims  at  the  Buddhist 
shrines  about  Pooto  and  Hang-chau. 

In  some  shells  the  culture  pearls  are  permitted  to  remain  by  the 
Chinese  growers,  for  sale  as  curios  or  souvenirs ;  specimens  of  these 
have  found  their  way  into  many  public  and  private  collections  of 
Europe  and  America.  These  shells  are  generally  about  seven  inches 
long  and  four  or  five  inches  broad,  and  contain  a  double  or  triple  row 
of  pearls  or  images,  as  many  as  twenty-five  of  the  former  and  sixteen 
of  the  latter  to  each  valve.  That  the  animal  should  survive  the  intro- 
duction of  so  many  irritating  bodies,  and  in  such  a  brief  period  secrete 
a  covering  of  nacre  over  them  all,  is  certainly  a  striking  physiological 
fact.  Indeed,  some  naturalists  have  expressed  strong  doubts  as  to  its 
possibility,  supposing  the  forms  were  made  to  adhere  to  the  shell  by 
some  composition ;  but  the  examination  of  living  specimens  in  different 
stages  of  growth,  with  both  valves  studded  with  them,  has  fully  dem- 
onstrated its  truth. 

It  is  represented  that  in  the  northern  part  of  the  Che-kiang  province 
about  five  thousand  families  are  employed  in  this  work  in  connection 

19 


290  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

with  rice-growing  and  silk-culture.  To  some  of  them  it  is  the  chief 
source  of  income,  single  families  realizing  as  much  as  300  silver 
dollars  annually  therefrom.  In  the  village  of  Chung-kwan-o,  the 
headquarters  for  culture  pearls  in  China,  a  temple  has  been  erected  to 
the  memory  of  the  originator  of  this  industry,  Yu  Shun  Yang,  who 
lived  late  in  the  thirteenth  century,  and  was  an  ancestor  of  many  per- 
sons now  employed  thereby. 

The  method  in  vogue  in  China  for  so  many  centuries  has  been  the 
starting-point  for  similar  attempts  in  various  other  countries.  Dur- 
ing the  New  Jersey  pearling  excitement  in  1857,  there  were  found 
several  spherical  pieces  of  nacre  which  had  been  introduced  into  Unios 
apparently  for  experimental  pearl-culture;  and  in  the  collection  of 
shells  bequeathed  to  the  United  States  National  Museum  by  the  late 
Dr.  Isaac  Lea,  is  a  hemispherical  piece  of  candle  grease  partly  coated 
with  pinkish  nacre.  Kelaart  applied  the  Chinese  method  to  the  Ceylon 
pearl-oysters  with  much  success  in  1858.  At  the  Berlin  Fisheries 
Exhibition,  in  1880,  appeared  the  results  of  experiments  in  growing 
culture  pearls  in  the  river  mussels  in  Saxony.  Small  foreign  bodies 
had  been  introduced  in  the  mantle,  and  others  had  been  inserted  be- 
tween the  mantle  and  the  shell.  These  nuclei  consisted  of  shell  beads, 
unsightly  pearls  from  other  mussels,  etc. ;  but  unfortunately  the  shape 
of  these  was  such  that  the  mantle  could  not  fit  closely  around  them, 
consequently  the  result  was  so  irregular  as  to  be  of  no  value  except  to 
show  that  German  Unios  as  well  as  those  of  China  could  be  made  to 
cover  foreign  objects  with  pearly  material. 

Professor  Herdman  notes  that,  between  1751  and  1754,  an  inspector 
named  Frederick  Hedenberg  received  an  annual  salary  "to  inoculate 
the  pearl  mussels  of  Lulea  (in  the  northern  part  of  Sweden)  with 
'pearl-seeds'  which  he  manufactured,  and  then  to  replant  the  mussels. 
Certain  pearls  were  produced  by  the  inspector,  which  it  is  recorded 
were  sold  for  some  300  silver  dollars."^ 

As  noted  by  Broussonnet,  in  Finland  artificial  pearls  were  produced 
by  inserting  a  round  piece  of  nacre  between  the  inner  face  of  the  shell 
and  the  mantle.  The  owner  of  the  pearl  fisheries  at  Vilshofen  has 
succeeded  in  producing  pearly  figures  by  introducing  into  the  mollusk 
flat  figures  of  pewter,  most  of  them  representing  fish  in  form. 

In  1884,  Bouchon-Brandely  made  experiments  in  pearl  production 
at  Tahiti.  Gimlet  holes  about  half  an  inch  in  diameter  were  drilled 
throvigh  dififerent  places  in  the  shells  of  pearl-oysters,  and  through 
each  of  these  holes  a  pellet  of  nacre  or  of  glass  was  inserted  and  held 
by  brass  wire  passing  through  a  stopper  of  cork  or  burao  wood,  by 
means  of  which  each  opening  was  hermetically  closed,  so  that  the 

'  ''Proceedings  of  the  Linnean   Society  of  London,"  October,  1905,  p.  28. 


Artificial  rearing-puuds  fur  the  development  ot  pearl-uysters  uii  the  Island  of  Espiritii  Santo,  Gulf  of  California 


Trays  containing  small  pearl-oysters  prepared  for  placing  at  the  bottom  uf  artificial 
rearing-punds  at  Espiritu  Santo  Island,  Gulf  uf  California 


PEARL-CULTURE  AND  PEARL-FARMING  291 

pellet  was  the  only  foreign  substance  protruding  on  the  inside  of  the 
shell.'  The  oysters  were  returned  to  the  sea  without  further  in- 
jury, and  after  the  lapse  of  a  month  the  pellets  were  found  covered 
with  thin  layers  of  nacre. 

Experiments  in  growing  pearls  in  the  abalone  or  Haliotis  were  made 
in  1897  by  Louis  Bouton,  an  account  of  which  was  given  at  the  meet- 
ing of  the  Paris  Academic  des  Sciences  in  1898.^  The  tenacity  of  life 
in  this  mollusk  makes  it  especially  desirable  for  experiments  of  this 
nature.  Through  small  holes  bored  into  the  shell,  pellets  of  mother- 
of-pearl  were  inserted  and  placed  within  the  mantle,  the  small  holes  be- 
ing afterward  closed  up.  Other  nacreous  pellets  were  introduced  directly 
into  the  bronchial  cavity.  The  objects  were  soon  covered  with  thin, 
pearly  layers,  resulting  in  a  few  months  in  spheres  of  much  beauty, 
resembling  somewhat  the  pearls  naturally  produced  by  this  mollusk. 
In  six  months,  according  to  M.  Bouton,  the  layers  became  of  sufficient 
thickness  to  be  attractive.  Within  limitations,  the  size  of  the  pearl 
produced  is  in  proportion  to  the  length  of  time  it  is  allowed  to  remain 
within  the  mollusk.  The  results  of  the  experiments  seem  to  encourage 
further  efforts  in  this  line,  and  possibly  in  course  of  time  there  may  be 
a  profitable  business  in  growing  pearls  in  abalones  on  the  Pacific  coast 
of  the  United  States.  Indeed,  the  experiments  in  transplanting  and 
cultivating  the  pearl-oyster  in  Australia  leads  one  to  fancy  that  the 
culture  of  that  species  in  the  warm  coastal  waters  of  America  is  by  no 
means  an  impossibility. 

Many  other  experiments  along  similar  lines  have  been  made  more 
recently.  An  interesting  feature  of  attempts  made  by  Mr.  Vane  Sim- 
monds  of  Cedar  Rapids,  Iowa,  in  1S96-1898,  is  that  in  order  to  avoid 
straining  the  adductor  muscles  by  forcibly  opening  the  shell  while  the 
mollusk  resisted  the  intrusion,  each  selected  Unio  was  exposed  in  the 
open  air  and  sunshine  until  the  valves  opened ;  then  a  wooden  wedge 
was  carefully  inserted  in  the  opening,  and  the  mollusk  immediately 
immersed  in  water  to  revive  it  or  to  sustain  life.  After  a  few  mo- 
ments of  immersion,  the  operator  carefully  raised  the  mantle  from  the 
shell,  inserted  the  pellet  of  wax  or  other  small  article  to  be  covered 
with  nacre,  drew  the  mantle  to  its  normal  position,  removed  the  wedge, 
and  returned  the  mollusk  to  a  selected  place  in  the  stream  at  sufficient 
depth  to  avoid  danger  of  freezing  in  winter. 

Probably  it  would  be  more  satisfactory  to  stupefy  the  mollusks  by 
means  of  some  chemical  in  order  to  insert  the  pellets.  Marine  mol- 
lusks have  been  successfully  stupefied  by  slowly  adding  magnesium 
sulphate  crystals  to  the  sea  water  until  the  animals  no  longer  respond 

'  "La  Peche  et  la  Culture  des  Huitres  Per-  -  "Comptes     Rendus     de     TAcademie     des 

lieres  a  Tahiti,"  Paris,  1885.  Sciences,"  Vol.  CXXVII,  pp.  828-830. 


292  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

to  contact.  If  treatment  is  not  too  prolonged,  they  may  be  returned  to 
normal  sea  water  with  good  prospects  of  recovery.  To  stupefy  fresh- 
water mollusks,  either  chloral  hydrate  or  chlorosone  may  be  employed, 
although  the  latter  is  expensive  to  use  in  great  quantity.  Dr.  Charles 
B.  Davenport,  of  the  Carnegie  Institution,  suggests  that  it  might  be 
well  to  experiment  with  pouring  ether  or  chloroform  over  them. 

In  Japan  the  production  of  these  pearly  formations  in  Margaritr 
if  era  martensi,  which  is  closely  related  to  the  Ceylon  oyster,  has  devel- 
oped into  some  prominence  since  1890,  and  the  results  have  been  well 
advertised.  The  industry  is  located  in  Ago  Bay,  near  the  celebrated 
temple  of  Ise  in  the  province  of  Shima,  and  gives  employment  to 
about  one  hundred  persons.  It  is  stated  that  the  proprietor,  Kokichi 
Mikimoto,  has  leased  about  one  thousand  acres  of  sea  bottom,  on 
which  are  a  million  oysters  of  this  species,  v/hich  yield  from  30,000 
to  50,000  culture  pearls  annually. 

As  described  by  Dr.  K.  Mitsukuri,  the  shoal  portions  of  this  area 
are  used  for  breeding  the  oysters  and  raising  them  to  maturity,  and 
in  the  deeper  parts — covered  by  several  fathoms  of  water — the 
oysters  are  specially  treated  for  producing  the  culture  pearls.  In  the 
former,  the  spat  is  collected  on  small  stones,  weighing  six  or  eight 
pounds  each,  placed  during  May  or  June.  The  following  November 
these  stones,  with  the  attached  spat  or  young,  are  removed,  for  protec- 
tion from  cold,  to  depths  greater  than  five  or  six  feet,  where  they  re- 
main for  about  three  years.  At  the  end  of  that  period,  the  growing 
oysters  are  taken  from  the  water,  the  shells  opened  slightly,  and 
rounded  bits  of  pearl  shell  or  nacre  are  introduced  under  the  mantle 
without  injury  to  the  mollusks.  About  300,000  are  thus  treated  annu- 
ally, and  placed  in  the  deeper  water  at  the  rate  of  about  one  to  each 
square  foot  of  bottom  area.  After  the  lapse  of  about  four  years  more, 
the  oysters  are  removed  from  the  water  and  opened,  when  a  large  per- 
centage of  the  pellets  are  found  covered  on  the  upper  or  exposed  sur- 
face with  nacre  of  good  luster. 

Most  of  these  culture  pearls  are  button-shaped  and  weigh  two  or 
three  grains  each.  Although  somewhat  attractive  and  superior  to 
the  culture  pearls  of  China  and  other  fresh  waters,  they  by  no  mean's 
compare  favorably  with  choice  pearls.  They  are  rarely,  if  ever, 
spherical,  and  only  the  upper  surface  is  lustrous;  consequently  they 
serve  only  the  purpose  of  half-pearls.  A  cross  section  shows  the 
nacreous  growth  in  a  thin  concentric  layer,  forming  a  fragile  hemi- 
spherical cap,  the  concave  wall  of  which  is  covered  with  a  brownish 
granular  secretion  which  prevents  perfect  adhesion.  Compared  with 
choice  pearls,  they  are  not  only  deficient  in  luster,  but  are  fragile,  and 
are  beautiful  only  on  the  upper  surface,  and  not  available  for  neck- 


PEARL-CULTURE  AND  PEARL-FARMING  293 

laces.  Good  specimens  sell  for  several  dollars  each,  and  some  indi- 
viduals reach  $50  or  more.  Specimens  exhibited  at  the  Paris 
Exposition  in  1900  were  awarded  a  silver  medal;  at  the  St.  Peters- 
burg Exhibition  in  1902  they  were  awarded  a  gold  medal ;  at  the  Tokio 
Exhibition  a  grand  prize,  and  a  medal  at  the  St.  Louis  Exposition  in 
1904.  The  awards  were  given  in  the  fisheries,  and  not  the  gem  divi- 
sions. 

The  work  of  Mikimoto  is  not  the  only  attempt  now  being  made  in 
Japan  to  produce  pearls.  A  letter  from  Dr.  T.  Nishikawa,  of  the 
Tokio  Imperial  University,  states:  "It  is  a  great  pleasure  for  me  to 
tell  you  that  I  am  studying  pearl  formation  and  pearl-oyster  culture 
in  the  university  laboratory,  and  recently  I  have  got  my  pearl  labor- 
atory at  Fukura,  on  the  Island  of  Awaji,  where  I  began  the  pearl  cul- 
ture work  this  summer  (1907).  Fortunately,  I  found  the  cause  of 
Japanese  pearl  formation,  i.e.,  the  reason  why  and  how  the  pearl  is 
produced  in  the  tissue  of  an  oyster.  I  made  practical  application  of 
this  theory  with  great  prospects  for  producing  the  natural  and  true 
pearls  at  will." 

Among  the  most  interesting  of  the  pearl-culture  enterprises  are 
those  of  the  Compaiiia  Criadora  de  Concha  y  Perla,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Sr.  Gaston  J.  Vives,  in  the  Gulf  of  California.  This  company 
has  an  extensive  station  at  San  Gabriel,  near  La  Paz,  where  breeding 
oysters  are  placed  in  prepared  chests  or  cages  for  collecting  the  spat 
on  trays.  After  remaining  there  for  several  weeks  or  months,  the 
young  mollusks  are  removed  to  prepared  places  (viveros)  for  further 
growth.  Experiments  are  now  made  in  depositing  them  between  a 
series  of  parallel  dams  alternately  touching  each  shore  of  a  lagoon, 
thus  developing  a  current  of  water  over  the  oysters  for  conveying 
food  to  them,  and  thus  hastening  their  growth. 

In  efforts  to  increase  the  output  of  pearls,  attention  has  been  given 
to  the  possibilities  for  extending  the  area  and  production  of  the  reefs, 
and  for  stocking  new  areas  and  replenishing  exhausted  ones,  thus 
bringing  the  pearl-bearing  mollusks  to  maturity  in  greater  abundance. 

Although  theoretically  it  does  not  seem  a  very  difficult  undertaking 
to  cultivate  the  pearl-oysters  by  methods  somewhat  similar  to  the  culti- 
vation of  edible  oysters  and  clams,  in  no  part  of  the  world  has  this 
been  successfully  done  on  an  extensive  scale.  While  in  certain  minor 
cases,  the  areas  of  some  species  ol  pearl  mollusks  have  been  extended 
indirectly  through  man's  agency— as  the  range  of  the  Red  Sea  pearl- 
oyster  into  the  Mediterranean  since  the  Suez  Canal  was  opened — there 
is  no  well-known  instance  in  which  new  areas  have  been  abundantly 
populated  through  direct  efforts. 

In  the  chapter  on  the  pearl  fisheries  of  Asia  are  noted  the  hitherto 


294  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

unsuccessful  efforts  made  in  Ceylon  and  India  to  preserve  the  young 
and  immature  oysters  on  the  storm-swept  reefs  by  reinoving  them  to 
less  exposed  areas.  This  has  received  close  attention  from  the  Ceylon 
authorities  during  the  last  two  years.  Other  practical  measures 
which  are  recommended  for  that  region  include  "cultching,"  or  the 
deposit  of  suitable  solid  material,  such  as  shells  or  broken  stone,  to 
which  the  young  oysters  can  attach  themselves;  thinning  out  over- 
crowded reefs,  and  cleaning  the  beds  by  means  of  a  dredge,  thereby 
removing  starfish  and  other  injurious  animals.  The  attempts  made 
by  individuals  and  associations  to  extend  the  range  of  the  reefs  on  the 
coast  of  Australia,  among  the  Tuamotu  Islands,  in  the  Gulf  of  Cali- 
fornia, and  some  other  localities,  are  noted  in  the  appropriate  chapters. 
But  it  may  be  stated  that  in  most  instances  lack  of  adequate  police  pro- 
tection has  been  not  the  least  of  the  difficulties  with  which  these  experi- 
ments have  had  to  contend. 

Nor  has  much  greater  success  followed  upon  efforts  to  prevent  the 
exhaustion  of  the  reefs  and  productive  grounds  through  overfishing, 
except  in  those  instances  in  which  the  government  exercises  a  proprie- 
tory interest  and  determines  the  season,  the  area  to  be  fished,  and  the 
quantity  of  mollusks  to  be  removed.  The  most  prominent  instance  of 
this  is  in  Ceylon,  where  the  fishery  has  been  restricted  to  such  seasons 
and  periods  as  appeared  to  insure  the  maximum  yield  of  pearls. 
Without  restriction  upon  the  fishery,  the  pearl-oyster  in  that  populous 
region  would  doubtless  become  almost  extinct  in  a  few  years.  An- 
other instance  of  proprietory  interest  on  the  part  of  the  government  is 
in  some  of  the  German  States,  where  pearl  fishing  has  been  regulated 
and  restricted  for  centuries.  But  there  the  sewage  from  cities  and 
factories  has  accomplished  almost  as  effectively,  if  less  rapidly,  what 
unrestricted  fishing:  would  have  done. 

Much  attention  has  been  given  to  the  subject  of  pearl-culture  in 
Bavaria,  where  the  government  has  granted  a  small  subsidy  to  en- 
courage this  industry,  and  a  model  pearl-mussel  bank  has  been  estab- 
lished in  one  of  the  brooks  for  the  rational  culture  of  the  mussels. 

On  the  Australian  coast,  the  only  theoretical  protection  of  conse- 
cjuence  is  the  restriction  on  taking  small  or  immature  oysters;  but, 
owing  to  the  great  area  over  which  the  fisheries  are  prosecuted  there, 
it  has  not  been  possible  to  enforce  the  regulations.  At  some  of  the 
Pacific  islands  and  elsewhere,  interdictions  exist  as  to  use  of  certain 
apparatus  of  capture,  but  this  is  intended  for  the  purpose  of  reserving 
the  industry  to  dependent  natives  rather  than  for  protecting  the  reefs. 
Several  efforts  have  been  made  to  insure  adequate  protection  for  the 
Unios  in  our  American  rivers,  but  nothing  in  this  direction  has  yet 
been  accomplished  by  legislative  enactment,  except  in  Illinois. 


PEARL-CULTURE  AND  PEARL-FARMING     295 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  parasitic  stage  of  Unios/ 
The  attachment  of  the  newly-hatched  mollusks  to  the  gills  or  fins  of  a 
fish  is  entirely  a  matter  of  chance,  and  unless  this  takes  place  they  die 
within  a  few  days.  Under  natural  conditions  the  fish  thus  infected 
will  rarely  be  found  carrying  as  many  of  the  parasitic  Unios  as  they 
can  without  serious  injury.  If  the  fish  are  placed  in  a  tank  or  a  pond 
containing  large  numbers  of  newly-hatched  Unios,  it  is  possible  to 
bring  about  the  attachment  of  hundreds  of  them  for  every  one  that 
would  be  found  there  by  chance  of  nature.  A  fish  six  inches  in  length 
may  thus  be  made  to  carry  several  hundred  parasitic  Unios,  and  thus  a 
thousand  fish  artificially  infected  may  do  the  work  of  several  hundred 
thousand  in  a  state  of  nature.  Experiments  with  small  numbers  of 
fish  under  observation  in  the  laboratory  indicate  that  their  infection 
on  a  large  scale  is  entirely  possible,  and  the  experiment  by-  Messrs. 
Lef  evre  and  Curtis  now  in  progress  at  La  Crosse,  Wisconsin,  in  which 
over  25,000  young  fish  have  been  infected,  gives  every  indication  that 
such  work  may  be  begun  even  with  the  scanty  knowledge  now  pos- 
sessed. 

Since  it  has  already  been  shown  that  the  production  of  pearls  is  an 
abnormal  condition,  it  does  not  follow  that  an  increase  in  the  quantity 
of  mollusks  would  necessarily  result  in  a  corresponding  increase  in  the 
yield  of  pearls.  Indeed,  it  might  even  be  that  the  artificial  conditions 
bringing  about  an  enhanced  prosperity  and  abundance  of  the  mollusks 
would  result  in  a  corresponding  decrease  in  the  product  of  gems,  the 
improved  surroundings  impairing  if  not  destroying  the  conditions  to 
which  the  pearls  owe  their  origin.  This  has  resulted  in  directing  ef- 
forts toward  abnormally  increasing  the  abundance  of  oearls  in  a  defi- 
nite number  of  mollusks. 

The  development  of  the  parasitic  theory  of- pearl  formation  has 
naturally  invited  attention  to  the  possibilities  of  increasing  the  yield 
of  pearls  by  inoculating  healthy  mollusks  with  distomid  parasites.  It 
does  not  appear  that  this  has  yet  advanced  beyond  the  experimental 
stage,  and  virtually  all  that  has  been  accomplished  has  been  set  forth 
in  the  chapter  on  the  origin  of  pearls.  It  seems  that  there  are  great 
possibilities  in  the  artificial  production  along  these  lines;  and  that 
under  skilful  management  it  could  be  made  a  profitable  industry,  espe- 
cially if  carried  on  concurrently  with  the  systematic  cultivation  of 
mother-of-pearl  shells. 

Although  there  is  scientific  basis  for  the  belief  that  it  may  be  possible 
in  time  to  bring  about  pearl  growth  in  this  manner,  the  public  should 
not  be  too  hasty  in  financing  companies  soliciting  capital  for  estab- 
lishing so-called  "pearl  farms."     Every  once  in  a  while  announcement 

'See  p.  7.3. 


296  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

is  made  in  the  public  press  of  wonderful  success  which  has  been  at- 
tained by  some  investigator,  who  surrounds  his  discovery  with  as  much 
mystery  as  enveloped  the  Keeley  motor,  and  who  is  as  anxious  to  sell 
stock  as  was  the  owner  of  that  mythical  invention.  A  prospectus  of 
one  of  these  "pearl  syndicates,"  which  is  now  before  us,  claims  to  "in- 
crease and  hasten  pearl  production  by  forcing  the  oyster,  through  doc- 
toring the  water  in  which  it  is  immersed  and  also  by  irritating  the 
mollusk  itself."  So  far  as  the  writers  are  aware,  aside  from  the  inex- 
pensive but  somewhat  attractive  culture  pearls,  no  commercial  success 
has  yet  followed  the  many  attempts  at  artificial  production. 

This  chapter  should  not  close  without  reference  to  the  so-called 
"breeding  pearls,"  probably  the  most  curious  of  all  theories  of  pearl 
growth,  regarding  which  many  inquiries  have  been  made.  Through- 
out the  Malay  Archipelago  there  exists  a  generally  accepted  belief  that 
if  several  selected  pearls  of  good  size  are  sealed  in  a  box  with  a  few 
grains  of  rice  for  nourishment  they  will  increase  in  number  as  well  as 
in  size.  H  examined  at  the  expiration  of  one  year,  small  pearls  may 
be  found  strewn  about  the  bottom  of  the  box,  according  to  the  theory; 
and  in  some  instances  the  original  pearls  themselves  will  be  found  to 
have  increased  in  size.  If  again  inclosed  for  a  further  period  of  a 
year  or  more,  the  adherents  of  the  theory  say,  the  seed-pearls  will 
further  increase  in  size,  and  additional  seed-pearls  will  form. 
Furthermore,  the  grains  of  rice  will  present  the  appearance  of  having 
been  nibbled  or  as  though  a  rodent  had  taken  a  bite  in  the  end  of  each. 

It  is  claimed  that  the  breeding  pearls  are  obtained  from  several  spe- 
cies of  mollusks,  mostly  from  the  Margaritifera,  but  also  from  the 
Tridacna  (giant  clam)  and  the  Placuna  (window  shell).  While 
cotton  is  the  usual  medium  in  which  the  pearls  and  rice  are  retained, 
some  collectors  substitute  fresh  water  and  yet  others  prefer  salt  water. 
It  seems  that  rice  is  considered  essential  to  success. 

The  earliest  account  we  have  seen  of  this  extraordinary  belief  was 
given  by  Dr.  Engelbert  Ksempfer,^  who  was  connected  with  the 
Dutch  embassy  to  Japan  from  1690  to  1696,  and  since  that  time  it  has 
been  referred  to  by  many  travelers  in  the  Malay  Archipelago. 

A  correspondent  in  the  time-honored  "Notes  and  Queries,"  20th 
September,  1862,  writes: 

Nearly  five  years  ago,  while  staying  with  friends  in  Pulo  Penang  (Straits 
of  Malacca),  I  was  shown  by  the  wife  of  a  prominent  merchant  five  small 
pearls,  which  had  increased  and  multiplied  in  her  possession.  She  had  set 
them  aside  for  about  12  months  in  a  small  wooden  box,  packed  in  soft  cotton 
and  with  half  a  dozen  grains  of  common  rice.  On  opening  the  box  at  the  ex- 
piration of  that  time,  she  found  four  additional  pearls,  about  the  size  of  a 
'  Ksempfer,   "History   of   Japan,"   London,  1728,  Vol.  I,  pp.  110-112. 


PEARL-CULTURE  AND  PEARL-FARMING     297 

small  pinhead  and  of  much  beauty,  which  I  saw  and  examined  not  long  after 
ihe  lady  made  the  discovery.  While  my  story  may  be  received  with  laughter, 
I  can  most  solemnly  assure  you  of  the  truth  of  my  having  seen  these  pearls, 
and  I  have  not  the  slightest  doubt  of  the  perfect  truthfulness  of  the  lady  who 
possessed  them.  I  questioned  an  eminent  Malay  merchant  of  Penang  on  this 
subject,  and  he  assured  me  that  one  of  his  daughters  had  once  possessed  a  sim- 
ilar growth  of  pearls.    ' 

Notwithstanding  the  apparent  absurdity  of  this  pearl-breeding 
theory,  belief  in  it  appears  to  be  not  only  sincere  but  wide-spread,  as 
can  be  attested  by  any  one  familiar  with  affairs  in  the  archipelago.  A 
critical  examination  into  the  matter  was  made  in  1877  by  Dr.  N.  B. 
Dennys,  curator  of  the  Rafifles  Museum  at  Singapore,  the  result  of 
which  was  communicated  to  the  Straits  branch  of  the  Royal  Asiatic 
Society,  28th  February,  1878."  From  his  numerous  quotations  of  per- 
sons who  gave  the  results  of  their  experiences  we  extract  two  in- 
stances. One  gentleman  had  120  small  pearls  in  addition  to  the  five 
breeding  ones  with  which  the  experiment  had  started  twenty  years 
before,  and  during  the  entire  period  the  box  had  not  been  molested  ex- 
cept that  it  was  opened  occasionally  for  inspection  by  interested  per- 
sons. Another  experimentor  inclosed  three  breeding  pearls  with  a 
few  grains  of  rice  on  17th  July,  1874 ;  on  opening  the  box  on  14th  July, 
1875,  nine  additional  pearls  were  discovered,  and  the  three  original 
ones  appeared  larger. 

The  belief  has  many  curious  variations.  It  is  stated  that  in  Borneo 
and  the  adjacent  islands,  many  of  the  fishermen  reserve  every  ninth 
pearl  regardless  of  its  size,  and  put  the  collection  in  a  small  bottle 
which  is  kept  corked  with  a  dead  man's  finger.  According  to  Pro- 
fessor Kimmerly,  nearly  every  burial-place  along  the  Borneo  coast  has 
been  desecrated  in  searching  for  "corks"  for  these  bottles,  and  almost 
every  hut  has  its  dead-finger  bottle,  with  from  ten  to  fifty  "breeding 
pearls"  and  twice  that  number  of  rice  grains.*  A  correspondent  at 
Sandakan,  North  Borneo,  writes  that  at  the  time  of  his  death  at  Hong- 
kong in  1 90 1,  Dr.  Dennys  had  in  his  possession  a  small  box  containing 
"breeding  pearls";  but  these  disappeared  after  his  death,  and  his 
brother,  the  crown  solicitor,  was  unable  to  find  them.  This  cor- 
respondent also  states  that  the  Ranee  of  Sarawak,  a  British  protectorate 
in  western  Borneo,  has  a  collection  of  "breeding  pearls"  numbering 
about  two  hundred,  and  that  this  is  the  only  large  collection  known  at 
present. 

'  "Notes  and  Queries,"  3rd  Series,  Vol.  II,       Royal  Asiatic  Society,"  Singapore,  1878,  Vol. 
p.  228.  I,  pp.  31-37- 

^  "Journal    of    the    Straits    Branch    of    the  ^  "Jewelers'  Review,"  May  10,  1892. 


298  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

As  contrasted  with  abundant  and  unquestionably  sincere  testimony 
that  pearls  do  "breed,"  it  may  be  stated  that  absolutely  no  result  has 
followed  one  or  two  native  experiments  made  under  supervision. 
While  it  must  be  admitted  that  negative  evidence  is  always  weaker 
than  positive,  and  twenty  failures  would  be  outweighed  by  one  success- 
ful experiment,  yet  the  scientific  objections  to  the  possibility  of  pearls 
"breeding"  cannot  be  overcome.  The  phenomenon  is  doubtless  one  of 
those  curiosities  of  natural  history  in  which  some  important  factor 
has  been  overlooked. 

Another  curious  theory  is  that  peculiar  pearls  continue  to  grow 
after  removal  from  the  mollusk  in  which  they  originate.  Quite  re- 
cently it  was  reported  from  New  Durham,  North  Carolina,  that  a 
pearl  found  there  in  1896  had  been  growing  continually  since  it  was 
found  and  removed  from  the  water.  Unfortunately,  it  was  weighed 
only  when  the  last  observation  was  made,  and  its  increased  size  doubt- 
less existed  only  in  the  imagination  of  its  possessor. 


XII 

MYSTICAL  AND  MEDICINAL  PROPERTIES 

OF  PEARLS 


XII 
MYSTICAL  AND  MEDICINAL  PROPERTIES  OF  PEARLS 

Divers  are  the  virtues  of  gems;  some  give  favor  in  the  sight  of 
lords;  some  protect  against  fire;  others  make  people  beloved;  others 
give  wisdom ;  some  render  men  invisible ;  others  repel  lightning ; 
some  baffle  poisons ;  some  protect  and  augment  treasures,  and  others 
cause  that  husbands  should  love  their  wives. 

Arabic  version  of  Solomon's  writings. 

WHILE  no  special  gems  are  mentioned  in  the  tribute 
which  the  Arabs  credit  to  Solomon,  it  seems  that  pearls 
must  certainly  have  been  included,  for  in  nearly  all 
countries  where  these  gems  have  been  prized  and  from 
the  earliest  period,  they  have  been  credited  with  mystic  properties  and 
healing  virtues. 

In  the  first  chapter  of  this  book,  reference  was  made  to  the  Atharva- 
veda,  dating  from  at  least  2400  years  ago,  and  its  allusion  to  the  use 
of  an  amulet  of  pearl  shell  and  of  pearls  among  the  Hindus  in  bestow- 
ing long  life  and  prosperity  upon  young  Brahmanical  disciples.  As  this 
amulet  is  fastened  upon  the  youth,  the  following  hymn  is  recited,  ac- 
cording to  this  ancient  Veda  of  the  Atharvans : 

Born  of  the  wind,  the  atmosphere,  the  lightning,  and  the  light,  may  this 
pearl  shell,  born  of  gold,  protect  us  froin  straits ! 

With  the  shell  which  was  born  in  the  sea,  at  the  head  of  bright  substances, 
we  slay  the  Rakshas  and  conquer  the  Atrins  [devouring  demons]. 
With  the  shell  [we  conquer]  disease  and  poverty;  with  the  shell,  too,  the 
Sadanvas.     The  shell  is  our  universal  remedy;  the  pearl  shall  protect  us 
from  straits ! 

Born  in  the  heavens,  born  in  the  sea,  brought  on  from  the  river  [Sindhu], 
this  shell,  born  of  gold,  is  our  life-prolonging  amulet. 
The  amulet,  born  from  the  sea,  a  sun,  born  from  Vritra  [the  cloud],  shall 
on  all  sides  protect  us  from  the  missiles  of  the  gods  and  the  Asuras! 
Thou  art  one  of  the  golden  substances,  thou  art  born  from  Soma  [the 
moon].  Thou  art  sightly  on  the  chariot,  thou  art  brilliant  on  the  quiver. 
(May  it  prolong  our  lives  I) 


302  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

The  bone  of  the  gods  turned  into  pearl ;  that,  animated,  dwells  in  the 
waters.  That  do  I  fasten  upon  thee  unto  life,  luster,  strength,  longevity, 
unto  a  life  lasting  a  hundred  autumns.  May  the  amulet  of  pearl  protect 
thee  [^ 

The  mystical  Taoists,  in  their  pursuit  of  immortality,  made  much  of 
pearls  as  an  important  ingredient  in  formulae  for  perpetuating  youth. 
According  to  an  old  Taoist  authority,  in  preparing  one  of  these  elixirs, 
an  extra  long  pearl  which  has  been  worn  for  many  years  is  steeped 
in  some  infusion  of  malt,  or  a  preparation  of  serpents'  gall,  honey- 
comb, and  pumice-stone.  When  the  pearl  becomes  plastic,  it  is  drawn 
out  to  the  length  of  two  or  three  feet,  cut  into  suitable  lengths,  and 
formed  into  pills,  the  taking  of  which  renders  food  thenceforth  un- 
necessary.^ 

The  myth  of  the  dragon  and  the  pearl  has  been  a  far-reaching  theme 
of  the  artists  in  Japan  and  China,  whether  in  color,  metal,  or  stone. 
There  has  been  much  written  as  to  how  the  myth  became  so  fixed  in 
the  minds  of  the  Orientals,  and  Prince  Rupprecht  of  Bavaria,  who  has 
made  an  exhaustive  study  of  the  myth  of  the  dragon  in  all  its  phases, 
has  very  courteously  communicated  to  us  the  following  facts.  Per- 
sonally he  had  never  been  able  to  learn  of  a  true  or  clear  description 
of  the  origin  of  the  myth  other  than  the  well-recorded  legend  given 
byLeggeinthe"SacredBooksof  the  East"  (Vol.  XL,  p.  211),  in  which 
there  is  a  quotation  from  Shuangtze,  a  writer  of  the  fourth  century 
before  Christ,  who  says:  "Near  the  Ho  river  there  was  a  poor  man, 
who  supported  his  family  by  weaving  rushes.  His  son,  when  diving 
in  a  deep  pool,  found  a  pearl  worth  a  thousand  ounces  of  silver.  The 
father  said:  'Bring  a  stone  and  beat  it  in  pieces.  A  pearl  of  this  value 
must  have  been  in  a  pool  nine  khung  deep  and  under  the  chin  of  the 
black  dragon.  That  you  were  able  to  get  it  must  have  been  owing  to 
your  having  found  him  asleep.  Let  him  awake,  and  the  consequences 
will  not  be  small.'  "    Prince  Rupprecht  says: 

This  legend  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  illustration  to  which  you  refer ;  it 
belongs  to  a  cycle  of  myths  concerning  a  stone  in  the  head  of  a  serpent,  or  the 
crown  of  the  king  of  the  serpents  or  dragons ;  myths  which  also  exist  in 
Germany  since  the  days  of  old.  I  should  rather  be  inclined  to  think  that  the 
commonly  accepted  pearl  between  the  two  dragons  is  not  a  pearl  at  all.  At 
least  this  pearl  is  always  surrounded  by  ornaments  in  the  shape  of  flames  or 
claws,  and  Professor  Hirth  discovered  on  such  a  representation  in  woodcut, 
an  explanation  of  the  flames  by  the  sign  for  Yangsui,  a  very  ancient  kind  of 
metallic  mirrors,  of  concave  form,  that  were  used  to  produce  the  heavenly  fire. 

'Bloomfield,  "Hymns  of  the  Atharvaveda,"  ^  Macgowan,    "Journal   of   the    Society    of 

Oxford,  1897,  p.  62.  Arts,"  Vol.  II,  p.  73. 


JAPANESE   LEGEND   OF  THE  DRAGON  AND  THE  PEARL,  IDEALIZED   IN   JADE 
Heber  R.  Bishop  Collection,  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art 


MYSTICAL  AND  MEDICINAL  PROPERTIES         303 

This  explanation  is  probably  erroneous  and  due  to  a  misunderstanding  of 
the  signs  for  flames.  In  my  opinion,  another  explanation,  that  the  pearl  is  not 
really  a  pearl  but  a  spider,  is  nearer  to  the  truth.  As  an  argument  in  favor  of 
this  theory  the  following  sentence  may  be  quoted  from  an  encyclopedia  of  the 
eleventh  century  ("Pieu-tzi-lei,"  chap.  223)  :  "The  pearl  of  a  fish  is  its  eye, 
the  pearl  of  a  tortoise  is  its  foot,  the  pearl  of  the  spider  is  its  belly."  Pearl,  as 
well  as  spider,  are  both  called  in  Chinese  by  the  same  word  but  are  written  in  a 
difterent  way. 

I,  for  my  part,  believe  that  the  pearl  is  the  belly  not  indeed  of  a  spider,  but 
of  Garuda,  the  eagle  of  Vishnu,  known  in  the  old  Hindu  mythology  as  the 
foe  of  the  Vagas,  beings  with  human  bodies  and  the  tails  of  serpents.  At 
least,  I  found  on  an  old  Chinese  gateway,  dating  back  to  the  times  of  the 
Mongol  emperors,  a  sculpture  showing  the  contest  between  Garuda  and  the 
Vagas.  On  another  sculpture  of  the  late  King  epoch  the  Vagas  are  already 
changed  into  dragons,  and  the  wings,  the  limbs  and  the  head  of  Garuda  have 
become  quite  insignificant,  while  his  belly  is  prominent  like  a  ball. 

A  beautiful  metaphor  occurs  in  ancient  Chinese  writings,  in  the 
Book  of  the  Later  Han,*  for  instance,  which  regards  this  gem  as  the 
hidden  soul  of  the  oyster. 

Tliere  is  no  end  of  legends  and  myths  regarding  the  pearl  in  oriental 
literature.  One  fable  credits  it  with  a  peculiar  magical  power:  by 
speaking  the  right  word,  a  spirit  can  be  called  therefrom  which  makes 
the  owner  a  possessor  of  all  the  happiness  of  the  earth.  Browning 
notes  this  in  two  excjuisite  stanzas,  "A  Pearl,  a  Girl,"  published  on  the 
day  of  his  death  in  1889,  in  which  he  compares  this  characteristic  with 
a  woman's  love  called  forth  by  the  mystic  word. 

A  simple  ring  with  a  single  stone. 

To  the  vulgar  eye  no  stone  of  price; 
Whisper  the  right  w^ord,  that  alone — 

Forth  starts  a  sprite,  like  fire  from  ice. 
And  lo,  you  are  lord  (says  an  Eastern  scroll) 
Of  heaven  and  earth,  lord  whole  and  sole, 
Through  the  power  in  a  pearl. 

A  woman  ('t  is  I  this  time  that  say) 

With  little  the  world  counts  worthy  praise ; 

Utter  the  true  word — out  and  away 
Escapes  her  soul :  I  am  wrapt  in  blaze. 

Creation's  lord,  of  heaven  and  earth. 

Lord  whole  and  sole — by  a  minute's  birth — 
Through  the  love  in  a  girl. 


S' 


'  Pfirzmaier,  "Kaiserliche  .\kademie  der  Wissenschaften,"'  Wien,  1868,  Vol.  LVII,  p.  623. 


304 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


In  the  folk-song  of  Servia  is  a  pretty  little  poem  which  testifies  to 
the  love  they  bear  to  pearls : 

A  youth  unmated  prays  to  God, 
To  turn  him  to  pearls  in  the  sea, 
Where  the  maidens  come  to  fill  their  urns ; 
That  so  they  might  gather  him  into  their  laps, 
And  string  him  on  a  fine  green  thread, 
And  wear  him  pendant  from  the  neck  ; 
That  he  might  hear  what  each  one  said. 
And  whether  his  loved  one  spoke  of  him. 

His  prayer  was  granted  and  he  lay 
Turned  to  pearls  in  the  dark  blue  sea, 
Where  the  maidens  come  to  fill  their  urns ; 
Then  quickly  they  gather  him  into  their  laps. 
And  string  him  on  a  green  silk  thread. 
And  wear  him  pendant  from  the  neck ; 
So  he  hears  what  each  one  says  of  her  own 
And  what  his  loved  one  says  of  him.' 

In  the  days  when  romance  and  chivalry  held  sway  in  Europe, 
pearls  and  other  favors  were  presented  by  ladies  for  the  brave  knights 
to  wear  at  tournaments.  And  we  are  told  in  the  Arthurian  legends 
how  Elaine,  "the  lily  maid  of  Astolat,"  gave  to  Sir  Lancelot  "a  red 
sleeve  of  scarlet,  embroidered  with  great  pearls,"  for  him  to  wear 
on  his  helmet:  and  "then  to  her  tower  she  climbed  and  took  the  shield, 
there  kept  it  and  so  lived  in  fantasy" ;  while  he  fought  and  won  at  the 
tilt,  "wearing  her  scarlet  sleeve,  tho'  carved  and  cut,  and  half  the 
pearls  away."" 

The  sweet  sentiment  of  purity  associated  with  the  pearl  ennobles  it 
above  all  other  gems.  Rabanus  Maurus,  archbishop  of  Mainz,  wrote, 
about  850,  that  "mystically,  the  pearl  signifies  the  hope  of  the  King- 
dom of  Heaven,  or  charity  and  the  sweetness  of  celestial  life."^  True, 
it  was  not  among  the  twelve  gems  which  adorned  the  breastplate  of 
the  high  priest  of  the  Temple,  symbolical  of  the  twelve  apostles.  A 
Father  of  the  Church — St.  Augustine,  we  believe — explains  this  by 
saying  that  it  was  reserved  for  a  more  sacred  office,  that  of  represent- 
ing Christ  himself. 

Pearl  signifies  purity,  innocence,  humility,  and  a  retiring  spirit.  All 
stones  of  the  gray  color  of  the  pearl  have  the  significances  which  are 
given  to  this  beautiful  gem.* 

'  Translated       from       Klenn,       "Culturge-  '  "Opera  omnia,"  Paris,  1864,  Vol.  V,  p.  473. 

schichte,"  Leipzig,  1852,  Vol.  X,  p.  318.  '  W.  &  G.  Audsley,  "Handbook  of  Christian 

'  Tennyson,  "Idylls  of  the  King."  Symbolism,"  London,  1865,  p.  140. 


MYSTICAL  AND  MEDICINAL  PROPERTIES         305 

Unlike  other  gems,  the  pearl  comes  to  us  perfect  and  beautiful, 
direct  from  the  hand  of  nature.  Other  precious  stones  receive  careful 
treatment  from  the  lapidary,  and  owe  much  to  his  art.  The  pearl, 
however,  owes  nothing  to  man.  Perhaps  this  has  much  to  do  with  the 
sentiments  we  cherish  for  it.  It  touches  us  with  the  same  sense  of  sim- 
plicity and  sweetness  as  the  mountain  daisy  or  the  wild  rose.  It  is 
absolutely  a  gift  of  nature,  on  which  man  cannot  improve.  We  turn 
from  the  brilliant,  dazzling  ornament  of  diamonds  or  emeralds  to  a 
necklace  of  pearls  with  a  sense  of  relief,  and  the  eye  rests  upon  it  with 
quiet,  satisfied  repose  and  is  delighted  with  its  modest  splendor,  its  soft 
gleam,  borrowed  from  its  home  in  the  depths  of  the  sea.  It  seems  truly 
to  typify  steady  and  abiding  affection,  which  needs  no  accessory  or 
adornment  to  make  it  more  attractive.  And  there  is  a  purity  and 
sweetness  about  it  which  makes  it  especially  suitable  for  the  maiden. 

The  idea  of  pearly  purity  is  inseparably  linked  with  the  name 
Margaret,  derived  from  the  Persian  Miirwari  (pearl,  or  child  of  light) 
through  the  Greek  yiapyapinqs-  This  name— beautiful  in  sound  as 
well  as  in  origin— is  popular  in  all  European  countries,  and  likewise 
are  its  abbreviations  and  diminutives :  in  Italian,  Margherita  and  Rita ; 
in  French,  Marguerite,  Margot,  and  Groten ;  in  German,  Margarethe, 
Gretchen,  and  Grethel;  and  in  English,  Margaret,  Marjorie,  Madge, 
Maggie,  Peggy,  etc. 

The  use  of  the  word  as  a  proper  name  among  the  early  Christians 
was  doubtless  suggested  by  the  sweet  simplicity  and  loveliness  of  the 
pearl,  and  by  the  beautiful  symbolical  references  to  this  gem  in  the 
Scriptures ;  and  the  meaning  of  the  name  has  been  strengthened  by  the 
pure  lives  and  the  good  deeds  of  the  many  beautiful  Margarets  in  all 
lands,  including  the  virgin  martyr,  St.  Margaret  of  Antioch,  "the  mild 
maid  of  God"  referred  to  in  the  Liturgy,  who,  before  the  fifth  century, 
was  the  embodiment  of  feminine  innocence  and  faith  overcoming  evil, 
and  who  is  often  represented  wearing  a  string  of  pearls ;  also  St.  Mar- 
garet ^theling  of  the  eleventh  century,  who  endeared  the  name  in 
Scotland,  was  canonized  in  121 5,  and  was  adopted  as  the  patron  saint 
of  Scotland  in  1673;  and  Margaret,  'Tearl  of  Bohemia,"  so  beloved 
by  the  Danes. 

Especially  among  the  Germans  has  the  name  a  tender  significance; 
with  them  it  is  symbolical  of  maidenly  sweetness  and  purity  associated 
with  richness  of  womanhood,  such  as  was  typified  by  Goethe  in  the 
heroine  of  his  "Faust."  This  idea  may  have  impelled  Wordsworth  in 
the  selection  of  a  name  for  the  lovely,  girlish  character  in  his  "Excur- 
sion"; and  Tennyson  for  his  "Sweet  pale  Margaret,"  and  likewise 
Scott  for  "Ladye  Margaret,  the  flower  of  Teviot."  With  the  memory 
of  these  lives  and  characters  before  her,  many  a  loving  mother  has 

20 


3o6  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

crystallized  the  hope  entertained  for  a  baby  daughter  by  enriching 
her  with  this  beautiful  name. 

Poets  seem  never  to  tire  of  using  the  pearl  as  a  symbol  of  perfection 
in  form,  in  purity,  in  luster,  and  in  sweetness.  But  probably  none  has 
made  a  more  lovely  comparison  than  Owen  Meredith : 

As  pure  as  a  pearl. 
And  as  perfect :  a  noble  and  innocent  girl.^ 

The  Oriental  poets  unite  with  those  of  the  West  in  their  love  for  this 
gem,  and  those  gifted  writers  are  lavish  in  its  use.  Let  us  but  add  the 
lament  of  Shabl  Abdullah  on  the  death  of  Nozami : 

Nozami  's  gone,  our  fairest  pearl  is  lost. 

From  purest  dew,  kind  Heaven  had  given  her  birth, 

And  then  had  fashioned  her  the  pearl  supreme. 

She  softly  shone,  but  hidden  from  mankind, 

So  God  has  now  restored  her  to  her  shell. 

Far  more  crude,  but  possibly  equally  pathetic,  is  that  old  epitaph 
from  Yorkshire,  England : 

In  shells  and  gold  pearls  are  not  kept  alone, 
A  Margaret  here  lies  beneath  a  stone. 

In  the  seventeenth  century,  Pierre  de  Rosnel  wrote  in  a  burst  of 
enthusiasm : 

The  pearl  is  a  jewel  so  perfect  that  its  excellent  beauty  demands  the  love 
and  esteem  of  the  whole  universe.  Suidas  expresses  himself  in  regard  to  it 
thus :  "The  possession  of  the  pearl  is  one  of  love's  greatest  delights ;  the  delight 
of  possessing  it  suffices  to  feed  love."  In  a  painting,  Philostratus,  who  had 
the  same  ideas,  has  represented  cupids  with  bows  enriched  with  pearls ;  and 
the  ancients  were  all  agreed  to  dedicate  the  pearl  to  Venus.  Now,  to  my 
thinking,  the  reason  for  their  so  doing  was,  that  inasmuch  as  this  goddess  of 
love,  the  fairest  of  all  di\'inities,  is  descended  from  heaven  and  is  formed  of 
the  sea,  so  in  like  manner  the  pearl — the  loveliest  of  all  gems — is  formed  in 
the  sea  and  is  the  offspring  of  the  dew  of  heaven.  But  he  that  would  learn 
more  of  the  excellence  of  the  pearl,  let  him  inquire  of  the  ladies,  who  will 
relate  much  more  in  its  praise  than  I  can  write,  and  who  will  doubtless  confess 
that  nothing  else  so  well  adorns  them.^ 

Emblematic  as  the  pearl  is  of  maidenly  purity  and  sweetness,  it  is 
deemed  especially  appropriate  as  a  wedding  gift.     This  use  dates 

'  "Lucile,"  Pt.  II,  c.  6,  St.  l6.  _  '  "Le    Mercure    Indien,    ou   le   Tresor    des 

Indes,"  Paris,  1672,  p.  160. 


MYSTICAL  AND  MEDICINAL  PROPERTIES         307 

from  the  earliest  dawn  of  Hindu  civilization,  when  the  beloved  Krishna 
drew  it  from  the  sea  to  decorate  his  beautiful  daughter  on  her  nuptial 
day.  And  among  the  Hindus  not  uncommonly  the  presentation 
of  a  virgin  pearl  and  its  piercing  forms  part  of  the  marriage  cere- 
mony. In  most  of  the  European  royal  weddings  in  recent  years,  pearls 
have  been  prominent  among  the  bridal  gifts;  nor  have  they  been 
overlooked  among  the  presents  to  American  brides,  including  one 
much  in  the  public  print  about  1906,  for  whom  a  necklace  of  them  was 
selected  by  a  neighboring  republic  as  an  appropriate  present. 

The  dedication  of  the  pearl  to  love  and  marriage  appears  to  have 
been  recognized  by  the  artistic  Greeks.  One  of  the  choicest  engrav- 
ings preserved  from  classic  times  is  a  magnificent  sardonyx  showing 
the  marriage  of  Cupid  and  Psyche,  in  which  the  lovers  are  united  by 
what  some  authorities  consider  a  string  of  pearls — emblematic  of  con- 
jugal bonds — by  means  of  which  the  god  Hymen  leads  them  to  the 
nuptial  couch.*  This  engraved  gem  now  forms  one  of  the  choicest 
objects  in  the  Boston  Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  having  been  purchased  at 
the  sale  of  the  Marlborough  gems,  London,  1898,  at  a  cost  of  about 
$10,000. 

And  yet  in  Western  countries  the  ill  omen  of  pearls  as  bridal  orna- 
ments has  been  widely  recognized,  these  determining  the  tears  that 
will  be  shed  in  the  married  life.  As  Milton  says,  referring  to  the 
Marchioness  of  Winchester: 

And  those  pearls  of  dew  she  wears. 
Prove  to  be  presaging  tears. 

It  was  told  that  when  the  Empress  Eugenie  of  France  was  finishing 
her  toilet  preparatory  to  her  wedding  in  Notre  Dame  in  1853,  a  per- 
sonal attendant  reminded  her  of  the  omen,  and  begged  that  she  refrain 
from  wearing  her  pearl  necklace  on  that  occasion.  Eugenie  paid  no 
heed  to  the  warning  and  wore  the  beautiful  jewels  just  the  same;  and, 
as  all  the  world  knows,  her  life  has  been  one  long  tragedy.  Since  that 
necklace  was  a  lengthy  one,  containing  very  many  pearls,  the  bride 
who  wears  only  a  few  on  her  wedding  day  need  not  dread  the  adage  so 
much,  for,  unfortunately,  no  woman's  life  is  wholly  free  from  grief; 
and  most  brides  would  doubtless  risk  a  few  tears  rather  than  refuse  to 
wear  a  wedding  gift  of  pearls. 

It  was  a  very  old  idea  that  to  dream  of  pearls  betokens  tears.  A 
suggestion  of  this  occurs  in  John  Webster's  "Duchess  of  Malfi" 
(i623),ActIII,  sc.  5: 

'Many   Greek   scholars  maintain  that  this  is  a  knotted  cord  or  fillet;  but  this  view  is 

contested  by  others. 


3o8  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

Duchess:  I  had  a  very  strange  dream  to-night ; 
Methought  I  wore  my  coronet  of  state, 
And  on  a  sudaine  all  the  diamonds 
Were  chang'd  to  pearles. 

Antonio:  My  interpretation 

Is,  you  '11  weepe  shortly ; 
For  to  me  the  pearles 
Doe  signifie  your  teares. 

And  we  quote  also  from  "The  Parson's  Wedding"  (1663),  Act  II, 
sc.  5,  where  Jolly  exclaims:  "What!  in  thy  dumps,  brother?  The  cap- 
tain sad!  'T  is  prophetic.  I  'd  as  lieve  have  dreamt  of  pearl,  or  the 
loss  of  my  teeth." 

Tradition  relates  that  Queen  Margaret  Tudor,  wife  of  James  IV  of 
Scotland,  just  before  the  battle  of  Flodden  Field  (15 13),  had  many 
fears  as  to  the  disastrous  issue  of  that  conflict,  owing  to  having 
dreamed  on  three  nights  in  succession  that  all  her  jewels  were  sud- 
denly turned  into  pearls.  This  was  interpreted  as  a  sign  of  coming 
widowhood  and  sorrow,  which  was  soon  verified;  and  a  similar  story 
is  told  of  Marie  de'  Medici  shortly  before  the  murder  of  Henry  IV  of 
France  in  1610. 

The  employment  of  pearls  medicinally  dates  from  an  ancient  period. 
This  use  is  mentioned  in  the  oldest  existing  Sanskrit  medical  work,  the 
"Charaka-Samhita,"^  composed  early  in  the  Christian  era;  and  like- 
wise in  the  somewhat  more  modern  "Susruta,"^  which  probably  orig- 
inated before  the  eighth  centur}^ 

It  is  particularly  in  Oriental  countries  that  therapeutic  properties 
have  been  credited  to  pearls.  The  powder  of  these  gems  has  been  rated 
very  highly  there,  and  is  still  used  to  some  extent.  It  was  considered 
beneficial  in  cases  of  ague,  indigestion,  and  hemorrhages,  and  was  re- 
garded as  possessing  stimulative  qualities.  Medical  literature  of  the 
Orient  contains  many  accounts  of  the  uses  of  pearls  and  of  the  methods 
of  forming  them  into  pills,  ointments,  etc. 

According  to  a  treatise  written  by  Narahari,  a  physician  of  Kash- 
mir, about  1240  A.D.,  the  pearl  cures  diseases  of  the  eyes,  is  an  antidote 
to  poisons,  cures  constmiption  and  morbid  disturbances,  and  increases 
strength  and  general  health.^ 

In  China,  as  well  as  in  other  Asiatic  countries,  a  distinction  was 
made  in  the  therapeutic  efifects  of  so-called  "virgin"  pearls  and  of 

'  Edited    by   Jibananda   Vidyasagara,    Cal-  '  Garbe,  "Die  Indischen  Mineralien."    Nara> 

cutta,  1877.  hari's  "Raganighantu,"  Varga  XIII,  Leipzig, 

'  Edited  by  Vidyasagara,  1873.  1882,  p.  74. 


MYSTICAL  AND  MEDICINAL  PROPERTIES         309 

those  pierced  or  bored  for  stringing.  The  Chinese  natural  history  of 
Li  Shi  Chin,  completed  about  1596,  states  that  bored  pearls  will  not 
serve  for  medicine,  for  which  unpierced  ones  should  be  used.  It 
further  adds  that  the  taste  is  saltish,  sweetish,  and  cold;  and  that  they 
benefit  the  liver,  clear  the  eyes,  and  cure  deafness.  Dr.  T.  Nishikawa 
informs  us  that  at  the  present  time  many  Mytilus  seed-pearls  are  ex- 
ported from  Japan  to  China  for  medicinal  purposes. 

Quoting  principally  from  Ahmed  Teifashi,  Whitelow  Ainslie  wrote 
in  1825  that  Arabian  physicians  suppose  the  powder  of  the  pearl  to 
have  virtues  in  weak  eyes;  and  they  credit  it  with  efficacy  in  palpita- 
tions, nervous  tremors,  melancholia,  and  hemorrhage.  Also  they 
have  this  strange  notion,  that  when  applied  externally  and  while  in  the 
shell,  it  cures  leprosy.' 

Statements  of  the  curative  properties  of  pearls  come  also  from 
Japan  at  a  somewhat  recent  date.  The  catalogue  of  the  National 
Exhibition  at  Yedo  in  1877,  Part  V,  page  78,  notes  that  they  soothe  the 
heart,  lessen  phlegm,  are  an  antidote  to  poison,  and  cure  fever,  small- 
pox, and  blear-eyedness. 

The  popular  modern  idea  in  India  as  to  the  therapeutic  value  was 
thus  expressed  by  a  native  prince,  Sourindro  Mohun  Tagore,  Mus. 
Doc,  the  Maharajah  of  Tagore,  in  1881 : 

The  use  of  pearls  conduces  to  contentment  of  mind  and  to  strength  of  body 
and  soul.  The  burnt  powder  of  this  gem,  if  taken  with  water  as  sherbet,  cures 
vomiting  of  blood  of  all  kinds.  It  prevents  evil  spirits  working  mischief  in 
the  minds  of  men,  takes  off  bad  smell  from  the  mouth,  cures  lunacy  of  all 
descriptions  and  all  mental  diseases,  jaundice  and  all  diseases  of  the  heart,  in- 
testines and  stomach.  Burnt  pearl  mixed  with  water  and  taken  into  the 
nostrils,  as  a  powder,  takes  away  headsickness,  cures  cataract,  lacliryma  and 
swelling  of  the  eyes,  the  painful  sensation  such  as  is  caused  by  the  entry  of 
sand  into  them,  and  ulcers.  Used  as  a  dentifrice,  it  strengthens  the  gums  and 
cleanses  the  teeth.  Rubbed  on  the  body  with  other  medicines,  it  cures  all  skin 
diseases.  It  stops  bleeding  from  cuts  and  ultimately  heals  them  up.  Whether 
taken  internally  or  externally,  it  is  a  sure  antidote  to  poison.  It  drives  away 
all  imaginary  fears  and  removes  all  bodily  pain.  To  prevent  its  tendency  to 
affect  the  brain,  it  should  always  be  used  with  the  burnt  powder  of  basud,  and 
in  its  absence  with  that  of  white  mother-of-pearl.  The  dose  of  pearl  powder 
should  not  exceed  2^  mashas  [19.68  grs.].^ 

The  Hindus  credited  specific  virtues  to  pearls  of  dififerent  colors: 
the  yellow  brought  wealth,  the  honey  shade  fostered  understanding, 
the  white  attracted  fame,  and  the  blue,  good  luck.  Defective  pearls 
caused  leprosy,  loss  of  fortune,  disgrace,  insanity,  and  death,  according 

'Ainslie,  "Materia  Indica,"  London,  1826,  Vol.  I,  p.  292.     '  "Mani-mala,"  Calcutta,  1881,  p.  871. 


310  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

to  the  degree  of  defect.  The  "Mani-mala,"  previously  quoted,  states 
that  "pearls  possessed  of  every  valuable  quality  shield  their  master 
from  every  evil,  and  sviffer  nothing  harmful  to  come  near  him.  The 
house  which  contains  a  perfect  pearl  the  ever-restless  Lakshmi  (god- 
dess of  wealth)  chooses  to  make  her  dwelling  for  ever  and  a  day."^ 

A  similar  idea  is  expressed  in  an  old  Hindu  treatise  on  gems  by 
Buddhabhatta,  where  we  read:  "The  pearl  from  the  shell  ought  al- 
ways to  be  worn  as  an  amulet  by  those  who  desire  prosperity. - 

Pearls  still  find  a  place  in  the  pharmacopoeia  of  India.  One  of  the 
latest  standard  works,  that  of  R.  N.  Khory  and  N.  N.  Katrak,"*  credits 
the  powder  as  a  stimulant,  tonic,  and  aphrodisiac.  It  is  one  of  the  in- 
gredients in  numerous  Indian  prescriptions  used  in  curing  impotence, 
heart-disease,  consumption,  etc.  According  to  these  authorities,  the 
dose  is  from  one  fourth  to  one  half  grain  of  the  powdered  pearl. 

Owing  to  the  high  cost  of  sea  pearls,  even  those  of  the  smallest 
size,  a  substitute  for  medicinal  and  similar  purposes  is  found  in  the 
Placuna  pearls  of  Ceylon,  Borneo,  etc.  These  are  of  such  slight  luster 
that  only  the  choicest  are  of  ornamental  value,  consequently  they  are 
sold  at  relatively  small  prices.  A  considerable  demand  exists  for  them 
to  be  placed  in  the  mouths  of  deceased  Hindus  of  the  middle  class,  in- 
stead of  the  sea  pearls  which  are  used  by  the  wealthy,  or  the  rice  which 
is  employed  in  a  similar  manner  by  persons  of  poorer  rank.  This  cus- 
tom seems  to  be  analogous  to  that  of  the  ancient  Britons,  and  also  to 
that  of  the  American  Indians,  in  depositing  food  and  other  requisites 
for  a  journey  in  burial  graves.  The  practice  is  an  old  one  in  India  and 
was  noted  by  Marco  Polo  more  than  six  hundred  years  ago. 

Most  of  the  Placuna  pearls  are  calcined  and  are  used  with  areca-nuts 
and  betel-pepper  leaves  in  a  very  popular  masticatory,  one  of  the  "seven 
sisters  of  sleep,"  which  is  to  the  Hindu  what  opium  is  to  the  Chinaman, 
or  tobacco  to  the  American  or  European.  The  hard  white  areca-nut 
(Areca  Catechu)  is  about  the  size  and  shape  of  a  hen's  tgg.  Three  or 
four  thousand  tons  of  the  small,  tender  nuts  are  annually  shipped  from 
Ceylon  to  India  for  this  masticatory,  which  is  chewed  by  a  hundred 
million  persons.  After  boiling  in  water,  pellets  of  them  are  placed  in 
a  leaf  of  the  betel-pepper  {Piper  bctle)  with  a  small  quantity  of  lime 
made  from  pearls  or  shells,  according  to  the  desired  quality  and  value 
of  product.  It  is  credited  with  hardening  the  gums,  sweetening  the 
breath,  aiding  digestion,  and  stimulating  the  nervous  system  like  coflfee 
or  tobacco ;  its  most  visible  effect  is  tingeing  the  saliva  and  blackening 
the  teeth,  which  is  far  from  attractive,  especially  in  an  otherwise  beau- 

'  "Maai-mala,"  Calcutta,  1879,  P-  3iS-  '  "Materia    medica     of     India    and    their 

'Fjnot,    "Les    Lapidaires    Indiens,"    Paris,      Therapeutics,"  Bombay,  1903,  p.  98. 
1896.  p.  15. 


MYSTICAL  AND  MEDICINAL  PROPERTIES         311 

tiful  woman.  A  more  recent  use  for  these  Placuna  pearls  is  as  an 
ingredient  in  a  proprietary  face  powder  and  enamel,  which  is  marketed 
in  Europe. 

It  is  not  alone  the  Orientals  that  have  found  medicinal  virtues  in 
pearls.  Even  in  Europe  they  have  occupied  a  prominent  place  in  mate- 
ria medica,  especially  during  the  Middle  Ages  when  a  knowledge  of  the 
occult  properties  of  gems  was  an  important  branch  of  learning.  In- 
deed, they  could  scarcely  have  been  overlooked  by  people  who  at  one 
time  or  another  swallowed  pretty  much  everything,  from  dried  snake's 
eyes  to  the  filings  of  a  murderer's  irons,  in  their  quest  for  the  unusual 
and  costly  with  which  to  relieve  and  comfort  themselves.  During  the 
Middle  Ages  in  Europe,  writers  who  gave  attention  to  pearls,  as  well 
as  to  other  gems,  treated  almost  exclusively  of  their  reputed  efficacy  in 
magic  and  in  medicine;  and  most  of  the  accounts  from  the  ninth  to 
the  fourteenth  century  seem  wholly  without  scientific  value,  and  at 
times  reach  the  climax  of  extravagance  and  absurdity  in  their  claims 
for  the  wonderful  potency  of  the  gem. 

Albertus  Magnus,  the  Dominican  scholar  born  in  Germany  in  the 
twelfth  century,  wrote  that  pearls  were  used  in  mental  diseases,  in 
affections  of  the  heart,  in  hemorrhages,  and  dysentery.* 

The  "Lapidario"  of  Alfonso  X  of  Castile  (1221-1284),  called  "The 
Wise,"  the  father  of  the  Spanish  language,  states : 

The  pearl  is  most  excellent  in  the  medicinal  art,  for  it  is  of  great  help  in 
palpitation  of  the  heart,  and  for  those  who  are  sad  or  timid,  and  in  every  sick- 
ness which  is  caused  by  melancholia,  because  it  purifies  the  blood,  clears  it  and 
removes  all  its  impurities.  Therefore,  the  physicians  put  them  in  their 
medicine  and  lectuaries,  with  which  they  cure  these  infirmities,  and  give  them 
to  be  swallowed.  They  also  make  powders  of  them,  which  are  applied  to  the 
eyes ;  because  they  clear  the  sight  wonderfully,  strengthen  the  nerves  and  dry 
up  the  moisture  which  enters  the  eyes.^ 

Anselmus  de  Boot,  physician  to  Emperor  Rudolph  II,  and  one  of  the 
great  authorities  at  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  gave  the 
following  directions  for  making  "aqua  perlata,  which  is  most  excellent 
for  restoring  the  strength  and  almost  for  resuscitating  the  dead.  Dis- 
solve the  pearls  in  strong  vinegar,  or  better  in  lemon  juice,  or  in  spirits 
of  vitriol  or  sulphur,  until  they  become  liquified;  fresh  juice  is  then 
added  and  the  first  decanted.  Then,  to  the  milky  and  turbid  solution, 
add  enough  sugar  to  sweeten  it.  If  there  be  four  ounces  of  this  solu- 
tion, add  an  ounce  each  of  rose-water,  of  tincture  of  strawberries,  of 
borage  flowers  and  of  balm  and  two  ounces  of  cinnamon  water.  When 
you  wish  to  give  the  medicine,  shake  the  mixture  so  that  the  sediment 

'"Albert!    Magni    Opera   omnia,"   ed.   Au-  "  "Lapidario  del  Rey  D.  Alfonso  X,"  Codice 

gusti  Borgnet,  Paris,  1890,  Vol.  V,  p.  41.  original,  Madrid,  1881,  p.  4. 


312 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


may  be  swallowed  at  the  same  time.  From  one  ounce  to  an  ounce  and 
a  half  may  be  taken,  and  nothing  more  excellent  can  be  had.  In  perni- 
cious and  pestilential  fevers,  the  ordinary  aqua  pcrlata  cannot  be  com- 
pared to  this.  Care  must  be  taken  to  cover  the  glass  carefully  while 
the  pearls  are  dissolving,  lest  the  essence  should  escape."^ 

A  curious  book  on  the  medicinal  use  of  pearls  was  written  in  1637 
by  Malachias  Geiger,^  in  which  he  especially  praises  the  efficacy  of 
Bavarian  pearls.  It  was  true  that  their  material  value  was  less  than 
that  of  oriental  pearls,  but  this  was  compensated  by  their  therapeutic 
qualities.  He  had  accomplished  many  cures  of  a  very  serious  disease 
and  had  used  these  pearls  successfully  in  cases  of  epilepsy,  insanity, 
and  melancholia. 

Quotations  might  be  given  from  a  hundred  medieval  writers  as  to 
the  therapeutics  of  pearls.  The  diseases  for  which  they  were  recom- 
mended, as  noted  by  Robert  Lovell's  "Panmineralogicon,  or  Summe  of 
all  Authors,"  published  at  Oxford  in  1661,  seems  to  have  included  a 
large  portion  of  the  entire  list  known  at  that  period.  This  summary 
states : 

Pearls  strengthen  and  confirme  the  heart ;  they  cherish  the  spirits  and  prin- 
cipal! parts  of  the  body;  being  put  into  collyries,  they  cleanse  weafts  of  the 
eyes,  and  dry  up  the  water  thereof,  help  their  filth,  and  strengthen  the  nerves 
by  which  moisture  floweth  into  them ;  they  are  very  good  against  melancholick 
griefes;  they  helpe  those  that  are  subject  to  cardiack  passions;  they  defend 
against  pestilent  diseases,  and  are  mixed  with  cordiall  remedies ;  they  are  good 
against  the  lienterie,  that  is,  the  flux  of  the  belly,  proceeding  from  the  sliperi- 
ness  of  the  intestines,  insomuch  that  they  cannot  retaine  the  meat,  but  let  it 
passe  undigested ;  they  are  good  against  swounings ;  they  help  the  trembling 
of  the  heart  and  giddinesse  of  the  head ;  they  are  mixed  with  the  Manus 
Christi  against  fainting  (called  Manus  Christi  perlata)  in  the  London  Phar- 
macopaca)  ;  they  are  put  into  antidotes  or  corroborating  powders;  they  help 
the  flux  of  bloud;  they  stop  the  terms,  and  cleanse  the  teeth;  they  are  put  into 
antidotes  for  the  bowels,  and  increase  their  vertue,  make  the  bloud  more  thin, 
and  clarify  that  which  is  more  thick  and  feculent;  they  help  feavers.  The  oile 
of  Pearlcs  or  unions  helpeth  the  resolution  of  the  nerves,  convulsion,  decay  of 
old  age,  phrensie,  keepeth  the  body  sound,  and  recovereth  it  when  out  of  order, 
it  rectifieth  womens  milk,  and  increaseth  it,  corrects  the  vices  of  the  natural 
parts  and  seed.  It  cureth  absesses,  eating  ulcers,  the  cancer  and  hemor- 
rhoides.  .  .  .  The  best  are  an  excellent  cordial,  by  which  the  oppressed  bal- 
same  of  life  and  decayed  strength  are  recreated  and  strengthened,  therefore 
they  resist  poyson,  the  plague,  and  putrefaction,  and  exhilarate,  and  therefore 
they  are  used  as  the  last  remedie  in  sick  persons.* 

'  De  Boot,  "Gemmarum  et  Lapidum  His-  °  Lovell,  "Panmineralogicon,"  O.xford,  1661, 

toria,"  Hanover,  1609,  Lib.  II,  c.  38,  p.  87.  pp.  77,  78. 

'  Margaritologia,  Monachii,  1637. 


RUSSIAN   ElKON   OF  THE  MADONNA 

Ornamented  with  pearls 


MYSTICAL  AND  MEDICINAL  PROPERTIES         313 

So  powerful  and  mysterious  were  their  alleged  virtues,  that  in  some 
instances  it  was  necessary  only  that  the  pearls  be  worn  to  make  effective 
their  prophylaxis  against  disease.  This  belief  was  by  no  means  con- 
fined to  the  ignorant  and  inexperienced,  for  we  are  told  that  even  Pope 
Adrian  was  never  without  his  amulet  made  of  the  extraordinary  com- 
bination of  oriental  pearls,  a  dried  toad,  etc/  Leonardo,  in  the 
fifteenth  century,  wrote  that  pearls  render  true  and  virtuous  all  who 
wear  them.^  Although  we  wonder  at  what  we  call  the  superstitions 
of  the  Middle  Ages,  perchance  future  generations  will  smile  at  many 
of  our  mistaken  follies. 

A  prominent  historical  instance  of  administering  pearls  medicinally 
was  in  the  treatment  of  Charles  VI  of  France  (1368-1422),  to  whom 
pearl  powder  mixed  with  distilled  water  was  given  for  the  cure  of 
insanity. 

A  far  more  illustrious  patient  was  Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  "The  Mag- 
nificent" (1448-1492),  the  celebrated  ruler  of  Florence.  When  this 
plebeian  prince  lay  dying  of  a  fever  at  Careggi,  just  after  that  famous 
interview  with  Savonarola,  his  friends  called  in  Lazaro  da  Ticino,  a 
physician  of  reputation,  who  administered  pulverized  pearls.  Politian, 
who  was  present,  is  credited  with  the  statement  that  when  the  medicine 
was  administered,  to  the  inquiry  as  to  how  it  tasted,  Lorenzo  replied : 
"As  pleasant  as  anything  can  be  to  a  dying  man."* 

Even  the  English  philosopher,  Francis  Bacon  (1561-1626),  men- 
tioned pearls  among  medicines  for  the  prolongation  of  life.  He  adds: 
"Pearls  are  taken,  either  in  a  fine  powder  or  in  a  kind  of  paste  or  solu- 
tion made  by  the  juice  of  very  sour  and  fresh  lemons.  Sometimes  they 
are  given  in  aromatic  confections,  sometimes  in  a  fluid  form.  Pearls 
no  doubt  have  some  affinity  with  the  shells  wherein  they  grow ;  perhaps 
may  have  nearly  the  same  qualities  as  the  shells  of  crawfish."* 

Powdered  pearl  or  mother-of-pearl  mixed  with  lemon  juice  was  used 
as  a  wash  for  the  face,  and  was  considered  "the  best  in  the  world.""* 
The  pearl  powder  and  lemon  juice  were  permitted  to  stand  for  a  day 
or  two  and  the  combination  was  then  filtered  before  using.  Another 
method  of  preparing  this  was : 

Dissolve  two  or  three  ounces  of  fine  seed  pearl  in  distilled  vinegar,  and 
when  it  is  perfectly  dissolved,  pour  the  vinegar  into  a  clean  basin ;  then  drop 
some  oil  of  tartar.upon  it,  and  it  will  cast  down  the  pearl  into  fine  powder;  then 
pour  the  vinegar  .clean  off  softly;  put  to  the  pearl  clear  conduit  or  spring 
water;  pour  that  off,  and  do  so  often  until  the  taste  of  the  vinegar  and  tartar 

'  Jones,    "Credulities    Past    and    Present,"  *  Bacon,   "Historia  Vits  et  Mortis,"  Lon- 

London,  1880,  p.  166.  dini,  1623,  p.  100. 

'  "Speculum  lapidum,"  Venice,  1502,  p.  37.  "  Grew,      Nehemiah,      "Musxum      Regalis 

'  Yriarte,  "Florence,"  Paris,   1881,  p.  39.  Societatis,"  London,  1681,  p.  145. 


314  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

be  clean  gone;  then  dry  the  powder  of  pearl  upon  warm  embers,  and  keep  it 
for  your  use.^ 

Through  their  composition  of  carbonate  of  lime,  pearls  possibly  pos- 
sess some  slight  therapeutic  value,  which,  however,  can  easily  be  sup- 
plied by  other  materials — as  the  shell,  for  instance — and  is  entirely  out 
of  proportion  to  their  market  value  as  ornaments. 

Although  pearls  have  lost  their  therapeutic  prestige  and  no  longer 
have  a  recognized  place  in  materia  medica,  their  healing  qualities  are 
not  to  be  denied,  for  there  are  few  ills  to  which  women  are  subject  that 
cannot  be  bettered  or  at  least  endured  with  greater  patience  when  the 
sufferer  receives  a  gift  of  pearls ;  the  truth  of  which  any  doubting 
Thomas  may  easily  verify  in  his  own  household  to  the  limit  of  his 
purse-strings. 

Owing  to  their  beauty  and  great  value,  pearls  have  been  deemed 
particularly  appropriate  as  a  sacrifice  in  enriching  a  drink  for  a  toast 
or  tribute.  Shakspere  alludes  to  this  in  the  words  of  King  Claudius, 
the  pearl  being  frequently  designated  tinioii  in  the  fifteenth  and  six- 
teenth centuries : 

The  king  shall  drink  to  Hamlet's  better  breath ; 
And  in  the  cup  an  union  shall  he  throw. 
Richer  than  that  which  four  successive  kings 
In  Denmark's  crown  have  worn.- 

It  is  stated  that  a  pearl  worth  £15,000  was  reduced  to  powder  and 
drunk  by  Sir  Thomas  Gresham,  the  English  merchant,  in  the  presence 
of  the  Spanish  ambassador,  as  a  tribute  to  Queen  Elizabeth,  by  whom 
he  had  been  knighted.^ 

The  most  celebrated  instance  of  enriching  a  drink  with  a  pearl  was 
doubtless  Cleopatra's  tribute  to  Antony,  Pliny's  account  of  which  we 
give  in  the  words  of  old  Philemon  Holland : 

This  princesse,  when  M.  Anton ius  had  strained  himself e  to  doe  her  all  the 
pleasure  he  possibly  could,  and  had  feasted  her  day  by  day  most  sumptuously, 
and  spared  for  no  cost:  in  the  hight  of  her  pride  and  wanton  braverie  (as 
being  a  noble  courtezan,  and  a  queene  withall)  began  to  debase  the  expense 
and  provision  of  Antonie,  and  made  no  reckoning  of  all  his  costly  fare. 
When  he  thereat  demanded  againe  how  it  was  possible  to  goe  beyond  this 
magnificence  of  his,  she  answered  againe,  that  she  would  spend  upon  him  at 
one  supper  ten  million  Sestertij.  Antonie  laid  a  great  wager  with  her  about  it, 
and  shee  bound  it  againe,  and  made  it  good.     The  morrow  after,  Cleopatra 

^  "A  Queen's   Delight,"  London,   1671,  pp.  '  W.    J.    Lawson,    "History    of    Banking," 

75,  76.  London,  1850,  pp.  24,  25. 

"  "Hamlet,"  Act  V,  sc.  2. 


MYSTICAL  AND  MEDICINAL  PROPERTIES         315 

made  Anionic  a  supper  which  was  sumptuous  and  roiall  ynough :  howbeit, 
there  was  no  extraordinarie  service  seene  upon  the  board :  whereat  Antonius 
laughed  her  to  scorne,  and  by  way  of.mockerie  required  to  see  a  bill  with  the 
account  of  the  particulars.  She  again  said,  that  whatsoever  had  been  served 
up  alreadie  was  but  the  overplus  above  the  rate  and  proportion  in  question, 
affirming  still  that  she  would  yet  in  that  supper  make  up  the  full  summe  that 
she  was  seazed  at:  yea,  herselfe  alone  would  eat  above  that  reckoning,  and  her 
owne  supper  should  cost  60  million  Sestertij :  and  with  that  commanded  the 
second  service  to  be  brought  in.  The  servitors  set  before  her  one  only  crewet 
of  sharpe  vineger,  the  strength  whereof  is  able  to  resolve  pearles.  Now  she  had 
at  her  eares  hanging  these  two  most  precious  pearles,  the  singular  and  only 
jewels  of  the  world,  and  even  Natures  wonder.  As  Antonie  looked  wistly  upon 
her,  shee  tooke  one  of  them  from  her  eare,  steeped  it  in  the  vineger,  and  so 
soon  as  it  was  liquified,  dranke  it  off.  And  as  she  was  about  to  doe'the  like 
by  the  other,  L.  Plancius  the  judge  of  that  wager,  laid  fast  hold  upon  it  with 
his  hand,  and  pronounced  withal,  that  Antonie  had  lost  the  wao-er.' 

Elsewhere  has  been  set  forth  the  impracticability  of  dissolving  a 
pearl  in  a  glass  of  vinegar  without  first  pulverizing  it.-  It  seems 
probable  that  if  Pliny's  interesting  story  has  any  foundation,  Cleopatra 
might  have  swallowed  a  solid  pearl  in  a  glass  of  wine— certainly  a 
more  pleasing  draught  as  well  as  a  more  graphic  sacrifice;  and  we 
should  accept  its  reported  value  with  a  grain  of  salt,  for  it  would 
scarcely  have  been  safe  for  the  court  gossip  to  belittle  the  value  of  this 
tribute  of  love. 

Pliny,  and  other  Roman  writers,  mention  another  instance,  that  of 
Clodius  "the  sonne  of  Aesope  the  Tragedian  Poet,"  who  took  two 
pearls  of  great  price  "in  a  braverie,  and  to  know  what  tast  pearles  had, 
mortified  them  in  venegre,  and  drunke  them  up.  And  finding  them  to 
content  his  palat  wondrous  well,  because  he  would  not  have  all  the 
pleasure  by  himselfe,  and  know  the  goodnesse  thereof  alone,  he  gave 
to  every  guest  at  his  table  one  pearle  apeece  to  drinke  in  like  manner."- 
The  chronicler  fails  to  tell  what  the  guests  thought  of  the  flavor  of 
pearls,  or  whether  some  would  not  have  preferred  them  for  a  more 
appropriate  use. 

'"The  Natural!  Historie  of  C.  Plinius  Se-  "See  p.  55. 

cundus,"  Lib.    IX.   c.   35.     This   anecdote   is  3  •-r],^  Katurall  Historie  of  C.  Plinius  Se- 

mentioned    also    by    Macrobius     (Circa    400       cundus,"  Lib.  IX,  c.  35. 
A.u. )     in    "Saturnaliorum    conviviorum    libri 
septem,"  Lib.  II,  c.  13. 


XIII 
VALUES  AND  COMMERCE  OF  PEARLS 


XIII 
VALUES  AND  COMMERCE  OF  PEARLS 

A  pearl. 
Whose  price  hath  laiinch'd  above  a  thousand  ships, 
And  turn'd  crown'd  kings  to  merchants." 

Troilus  and  Cressida,  Act  II,  sc.  2. 

TO  trace  the  markets  of  the  pearl  is  to  trace  the  routes  of  com- 
merce from  early  times.  The  first  routes  from  the  Far  East 
seem  to  have  been  two:  one  by  the  Persian  Gulf  and  the 
Euphrates  to  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  and  thence  by  caravan 
through  Damascus  to  Tyre  and  Sidon ;  the  other  by  the  Red  Sea  and 
Suez  to  Egypt.  As  regards  the  former  route,  Sir  George  Birdwood 
furnishes  positive  evidence  that  the  Phenicians  visited  India  as  early 
as  2200  B.C.  It  seems  highly  probable  that  pearls  were  introduced 
by  this  route  at  an  early  period,  although  it  is  difficult  to  find  material 
proof  of  the  fact. 

By  means  of  this  commerce,  the  great  ancient  civilizations  of 
Phenicia,  Mesapotamia  and  the  Nile  valley  doubtless  became  familiar 
with  the  gem  treasures  of  eastern  Asia.  Then  came  the  opening  of 
the  Mediterranean  with  first  "the  great  Sidon,"  and  later  Tyre,  as 
the  starting-points  of  commerce,  exploration,  and  colonial  settlement 
among  the  islands  and  on  the  shores  of  what,  to  the  Asiatic  peoples, 
was  the  great  western  sea.  However,  as  the  Greek  islands  and  their 
colonies  developed,  the  Phenicians  were  more  strictly  confined  to  the 
coasts  of  Africa  and  Spain.  Gades,  Tartessus,  and  Carthage  were 
their  great  colonies  and  trading-ports,  and  their  adventurous  sailors 
passed  on  through  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar  and  directed  their  course 
northward  to  the  British  Isles,  where  they  very  probably  obtained  the 
pearls  of  the  Scotch  rivers. 

Meanwhile,  the  campaigns  of  Alexander  had  carried  Greek  influ- 
ence and  authority  over  all  western  Asia,  reaching  even  to  India  itself, 
and  had  led  to  a  widely  increased  intercourse.  Although  he  died  at 
the  age  of  thirty-two,  Alexander  the  Great  did  more  than  any  single 
individual  in  the  world's  history  to  bring  the  nations  of  the  Eastern 
and  the  Western  worlds  into  contact  with  each  other,  and  it  is  cer- 


320  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

tainly  due  to  this  circumstance  that  we  find  much  greater  evidences 
of  the  use  of  pearls  in  the  western  countries  after  his  time.  Besides 
this,  the  founding  of  Alexandria  provided  a  mart,  in  whose  bazaars 
the  traders  of  India,  Persia,  and  Arabia  bartered  their  treasured 
gems,  just  as  their  descendants  do  in  the  same  place  at  the  present 
day. 

It  was  not,  however,  until  the  establishment  of  the  Roman  empire 
that  this  commercial  intercourse  reached  its  highest  development. 
The  Romans,  with  their  marvelous  capacity  for  organization,  were 
the  first  to  build  a  great  system  of  permanent  and  well-kept  roads  to 
facilitate  land  travel  and  land  traffic.  These  great  roads,  starting 
from  the  Forum,  reached  out  in  every  direction,  even  to  the  limits  of 
the  empire;  and,  as  a  result  of  increased  commercial  activity,  more 
gems  were  engraved,  mounted,  and  set  during  the  five  hundred  years 
of  Rome's  commercial  supremacy  than  during  any  other  early  epoch 
of  the  world's  history. 

In  Rome,  the  trade  in  pearls  was  so  important  that  there  was  a  cor- 
poration of  "margaritarii."  The  officincr  iiiargaritariorum  were  in- 
stalled in  the  Forum,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  tabernae  argentaricc ; 
some  were  also  on  the  Via  Sacra.*  However,  the  name  margaritarius 
did  not  only  apply  to  the  jewelers,  merchants,  and  setters  of  pearls, 
but  also  to  those  who  fished  for  them  and  to  the  guardians  of  the  gems 
and  jewels  wherein  pearls  were  used. 

With  the  fall  of  the  Western  empire,  the  Dark  Ages  settled  down 
like  a  cloud  over  Europe  for  five  hundred  years.  Only  among  the 
Saracens  and  at  Byzantium  did  the  culture  of  the  old  civilization  sur- 
vive, and  eventually  the  light  of  knowledge  and  of  progress  was  re- 
kindled from  these  sources.  The  Crusades  were  the  chief  factors 
in  this  new  development;  they  gave  a  mighty  stimulus,  by  means  of 
which  Europe  was  aroused  from  her  lethargy  and  once  more  brought 
into  contact  with  the  Orient.  Venice  and  Genoa  now  became  the 
great  carriers,  and  from  this  time,  and  to  this  source,  may  be  traced 
many  of  the  oriental  gems  in  Europe.  The  Venetian  fleet  of  three 
hundred  merchant  ships  brought  the  products  of  the  East  and  distrib- 
uted them  over  Europe,  by  way  of  the  German  cities  of  Augsburg 
and  Nuremberg,  where  the  great  jewelers  and  silversmiths  made 
world-famed  ornaments. 

When  Constantinople  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Turks,  the  treasures 
of  the  Eastern  empire  were  scattered  throughout  Europe;  but,  at  the 
same  time,  the  establishment  of  the  Turkish  empire  served  to  close  the 
way  to  India  and  the  far  East  for  the  merchants  and  travelers  of 
Europe,  and,  hence,  new  means  of  access  had  to  be  sought  by  sea. 

'  See  the  epitaph  of  Tutichylus  "qui  fuit  margaritarius,"  Orelli,  4076. 


Pl-X'IORAI,  CROSS   OF   CONSTANTINE  IX,  MONOMACHUS  (  1000-1054  A.D.] 
Containing  some  wood  attributed  to  the  true  cross 


VALUES  AND  COMMERCE  OF  PEARLS  321 

This,  as  is  well  known,  was  the  cause  of  the  voyages  of  De  Gama 
and  Columbus.  The  unexpected  result  of  these  voyages — the  discov- 
ery of  a  new  continent— ushered  in  the  wonderful  period  of  Spanish 
and  Portuguese  development  and  their  colonization  of  both  the  East 
and  the  West  Indies ;  and  to  this  epoch  belongs  the  introduction  of 
American  pearls  to  the  markets  of  Europe.  The  gradual  decline  of 
the  power  of  Spain  and  Portugal— largely  owing  to  bigotry  and  to  the 
reckless  exploitation  of  the  regions  under  their  control — brings  us  to 
the  beginning  of  the  present  phase  of  commercial  intercourse  in  which 
all  the  nations  of  the  civilized  world  are  engaged  in  varying  propor- 
tion, according  to  their  power  and  aptitude.  Never  before  have  the 
different  regions  of  the  earth  been  more  closely  in  touch  with  each 
other,  and  we  may  safely  say  that  nothing  is  likely  to  occur  which  can 
permanently  interrupt  the  progressive  development  of  the  world's 
commerce. 

With  the  various  means  of  transportation  and  locomotion  that  have 
existed  in  the  past  twenty-three  or  twenty-four  centuries,  there  is  no 
doubt  that  the  commerce  of  pearls  has  varied  more  or  less,  but  there 
has  ever  been,  in  some  part  of  the  world,  a  great  potentate,  a  great 
collector  or  dealer  who  has  influenced  the  finest  gems  to  gravitate  his 
way.  Never  has  there  been  a  time  when  some  person  was  not  prepared 
to  encourage — and  to  richly  encourage — the  sale  of  fine  jewels  to  him. 
The  history  of  the  commerce  of  precious  stones  is  a  history  of  travel 
and  exploration,  of  hardship,  pleasure,  reward,  and  sometimes  of 
serious  disappointment. 

The  lesson  we  derive  from  these  decorative  objects  of  natural 
beauty  and  softness — treasured  alike  by  savage,  barbarian,  ancient 
warrior,  statesman,  king,  emperor,  peasant,  bourgeois,  magyar,  lady, 
and  queen — always  carries  with  it  the  moral  that  the  gifts  of  creation 
are  ever  prized  by  some  one  in  every  age  or  place. 

The  necessary  ciualifications  affecting  the  value  of  a  pearl  are: 
first,  that  it  should  be  perfectly  round,  pear-shaped,  drop-shaped, 
egg-shaped,  or  button-shaped,  and  as  even  in  form  as  though  it  were 
turned  on  a  lathe.  It  must  have  a  perfectly  clear  skin,  and  a  de- 
cided color  or  tint,  whether  white,  pink,  creamy,  gray,  brown  or 
black.  If  white,  it  must  not  have  a  cloud  or  a  blur  or  haze,  nor  should 
the  skin  have  the  slightest  appearance  of  being  opaque  or  dead.  It 
must  be  absolutely  free  from  all  cracks,  scratches,  spots,  flaws,  in- 
dentations, shadowy  reflections  or  blemishes  of  any  kind.  It  must 
possess  the  peculiar  luster  or  orient  characteristic  of  the  gem.  The 
skin  must  be  unbroken,  and  not  show-  any  evidence  of  having  been 
polished. 

Diamonds  and  the  more  valuable  precious   stones  generally  are 


322  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

bought  and  sold  by  the  weight  called  a  carat.  This  carat,  whatever 
its  precise  value,  is  always  considered  as  divisible  into  four  diamond 
or  pearl  grains,  but  the  subdivisions  of  the  carat  are  usually  expressed 
by  the  vulgar  fractions,  one  fourth,  one  eighth,  one  twelfth,  one  six- 
teenth, one  twenty-fourth,  one  thirty-second,  and  one  sixty-fourth. 
The  origin  of  the  carat  is  to  be  sought  in  certain  small,  hard,  legumi- 
nous seeds,  which,  when  dried,  remain  constant  in  weight.  The 
brilliant,  glossy,  scarlet-and-black  seed  of  Abrus  precatorins  consti- 
tutes the  Indian  rati,  about  three  grains;  the  Adenanthera  pavonina 
seed  weighs  about  four  grains.  The  seed  of  the  locust-tree,  Ceratonia 
siliqua,  weighs  on  the  average  three  and  one  sixth  grains,  and  consti- 
tutes, no  doubt,  the  true  origin  of  the  carat. 

Another'  of  the  more  notable  of  these  weight-units  used  for 
precious  stones  and  precious  metals  is  the  candarin,  condorine,  or  can- 
tarai,  also  termed  by  the  Chinese  fun  or  fan,  and  by  the  south  Indians 
a  fanam,  and  used  all  over  the  Indo-Chinese  archipelago.  This  is  by 
origin  a  large  lentil  or  pea  of  a  pinkish  color  dotted  with  black,  about 
double  the  size  of  the  gonj,  and  possessing  the  same  quality  of  very 
slight  variability  of  weight  when  dried.  It  is  probably  a  variety  of  the 
same  botanic  genus  or  species  as  the  Abrus  precatorins.  The  value 
when  reduced  to  absolute  standard  became  a  subsidiary  part  or  sub- 
multiple  of  the  weight  of  some  local  coin,  rupee,  or  pagoda,  or  a 
decimal  fraction  of  some  local  tchen,  as  in  China  and  Japan. 

The  following  derivation  of  the  word  carat  is  given  by  Grimm: 
"Carat.  Italian:  carato;  French:  carat;  Spanish  and  Portuguese: 
quilate;  Old  Portuguese:  quirate,  from  Arabic  qirat,  and  this  from 
the  Greek,  KepdrLov."  ^ 

The  carat  is  not  absolutely  of  the  same  value  in  all  countries.  Its 
weight,  as  used  for  weighing  the  diamond,  pearl,  and  other  gem- 
stones  in  different  parts  of  the  world,  is  given  in  decimals  of  a  gram, 
by  the  majority  of  the  authorities,  as  follows : 

Grams  In  Grains  Troy 

Indian  (Madras) 2073533  3-199948 

Austrian    (Vienna) 20613+  3.18107+ 

German   (Frankfort)       .     .     .     .20577+  S-iJSSH 

Brazil  and  Portugal 20575+  3- 175206 

France 2055+  3-^7.^347 

England 205409  3.169943 

Spain         205393  3.169696 

Holland 205044  3.1 6431+ 

^  Lowis  d'A.  Jackson,  "Modern  Metrology,"  '  Grimm,  "Deutsches  Worterbuch,''  Leipzig, 

London,  1881,  p.  370.  1873,  Vol.  V,  p.  205. 


VALUES  AND  COMMERCE  OF  PEARLS  323 

Pearl  Grains  In  Grains 

in  Grams  Troy 

Indian  (Madras) 0518383  -799987 

Austrian    (Vienna) 05153+  .79526+ 

German   (Frankfort)      05144+  -793878 

Brazil  and  Portugal 05143+  .793801 

France 051 375  -792836 

England 051352  .792485 

Spain         051348  .792424 

Holland 051 261  .791077 

Assuming  that  the  gram  corresponds  to  15.43235  EngHsh  grains, 
an  EngHsh  diamond  carat  will  nearly  equal  3.17  grains.  It  is,  how- 
ever, spoken  of  as  being  equal  to  four  grains,  the  grains  meant  being 
"diamond"  or  "pearl"  grains,  and  not  ordinary  troy  or  avoirdupois 
grains.  Thus  a  diamond  or  pearl  grain  is  but  .7925  of  a  true  grain. 
In  an  English  troy  ounce  of  480  grains  there  are  1513^  carats;  and  so^ 
it  will  be  seen  that  a  carat  is  not  indeed  quite  3.17  grains,  but  some- 
thing like  3. 1683 168  grains,  or  less  exactly,  3.168  grains.  Further,  if 
we  accept  the  equivalent  in  grains  of  one  gram  to  be,  as  stated  above, 
15.43235,  and  if  there  be  15 13^2  carats  in  a  troy  ounce  of  480  grains, ' 
it  will  follow  that  an  English  diamond  carat  is  .205304  of  a  gram,  not 
.205409,  as  commonly  affirmed.  The  following  exact  equivalents,  in 
metric  grams  and  grains  troy,  of  the  diamond  carat  as  used  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  world  in  1882,  are  given  by  Mr.  Lewis  d'A.  Jackson: 

DIAMOND  CARATS 

Grams  Grains  Troy 

Turin 2135  3.29480 

Persia 2095  323307 

Venice 2071  3.19603 

Austro-Hungary 2061  3.18060 

France   (old) 2059  3.17752 

(later) 2055  3-i7i35 

"        (modern) 2050  3.16363 

Portugal 2058  3-17597 

Frankfort  and  Hamburg 2058  3-17597 

Germany 2055  3-I7I35 

East  Indies 2055  3-I7I35 

England  and  British  India 2053  3.16826 

Belgium  (Antwerp) 2053  3.16826 

Russia 2051  3.16517 

Holland        2051  3. 165 17 

Turkey 2005  3.09418 

Spain 1999  3.08492 

Java  and  Borneo 1969  3.03862 


324  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

DIAMOND  CARArS-ConiitiiKd 

Grams  Grains  Troy 

Florence 1965  3.03245 

Arabia I944  3.00004 

Brazil 1922  2.96610 

Egypt 1917  2.95838 

Bologna 1886  2.91054 

International  carat 2050  3-16363 

Proposed  new  international  carat     .     .2000  3.08647 

Recalculating  the  above  figures  into  pearl  grains  we  have : 


PEARL  GRAINS 

Grams 

Turin       053375 

Persia 052375 

Venice 051775 

Austro-Hungary 051525 

France   (old)         051475 

(later) 051375 

"        (modern) 051250 

Portugal 051450 

Frankfort  and  Hamburg     .     .     .     .051450 

Germany 051375 

East  Indies 051375 

England  and  British  India  .     .     .     .051325 

Belgium  (Antwerp) 051325 

Russia 051275 

Holland 051275 

Turkey 050125 

Spain        049975 

Java  and  Borneo 049225 

Florence 049125 

Arabia 048600 

Brazil 048050 

Egypt 047925 

Bologna        047150 

International 051250 

Proposed  International 050000 


Grains  Troy 
823700 
808267 
799007 

795150 
794380 
792837 
790907 

793902 
793992 
792837 
792837 
792065 
792065 
791292 
791292 

773545 
771230 

759655 
7581 12 

750010 

741522 

739595 

727635 
790907 
771617 


With  the  present  system  of  diamond  carats  and  pearl  grains  it  is 
necessary  to  keep  two  entirely  different  sets  of  weights  or  to  resort  to 
troublesome  calculations.  The  stock-book  of  a  jeweler,  at  the  present 
time,  will  contain  the  following  fractions,  expressing  the  weight  of 
a  single  pearl:  Vi,  Vi,  Vs,  Vie,  %2,  Vm,  when  the  weight  could  be  much 
better  stated  as  ^%4  of  a  carat.  It  requires  but  a  glance  to  see  how 
much  easier  this  would  be.     Certain  dealers  have  therefore  proposed 


VALUES  AND  COMMERCE  OF  PEARLS  325 

the  use  of  sets  of  fractions  arranged  in  a  similar  way.  In  this  man- 
ner a  stock-book  can  be  kept  much  more  easily  and  with  greater  pre- 
cision. Others,  again,  have  adopted  -a  decimal  notation  of  the  frac- 
tions of  a  carat,  which  is  even  more  simple  and  feasible,  since  the 
common  fractions  Yz,  54>  3^.  etc.  can  be  expressed  as  .5,  .25,  .125,  etc., 
of  a  carat,  this  being  either  a  carat  of  .2053  o^  ^  gram  or  the  English 
carat  of  .20534  of  a  gram. 

On  the  other  hand,  an  agreement  was  arrived  at,  as  the  result  of  a 
conference  between  the  diamond  merchants  of  London,  Paris,  and 
Amsterdam,  by  which  the  uniform  weight  of  a  diamond  carat  was 
fixed  at  .205  of  a  gram,  making  the  pearl  grain  .05125  of  a  gram.  This 
standard,  which  was  suggested  in  1 871,  by  a  syndicate  of  Parisian  jew- 
elers, goldsmiths,  and  others  dealing  in  precious  stones,  was  subse- 
quently (1877)  confirmed.  But  there  is  still  a  lack  of  uniformity  in 
the  standard  by  which  diamonds  and  pearls  are  bought  and  sold,  and 
very  serious  discrepancies  exist  in  the  sets  of  carat  weights  turned  out 
by  dififerent  makers,  although  the  international  carat  is  almost  uni- 
versally used. 

At  the  International  Congress  of  Weights  and  Measures  held  at 
the  World's  Fair  at  Chicago  in  1893,  the  writer  suggested  that  the 
carat  should  consist  of  200  milligrams,  so  that  3/2  of  a  carat  would  be 
100  milligrams  and  Y  oi  a.  grain  would  be  12.5  milligrams.  This 
would  mean  5  carats  or  20  grains  to  a  French  gram,  and  5000  carats 
or  20,000  pearl  grains  to  a  French  kilogram.  This  would  depreciate 
the  present  diamond  carat  or  pearl  grain  only  about  one  per  cent.,  and 
it  would  do  away  with  the  needless  series  of  carats  and  grains  of  the 
many  nationalities.  It  could  be  simply  explained  to  any  private  in- 
dividual in  any  country,  especially  as  there  are  only  two  countries 
which  do  not  use  the  metric  system. 

This  carat  has  been  earnestly  indorsed,  its  introduction  advocated, 
and  its  merits  clearly  shown,  by  M.  Guilliame,  of  the  French  Bureau 
des  Arts  et  Metiers,  whose  energetic  work  has  found  a  reasonable  co- 
operation, in  this  country  as  well  as  in  Europe,  in  introducing  what 
will  be  a  scientific,  logical,  comprehensive,  and  possibly  the  final  and  in- 
ternational carat;  and  any  ancient,  obsolete,  or  foreign  carat  can  be 
readily  reduced  to  this  carat  once  the  metric  value  of  the  former  is 
computed. 

The  Association  of  Diamond  Merchants  of  Amsterdam  has  al- 
ready, to  avoid  confusion,  fixed  the  value  of  the  carat  (17th  October, 
1890)  at  I  kilogram  =  4875  carats,  or  i  carat  =  3.16561  grains  troy  = 
205.128  mg.  One  pearl  grain  =  .7914  grains  troy  =  51.282  mg. ;  but 
the  association  has  decided  that,  in  case  of  litigation,  these  values 
shall  be  determined  by  appointed  bureaus,  which  would  express  them 


326  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

in  grams  and  milligrams,  a  most  important  and  valuable  decision,  as 
the  gram  and  the  milligram  will  always  be  known  as  weights  of  con- 
stant value. 

In  view  of  the  difficulty  of  inducing  the  abolition  of  the  carat  in 
different  countries,  the  German  Federation  of  Jewelers  decided  to 
petition  the  imperial  government  for  authority  to  use  the  carat,  in 
order  that  it  might  be  legally  recognized.  Such  a  proposition  not 
being  in  accord  with  the  German  laws  in  force  on  the  subject  of  the 
metric  system,  it  was  proposed  to  substitute  for  the  carats  then  in  use 
one  carat  only,  weighing  two  hundred  milligrams.  This  proposal  was 
very  favorably  received  in  trade  circles  and  may  be  taken  into  con- 
sideration by  the  International  Committee  of  Weights  and  Measures. 
The  Commission  des  Instruments  et  Travaux,  to  which  this  proposi- 
tion was  referred,  recommended  its  adoption  to  the  committee  in  the 
following  terms : 

"The  Commission  recognizes  that  it  would  be  very  desirable  that  the 
unit  of  weight  of  precious  stones  (the  carat)  which  varies  in  different 
countries,  should  be  made  uniform,  and  should  be  reduced  to  the  near- 
est metric  equivalent.  The  weight  of  200  mg.,  which  is  very  close  to 
the  carat  most  in  use  (205.5  ™g-)>  would  seem  to  be  the  best  for  this 
purpose.  The  Commission  believes  that  there  can  be  no  objection  to 
this  standard  of  200  mg.  being  called  'the  metric  carat'  in  order  to 
facilitate  the  abolition  of  the  old  carat." 

This  proposition,  adopted  at  the  meeting  of  the  International  Com- 
mittee on  the  13th  of  April,  was  communicated  to  the  more  important 
associations.  The  Chambre  Syndicale  de  la  Bijouterie,  Joaillerie  et 
Orfevrerie  de  Paris,  and  the  Chambre  Syndicale  des  Negociants  en 
Diamants,  Perles,  Pierres  Precieuses  et  des  Lapidaires  de  Paris  as- 
sured the  committee  of  their  support  of  this  measure. 

The  following  is  the  text  of  the  resolution  which  was  passed  by  both 
the  above  associations  in  January,  1906: 

"The  Council,  recognizing  the  advantages  which  would  result  to  the 
international  trade  in  precious  stones  from  the  use  of  a  unit  based  on 
the  metric  system,  desires  that  the  metric  carat  of  200  mg.  be  uni- 
versally adopted." 

The  German  Federation  of  Jewelers  passed  the  following  resolu- 
tion in  August,  1906: 

"The  German  Federation  considers  that  it  is  both  necessary  and  ad- 
vantageous to  replace  the  old  carat  by  the  metric  carat  of  200  mg. ;  it 
authorizes  its  president  to  approach  the  imperial  government  and  the 
International  Bureau  of  Weights  and  Measures,  and  the  foreign  asso- 
ciations in  order  that  the  metric  carat  may  be  introduced  as  soon  as 
possible  in  all  countries." 


VALUES  AND  COMMERCE  OF  PEARLS  327 

The  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Antwerp  promised,  in  a  letter  dated 
the  7th  of  December,  1906,  to  rescind  a  decision  of  29th  of  April,  1895, 
approving  the  adoption  of  a  carat  of  205.3  ""■&•»  when  the  metric  carat 
of  200  mg.  should  come  into  universal  use  in  the  markets. 

The  Association  of  Jewelers  and  Goldsmiths  of  Prague  formally 
authorized  the  German  Federation  to  act  in  its  name,  in  order  that  the 
reform  should  come  about  as  soon  as  possible  by  international  agree- 
ment, and  the  Association  of  Goldsmiths  of  Copenhagen  has  declared 
its  willingness  to  support  the  reform.  The  Committee  of  Weights  and 
Measures  in  Belgium  prepared  a  law  for  the  adoption  of  the  metric 
carat  in  December,  1906. 

Mr.  Larking,  president  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Melbourne, 
Australia,  has  transmitted  by  letter  of  September  16,  1907,  the  follow- 
ing resolution  of  the  Association  of  Manufacturing  Jewelers  of  the 
Colony  of  Victoria : 

"It  is  desirable  that  the  carat  weight  should  be  the  same  in  all  coun- 
tries, and  our  association  approves  a  metric  carat  of  200  milligrams." 

On  October  16,  1907,  the  Association  of  Societies  for  the  Protection 
of  Commerce  in  the  United  Kingdom  passed  the  following  resolution : 

"The  Committee  of  the  Association  approves  the  attempt  to  urge  the 
adoption  in  all  countries  of  an  international  carat  of  200  milligrams, 
and  hopes  that,  in  the  interest  of  the  unification  of  weights,  it  will 
prove  successful." 

The  fourth  General  Conference  of  Weights  and  Measures,  held  in 
Paris  in  October,  1907,  passed  this  resolution: 

"The  Conference  approves  the  proposition  of  the  International  Com- 
mittee and  declares  that  it  sees  no  infringement  of  the  integrity  of  the 
metric  system  in  the  adoption  of  the  appellation  'metric  carat'  to  des- 
ignate a  weight  of  200  milligrams  for  the  commerce  in  diamonds, 
pearls,  and  precious  stones."' 

The  following  resolution  was  passed  by  The  Birmingham  Jewelers' 
and  Silversmiths'  Association,  January  23,  1908:  "That  the  best 
thanks  of  this  Committee  be  conveyed  to  the  Decimal  Association 
for  the  good  work  they  are  doing,  and  this  Committee  expresses  the 
hope  that  all  countries  will  adopt  an  International  Carat  of  200  milli- 
grams in  weight."  Finally,  on  March  11,  1908,  the  metric  carat  of 
200  milligrams  was  adopted  in  Spain  as  the  official  carat  for  diamonds, 
pearls,  and  precious  stones. 

Pearls  have  become  of  so  much  importance  to  so  many  dealers  that 
a  special  form  of  weight  has  been  proposed  for  them.  This  would 
have  a  diamond  form  and  not  a  square  form,  and  it  would  be  stamped 

^  Guillaume,  "Les  recents  progres  du  systeme  metrique,"  Paris,  1907,  pp.  62-66,  "La 

reforme   du   carat." 


328 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


"Grain"  instead  of  "Carat."  Another  set  would  be  stamped  in  milli- 
grams, the  regular  milligram  weight  with  the  pearl  fraction  above  it, 
and  they  could  even  be  made  round  so  as  better  to  designate  the  pearl. 

The  great  value  of  pearls  has  suggested  the  making  of  a  gage, 
called  the  Kunz  gage,  by  means  of  which  round  pearls  can  be  very 
accurately  measured.  Pearls  of  a  given  weight  and  perfectly  spherical 
form  have  been  weighed  and  then  measured  by  this  gage,  and  the 
theoretical  diameters  as  computed  from  the  measurement  of  a  single 
pearl  are  in  the  majority  of  instances  in  exact  accord  with  these  actual 
measurements,  the  occasional  variations  in  the  smaller  pearls  barely 
exceeding  the  thousandth  part  of  an  inch.  These  discrepancies  may  be 
due  to  imperceptible  divergencies  in  sphericity  or,  possibly,  to  trifling 
differences  in  specific  gravity. 

The  following  table  gives  the  diameters  of  round  pearls  by  meas- 
urement, from  /4g  to  500  grains,  in  millimeters  and  inches : 


Weight 
Grains 

Diameter 
Millimeters 

Inches 

Weight 
Grains 

Diameter 
Millimeters 

Inches 

Weight 
Grains 

Diameter 
MilHmeters 

Inches 

yi6 

1.30 

0512 

4/2 

5-44 

2I4I 

20 

9.01 

3547 

% 

1.66 

0653 

5 

5-65 

2224 

25 

9.71 

3823 

% 

2.09 

0823 

5K2 

5-86 

2283 

30 

10.31 

4059 

y2 

2.65 

1043 

6 

6.03 

2374 

35 

10.86 

4275 

H 

2.99 

I  187 

6y2 

6.20 

2442 

40 

11-35 

4468 

I 

332 

1307 

7 

6.36 

2504 

45 

11.82 

4653 

^Va 

3.60 

I417 

8 

6.64 

2614 

50 

12.23 

4815 

1/2 

3.80 

1496 

9 

6.90 

2716 

60 

13.00 

5118 

i^ 

398 

1567 

10 

7-15 

2815 

70 

13.68 

5386 

2 

4.18 

1645 

II 

7.38 

2905 

80 

1430 

5630 

2^ 

4-32 

I7OI 

12 

7.60 

2992 

90 

14.89 

5862 

2/2 

4-47 

1759 

13 

7.81 

3074 

100 

1542 

6071 

2% 

4-63 

1823 

14 

8.00 

3149 

125 

16.60 

6535 

3 

4.80 

1889 

15 

8.18 

3220 

ISO 

17.63 

6941 

3J4 

4.88 

I92I 

16 

8.36 

3291 

200 

19.41 

7641 

3/2 

5.01 

1972 

17 

8.53 

3358 

300 

22.22 

8748 

3M 

5-17 

2035 

18 

8.70 

3425 

400 

24.46 

9630 

4 

5-23 

2058 

19 

8.86 

3488 

500 

26.35     I 

0374 

The  new  and  finer  analytical  balances  weigh  to  the  tenth  part  of  a 
milligram,  the  two  thousandth  part  of  a  carat,  the  five  hundredth  part 
of  a  grain;  but  this  is  not  necessary.  If  the  200-milligram  carat  were 
used,  the  two  hundredth  part  of  a  carat  could  readily  be  ascertained, 
and  then  a  short-beam,  rapid-weighing  balance  would  answer  every 
purpose  and  save  much  time  for  the  dealer  who  must  make  many 
weighings  in  the  course  of  a  day.  In  an  office  where  thousands  of 
weighings  were  made  in  a  month,  the  task  was  accomplished  with  such 


r 


VALUES  AND  COMMERCE  OF  PEARLS  329 

minute  accuracy  that  the  margin  of  error  did  not  exceed  one  carat 
during  that  time. 

The  inina,  the  sixtieth  part  of  the  lesser  Alexandrian  talent  of  silver, 
was  divided  by  the  Romans,  when  they  occupied  Egypt,  into  twelve 
ounces  {iinciae),  and,  weighing  as  it  did  5460  grains,  it  became  the 
predecessor  of  the  European  pounds  of  which  the  troy  pound  is  a 
type.  If  we  may  believe  a  Syrian  authority,  Anania  of  Shiraz,  who 
wrote  in  the  sixth  century,  the  carat  or  diamond  weight  was  originally 
formed  from  one  of  these  ounces  by  taking  the  Vm  part.* 

We  find  in  Murray^  that  the  Greek  /cepanoi/ was  originally  identical 
with  the  Latin  siliqua,  and  was  called  the  siliqtia  Graeca.  As  a  measure 
of  weight  and  fineness  the  carat  represents  the  Roman  siliqua  as  /44 
of  the  golden  solidus  of  Constantine,  which  was  %  of  an  ounce,  hence 
the  various  values  into  which  -144  and  Vm  enter,  or  originally  entered. 
As  a  measure  of  weight  for  diamonds  and  precious  stones,  it  was 
originally  Via  of  an  ounce  or  3!^  grains.  It  is  stated  in  Hakluyt  ( Voy. 
II,  pp.  I,  225,  1598) :  "Those  pearls  are  praised  according  to  the 
caracts  which  they  weigh ;  every  caract  is  four  graines." 

There  have  been  at  all  times  men  who  possessed  a  delicate  touch  or  a 
fine  sense  of  feeling,  but  probably  few  men  are  living  to-day  who  would 
be  able  to  accomplish  the  feat  attributed  to  Julius  Caesar, namely, that  of 
estimating  the  weight  of  a  pearl  by  simply  holding  it  in  his  hand. 
There  are  very  few  who  can  tell  the  weight  of  a  pearl  in  this  way,  and 
while  the  story  may  be  historically  interesting,  it  is  rather  dubious. 

To  attempt  to  formulate  a  list  of  prices,  comparative  or  otherwise, 
of  pearls,  is  almost  an  impossibility,  as  probably  no  two  authors  of  the 
past  three  centuries  have  ever  seen  the  same  lot  of  pearls,  nor  have 
their  estimates  always  been  the  same  as  to  quality,  rarity  and  value. 

As  interesting  statistics  from  an  historical  point  of  view,  there  will 
be  presented  here  a  list  of  the  values  of  pearls  dating  back  some  ten 
centuries.  That  there  always  has  existed  a  higher  valuation  for  the 
larger  pearls,  which  are  the  rarest,  will  readily  be  apparent,  but  that 
the  correct  value  of  a  pearl  of  one,  ten,  twenty  or  fifty  grains  be  defin- 
itely given  for  the  years  1602,  1702,  1802,  or  1902  is  an  impossibility. 
However,  we  believe  this  to  be  the  first  attempt  to  present  so  large  a 
body  of  carefully  selected  quotations,  and  they  are  given  to  the  reader, 
whether  he  be  layman  or  professional,  for  what  they  are  worth. 

In  regard  to  the  smaller  pearls,  as  is  the  case  with  the  smaller  dia- 
monds, prices  have  been  dependent  upon  the  changes  of  fashion ;  that 

'  William   Hallock  and   Herbert  T.   Wade.  ^  "A  New  English  Dictionary,"  Oxford  and 

"Outlines  of  the  Evolution  of  Weights  and      New  York,  1893,  Vol.  II,  Pt.  I,  p.  105. 
Measures    and    the    Metric    System,"    New 
York,  igo6,  p.  25. 


330  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

is,  whether  the  prevailing  style  of  jewelry  was  such  that  the  smaller 
pearl  or  diamond  was  in  demand.  In  other  words,  if  they  were  used 
as  a  decoration  forming  a  border,  a  flower,  a  scroll  ornament,  or  a  pave 
requiring  many  small  gems,  the  demand  naturally  increased  and  the 
prices  were  higher  or  lower  as  the  occasion  required. 

It  is  not  the  project  of  this  book  to  fix  the  prices  of  pearls  at  the 
present  time,  for  any  such  attempt  would  prove  misleading,  owing  to 
the  fact  that  pearls  vary  in  the  estimation  of  the  different  dealers,  and 
a  figure  given  here  for  the  highest  standard,  if  applied  to  an  inferior 
grade,  would  necessarily  mislead  the  buyer  to  his  positive  injury.  This 
much,  however,  can  be  said:  during  the  year  1907  pearls  from  five 
grains  upward  have  been  sold  according  to  their  quality,  at  a  base  of 
five,  eight,  ten,  fifteen,  or  even  twenty  dollars  in  very  exceptional  cases ; 
that  is  to  say,  twenty,  thirty-two,  forty,  sixty,  or  eighty  shillings,  or 
twenty-five,  forty,  fifty,  seventy-five  or  one  hundred  francs.  Never- 
theless, it  would  be  impossible,  without  considerable  experience,  for  a 
layman  to  apply  these  valuations  to  objects  that  require  much  practice 
in  determining  their  quality  and  perfection. 

With  diamonds,  rubies,  and  emeralds  there  may  be  a  stated  price  per 
carat  for  stones  of  a  certain  size,  but  a  gem  of  unusual  perfection  or 
brilliancy,  or  of  exceptionally  fine  color,  will  often  command  a  price 
far  beyond  that  generally  quoted.  It  is  the  same  with  the  pearl.  Sums 
which  may  seem  exorbitant  in  comparison  with  those  that  are  paid  for 
ordinary  pearls,  are  often  given  for  specimens  remarkable  for  their 
beauty,  size,  or  luster. 

Pearls  of  one  hundred  grains  are  even  more  rare  at  the  present  time 
than  are  diamonds  of  one  hundred  carats.  Until  the  middle  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  the  diamonds  of  the  world  weighing  one  hundred 
carats  or  over  could  be  counted  on  the  fingers,  but  since  the  opening  of 
the  African  mines  in  1870,  the  number  of  large  diamonds  has  in- 
creased at  a  much  greater  ratio  than  have  the  pearls  of  one  quarter  of 
their  weight.  It  would  thus  seem  that  pearls  of  great  size  are  worth 
four  times  as  much  as  diamonds  of  equal  weight.  For  instance,  a 
lOO-carat  diamond  of  the  finest  quality  would  be  worth  at  least 
from  $1000  to  $1500  a  carat,  making  a  total  value  of  $100,000  to 
$150,000;  and  a  pearl  of  100  grains  at  a  base  of  $10  would  be  worth 
$100,000.    But  no  such  high  price  has  ever  been  paid. 

The  usual  method  of  estimating  the  value  of  pearls  is  by  establish- 
ing a  base  value  for  those  weighing  one  grain  and  then  multiplying 
this  amount  by  the  square  of  the  number  of  grains  that  the  pearl 
weighs.  For  instance,  if  the  base  value  of  a  one-grain  pearl  should  be 
fixed  at  $1,  a  pearl  weighing  two  grains  would  be  worth  $4  (2x2  = 
4),  or  $2  per  grain;  one  weighing  five  grains  would  be  worth  $25,  or 
$5  per  grain,  etc.    Naturally,  these  values  increase  in  proportion  to  the 


VALUES  AND  COMMERCE  OF  PEARLS  331 

increase  in  the  value  of  the  base.  A  base  of  $3  would  give  a  value  of 
$75  for  a  five-grain  pearl,  or  $15  per  grain,  while  a  $10  base  would 
make  the  value  $50  per  grain,  or  $250. 

This  method  of  estimating  pearls  by  squaring  their  weights  has 
been  credited  by  many  authors  to  David  Jeffries,  who  published  an 
interesting  treatise  on  diamonds  and  pearls  in  1 750-1 753.  It  has  also 
been  credited  to  Tavernier,  the  oriental  traveler  of  the  middle  of  the 
seventeenth  century.  We  have,  however,  traced  this  method  back  to 
Anselmus  de  Boot,  in  his  treatise  on  precious  stones,  dated  1609.  Be- 
fore this  date  we  have  not  been  able  to  find  any  mention  of  the  com- 
putation of  the  value  of  diamonds  and  pearls  by  squaring  their  weight 
and  multiplying  the  product  by  a  base  of  a  franc,  guilder,  crown,  dol- 
lar, or  of  many  dollars,  as  would  be  necessary  at  present.  It  is  prob- 
able, however,  that  this  system  is  of  oriental  origin  and  it  may  have 
come  to  Europe  through  some  of  the  oriental  traders,  with  the  precious 
stones,  as  did  the  use  of  the  carat. 

De  Boot  makes  the  carat  (four  grains)  his  unit  of  comparison, 
increasing  his  base  value  by  one  third  for  pearls  weighing  eleven 
carats  (forty-four  grains)  or  over.  In  Pio  Naldi's  treatise,  published 
in  Bologna  in  1791,  the  unit  is  the  grain,  the  base  being  the  fourth  part 
of  the  value  of  four  pearls  weighing  together  one  carat.  Naldi,  also, 
increases  his  base  value  making  it  i^  lire  ($.30)  for  pearls  weighing 
less  than  ten  grains,  and  23/2  lire  ($.50)  for  those  weighing  twenty 
grains  and  upward. 

A  curious  method  of  valuing  pearls  by  their  weight  is  shown  in  a 
treatise  by  Buteo,  published  in  1554.'  The  writer  states  that  a  pearl 
weighing  two  carats  was  valued  at  5  gold  crowns ;  one  of  four  carats 
at  25  crowns ;  and  so  on,  the  price  increasing  fivefold  when  the  weight 
was  doubled.  The  intermediate  figures  were  obtained  by  computing 
the  proportional  mean  of  any  two  known  weights  and  values.  For  ex- 
ample :  8  X  4  =  32,  the  square  root  of  which  is  5.656.  Now,  the  value 
of  a  four-carat  pearl  is  25  and  that  of  an  eight-carat  pearl  125  crowns, 
and  125  X  25  =  3125,  the  square  root  being  55.9;  hence  a  pearl  weigh- 
ing 5.656  carats  was  worth  55.9  crowns. 

The  base  value  of  a  necklace  can  be  determined  in  the  following 
way.  Should  the  center  pearl  weigh  25  grains,  multiply  25  by  25 ;  the 
result  is  625 ;  then,  take  the  next  two,  three,  or  four  pearls,  as  many 
as  are  of  approximately  the  same  weight,  add  their  weights  together, 
multiply  the  resulting  figure  by  itself  and  divide  the  product  by  the 
number  of  pearls  in-the  group.  Proceed  in  exactly  the  same  way  with 
the  remainder  of  the  necklace,  always  grouping  the  pearls  so  that  there 
shall  not  be  a  considerable  difference  in  weight  between  the  smallest 
and  the  largest  pearl,  and  then  add  together  the  figures  obtained  for 

'Buteonis,  "Opera  Geometrica,"  Lugduni,  1554.  PP-  88-96. 


zz^ 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


the  center  pearl  and  for  the  various  groups  and  divide  the  price  of  the 
necklace  by  this  total ;  the  quotient  will  represent  the  multiple  or  base. 
As  may  be  seen  by  comparison  of  the  first  with  the  second  and  third 
of  the  accompanying  tables,  the  result  arrived  at  in  this  way  will,  if 
there  is  any  difference  in  the  weight  of  the  pearls  in  the  various 
groups,  vary  slightly  from  that  obtained  by  calculating  the  weight  of 
each  pearl  separately,  but  it  represents  a  satisfactory  approximation. 


NECKLACE  OF  4I   GRADUATED  PEARLS  ON  A  $IO 


1  pearl,   weighing   25 

2  pearls,  each   of   22 
20 


grs. 


2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 

41 


19 
18 

17 
163^ 
16 
15/2 

15 
14/2 

14 

13 
121^ 

12 

II 
10^ 


25 
44 
40 

38 
36 
35 
34 
33 
32 
31 
30 
29 
28 
27 
26 

25 
24 

^2, 
22 


X2S 

X44 
X40 
X38 
X36 

X35 
X34 

X33 
X32 
X3I 
X30 

X  29 

X28 

X  27 
X  26 

X25 

X  24 

X23 

X  22 


-1936 

=  1600 

=  1444 

=  1296 

=  1225 

=  1156 

=  1089 

=  1024 

=  961 

-  900 

=  841 

=  784 

=  729 

=  676 

=  625 

=  576 

=  529 

=  484 


2ll/^X2I>4=     462>4 

20I/2  X  20I/2  =    420>^ 

624 


BASE 

625.000 
2  =  968.000 
2  =  800.000 
2  =  722.000 
2  =  64S.OOO 
2  =  612.500 
2  =  578.000 
2  =  544-500 
2  =  512.000 
2  =  480.500 
2  =  450.000 
2  =  420.500 
2  =  392.000 
2  =  364-500 
2  =  338.000 
2  =  312.500 
2  =  288.000 
2  =  264.500 
2  =  242.000 
2  =  231.125 
2  =  210.125 

10,003.750 


$10  X  10,003.75  =  $100,037.50 


THE  SAME  NECKL.\CE  FIGURED  IN  GROUPS 

I  pearl,  weighing  .  .  25  grs.   25  x  25  =  625.00 


2  pearls, 

total 

weig 

It  44    ■ 

'     44x44=1936- 

-  2  =     968.00 

4      " 

ii 

78    ' 

'     78x78  =  6084- 

-4=  1521.00 

4      " 

'* 

71    ' 

'     71x71  =  5041- 

-4=  1260.25 

6      " 

ff 

99    ' 

'     99  X  99  =  980 1  - 

-6=1633.50 

6      " 

f  < 

90    ' 

'     90x90  =  8100- 

-6=1350.00 

6      " 

it 

81    ' 

'     81x81=6561- 

-6=1093.50 

6      " 

ct 

72    ' 

'     72x72  =  5184- 

-6=    864.00 

6      " 

It 

64    ' 
624 

'      64  X  64  =  4096  - 

-6=    682.67 
9997.92 

$10x999; 

'.92  =  $99,979.20 

VALUES  AND  COMMERCE  OF  PEARLS 


333 


On  a  $5  base  this  necklace  would  be  worth  $50,018.75  according 
to  the  first  reckoning,  and  $49,989.60  according  to  the  second;  on  a 
base  of  $2.50  the  figures  would  be  $25,009.37  and  $24,994.80  respec- 
tively. 

THE  SAME  NECKLACE  FIGURED  IN  OTHER  GROUPS 


I  pearl,  weighing  .   .    25  grs. 
4  pearls,  total  weight    84 


6 
6 
6 
8 
10 


109 

99 

90 

106 

1 1 1 


25  X    25=  625.00 

84  X    84=    7056^-  4=1764.00 

109x109=11881^-  6=1980.16 

99  X    99=    9801-^  6=1633.50 

90  X    90=    8100-^  6=1350.00 

106x106=11236-^  8=1404.50 

111X111  =  1 232 1  -^- 10=  1232.10 


624 
$10  X  9989.26  =  $99,892.60 


9989.26 


On  a  $5  base  this  would  represent  a  value  of  $49,946.30  and  one  of 
$24,973.15  on  a  base  of  $2.50.  The  dififerent  grouping  of  the  pearls 
accounts  for  the  slight  reduction  in  value. 

A  system  of  estimating  the  value  of  pearls  which  has  recently  been 
introduced  into  Germany,  is  an  adaptation  of  the  ordinary  method  of 
squaring  the  number  of  grains  and  then  multiplying  the  result  by  a 
certain  base  figure.  The  pearls  are  first  grouped  according  to  quality 
and  size,  and  a  figure  is  agreed  upon  as  the  multiplicator  of  each  class. 
In  Germany  the  carat  is  employed  as  the  weight-unit  for  pearls  as  well 
as  for  diamonds,  and  in  this  new  system  the  total  weight  of  a  given 
number  of  pearls  of  the  same  class  is  first  reduced  to  grains ;  the  num- 
ber of  grains  is  then  multiplied  by  four  and  the  quotient  is  multiplied 
by  the  figure  agreed  upon.  The  resulting  sum,  after  being  divided  by 
the  number  of  pearls,  gives  the  carat  value  of  such  pearls.  For  ex- 
ample, if  the  base  figure  agreed  upon  is  5,  and  we  wish  to  find  the  carat 
worth  of  4  pearls  of  similar  size,  weighing  together  3^%4  carats,  the 
sum  would  be  as  follows : 


206  X  4  x  4  X  5 
64x4 


=  64-37 


At  this  rate  per  carat,  reckoning  in  marks,  the  value  of  the  3^%4 
carats  would  be  207.20  marks.  This  result  is  identical  with  that  ob- 
tained by  the  ordinary  method,  but  the  calculation  is  perhaps  a  trifle 
simplified.^ 

^  See  "Edelsteinkunde,"  Wilhelm  Rau,  Leipzig,  1907,  p.  137. 


334 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


A  curious  Hindu  treatise  on  gems  has  been  preserved  for  us  in  the 
Brhatsanihita  of  Varahamihira  (505-587  a.d.).  It  is  the  earhest  work 
of  this  kind  that  we  have  in  Sanskrit,  and  M.  Louis  Finot/  who  has 
pubhshed  it,  together  with  several  other  similar  treatises,  believes  that 
it  was  based  upon  an  original  composed  at  a  much  earlier  period.  In 
his  introduction  M.  Finot  says :  "It  would  be  an  error  to  regard  the 
ratnagastra  [treatise  on  gems]  as  a  simple  manual  for  the  use  of  jew- 
elers. Without  doubt  this  subject  formed  one  of  the  principal  branches 
of  commercial  instruction,  .  .  .  but  it  was  also  taught  to  princes  and 
it  is  for  their  use  that  the  ratnaqastras  we  publish  seem  to  have  been 
composed." 

This  treatise  only  describes  four  gems,  although  a  larger  number 
are  enumerated.  These  gems  are  the  diamond,  the  pearl,  the  ruby,  and 
the  emerald.  One  of  the  most  interesting  portions  is  that  treating  of 
the  valuation  of  pearls.  The  system  described  is  peculiar,  and,  unfor- 
tunately, there  is  some  difficulty  in  finding  an  absolutely  correct  equiv- 
alent for  the  values  expressed. 

A  price  is  first  placed  upon  a  pearl  weighing  4  masakas  (about  45 
grains).  This  is  estimated  at  5300  karsapanas  (about  $1600).  As 
the  weight  diminishes  the  valuation  decreases  as  follows : 


4  masakas  . 

•     5300 

ka 

rsapanas 

lYz  masakas 

353 

karsapanas 

3/2      "        • 

•     3200 

li 

I 

135 

f( 

3         "       • 

.     2000 

iC 

4       gnfijas^     . 

90 

i< 

2/2     "       . 

•     1300 

(t 

3 

50 

tt 

2         "       . 

.       800 

a 

2>^           " 

35 

li 

Smaller  pearls  were  grouped  together  in  dharanas  (one  dharana  = 
about  72  grains).  If  there  were  thirteen  fine  pearls  in  a  dharana,  they 
were  valued  at  325  rupakas  (about  $100) ;  the  other  values  were  as 
follows : 

16  pearls  in  a  dharana  were  worth  200  rupakas 


20 

"        170 

25 

"        130 

30 

"          70 

40 

"          50 

55-60 

40 

80 

"          30 

100 

"          25 

200 

"           12 

300 

6 

400 

5 

500 

3 

"  "Les  Lapidaires  Ind 

ens," 

Paris, 

1896 

'The 

gunja  was  o 

equaled  about  2j4  grains. 


VALUES  AND  COMMERCE  OF  PEARLS  335 

It  would  be  extremely  interesting  if  we  could  find  at  this  early  date 
(sixth  century  a.d.)  an  indication  of  the  use  of  the  system  of  com- 
puting the  value  of  pearls  by  the  square  of  their  weight  as  expressed 
in  some  weight  unit,  and  it  is  singular  that  the  three  valuations  given 
for  the  weight  in  gufijas  are  graduated  in  accordance  with  this  sys- 
tem. A  pearl  weighing  2i/^  guiijas  and  valued  at  35  karsapanas  would 
have  a  base  value  of  5.6  karsapanas.  Estimated  at  this  ratio  we  would 
have  the  following  figures : 

3  gunjas    ....     50.4  karsapanas 

4  "         89.6 

Now,  the  .values  actually  given  are  50  and  90  karsapanas,  respec- 
tively, and  these  figures  are  easily  obtained  by  rejecting  the  fraction 
that  is  less  than  one  half  and  counting  the  fraction  that  is  in  excess  of 
one  half  as  a  unit.  After  this,  however,  the  progression  becomes  irreg- 
ular. A  pearl  weighing  i  masaka  (5  gufijas)  is  valued  at  135  kar- 
sapanas, while  the  equivalent  according  to  the  system  would  be  140. 
However,  it  is  possible  that  the  writer  may  have  changed  this  figure 
intentionally  so  as  to  add  exactly  one  half  to  the  preceding  valuation 
(90  +  45  =  135).  The  succeeding  values  bear  no  relation  to  the  system 
and  appear  to  be  entirely  arbitrary.  Still,  it  can  scarcely  be  due  to 
hazard  that  the  first  three  figures  are  practically  in  exact  accord  with 
the  system  and  the  fourth  in  close  approximation.  As  the  change 
seems  to  come  when  the  weight  is  expressed  in  masakas  instead  of 
gufijas,  we  are  tempted  to  think  that  the  system  may  have  been  used 
for  single  pearls  weighing  less  than  twelve  grains  (i  masaka  =  iij4 
grains),  while  the  value  of  those  over  that  weight  was  estimated  in  a 
different  way. 

In  a  much  later  Hindu  treatise,  by  Buddhabhatta,  after  certain 
values  have  been  given  for  pearls  of  the  best  quality,  a  pearl  of  this 
class  is  described  as  follows : 

White,  round,  heavy,  smooth,  luminous,  spotless,  the  pearl  gifted 
with  these  qualities  is  called  qualified  {gutiavat).  If  it  be  yellow,  it  is 
worth  half  this  price;  if  it  be  not  round,  a  third;  if  flat  or  triangular,  a 
sixth.^ 

One  of  the  earliest  records  we  have  of  a  system  of  prices  for  pearls  is 
the  treatise  on  precious  stones  written  in  the  year  1265,  by  Ahmed  ibn 
Yusuf  al  Teifashi,  who  was  probably  a  native  jeweler  of  Egypt.  In 
his  time  pearls  were  sold  in  Bagdad  in  bunches  of  ten  strings,  each 
string  comprising  thirty-six  pearls.  If  one  of  these  strings  weighed 
one  sixth  of  a  miskal  (four  carats  or  sixteen  grains),  the  ten  strings 

ipinot,   "  Les  Lapidaires  Indiens,"  Paris,  1896,  p.  22. 


2,?>^ 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


were  valued  at  four  dinars  (about  ten  dollars).    The  values  increased 
progressively  as  follows :  ^ 


Average  weight 

10  strings 

of  36  pearls. 

Value 

of  each  pearl                       weight  of 
Grains                                Carats 

each  string 
Grains 

Dinars 

U.  S.  money 

y,     .  .  .    A 

16 

4 

$10.00 

% 

6 

24 

5 

12.50 

iVz 

12 

48 

6 

15.00 

2 

i8 

72 

10 

25.00 

sVa 

30 

120 

IS 

37-5° 

4 

36 

144 

20 

50.00 

4% 

42 

168 

25 

62.50 

sVs 

48 

192 

35 

87.50 

6 

54 

216 

40 

100.00 

7Vz 

66 

264 

70 

175.00 

8 

72 

288 

80 

200.00 

gVz 

84 

336 

no 

275.00 

ID 

90 

360 

150 

37500 

io% 

96 

384 

200 

500.00 

12 

108 

432 

400 

1000.00 

12% 

114 

456 

550 

137500 

13% 

120 

480 

650 

1625.00 

14 

126 

504 

750 

1875.00 

14% 

132 

528 

800 

2000.00 

i6 

144 

576 

1000 

2500.00 

i8% 

168 

672 

1500 

3750.00 

Al  Teifashi  then  proceeds  to  describe  a  pearl  of  the  first  quality;  it 
must  be  "perfectly  round  in  all  its  parts,  colorless  and  gifted  with  a 
fine  water.  When  a  pearl  possesses  these  requisites  and  weighs  one 
miskal  [24  carats  or  96  grains]  it  is  worth  300  dinars  [$750].  If, 
however,  a  match  is  found  for  this  pearl  and  each  one  weighs  one 
miskal  and  has  the  same  form,  the  two  pearls  together  cost  700  dinars 
[$1750]."  This  writer  also  mentions  that  in  the  shops  of  the  Arab 
jewelers,  the  pearl  which  exceeded  the  weight  of  a  drachma  (12  carats 
or  48  grains)  even  by  one  grain,  was  called  dorra,  while  the  name 
joliar  was  used  for  that  which  did  not  reach  the  above  weight. 

In  1838,  Feuchtwanger  gave  the  price  of  a  one-carat  pearl  as  five 
dollars,  and  used  this  amount  as  the  multiplier  of  the  square  of  the 
weight;  therefore,  a  four-carat  pearl  would  cost  four  times  four  multi- 
plied by  five  dollars,  the  value  of  the  first  carat ;  that  is  to  say,  a  six- 
teen-grain  (four-carat)  pearl  would  have  been  worth  eighty  dollars  in 
1838,  according  to  this  computation. 

'  "Fior  di  Pensieri  suUe  Pietre  Preziose  di  Ahmed   al   Teifascite,"   text  and   translation 
by  Antonio  Raineri,  Florence,  1818,  pp.  8,  9. 


THE  SIA.MIiSF.   I'RINCE  IN    FULL  REGALLA 


VALUES  AND  COMMERCE  OF  PEARLS 


Z2>7 


In  1858,  Barbot^  gave  the  value  of  pearls  under  ordinary  conditions, 
but  very  indefinitely,  as  follows : 


Grains 

1  . 

2  . 

3  • 

4  • 


Carats 

Francs  per 
carat 

U.S. 
currency 

Va 

4 

$0.80 

'A 

10 

2.00 

Ya 

25 

5.00 

I 

50 

10.00 

Above  four  grains  they  sold  by  the  piece,  and  below,  by  the  ounce. 
Baroque  pearls  sold  for  300  to  1000  francs  per  ounce.  Seed-pearls, 
if  quite  round,  were  worth  about  120  francs  per  ounce. 

EmanueP  gave  the  following  table  of  prices  for  the  pearl,  reduced 
to  United  States  currency: 


jrains 

i86s 

1867 

3     .    .    .      $2.88-  $3.84 

$4.32-    $4.80 

4 

5.28—       6.72 

6.72—       8.40 

5 

8.40—     10.80 

9.60—     12.00 

6 

13.20—     15.60 

16.80—     19.20 

8 

21.60—    26.40 

24.00 —    28.80 

10 

38.40—    43.20 

48.00—    52.80 

12 

57.60—    72.00 

67.20—    76.80 

14 

72.00—    86.40 

86.40—    96.00 

16 

96.00—144.00 

96.00—144.00 

18 

144.00—192.00 

144.00—192.00 

20 

192.00  —  240.00 

192.00—240.00 

24 

288.00  —  345.60 

288.00 345.60 

30 

384.00  —  480.00 

384.00  —  480.00 

The  following  values  appear  in  the  "Encyclopedia  Hispano-Ameri- 
cana,"  Barcelona,  1894,  Vol.  XV,  p.  180  (Louis  Dieulafait) : 


Grains 

Value.  i86s 

Value. 

1867 

Pesetas 

U.  S.  currency 

Pesetas 

U.  S.  currency 

3 

17—         18 

$3-40- 

-  $3-6o 

21  — 

^2, 

$4.20- 

-    $4.60 

4 

25-       32 

5.00  — 

-     6.40 

32- 

40 

6.40- 

-        8.00 

5 

41—        52 

8.20- 

-   10.40 

46- 

58 

9.20- 

-     11.60 

6 

64-     75 

12.80- 

-   15-00 

81- 

93 

16.20- 

-     18.60 

8 

104—   128 

20.80- 

-  25.60 

116- 

139 

23.20- 

-     27.80 

10 

202 —  227 

40.40- 

-  45-40 

252- 

277 

50.40- 

-     55-40 

12 

302-  378 

60.40- 

-  75-60 

352- 

403 

70.40- 

-     80.60 

14 

378-  453 

75.60- 

-  90.60 

455- 

504 

91.00- 

-100.80 

16 

504-  756 

100.80- 

-151.20 

504- 

756 

100.80- 

-151.20 

18 

756—1005 

151.20- 

-201.00 

■       756- 

1005 

151.20- 

-201.00 

20 

1005  — 1260 

201.00- 

-252.00 

1005- 

1260 

201.00- 

-252.00 

24 

1512-1815 

302.40- 

-363.00 

1512- 

1815 

302.40- 

-363.00 

30 

2117— 2521 

423.40- 

-504.20 

2117— 

2521 

423.40- 

-504.20 

'Ch 

arles    Barbot,    " 

Traite    Compl 

ete    des 

"  Emanuel, 

"Diamonds       and 

Precious 

Pierres  Precieuses,"  Paris,  1858,  p.  467. 
22 


Stones,"  2nd  edition,  London,  1867,  p.  6. 


338 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


COMPARATIVE  STATEMENT  SHOWING  THE  VALUES  OF  PEARLS  AT  STATED  TIMES 


Weight 

K 

w 

16722 

i( 

i7s' 

1' 

■51* 

irja* 

'£E?: 

Grains 

Thai. 

Kreutz. 

Livres 

^ 

s 

£. 

s 

I 

s 

I 

0 

13 

0 

/2 

0 

I 

0 

% 

IJ4 

2 

0 

52 

2 

0 

2 

0 

4 

0 

2 

6 

3 

I 

47 

5 

0 

6 

0 

9 

0 

7/2 

i3>^ 

4 

3 

0 

10 

0 

12 

0 

16 

0 

18 

24 

5 

4 

48 

18 

I 

5 

I 

5 

I 

10 

3734 

6 

6 

52 

28 

2 

10 

I 

16 

2 

5 

54 

7 

9 

13 

38 

4 

10 

2 

9 

3 

I 

73/2 

8 

12 

0 

55 

6 

0 

3 

4 

4 

10 

96 

9 

15 

23 

75 

8 

0 

4 

I 

6 

0 

I2I>^ 

lO 

18 

52 

100 

10 

0 

5 

0 

8 

5 

150 

II 

22 

48 

130 

12 

0 

6 

I 

9 

15 

242 

12 

27 

175 

14 

0 

7 

4 

288 

13 

31 

48 

16 

0 

8 

9 

13 

15 

338 

14 

36 

52 

270 

18 

0 

9 

16 

392 

15 

42 

13 

21 

10 

II 

5 

21 

0 

450 

i6 

48 

380 

25 

0 

12 

16 

512 

17 

54 

13 

30 

0 

14 

9 

27 

ID 

578 

18 

60 

52 

500 

35 

0 

16 

4 

648 

19 

67 

48 

37 

10 

18 

I 

722 

20 

75 

650 

40 

0 

20 

0 

37 

10 

800 

22 

90 

52 

50 

0 

24 

4 

52 

10 

I2IO 

24 

108 

60 

0 

28 

16 

82 

10 

1440 

26 

126 

52 

33 

16 

99 

0 

1690 

28 

147 

39 

14 

150 

0 

i960 

32 

192 

51 

4 

225 

0 

2560 

36 

243 

64 

16 

262 

10 

3240 

40 

300 

80 

0 

300 

0 

4000 

45 

506 

17 

lOI 

5 

5062^4 

50 

625 

125 

0 

6250 

60 

900 

180 

0 

9000 

70 

1225 

245 

0 

12250 

80 

1600 

320 

0 

16000 

90 

2025 

405 

0 

20250 

100 

2500 

500 

0 

25000 

lAnselmi  de  Boot,  "Gemmarum  et  Lapi- 
dum  Historia,"   Hanoviae,  1609,  pp.  88-90. 

"  De  Rosnel,  "Le  Mercure  Indien,"  Paris, 
1672,  Pt.  Ill,  pp.  17,  18. 

3  Rice  Vaughan,  "A  Discourse  of  Coin  and 
Coinage,"  London,  1675,  p.  241. 


*  David  Jeffries,  "A  Treatise  on  Diamonds 
and  Pearls,"  London,  1751,  pp.  128-141. 

''  "Encyclopedic  de  Diderot  et  d'Alembert," 
Neuchatel  and  Paris,  1774,  Vol.  XH,  p.  385. 

'  Pio  Naldi,  "Delle  Gemme  e  delle  Regole 
per  Valutarle,"  Bologna,  1791,  p.  207. 


VALUES  AND  COMMERCE  OF  PEARLS  339 


COMPARATIVE  STATEMENT  SHOWING  THE  VALUES  OF  PEARLS  AT  STATED  TIMES, 
REDUCED  TO  UNITED  STATES  CURRENCY 


Weight 

1609 

1672 

167s 

1 751 

1774 

1 791 

Grains 

I 

$0.20 

$0.12 

$0.24 

$0.09 

$0.30 

2 

0.81 

$0.80 

0.48 

0.96 

0.50 

1.20 

3 

1.82 

1.90 

1.44 

2.16 

1.87 

2.70 

4 

3-24 

3.80 

2.88 

384 

4.50 

4.80 

5 

5.06 

6.84 

6.00 

6.00 

7-50 

7.50 

6 

7.28 

10.64 

12.00 

8.64 

11.25 

10.80 

7 

10.92 

14.44 

21.60 

11.76 

15-25 

14.70 

8 

12.96 

20.90 

28.80 

15-36 

22.50 

19.20 

9 

16.40 

28.50 

38.40 

19.44 

30.00 

24.30 

10 

20.25 

38.00 

48.00 

24.00 

41-25 

30.00 

II 

24.50 

49.40 

57.60 

29.04 

48.75 

48.40 

12 

29.16 

66.50 

67.20 

34.56 

57.60 

13 

34.22 

76.80 

40.56 

68.75 

67.60 

14 

3969 

102.60 

86.40 

47.04 

78.40 

15 

4556 

103.20 

54.00 

105.00 

90.00 

16 

51.84 

144.40 

120.00 

61.44 

102.40 

17 

58.52 

144.00 

60.36 

137-50 

115.60 

18 

65.61 

190.00 

168.00 

77.76 

I  29.60 

19 

73.10 

180.00 

86.64 

144.40 

20 

81.00 

247.00 

192.00 

96.00 

187.50 

160.00 

22 

98.01 

240.00 

116.16 

262.50 

242.00 

24 

116.64 

288.00 

138.24 

412.50 

288.00 

26 

136.89 

162.24 

495-00 

338.00 

28 

15876 

188.16 

750.00 

392.00 

32 

207.36 

245-76 

1125.00 

512.00 

36 

262.44 

311.04 

1312.50 

648.00 

40 

324.00 

384.00 

1 500.00 

800.00 

45 

546.75 

486.00 

1012.50 

50 

675.00 

600.00 

1250.00 

60 

972.00 

864.00 

1800.00 

70 

1323.00 

1176.00 

2450.00 

80 

1728.00 

1536.00 

3200.00 

90 

2187.00 

1944.00 

4050.00 

100 

2700.00 

2400.00 

5000.00 

340 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


Giving  the  pearl  values  in  1867,  Emanuel^  says:  "It  would  be  almost 
useless  to  give  any  value  for  drop-pearls,  as  when  of  large  size  and  fine 
quality  they  are  of  so  rare  occurrence  as  to  command  fancy  prices; 
still,  as  a  slight  guide,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  perfect  white 
drop-pearls,  of  80  to  100  grains,  may  be  estimated  at  from  £7  to  f  11 
[$v35~$55]  P^i"  grain;  those  of  50  to  80  grains  at  from  £4  to  £7 
[$20-$35]  per  grain,  and  those  of  30  to  50  grains  at  from  £3-£5 
[$i5-$25]  per  grain;  smaller  sizes  bring  from  20s.  to  60s.  [$5-$i5] 
per  grain." 

Emanuel  also  states  that  misshapen  pieces  called  "baroque  pearls" 
(perles  baroques),  are  sold  by  the  ounce,  the  price  varying  from  £10 
to  £200  ($50-$iooo)  per  ounce,  depending  on  quality,  color,  and  size. 


Grains  Value  per  grain 

1  $1.00 

2  1.83 

3  2.75 

4  360 

5  4.03 

6  4.69 

7  6.32 

8  6.87 

9  7-42 


Diameter 
Size  No.     Millimeters  Inches 


5  ....1.20 
.1.22 


6 

7 
8 

9 
10 
II 
12 

13 

14  ...  .2.00 


1.24 
1.26 
1.28 
1.80 
1.83 
1.86 
1.90 


15 
16 

17 
18 

19 
20 


.2.10 
.2.25 
.2.40 
.2.60 

•2.75 
.2.90 


047 
048 
049 
049 
050 
071 
072 

073 

075 
078 
082 
088 
094 
102 
108 
114 


'  Emanuel, 


PRICES  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY  IN   1 878 

Total  value  Grains  Value  per  grain 

$1.00  10  -  .  .  $8.25 

3.66  II   9.62 

8.25  12  10.45 

14.40  13  11.68 

20.15  14  12.55 

28.14  15  14.20 

44.24  20  19-70 

5496  24  24.75 

66.78 

HALF-PEARLS 
I  QUALITY.    PER  HUNDRED 

1873  1876  1873                        i88s 

$1.10  $0.85  $0.50 

1.3s  $0.70  1. 00                      .60 

1.80  .90  1.35                      .70 

2.25  1. 10  1.70                  1. 12 

2.70  1.35  2.00                  1.80 

3.35  1.80  2.50                  2.00 

450  2.25  3.40                  3.00 

5.60  2.70  4.20                  4.00 

8-00  3.35  5.90            5.00 

9.00  4.50  6.75            5.75 

11.00  5.60  8.40            6.75 

14.00  8.00  10.00            8.25 

17.00  9.00  12.50           10.50 

19.00  11.00  14.00           12.00 

23.00  14.00  17.00           14-50 

28.00  17.00  21.00           16.25 

33.00  19.00  24.00          18.25 

'Diamonds  and  Precious  Stones,"  London,  186",  p.  197. 


Total  value 
$82.50 
105.82 
125.40 
151.84 

175-70 
213.00 
394.00 
594.00 


1908 

$1-55 
1-95 
2.90 

3-88 

S-27 
6.65 

9-15 
11.36 
13.86 

15-51 
17-50 
20.80 
25.00 
30.50 
37-40 
48.50 
61.00 


VALUES  AND  COMMERCE  OF  PEARLS 


341 


I  QUALITY.    PER  HVNDRED-Conltnued 


Diameter 

SizeNo.    Millimeters    Inches 

1873 

1876 

1878 

i88? 

22      . 

...3.05    .120 

42.00 

28.00 

31.00 

3300 

24      . 

...3.15    .124 

53-00 

38.00 

39.00 

48.00 

26      . 

...3.30    .130 

67.00 

45.00 

50.00 

69.00 

28      . 

•••3-55     -140 

101.00 

56.00 

75.00 

98.00 

30      • 

■••3-90     -153 

124.00 

79.00 

92.00 

150.00 

HALF 

-PEARLS 

II  QUALITY. 

PER  HUNDRED 

Size  No.                   1873 

1876 

1873 

i88s 

igoS 

4  •• 

..     $0.55 

$0.45 

$0.30 

$0.84 

5  •• 

70 

$0.35 

•50 

•35 

1.22 

6  .. 

.90 

•45 

70 

•50 

1.87 

7  •• 

1. 10 

■55 

•85 

.80 

305 

8  .. 

••       1-35 

.70 

1. 00 

1.05 

4-43 

9  •■ 

1.80 

.90 

1-35 

1-45 

S.82 

10  . . 

■  •       -'-'5 

1. 10 

1.70 

1.80 

8.32 

II  . . 

••       3  35 

1-35 

'    2.50 

2.60 

IO-53 

12  . . 

4.00 

1.80 

3.00 

3.00 

12.75 

13  •• 

•  •       4-50 

2.25 

3 -40 

3-75 

14.41 

14  .. 

5.60 

3-35 

4.20 

4-25 

15-51 

15  •• 

■  •       6.7s 

4.00 

5.00 

475 

18.00 

16  .. 

9.00 

4-50 

675 

5-25 

20.80 

17  .. 

. .     10.00 

5.60 

7-50 

6.00 

26.35 

18  .. 

. .     II .00 

675 

8.40 

7.00 

31.90 

19  .. 

. .     14.00 

9.00 

10.00 

7-75 

41.60 

20  . . 

. .     17.00 

10.00 

12.50 

8.75 

52.70 

22  . . 

. .     20.00 

14.00 

15.00 

24  .. 

. .     27.00 

19.00 

20.00 

26  .. 

•  ■     3400 

23.00 

25.00 

28  .. 

..     51.00 

28.00 

38.00 

30  .. 

. .     62.00 

40.00 

46.00 

Size  No.  1876 

4 

5 $0-25 

6 35 

7 40 

8 45 

9 70 

10 80 

II 90 

12 1. 10 

13 1.60 

14 2.25 


HALF-PEARLS 
III  QUALITY.    PER  HUNDRED 

1907  Size  No.  1876  1908 

$0.47             15 2.70  8.93 

70             16 3.35  11.20 

I. II  17 4.00  1390 

1.94             18 4.50  18.00 

2.77             19 5.60  22.20 

3.86             20 6.75  27.75 

4.99           22 9.00  40.00 

5.82                  24 14.00  75-00 

6.65                   26 17.00  85.00 

7.48                   28 19.00  100.00 

8.32                   30 28.00  200.00 


342  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

VALUE  OF  IRREGULAR  PEARLS  IN  17741 


Pearls  to 
the  ounce 

\^alue'in 
English  money 

£            s. 

500 

3 

0 

300 

6 

0 

150 

II 

2 

100 

18 

0 

60 

33 

15 

30 

75 

0 

Equivalent  in 
U.  S.  currency 

Average  for 
each  pearl 

$15.00 

$0.03 

30.00 

.10 

55-50 

■27 

90.00 

168.75 

.90 

2.81 

375-00 

12.50 

The  following  values  for  the  smaller  oriental  pearls  are  given  in  the 
"Museum  Brittanicum"  of  John  and  Andrew  van  Rymsdyck,  1778, 
p.  9. 


No.  to 

Rix 

'"Equivalent  in 

Average  for 

the  ounce 

dollars 

U.  S.  currency 

each  pearl 

200 

70 

$75.60 

$0,378 

300 

50 

54.00 

.18 

900 

10 

10.80 

.012 

2000 

3 

4.24 

.00212 

4000 

2/2 

2.70 

.006755 

8000^ 

2 

2.16 

^  .00027 

10,000^ 

\  .000216 

Pio  Naldi's  treatise  of  1791  gives  the  following  rule  for  estimating 
the  value  of  small,  round  pearls,  weighing  less  than  one  carat  or  four 
grains.  As  the  carat  value  of  four  such  pearls  is  given  as  five  lire  and 
576  one-grain  pearls  were  counted  as  one  ounce,  these  two  numbers 
were  used  to  determine  the  value  of  an  ounce  of  small  pearls.  The 
product  of  576  multiplied  by  5  is  2880,  and  this  number  was  then 
divided  by  2000,  1000,  500,  or  whatever  might  be  the  number  of  pearls 
in  a  given  ounce.  If  there  were  2000  pearls,  the  carat  value  would 
be  1.44  lire  or  $.29;  if  there  were  1000,  the  carat  would  be  worth  2.88 
lire  or  $.57;  if  500,  5.76  lire  or  $1.15,  etc. 

The  same  author^  gives  tables  expressing  the  values  of  pearls  not 
perfectly  spherical  in  form,  which  he  designates  as  "perle  dolce." 
These  pearls  he  considers  to  be  worth  half  the  price  of  good  round 
pearls;  that  is  to  say,  2^  lire  (about  $.50)  per  carat  for  four  weighing 
together  one  carat.  Where  there  are  as  many  as  three  thousand  of 
these  "perle  dolce"  in  an  ounce,  the  2]^  lire  base  is  multiplied  by  576, 
the  number  of  grains  given  to  the  ounce;  this  makes  the  value  of  an 
ounce  of  one-grain  pearls  $288.  This  amount  is  then  divided  by  3000, 
and  the  quotient,  $.096,  represents  the  value  of  one  carat  of  these  small 

'  "L'Encyclopedie  ou  Dictionnaire  Raisonne  "  "Delle  Gemme,"  etc.,  I79i- 

des    Sciences,"    Neuchatel    and    Paris,    1774, 
Vol.  XII,  p.  385. 


HALK-PEARLS:   LOTS    OF    THREE   DIFFERENT    SIZES 
BROOCH   OF   HALF-PEARLS  AND   ONYX.     UNITED   STATES,  i860 


VALUES  AND  COMMERCE  OF  PEARLS  343 

pearls.  Multiplying  this  by  144  we  obtain,  as  the  value  of  an  ounce  of 
such  pearls,  $13.82.  An  ounce  consisting  of  two  thousand  would  be 
worth  $20.73,  while  if  there  were  but  one  hundred  to  the  ounce  it  would 
be  valued  at  $414.72,  or  $4.15  for  each  pearl  and  ^.72  per  grain  of 
weight.  In  this  latter  case  the  pearls  would  average  5^  grains.  An- 
other class  of  pearls  denominated  by  this  author  as  "scaramazzi," 
pearls  of  an  irregular  form  and  with  protuberances,  are  estimated  in 
a  similar  way,  but  at  exactly  half  of  the  above  values.  The  baroque 
pearls  were  not  considered  to  be  worth  even  half  as  much  as  the 
"scaramazzi." 

Scotch  pearls  (fresh-water)  are  mentioned  by  De  Boot  (1609,  p. 
88  sq.)  among  the  other  western  pearls — Bohemian,  etc.  He  re- 
marks that  they  were  valued  much  less  than  the  oriental  pearls,  but 
if  they  were  of  especially  pure  color  their  value  was  greater,  al- 
though they  lacked  the  silvery  hue  characteristic  of  the  eastern  pearl. 
Fine  pearls  of  this  sort  were  valued  on  a  carat  base  of  one  fourth  of  a 
thaler  ($.27),  so  that  a  forty-grain  pearl  was  worth  $27,  and  one  of 
eighty  grains,  $108.  The  author  of  the  Bologna  treatise,  "Delle 
Gemme,"  1791,  attributes  the  lack  of  luster  in  the  Scotch  pearls  to 
the  presence  of  a  dark  mass  in  the  interior  which  interfered  with  the 
passage  of  light.  He  estimates  Scotch  pearls  to  be  worth  one  half 
the  value  of  oriental  pearls  of  mediocre  quality,  provided  the  former 
are  fairly  good. 

A  Scotch  writer  of  the  seventeenth  century  is  more  enthusiastic  in 
regard  to  these  pearls ;  he  mentions  having  paid  one  hundred  rix  dol- 
lars for  an  exceptionally  fine  one,  but  he  does  not  specify  its  weight. 
This  is  the  value  given  by  De  Boot  for  a  pearl  of  this  class  weighing 
eighty  grains,  as  we  have  just  mentioned.  The  Scotch  writer  asserts 
that  he  could  never  sell  a  necklace  of  fine  Scotch  pearls  in  Scotland  it- 
self, as  every  one  wanted  oriental  pearls ;  he  continues :  "At  this  very 
day  I  can  show  some  of  our  own  Scots  Pearls  as  fine,  more  hard  and 
transparent  than  any  Oriental.  It  is  true  that  the  Oriental  can  be 
easier  matched,  because  they  are  all  of  a  yellow  water,  yet  foreigners 
covet  Scots  Pearls." 

In  Ceylon^  and  India,  pearl-grading  and  valuing  has  received  close 
attention,  and  an  elaborate  system  has  been  evolved  by  the  pearl 
merchants.  This  system  has  been  in  use  for  generations  and  possibly 
for  centuries.  Although  apparently  very  complicated,  it  is  in  reality 
quite  simple,  if  we  only  remember  that  the  value  of  inferior  pearls  is 
determined  by  their  weight,  whereas  the  value  of  superior  pearls  is 
computed  from  the  square  of  their  weight. 

^  See  "Report  to  the  Government  of  Cey-      of  Manaar,"  by  W.  A.  Herdman,  F.R.S.,  Pt 
Ion  on  the  Pearl  Oyster  Fisheries  of  the  Gulf      V,  London,  1906,  pp.  34-36. 


344  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

The  pearls  are  first  grouped  according  to  the  size,  of  which  ten 
grades  are  made.  This  is  done  by  passing  them  successively  through 
ten  brass  saucer-Hke  sieves  or  baskets  (peddi),  each  about  three  and 
a  half  inches  in  diameter  and  one  inch  deep.  The  holes  in  the  bottom 
of  each  sieve  are  of  uniform  size,  but  they  are  graduated  in  size  for 
the  different  baskets.  The  pearls  are  sifted  in  the  basket  with  the 
largest  holes,  and  those  which  will  not  pass  through  are  of  the  first 
size.  The  pearls  v^hich  pass  through  are  then  sifted  in  the  second 
basket,  and  those  retained  are  of  the  second  size;  and  so  on  through 
the  entire  series  of  ten  sieves  or  baskets.  Those  which  pass  through 
the  tenth  sieve  are  known  as  masi-tid,  or  powder  pearls;  they  are  of 
little  value  owing  to  their  very  small  size,  and  are  not  subject  to  fur- 
ther classification.  Of  course,  the  attached  pearls  or  very  irregular 
baroques — the  oddtimuttu — are  not  subject  to  the  sifting  process,  and 
are  valued  independently  of  this. 

Sometimes  in  India,  as  well  as  in  western  countries,  false  measures 
are  used,  and  an  oriental  pearl  merchant  may  have  one  set  of  sieves 
for  use  in  buying  and  another  for  selling.  The  rule  for  determining 
the  proper  size  of  the  holes  in  the  first  sieve  is  that  they  may  pass 
pearls  weighing  20  to  the  kalanchU,  whence  this  sieve  is  commonly 
known  as  the  "20  pcddi."  The  second  sieve  is  the  "50  peddi,"  since  it 
passes  pearls  weighing  30  to  the  kalanchn.  In  the  proper  order  the 
other  sieves  respectively  pass  pearls  requiring  50,  80,  100,  200,  400, 
600,  800,  and  1000  to  the  kalanchu. 

This  use  of  sieves  for  grading  the  Ceylon  pearls  was  mentioned  by 
Cleandro  Arnobio,  a  writer  of  the  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
in  his  "Tesoro  delle  Gioie,"  and  he  took  his  description  from  an  older 
writer,  Garzia  dell'  Horto. 

After  the  sifting,  each  of  the  ten  graded  lots  of  pearls  are  placed 
on  pieces  of  cloth  for  classification  as  to  quality,  shape,  and  luster. 
This  classification  requires  much  skill  and  judgment  on  the  part  of 
the  valuer.  Not  only  will  two  persons  commonly  fail  to  class  a  large 
lot  of  pearls  exactly  alike,  but  one  person  is  not  likely  to  class  the  same 
lot  twice  in  precisely  the  same  manner. 

From  long  established  custom,  recognition  is  made  of  twelve  classes 
into  which  the  ten  grades  or  sizes  of  pearls  are  divided  with  respect  to 
shape  and  luster,  the  local  names  of  these  classes  giving  a  fair  indica- 
tion of  their  respective  characteristics.    These  names  are: 

1  Ani,  "best" :  perfect  in  sphericity  and  luster,  the  true  orient  pearl. 

2  Anatdri,  "follower":  failing  slightly  in  sphericity  and  luster. 

3  Masanku  or  Masaku:  badly  colored  pearls,  usually  gray,  sym- 
metrical, and  with  luster. 


A,  B.     Pearl  nose  rings.     Baroda,  India. 
East  Indian  earring  of  strings  of  pearls  and  table  diamonds 
Collection  o(  Edmund  Russell,  Esq. 
D,  K.      tlrape  pendants.      Oriental  pearls. 


VALUES  AND  COMMERCE  OF  PEARLS  345 

4  Kaiyeral,  "the  clasp  of  a  necklace":  a  dark-colored  treble  pearl, 
not  quite  round. 

5  Machchakai. 

6  Vadivu,  "beaut}^"  also  "decreasing-" :  that  which  is  strainedor  sifted ; 
found  in  the  100,  200,  and  400  sieves.  These  small  pearls,  regular 
in  shape,  and  of  good  luster,  are  especially  favored  in  the  East. 

7  Madanku,  "folded,"  or  "bent":  all  pearls  of  vadivu  size  that  are 
imperfect  in  form  or  color. 

8  Kiiriival,  "short":  deformed  and  double  pearls;  they  may,  how- 
ever, be  of  excellent  luster.  Ani  Kuruval:  where  two  dni  are 
fused  together,  but  so  formed  that  if  separate  they  would  be  per- 
fectly spherical.  Pisal  Kiiriival:  where  several  pearls  of  good 
luster  and  color  are  fused  partially  and  irregularly  together. 
Pampara  Kiiriival:  a  pearl  grooved  regularly,  like  a  top. 

9  Kalippu,  "abundance,"  or  "rejected":  inferior  to  Anafdri;  a  good 
pearl,  may  be  lens-shaped  or  elongated ;  usually  flattened. 

10  Pisal,  "torn" :  a  deformed  pearl  or  cluster  of  small  misshapen 
pearls ;  of  poor  color  and  of  little  value. 

11  Kurdl:  very  misshapen  and  small. 

12  Tul,  "powder":  the  seed-pearls,  those  retained  by  the  600,  800,  and 
1000  sieves. 

In  addition  to  the  above  designations,  the  following  are  also  used: 

Samadiam:  a  pearl  of  a  reddish  hue;  pear-shaped  but  of  dull  color. 

Nimelai:  a  nose-pearl,  perfect  skinned,  and  pear-  or  egg-shaped. 

Sirippu:  a  pearl  grooved  with  irregular  wrinkle-like  furrows. 

Kodai,  "brown" :  like  a  nut,  with  no  nacreous  luster ;  formed  of  pris- 
matic shell;  may  be  large,  is  usually  spherical,  and  includes  pearls 
of  various  colors.  This  name  is  also  used  for  white  pearls  with 
black  or  brown  marks.  Van  Kodai:  a  kodai  pearl  with  one  side 
nacreous.    Kartink  Kodai:  a  black  or  blue-black  slag-like  pearl. 

Masi-tul,  "ink-dust,"  or  "chalk-powder":  smaller  than  the  1000  sieve. 
Generally  used  for  medicinal  purposes,  or  burnt  and  eaten  with 
areca-nut  and  betel  by  the  natives. 

Oddu — or  Ottwmittii,  "shell-pearl":  an  attached  pearl  or  nacreous  ex- 
crescence on  the  outside  of  the  shell. 

Of  the  twelve  classes  named  above,  the  first  four  are  known  as  the 
chcvvii,  or  superior  classes;  the  next  three  as  the  vadivu,  or  beautiful 
classes;  and  the  last  five  as  the  kalanchii,  or  inferior  classes.  The 
chezim  pearls  are  found  only  in  the  first  four  sieves  or  baskets;  and 
for  this  reason  these  are  known  as  the  chevvH  peddi  or  "chevvu  bas- 


346  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

kets,"  although  they  may  also  retain  inferior  pearls.  A  name  used  to 
indicate  the  class  of  pearls  found  in  the  first  four  sieves  is  niel  or  mel- 
mrittn,  "upper"  or  "superior  pearl,"  while  vadivu  designates  those  re- 
tained by  the  next  three  and  tul  those  of  the  last  three. 

After  the  pearls  have  been  graded  according  to  size  and  classified  ac- 
cording toquality,theyare  weighed.  The  unit  of  weight  is  thewonc/mdj, 
the  seed  of  Abrus  precatorius,  a  small,  red  berry  of  practically  uniform 
weight  when  ripe.  H.  W.  Gillman  of  the  Ceylon  Civil  Service  reports 
the  weight  of  the  manchddi  to  be  3.35  grains  troy.  Fractional  parts  of 
a  unit  are  obtained  by  using  a  berry  C3.\\td  kundumani,  grains  of  rice, 
etc.,  whose  weights  have  been  determined  beforehand.  A  brass  weight 
— the  kalanchu — is  also  employed;  it  equals  67  grains  or  20  maiichadi. 

However,  choice  pearls  —  those  of  the  superior  classes — are  not 
valued  in  this  manner,  but  at  so  much  per  chcvvil  of  their  weight, 
which  is  three  fourths  of  the  square  of  the  weight  in  manchddi.  Thus, 
to  find  the  value  of  an  anatdri  pearl  in  the  second  sieve,  if  the  weight 
be  found  to  be  three  manchddi,  three  fourths  of  the  square  of  three, 
or  6^,  is  multiplied  by  the  base  value  of  the  anatdri  class. 

The  actual  process  of  the  calculation  of  value  is  as  follows:  owing 
to  the  small  size  of  the  pearls,  many  fractions  enter  into  the  computa- 
tions; to  preserve  uniformity  it  is  customary  to  increase  all  fractions 
so  that  each  may  have  320  as  a  denominator,  this  being  a  common  mul- 
tiple of  those  that  ordinarily  arise  in  chevTu  calculations.  The  weight 
in  maiichadi  of  the  pearls  is  increased  to  a  fractional  figure  having 
320  as  a  denominator.  Three  fourths  of  the  square  of  the  numerator 
of  this  fraction  is  divided  by  the  number  of  pearls,  and  this  quotient 
is  divided  twice  consecutively  by  320,  giving  the  chcvvi'i  of  the  weight. 
The  market  value  then  follows  from  the  quoted  price  of  the  pearls  per 
chezmi  at  the  time. 

In  actual  practice,  these  computations  are  not  made ;  but  each  mer- 
chant provides  himself  with  sets  of  tables  showing  the  calculations  for 
different  weights,  analogous  to  the  use  of  interest  tables  by  bankers, 
or  of  tables  of  logarithms  by  surveyors.  Some  of  the  merchants 
commit  these  tables  to  memory,  and  at  times  may  be  heard  reciting 
them  quietly  to  themselves  to  refresh  the  memory. 

If  a  pearl  of  a  particular  grade  and  class  is  of  exceptional  merit, 
the  merchant  adds  somewhat  to  the  money  value  computed  by  the 
above  process.  This  applies  especially  to  double  pearls  of  the  kiinwal 
class,  which  sometimes  consist  of  two  fine  bouton  pearls  suitable  for 
setting,  but  not  for  stringing. 

Pearls  of  one  of  the  inferior  or  kalanchu  classes  are  valued  by 
simple  weight,  at  so  much  per  kalanchu,  the  market  price,  of  course, 
differing  for  pearls  of  the  various  classes.     The  weight  having  been 


NECKLACE  CONTAINING    126,000    SEED-PEARLS.     LOUIS   XVI    PERIOD 
Property  of  an  American  lady 


VALUES  AND  COMMERCE  OF  PEARLS  347 

ascertained,  each  in  its  class  as  before  noted,  the  value  is  determined 
by  multiplying  that  weight  by  the  current  market  price  per  unit  of 
such  pearls,  at  so  many  rupees  per  kalanchii. 

The  star  pagoda  is  used  in  calculating  the  values.  This  small  gold 
coin  was  current  in  south  India  in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century. 
In  the  computations  it  is  considered  to  be  worth  three  and  a  half 
rupees,  although  its  intrinsic  value  as  a  gold  coin  is  about  six  rupees. 

It  is  considered  probable  that  the  London  syndicate,'  which  has 
lately  leased  the  Ceylon  pearl  fisheries  for  a  period  of  twenty  years, 
will  do  away  with  the  complicated  calculations  employed  for  so  many 
generations,  surviving  all  changes  of  administration,  Portuguese, 
Dutch,  and  British.  This  is  only  one  of  the  many  instances  showing  the 
tendency  of  the  British  Government  to  abolish  time-honored  usages 
in  India,  without  regard  to  the  wishes  of  its  population;  and,  unim- 
portant as  many  of  these  changes  may  seem  to  us,  they  all  serve  to 
foster  a  spirit  of  discontent  that  may  lead  to  serious  trouble.  This 
conduct  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain  is  all  the  stranger  in  view  of  the 
stubborn  opposition  of  that  country  to  the  adoption  of  the  scientific 
and  logical  metric  system. 

In  Bombay,  the  weight  of  pearls  in  tanks  is  made  the  basis  of  their 
valuation ;  the  tank  equals  24  ratti  or  about  y2  grains  troy.  The 
square  of  the  number  of  tanks  is  multiplied  by  330  and  the  quotient 
divided  by  the  number  of  pearls ;  this  gives  the  number  of  chevviis,  or 
chozvs,  as  they  are  sometimes  called,  and  the  market  price  of  the 
chevvii  for  a  given  class  of  pearls  shows  their  value.  If,  for  instance, 
we  have  56  pearls  of  a  certain  quality,  weighing  5  tanks,  and  the 
chevvu  of  these  pearls  is  worth  14  rupees,  the  sum  would  be  as  fol- 
lows: 

^ — 5 — ^ =2062.5  rupees,  or  about  $825. 

In  this  case,  as  in  the  other  system  of  weighing  which  we  have  men- 
tioned, the  chevvii  is  only  a  nominal  weight ;  but  there  is  in  India  a  real 
weight  unit  which  bears  this  name.^ 

The  high  esteem  in  which  the  pearl  was  held  by  the  Hindus  is  well 
illustrated  by  the  following  statement  from  an  old  treatise  on  gems: 
"A  pearl  weighing  two  kalanjas  (about  180  grains)  should  not  be 
worn  even  by  kings.    It  is  for  the  gods,  it  is  without  equal."* 

An  interesting  account  of  a  great  savant's  experience,  in  the  early 
part  of  the  sixteenth  century,  regarding  the  value  of  pearls,  is  given 

'See  pp.  124-127.  'From  "Navaratnapariska,"  in  Finot,  "Les 

''See     "Modern     Metrology."     Lewis     d'A.       Lapidaires  Indiens,"  p.  158. 
Jackson,  London,  1882,  p.  369. 


348  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

by  Guillaume  Bude^  (1467-1540),  the  celebrated  French  Hellenist 
who  lived  during  the  reign  of  Francis  I  and  who  is  regarded  as  the 
founder  of  the  College  de  France.  In  his  work  entitled  "De  Asse,"  he 
states  that  he  once  inquired  of  a  gem  dealer  in  Paris  whether  the  latter 
could  recall  the  weight  of  some  remarkable  pearl  which  had  passed 
through  his  hands.  The  dealer  replied  that  he  had  seen  one  weighing 
30  carats  (120  grains),  whereupon  another  gem  dealer,  who  was 
present,  remarked  that  he  had  in  his  possession  one  of  40  carats  (160 
grains).  This  pearl  was  sold  a  few  days  later  for  3000  gold  crowns 
($6750).  On  another  occasion  Bude  was  told  that  a  pearl  of  exquisite 
beauty  weighing  30  carats,  had  been  sold  to  the  Duchesse  de  Bour- 
bon, daughter  of  Louis  XI  of  France,  for  the  sum  of  4000  gold 
crowns  ($9000). 

In  regard  to  the  manner  of  computing  the  value  of  pearls  Bude 
writes:  'T  think  the  ratio  of  these  prices  can  be  calculated.  When  I 
asked  a  gem  dealer  what  was  the  value  of  a  pearl  of  four  carats  [six- 
teen grains],  according  to  the  formula,  he  replied:  T  have  seen  such  a 
pearl  sell  for  thirty  gold  crowns  [$67.50].'  Whereupon  I  asked:  'How 
much  would  you  estimate  one  weighing  eight  carats  [thirty-two 
grains]  ?'  'At  least  two  hundred  gold  crowns  [$450],'  he  answered; 
and  as  I  continued  to  ply  him  with  questions,  gradually  increasing  the 
weight,  he  responded  in  such  a  way  that  I  could  understand  that  the 
increase  of  the  price  bore  not  a  numerical,  but  a  proportional  relation 
to  the  weight;  so  that  the  above  mentioned  eight-carat  pearl,  having 
double  the  weight  of  a  four-carat  pearl,  was  valued  at  seven  times  as 
much.  The  same  was  true  of  a  pearl  weighing  twelve  carats,  twenty 
carats,  and  so  on;  the  price  augmenting  by  a  greater  and  greater  in- 
crement as  the  weight  increased." 

In  the  "Coronae  Gemma  Noblissima"  of  Wilhelmus  Eo  (1621,  pp. 
32,  33),  an  instance  is  given  of  the  rapid  changes  that  are  pos- 
sible in  the  worth  of  a  pearl.  A  large  and  beautiful  pearl  was  brought 
to  Nuremberg  by  a  merchant  who  had  paid  500  florins  for  it ;  he  soon 
found  a  purchaser  among  the  merchants  there,  who  was  willing  to 
pay  him  800  florins.  This  latter  merchant  in  his  turn  disposed  of  his 
gem  for  1000  florins,  and  shortly  after  it  again  changed  hands  twice, 
the  first  time  at  an  advance  of  200  florins  and  the  second  at  an  advance 
of  300  florins.  All  this  happened  within  a  few  days.  The  writer  tells 
us  that  the  last  purchaser,  who  paid  1500  florins  for  the  pearl,  took 
it  with  him  to  Venice  "where  the  wealthy  dames  wear  a  great  treasure 
of  beautiful  pearls  as  necklaces  upon  their  bare  skin,  and  he  will  not 
have  lost  anything  on  his  pearl  there." 

In  1884,  Mr.  Edwin  Streeter  was  asked  by  a  member  of  a  London 

'Guillielmi  Budaei,  "De  Asse,"  Venice,  1522,    Lib.  V,  pp.  67,  68. 


VALUES  AND  COMMERCE  OF  PEARLS  349 

syndicate  to  proceed  to  the  East,  to  value  a  large  quantity  of  jewels, 
as  a  heavy  sum  of  money  was  about  to  be  advanced  to  a  certain  Power, 
to  provide  the  sinews  of  war.  On  his  way  he  was  requested  to  stop  at 
one  of  the  principal  towns  in  Germany  to  purchase  some  jewels  which 
had  been  valued  for  probate  but  were  not  easy  of  sale  in  that  market. 
The  valuation  paper  was  shown  to  him,  and  after  examining  the  orna- 
ments, he  agreed  to  take  them  at  the  prices  named.  Among  them  was 
an  old  gold  brooch  of  Russian  manufacture,  valued  at  £4;  in  the  center 
of  this  brooch  was  what  appeared  to  be  a  piece  of  hematite,  but  was  in 
reality  a  fine,  round,  black  pearl,  weighing  yy  grains.  The  color 
had  faded  from  exposure  to  the  sun.  This  pearl  was  brought  to 
London,  and  the  outer  layer  was  taken  off,  when  a  perfect  black 
pearl  of  67  grains  was  uncovered.  This  was  sold  to  a  manufactur- 
ing jeweler  in  London  for  £400;  but,  having  heard  that  in  Paris  there 
was  a  pearl  that  would  exactly  match  it,  Mr.  Streeter  bought  it  back 
again  for  £600,  and  then  sold  it  at  a  large  profit  to  one  of  the  Paris 
crown  jewelers,  who,  in  his  turn,  sold  the  pair  to  a  rich  iron  merchant 
for  50,000  francs  (£2000  or  $10,000).  Since  then  the  sum  of  100,000 
francs  (£4000  or  $20,000)  has  been  refused  for  this  pair  of  matchless 
black  pearls.    At  present  values  they  may  be  worth  double  this  sum. 

At  different  times  the  values  assigned  to  the  different  forms  and 
colors  of  pearls  have  varied.  For  instance,  in  the  French  Encyclopedie 
of  1774  (Vol.  XII,  p.  385),  it  is  stated  that  pear-shaped  pearls,  al- 
though they  might  be  equally  perfect  and  of  the  same  weight  as  round 
pearls,  were  valued  much  less  than  these.  Even  in  the  case  of  well- 
matched  pairs,  their  price  was  a  third  less  than  that  of  round  pearls. 

As  early  as  the  sixteenth  century  it  was  not  uncommon  that  jewelers 
who  had  in  their  possession  a  fine  pear-shaped  pearl  would  have  a  rep- 
lica of  it  molded  in  lead,  and  then  send  the  casts  to  the  large  cities  of 
Europe  and  the  East.  If  a  mate  was  found  for  it,  the  respective  own- 
ers soon  came  to  terms,  for  such  pearls  command  a  much  higher  price 
together  than  they  do  separately. 

An  interesting  story  is  told  of  no  less  a  collector  than  the  Duke  of 
Brunswick,  who  was  so  generous  to  the  city  of  Geneva.  For  many 
years  every  pear-shaped  pearl  from  every  land  had  been  submitted  to 
him  for  examination.  He  always  claimed  the  privilege  of  examining 
it  alone  for  a  moment  or  two  and  in  every  instance  he  returned  it.  At 
last  a  new  pear-shaped  pearl  of  marvelous  size  and  beauty  was  heard 
of  in  a  distant  country.  It  was  sent  to  Germany,  where  the  duke  was 
visiting  at  that  time,  to  a  local  dealer  who  acted  as  agent  for  the 
owner.  The  price  demanded  for  it  seemed  excessive,  but  the  duke  took 
the  pearl,  stepped  aside  for  a  moment,  and  said,  quick  as  a  flash,  "The 
pearl  is  mine."    The  next  day  he  showed  it  with  a  mate  he  had  owned 


350 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


for  many  years  and  that  was  a  most  faultless  match.  Through  all  the 
years  of  his  search  he  had  never  informed  any  one  of  his  intention  to 
match  the  pearl  he  already  owned. 

In  1879,  at  the  time  of  the  death  of  the  father  of  Sultan  Buderuddin 
of  the  Sulu  Islands,  a  box  of  large  and  fine  pearls  was  ainong  the 
treasures  he  left  behind  him.  Many  of  these  disappeared,  but 
some  of  them  came  into  the  hands  of  Sultan  Buderuddin  and  his 
mother.  The  former  sold  those  which  he  had  inherited,  in  order  to 
defray  the  expenses  of  a  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  in  1882.  His  mother, 
who  exerted  a  great  influence  over  the  conduct  of  afifairs,  retained  a 
number  of  the  pearls,  and  it  was  always  difficult  to  induce  her  to  part 
with  any  of  them.  When,  as  very  rarely  happened,  she  was  persuaded 
to  do  so,  she  invariably  got  a  higher  price  for  them  than  they  would 
have  commanded  in  London,  because  she  was  never  anxious  to  sell, 
and  always  said:  "Why  should  I  sell  my  pearls?  If  the  Spaniards 
come  to  attack  us,  I  can  put  them  in  a  handkerchief  and  go  into 
the  hills;  but  if  I  had  dollars  I  should  need  a  number  of  men  to  carry 
them."    We  do  not  yet  know  what  became  of  the  stolen  pearls. 

Many  times  has  a  dealer  put  nearly  all  that  he  possessed  into  a  fine 
pearl  or  necklace,  frequently  without  a  reward ;  often  gradually  buy- 
ing more  and  more,  hoping  for  some  great  patron  to  relieve  him. 
When  the  client  appears,  there  is  happiness,  but  when  he  does  not, 
there  is  woe.  This  instance  is  well  illustrated  when  Philip  IV  of  Spain 
asked  of  the  merchant  Gogibus:  "How  have  you  ventured  to  put  all 
your  fortune  into  such  a  small  object?"  "Because  I  knew  there  was  a 
king  of  Spain  to  buy  it  of  me,"  was  the  quick  reply.  And  Philip  re- 
warded the  faith  of  the  jeweler  by  purchasing  the  pearl. 

Caire  and  Dufie'  state: 

We  need  have  no  fear  that  either  the  price  or  the  use  of  pearls  will  diminish 
when  we  consider  the  great  demand  for  them  both  on  account  of  luxury  and 
superstition.  There  is  no  Hindu  who  does  not  regard  it  as  a  matter  of  religion 
that  he  should  pierce  at  least  one  pearl  on  the  occasion  of  his  marriage.  This 
must  be  a  new  pearl  which  has  never  been  perforated.  Whatever  may  be  the 
mysterious  signification,  this  very  ancient  usage  is,  at  least,  very  useful  for 
the  commerce  of  pearls. 

In  1898,  one  of  the  writers  had  a  long  talk  with  his  late  chief,  who 
had,  at  that  time,  devoted  sixty  years  of  his  life  to  the  jewelry  profes- 
sion. In  the  course  of  the  conversation  the  latter  remarked:  "It  seems 
to  me  that  pearls  are  too  dear" ;  to  which  the  writer  rejoined :  "Have 
pearls  ever  gone  down  in  price  during  your  entire  connection  with  the 
jewelry  profession?"     The  answer  was:  "No,  they  have  always  ad- 

'  Caire  and  Dufie,  "La  Science  des  Pierres  Precieuses  appliquee  aux  Arts,"  Paris,  1833. 


VALUES  AND  COMMERCE  OF  PEARLS  351 

vanced."  Whereupon  the  writer  said:  "I  can  give  you  statistics  for 
two  hundred  years  preceding  your  earHest  experience,  which  prove 
that  pearls  constantly  advanced  in  value  during  that  period." 

The  following  are  the  names  given  to  the  different  kinds  of  pearls, 
according  to  their  origin. 

The  term  "oriental"  designates  those  pearls  that  are  found  in  the 
true  pearl-oyster,  and  have  a  marine  or  salt-water  origin,  being  found 
either  in  the  ocean  or  one  of  its  adjacent  tributaries,  and  belonging  to 
one  of  the  numerous  species  of  the  Margaritiferas. 

The  term  "fresh-water"  is  given  to  those  pearls  that  are  found  in 
the  fresh-water  brooks,  rivulets,  rivers,  or  fresh-water  lakes,  and  not 
in  salt  water,  and  which  belong  to  the  Unionidae. 

The  term  "conch"  is  applied  to  that  variety  of  pearl  which  is  usually 
pink,  or  yellow,  in  color,  and  that  is  either  found  in  the  univalve  shell, 
known  as  the  common  conch  (Strombus  gigas),  or  in  the  yellow  shell 
(Cassis  madagascarensis) . 

The  word  "clam  pearl"  is  used  to  designate  those  pearls  that  are 
found  in  the  common  clam  of  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  are  either  black, 
dark  purple,  purple,  or  mixed  with  white,  more  especially  if  they  are 
boiled. 

"Placuna  pearl"  designates  those  pearls  that  are  found  in  the  Pla- 
cuna,  or  window-glass  shell,  in  the  East.  They  have  a  micaceous  lus- 
ter, are  rarely  of  much  value,  and  are  sold  entirely  in  the  Orient, 
almost  exclusively  for  medicinal  purposes. 

"Oyster  pearl"  signifies  those  concretions  that  are  found  in  the  com- 
mon edible  oyster  (Ostrea).  They  are  generally  black,  purple,  or  with 
a  mixture  of  black  and  white,  or  purple  and  white.  They  are  devoid  of 
nacreous  luster  and  possess  neither  beauty  nor  value. 

"Coque  de  perle"  designates  the  globuse  walls  of  the  nautilus  and 
possibly  other  shells  that  have  a  pearly  nacre;  they  are  almost  hemi- 
spherical and  are  either  round  or  long,  having  a  pearly  effect. 

"Abalone":  a  name  applied  to  those  pearls  that  are  found  in  the  uni- 
valve "ear-shell"  or  azvabi,  as  it  is  called  in  Japan.  They  are  gen- 
erally green,  blue-green,  or  fawn-yellow,  and  have  an  intense  red, 
flame-like  iridescence.  They  are  rarely  round,  generally  flat,  or  ir- 
regular, and  are  occasionally  worth  several  hundreds  of  dollars  each. 

"Pinna  pearls" :  those  pearls  that  are  found  in  the  Pinna,  or  wing- 
shells  of  the  Mediterranean  and  adjacent  seas.  These  possess  no  ori- 
ent, but  are  more  highly  crystalline  than  any  other  pearls.  They  are 
almost  translucent  and  have  a  peculiar  red  or  yellow  color,  and  are 
of  little  value  except  locally. 

"Cocoanut  pearl" :  this  name  is  given  to  those  pearls  that  are  found 
in  the  giant  oyster  or  clam  of  the  vicinity  of  Singapore ;  they  are  erro- 


35-^ 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


neously  called  cocoanut  pearls  because  they  have  the  appearance  of  the 
meat  of  the  cocoanut.  They  are  often  of  great  size,  but  have  no  com- 
mercial value. 

The  following  are  special  designations  of  the  dififerent  varieties  of 
pearls  according  to  their  forms  and  appearance: 

Paragon :  this  term  was  formerly  used  to  designate  large  and  ex- 
ceptionally perfect  or  beautiful  pearls,  usually  weighing  over  one  hun- 
dred grains. 

Round:  when  the  pearl  is  absolutely  spherical,  as  if  turned  on  a 
lathe,  without  any  flattening  or  any  indentations  on  the  sides. 

Button  or  Bouton :  if  the  pearl  is  domed  on  top  and  has  either  a  flat 
or  slightly  convex  back. 

Pear-shaped :  when  the  pearl  is  formed  like  a  pear,  terminating  in  a 
point,  and  is  either  flat  at  the  lower  end  or  rounded. 

Drop-shaped:  when  the  pearl  is  elongated  like  a  pear,  but  is  larger 
at  the  lower  end  than  a  pear-shaped  pearl. 

Egg-shaped :  when  ovate  in  form,  rounded  more  or  less  at  each  end, 
or  formed  like  an  egg. 

Cone-shaped :  applied  to  pearls  that  are  elongated  and  rounded  with 
one  flat  end,  and  have  the  form  of  a  cone. 

Top-shaped:  a  name  given  to  those  pearls  that  are  broad,  flattened 
at  the  top  and  rounded  on  the  sides,  terminating  in  a  point,  like  a 
top. 

Seed-pearls  is  a  name  given  to  pearls  that  are  round  or  irregular, 
and  weigh  one  fourth  grain  or  even  less.  They  are  frequently  so  small 
that  18,000  are  contained  in  a  single  ounce,  and  they  are  often  sent 
from  the  East  in  bunches  of  about  a  dozen  or  so  of  strings. 

Dust-pearls.  When  seed-pearls  are  very  small  they  are  known  as 
"dust-pearls";  they  are  really  as  fine  as  dust  and  have  very  little  value; 
still,  their  form  is  in  many  cases  wonderfully  perfect. 

Petal  pearls  are  those  which  are  somewhat  flat,  frequently  more 
pointed  at  one  end  than  at  the  other,  and  have  the  appearance  of  a 
petal  or  leaf. 

Hinge  pearls  are  those  pearls  that  are  long,  generally  pointed  at  either 
or  both  ends,  and  are  found  near  the  hinge  part  of  the  shell.  They  are 
divided  into  two  distinct  forms,  namely  dog-tooth,  and  wing-shaped. 

Wing  pearls:  those  that  are  elongated  or  irregular,  resembling  a 
wing  or  part  of  a  wing. 

Dog-tooth:  applied  to  pearls  with  pointed  ears,  elongated,  and 
which  are  narrower  than  the  wing  pearls. 

Slugs:  a  name  used  for  the  very  irregular,  distorted  pearls,  fre- 
quently made  up  of  masses  or  groups  of  small  pearls ;  usually  without 
luster  or  form,  and  of  little  value  except  for  medicinal  purposes. 


VALUES  AND  COMMERCE  OF  PEARLS  353 

Nuggets :  when  the  pearls  are  somewhat  round,  but  are  indented  or 
shghtly  irregular. 

Haystacks:  when  the  pearls  are  either  round  or  oval,  with  the  top 
considerably  elevated. 

Turtlebacks :  when  the  pearls  are  a  trifle  longer  than  they  are  wide, 
with  a  domed  surface  not  much  elevated.  This  form  is  quite  prevalent 
among  American  pearls. 

Strawberry  pearls :  those  that  are  round  or  elongated  and  entirely 
covered  with  prickly  points,  somewhat  resembling  a  strawberry  or 
pickle.  It  is  believed  that  these  irregular  marks  are  frequently  pro- 
duced by  minute  pearls. 

"Blister"  and  "Chicot"  are  names  applied  to  those  pearls  that  are 
found  embedded  within  a  nacreous  coating,  often  containing  mud, 
water,  or  imperfect  mother-of-pearl.  After  these  "blisters,"  as  they 
are  termed,  are  broken,  and  layer  after  layer  has  been  removed  from 
the  contents,  very  fine  pearls  have  frequently  been  found. 

Peelers :  a  term  applied  to  pearls  having  imperfect  surfaces  or  skins 
that  may  have  some  inner  layers  which  are  perfect.  Pearls  having 
opaque  bands  or  rings  are  rarely  peeled  with  much  success  as  this 
opaque  layer  frequently  extends  to  some  depth. 

Cylindrical  pearls:  for  pearls  that  have  the  form  of  a  cylinder,  being 
elongated  and  flattened  at  each  end. 

Hammer  pearls:  when  pearls  are  long  and  somewhat  rounded  and 
assume  the  shape  of  a  hammer  or  barrel.  These  are  rounded  or  domed 
at  the  side  and  flattened  at  the  ends. 

Baroque  (Wart  pearls  in  German)  :  when  pearls  are  not  of  any  per- 
fect form  such  as  round,  pear,  ovate,  or  any  regular  form,  they  are 
termed  baroque,  and  this  term  covers  a  large  class  of  varieties,  such  as 
all  that  follow  (except  seed-  and  half-pearls). 

Double,  triple,  or  twin  pearls  are  those  that  are  made  up  of  two  or 
more  pearls  united  together  in  a  single  nacreous  coating,  showing, 
however,  that  they  are  still  separate  pearls. 

Monster  pearls:  this  name  was  formerly  applied  to  very  large, 
irregular,  pearly  masses  which  either  resembled  some  animal  or  were 
adapted  to  form  the  head,  trunk,  or  other  part  of  an  animal :  these  are 
also  occasionally  called  "Paragons." 

Bird's-eye:  a  name  used  for  a  pearl  that  has  dull  spots,  giving  it  the 
appearance  of  a  bird's  eye. 

"Ring-a-round"  is  a  term  applied  to  such  pearls  as  are  black,  brown, 
pink,  or  white,  and  have  a  circle  running  around  the  pearl  itself  of 
some  distinctive  contrasting  color,  as  white  on  black,  pink  on  brown  or 
black  on  white. 

Embedded  pearls  are  those  that  are  partly  or  entirely  surrounded 


354  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

by  mother-of-pearl,  having  been  enveloped  and  passed  outward  from 
the  interior  of  the  shell  by  the  mollusk  so  that  in  time  the  pearl  would 
have  been  lost  on  the  outside  of  the  shell.  These  embedded  pearls  are 
occasionally  found  in  the  manufacture  of  mother-of-pearl  articles. 
When  the  mother-of-pearl  is  split,  the  pearl  will  fall  out  from  between 
the  layers. 

Half -pearls  is  the  name  given  to  such  pearls  as  are  round  and  spher- 
ically domed,  and  are  either  somewhat  flat  or  almost  the  shape  of  one 
half  of  a  whole  pearl  of  the  same  diameter.  They  are  usually  made 
by  cutting  off  the  best  part  of  a  hemispherical  bright  spot  from  a  large 
irregular  pearl;  frequently  two  to  four  cuttings  are  made  from  the 
bright  spots  of  a  single  pearl,  each  of  the  cuttings  having  the  appear- 
ance of  half  a  pearl. 

The  so-called  Indian  pearls  have  a  faint  rosy  tint  with  much  orient. 
These  are  generally  pearls  from  the  Ceylonese  fisheries  that  are  sold 
from  the  Bombay  side.  The  term  "Madras  white"  describes  the 
whiter  varieties,  there  being  a  preference  for  these  in  Madras,  while 
the  rosy,  yellow,  and  darker  shades  are  favored  in  Bombay. 

Australian  pearls  are  generally  a  pure  waxy  white  and  lustrous, 
often  with  a  silver-white  sheen,  extremely  brilliant  and  beautiful. 

Nearly  all  the  Venezuela  and  Panama  pearls  have  a  faint  golden- 
yellow  tint,  very  often  extremely  lustrous,  and  are  especially  desired 
by  the  darker  skinned  people  and  brunettes. 

The  preference  at  various  times  has  varied  with  different  peoples : 
in  China  and  India,  golden-yellow  and  satin-yellow  pearls  are  pre- 
ferred ;  from  Panama  we  have  the  very  white ;  in  Bombay  the  yellow 
pearls  from  the  Persian  Gulf  are  highly  appreciated. 

Yellow  pearls  from  other  shells  than  the  pearl-oyster  are  frequently 
offered  for  sale  in  the  East,  where  they  are  greatly  appreciated,  al- 
though they  find  little  favor  in  England.  Some  of  these  pearls  are  at- 
tributed to  the  pearly  nautilus  (Nautilus  pompilius).  This  may  be  the 
case  with  those  that  have  a  pearly  luster,  but  those  that  have  the  ap- 
pearance of  porcelain,  and  are  as  bright  as  polished  china,  are  cer- 
tainly not  from  this  shell,  but  evidently  from  the  large  Melo  or  other 
shells  of  that  character.  Some  may  come  from  the  large  conch  {Cas- 
sis madagascarensis) .  A  yellow  pearl,  very  perfect  in  form  and  color, 
and  weighing  more  than  one  hundred  grains,  was  shown  at  the  Paris 
Exposition  of  1889  and  was  valued  at  50,000  francs. 

Wonderful  golden-yellow  pearls  with  a  saffron  tint  are  unusually  lus- 
trous and  beautiful.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  pearls  of  this  character 
is  of  a  brilliant  golden-yellow  color  which  belongs  to  an  American  lady, 
and  weighs  30^/3  grains.  These  pearls  are  from  Shark's  Bay,  West 
Australia,  and  only  a  limited  number  of  them  are  found  annually. 


VALUES  AND  COMMERCE  OF  PEARLS  355 

Black  pearls  do  not  seem  to  have  been  regarded  with  any  favor  by 
the  ancients,  and  we  find  no  mention  of  them  by  medieval  writers. 
Only  fifty  years  ago  a  perfectly  round,  black  pearl,  weighing  8 
grains,  was  sold  for  £4  ($20) ;  to-day  this  pearl  would  easily  bring 
fioo  ($500).  Empress  Eugenie,  the  wife  of  Napoleon  III,  may  be 
said  to  have  brought  them  into  favor;  she  owned  a  splendid  necklace 
of  black  pearls  which  was  sold  at  Christie's,  after  the  fall  of  Napoleon, 
for  the  sum  of  £4000  ($20,000).  Some  time  later,  the  Marquis  of 
Bath  bought,  at  Christie's,  the  pearl  which  formed  the  clasp  of  the 
necklace,  paying  £1000  ($5000)  for  it;  he  destined  it  for  the  center  of 
a  bracelet. 

Greenish-black  pearls  are  perhaps  valued  higher  than  any  other  col- 
ored pearls,  if  they  have  the  proper  orient;  this  is  probably  partly  ow- 
ing to  their  rarity.  A  bluish-black  pearl  possessing  a  fine  orient  com- 
mands almost  the  same  price  as  a  pure  black  pearl.  Those  which  are 
found  in  the  Placuna  placenta  are  often  of  a  dull  gray  hue,  while  those 
produced  by  the  Pinna  squamosa  are  generally  brown  in  color. 

Baroque  pearls  were  formerly  much  worn  and  appreciated  in  Spain 
and  Poland.  Their  price  varies  greatly,  according  to  their  size,  their 
beauty,  and  also  to  their  scarcity  in  any  particular  place.  The  pieces 
of  pearl  detached  from  the  shells— often  half-pearl  and  half  mother- 
of-pearl,  and  called  "de  fantaisie"— are  always  very  irregular  in 
form,  and  sometimes  ofifer  a  certain  resemblance  to  a  part  of  the  hu- 
man or  animal  form.^ 

How  is  it  that  such  quantities  of  jewels  are  continually  brought 
from  the  East,  and  such  a  wealth  of  them  continues  to  exist  there, 
when  there  are  rrow  no  very  extensive  mines  that  maintain  a  constant 
supply?  The  reason  is  that  from  time  immemorial,  precious  stones 
have  been  the  form  in  which  wealth,  in  those  lands,  has  been  hoarded 
and  preserved.  Until  very  recently,  in  the  Orient,  interest-bearing 
securities  have  been  unknown;  and  hence  jewels  have  been  sought 
and  kept  as  an  investment,  and  sold  only  when  money  was  needed  for 
special  purposes,  as  in  times  of  war,  famine,  or  other  emergency. 

Their  small  bulk  made  them  easy  to  conceal  and  to  transport,  and 
hence  they  were  well  adapted  for  such  use.  How  long  this  condition 
will  last,  is  perhaps  dependent  only  upon  the  introduction  of  interest- 
paying  investments,  and  of  the  new  forms  of  Western  civilization  that 
involve  greater' expenses  and  require  means  of  income  in  excess  of  the 
older  and  simpler  conditions. 

The  wealth  of  jewels  possessed  by  Oriental  monarchs,  notables,  and 
dealers,  has  been  the  theme  of  story  and  tradition,  time  out  of  mind. 
We  of  the  West  have  been  disposed  to  regard  these  tales  as  largely  ex- 

^  Charles  Barbot,  "Traite  Complete  des  Pierres  Precieuses,"  Paris,  1858,  pp.  464,  465. 


356  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

aggerated,  and  to  some  extent  they  may  be ;  yet  any  one  who  has  wit- 
nessed an  important  social  function  or  state  occasion  where  East  In- 
dian rajahs  and  nabobs  are  present,  knows  that  the  profusion  of 
jewels  which  they  wear  is  simply  astounding  to  our  Western  eyes. 
These  objects  represent,  moreover,  the  gatherings  of  generations  and 
centuries;  they  are  heirlooms  and  ancestral  treasures,  priceless  to 
their  owners  as  the  pride  of  their  houses ;  handed  down  from  fathers 
to  sons  in  long  succession ;  and  they  have  also  the  investment  feature 
already  noted,  in  that  whenever  necessity  arises  they  can  be  turned 
into  available  funds. 

The  manner  of  keeping  and  of  selling  such  objects  is  also  different 
from  ours.  If  it  be  a  question  of  buying  gems  from  an  Eastern  owner, 
the  best  are  never  shown  first,  but  on  the  contrary,  the  most  inferior. 
The  purchaser  must  either  be  content  with  these,  or  else  must  prove 
clearly  that  he  is  a  substantial  buyer  or  evince  a  knowledge  and  appre- 
ciation that  mark  him  as  a  judge  of  such  objects.  The  order  in  which 
they  are  produced  is,  first  the  poorest,  then  successively,  poor,  medium, 
fair,  good,  fine,  and  at  last  the  rare  and  wonderful  prizes. 

In  visiting  an  Oriental  dignitary,  his  jewel-treasures  are  not  all 
shown  at  once,  as  at  an  American  reception  or  an  Indian  durbar,  or 
even  as  a  collector  or  connoisseur  among  us  exhibits  his  cabinet,  ar- 
ranged for  choice  display.  The  method  is  far  different.  The  visitor 
may  be  shown  a  few  objects  in  the  first  day  or  hour;  perhaps  a  few 
more  later  in  the  day;  some  on  the  next  day  or  the  one  following, 
and  so  on ;  and  he  may  remain  a  guest  for  weeks,  and  never  see  all,  or 
the  finest  of  the  jewels  belonging  to  his  host.  When  they  are  pro- 
duced, moreover,  they  are  not  in  iron  caskets  or  in  gold  or  silver  jewel- 
cases,  covered  or  lined  with  fine  leather  or  with  silk  or  satin.  On  the 
contrary,  they  are  often  in  old  ginger  jars,  shabby  boxes,  tin  cans,  and 
all  sorts  of  unsightly  or  unpromising  receptacles,  which,  when  placed 
between  the  owner  and  his  guest,  may  well  cause  the  latter  to  wonder. 
Nor  is  his  surprise  lessened  as  the  wrappings  are  unfolded,  one  after 
another,  perhaps  a  dozen  old  cloths,  until  the  piece  of  jewelry  or  the 
splendid  pearl  is  at  last  brought  to  view,  after  having  been  hidden  from 
sight  in  its  manifold  wrappings  for  months  or  perhaps  for  years. 

But  this  method  of  keeping  such  treasures  is  not  in  reality  so 
strange  as  if  appears.  There  are  none  of  the  provisions  that  we  have 
for  the  responsible  safe-guarding  of  investments  or  valuable  objects, 
— no  fire-proof  safes,  no  banks,  no  deposit-vaults.  Security  is  best  at- 
tained by  concealment  in  unattractive  and  improbable  receptacles,  and 
by  dividing  and  distributing  the  treasured  objects.  The  owner,  too, 
must  learn  to  know  his  visitor  quite  well  before  he  exhibits  to  him  all, 
or  the  best,  that  he  possesses.     Hence  the  oriental  method,  though  so 


-k^^y^^:^^.;L^:V3li^^ri3^.4i^JIKli^ltt^ 


Seed-pearls  and  gold  ;   Chinese  ornaments  of  the  nineteenth  century 


Complete  set  of  seed-pearl  jewelry  in  original  case 
New  York,  i860  ' 


VALUES  AND  COMMERCE  OF  PEARLS  357 

.peculiar  to  us,  has  been  the  best  adapted  to  the  conditions  among  those 
peoples. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  interest  taken  by  Oriental  potentates  in  the 
collection  of  jewels,  we  quote  an  instance  from  Marco  Polo,  who,  cen- 
turies ago,  wrote  the  following:^  "Several  times  every  year  the  King  of 
Maabar  sends  his  proclamation  through  the  realm  that  if  any  one  who 
possesses  a  pearl  or  stone  of  great  value  will  bring  it  to  him,  he  will  pay 
for  it  twice  as  much  as  it  cost.  Everybody  is  glad  to  do  this,  and  thus 
the  King  gets  all  into  his  own  hands,  giving  every  man  his  price." 

Great  quantities  of  pearls,  the  result  of  centuries  of  accumulation, 
and  exceeding  in  splendor  the  collections  of  the  present  day,  must  have 
been  garnered  up  in  many  cities  of  the  Orient  during  the  period  of 
their  prosperity.  But  these  cities  have  disappeared,  wrecked  and 
ruined  by  fire  and  sword,  and  no  vestige  of  their  former  wealth  re- 
mains with  them.  Their  treasures  have  been  looted,  hoarded,  buried, 
or  scattered  to  the  four  ends  of  the  Orient,  frequently  finding  their 
way  in  former  times  to  Europe,  but  now  more  often  to  America,  where 
fine  gems  always  find  a  generous  buyer. 

In  Syria,  and  some  of  the  Oriental  coimtries,  until  recently,  and  per- 
haps at  the  present  time,  it  has  been  the  custom,  when  a  native  wished 
to  embark  in  the  pearl  business,  for  him  to  allow  himself  to  drift  grad- 
ually into  a  state  of  vagrancy,  becoming  a  veritable  tramp  for  fully  a 
year.  Then,  with  the  money  that  he  had  himself  or  that  which  was 
supplied  by  his  backer,  he  would  visit  the  pearl  fisheries  and  shrewdly 
acquire  the  gems  to  the,best  advantage,  returning  again  as  a  vagrant ; 
for  if  it  were  known  at  any  point  along  the  route  that  he  carried  with 
him  sums  of  money  his  life  would  be  in  jeopardy,  and  he  would  proba- 
bly never  reach  the  fisheries ;  or,  if  he  did,  the  chances  are  that  he 
would  never  return.  This  may  rerhind  us  of  Marco  Polo's  old  coat,  in 
which  he  had  concealed  some  valuable  gems,  the  gift  of  the  Grand 
Khan.  His  wife  heedlessly  gave  the  coat  to  a  beggar  and  it  was  only 
regained  by  a  clever  stratagem. 

The  product  of  the  pearl  fisheries,  either  that  of  entire  fisheries 
where  they  are  managed  by  a  company,  or  the  gatherings  of  mer- 
chants, or  even  the  single  gems  which  may  be  acquired  by  the  smaller 
merchants,  all  these  usually  find  their  way  to  the  great  markets,  al- 
though occasionally  they  change  hands  at  once.  In  the  East  they  are 
sent  either  to  Bombay,  Calcutta,  Madras  or  Colombo ;  frequently  they 
are  intended  for  a  higher  market.  Many  of  them  remain  in  the  East, 
for  in  the  East  to-day  a  fine  pearl  is  as  much  prized  as  ever,  and 
there  are  those  who  love  pearls  as  much  as  did  the  King  of  Maabar  in 

*  "The  Book  of  Ser  Marco  Polo,  the  Venetian."    Trans,  and  ed.  by  Col.  Heary  Yule, 

London,  1871,  Vol.  II,  p.  275. 


358  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

the  time  of  Marco  Polo.  However,  the  world  over,  there  is  a  feeling 
that  if  things  are  sent  to  the  greatest  market  there  will  be  an  oppor- 
tunity for  disposing  of  them  at  the  greatest  price.  Therefore,  the 
larger  number  of  parcels  of  exceptionally  fine  pearls  are  sent  to  the 
London  market,  a  few  of  them  going  to  Paris,  the  cable,  often  within 
a  few  days  after  their  arrival,  informing  the  sender  of  the  acceptance 
or  rejection  of  a  parcel,  or  of  a  new  offer  which  is  often  accepted. 
In  this  market  they  are  acquired  by  the  dealers,  who  frequently  ex- 
hibit many  times  before  the  lot  is  purchased. 

Pearls  from  a  fishery  are  in  many  cases  of  mixed  quality ;  that  is  to 
say,  they  are  of  different  sizes  and  varying  grades  of  perfection  as 
regards  skin,  color,  and  orient.  These  parcels  are  often  sold  directly 
on  offers  to  dealers,  but  generally  they  are  sold  by  brokers  who  show 
the  various  parcels  to  the  dealers,  each  of  the  latter  in  turn  making  his 
offer  on  that  portion  of  the  parcel  which  is  of  most  value  to  him.  Thus 
a  single  dealer  may  want  one  pearl,  a  dozen,  or  even  twenty  or  more, 
to  complete  a  great  necklace,  or  else  to  add  to,  or  improve  the  necklace, 
by  better  gradviation  or  by  increasing  the  evenness  of  the  color.  When 
the  broker  receives  enough  offers  to  give  him  the  desired  price  for  the 
entire  parcel,  the  sale  is  consummated,  and  each  one  who  has  made  an 
offer  and  who  has  sealed  his  particular  parcel  until  his  offer  is  accepted 
or  rejected,  receives  his  portion.  Pearls  do  not  grow  in  the  form  of 
necklaces,  although  they  are  frequently  seen  in  this  form  only,  and  to 
create  a  large  necklace  means  not  only  the  use  of  the  pearls  of  one 
fishery  alone,  but  it  often  requires  a  selection  from  pearls  of  various 
sizes,  the  product  of  many  fisheries. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  even  the  shrewdest  dealers  do  not  always 
succeed  in  their  purchases  of  lots  whiclxare  to  be  broken  up  when  the 
proper  number  of  bids  are  obtained. 

When  the  pearl  revival  came  in  1S98  there  was  a  sudden  and  rapid 
upward  tendency  in  the  prices,  because  at  that  time,  in  England,  money 
could  be  borrowed  upon  a  very  low  rate  of  interest,  — as  low  as  3  per 
cent., — and  it  was  a  temptation  to  a  number  of  young  men  to  enter  as 
dealers  into  the  pearl  trade.  The  result  was  that  a  number  of  new 
stocks  were  created,  not  for  a  regular,  but  for  a  speculative  demand, 
and  this  tended  to  advance  the  price  spasmodically,  rather  than  gradu- 
ally, as  it  would  have  risen  by  regular  consumption.  However,  when 
the  foreign  market  became  higher,  the  demand  for  pearls  was  not  as 
great  as  had  been  anticipated,  and  there  was  a  sudden  adjustment  of 
prices  and  a  readjustment  of  the  pearl  stocks,  resulting  in  the  elimina- 
tion of  a  certain  number  of  speculative  dealers ;  and,  notwithstanding 
the  state  of  the  fisheries,  pearls  have  not  advanced  so  rapidly  in  the 
past  two  years  as  they  did  from  1898  to  1905. 


VALUES  AND  COMMERCE  OF  PEARLS  359 

More  than  90  per  cent,  of  the  pearls  of  commerce,  whether  they 
are  round,  perfect,  half-  or  seed-pearls,  are  of  oriental  origin ;  that  is, 
pearls  from  the  true  pearl-oyster.  About  8  per  cent,  are  probably 
from  the  fresh-water  mussels,  three  fourths  of  which  are  from  the 
United  States. 

American  fresh-water  pearls  have  had  many  prejudices  to  over- 
come, often  because  of  the  natural  indifference  in  regard  to  anything 
that  is  found  at  home  or  is  easily  obtainable.  It  has  been  said  that,  in 
comparison  with  foreign  pearls,  they  had  less  specific  gravity:  that 
they  were  not  so  hard,  and  that  their  luster  was  not  as  good.  It  is 
certain,  however,  that  the  skin  is  generally  smooth,  and  although 
they  may  not  have  so  peculiar  an  orient,  their  brilliancy  equals  that 
of  any  known  pearls.  Sometimes  they  are  translucent  and  either  pink 
or  of  a  faintly  bluish  tint,  like  molten  silver.  More  frequently  their 
hue  is  white,  rose,  pale  yellow,  or  pale  copper,  deepening  to  copper 
red  until  they  resemble  the  most  intense  and  highly  polished  copper 
button. 

According  to  the  estimates  of  the  value  of  European  fresh-water 
pearls  given  by  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  century  writers,  their  worth 
was  considered  to  be  one  half  that  of  oriental  pearls  of  approximately 
the  same  quality.  Few  European  pearls,  we  feel  sure,  were  ever  found 
that  possessed  the  wonderful  beauty  and  brilliancy  of  the  pearls  found 
either  in  the  Miami  or  the  Mississippi  and  its  many  tributaries. 

So  great  a  quantity  of  the  poorer  quality  of  pearls  have  been  found, 
principally  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  that  a  foreign  dealer  has  bought 
30,000  ounces  of  baroque  pearls  at  $1  an  ounce,  and  of  the 
slightly  better  grades  fully  100,000  dollars'  worth  were  obtained 
in  the  year  1906.  The  exportation  was  strictly  limited  to  the 
poorer  qualities.  When  pearls  are  worth  from  $1  to  $6  a  grain 
and  upward,  they  are  rarely  sent  abroad,  as  the  regular  pearls 
of  this  quality  are  much  appreciated  by  Americans,  and  find  a  ready 
sale  in  the  United  States.  The  poor  pearls  above  mentioned  were  prin- 
cipally sent  to  New  York,  either  from  the  local  fishermen,  or  else 
through  the  dealers  in  sweet-water  shells,  in  lots  of  a  fraction  of  an 
ounce,  or  in  bags  weighing  a  number  of  pounds.  Thirty  thousand 
ounces  would  equal  18,180,000  grains. 

After  all  the  fine  pearls  have  been  selected — buttons,  baroques, 
turtlebacks,  haystacks,  wings,  petals  and  other  pearls  that  can  be  used 
in  any  way  as  a  jewel  on  this  side  of  the  water — the  balance  of  the 
material  is  sold  by  the  ounce,  varying  in  price  from  $1  to  $5. 
These  are  shipped  to  Germany,  France,  and  Austria,  where  they  are 
again  selected  for  cheaper  forms  of  jewelry  than  are  made  in  the 
United  States.     Of  these  pearls  the  baroques  and  slugs  go  mainly  to 


36o  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

Germany,  while  the  somewhat  finer  ones  are  sent  to  France,  where 
they  are  used  in  artistic  but  inexpensive  work,  such  as  flowers  and 
other  imitative  forms,  and  in  art  nouveau  jewelry.  Some,  again,  are 
shipped  to  Algiers,  Morocco,  and  Egypt,  for  the  decoration  of  saddles, 
garments,  etc.,  and  quantities  go  to  India  to  be  used  for  medicinal 
purposes.  In  this  way  all  the  material  is  utilized  and  even  the  poorest 
is  not  wasted.  No  better  proof  can  be  required  of  the  wide-spread 
appreciation  of  the  pearl  among  all  the  races  of  mankind. 

So  extensive  has  become  the  finding  of  American  pearls  that  great 
quantities  have  been  gathered  together  of  all  varieties.  At  the  time 
of  this  writing  there  are  many  large  single  lots  of  these  pearls,  slightly 
irregular,  and  not  of  fine  quality,  but  yet  of  sufficient  regularity  of  size 
to  be  termed  baroques.  At  one  time  such  quantities  were  gotten  to- 
gether that  single  papers  of  pearls,  weighing  one  fourth,  one  half, 
one,  two  or  three  grains  each,  contained  more  than  lo.ooo  grains,  and 
quantities  of  the  wing  and  dog-tooth  varieties  weighing  as  much  as 
20,000  grains  were  inclosed  in  a  single  paper. 

So  prolific  has  been  the  yield  of  these  common  American  pearls  that 
the  markets  of  Europe  and  Asia  have  almost  been  flooded  with  them. 
In  1906,  a  single  shipment  of  3500  ounces,  troy  (equaling  over 
2,100,000  grains),  were  sent  abroad,  at  prices  varying  from  $1  to  $15 
per  ounce,  according  to  the  quality.  This  alone  would  represent  a 
worth  of  $30,000  at  one  time. 

The  turtleback  is  a  form  quite  prevalent  among  American  pearls, 
and  they  are  often  matched  in  pairs  slightly  resembling  each  other  and 
weighing  from  10  to  100  or  more  grains  for  each  pair.  Some 
of  them  are  lustrous  and  many  are  of  very  good  color  and  regular 
in  form.  Although  differing  but  little  in  shape,  they  naturally  are 
much  less  expensive  than  a  finer  formed  pearl,  and  many  of  them 
have  been  sold  for  link  buttons,  and  more  especially  for  earscrews. 
Although  they  formerly  sold  for  50  cents  a  grain,  they  are  now  held  at 
from  $1  to  $8  per  grain. 

In  regard  to  the  prices  of  some  of  the  finer  American  pearls,  one  of 
15  grains,  of  wonderful  brilliancy,  luster,  and  perfection,  was 
sold  for  more  than  $2500— $166  a  grain,  or  a  base  value  of  over  $11 
a  grain.  Two  extraordinarily  well  matched  button  pearls,  weighing 
a  trifle  over  30  grains,  were  held  at  about  $3500,  or  $115  a  grain,  a 
base  value  of  about  $8  a  grain. 

At  the  time  of  this  writing  there  are  for  sale  in  the  United  States 
a  pair  of  button  earrings,  almost  round,  not  of  absolutely  perfect 
color,  weighing  about  140  grains,  the  price  being  $6000;  a  round, 
slightly  ovate  pearl,  not  of  the  finest  color,  weighing  85  grains,  held  at 
$3500;  and  a  wonderful  pearl  with  a  rich,  faintly  pink  luster,  round. 


VALUES  AND  COMMERCE  OF  PEARLS  361 

but  slightly  button  on  each  side,  weighing  about  44  grains,  and  beauti- 
ful as  are  American  pearls,  is  held  at  a  fanciful  valuation  of  over  $6000. 

The  cupidity  of  many  of  the  American  pearl  finders  and  pearl  deal- 
ers cannot  be  exceeded  even  by  that  of  the  foreign  pearl  finder  in  any 
other  land,  and  this  is  shown  by  the  variety  of  materials  that  from 
time  to  time  are  sold  to  the  unsuspecting  public,  or  that  are  sent  to 
pearl  dealers  in  the  large  cities.  This  is  surprising  and  suggests  either 
that  the  sender  believes  the  pearl  dealers  are  not  familiar  with  these 
deceptions,  or  else  that  he  himself  has  been  imposed  upon,  and  is  inno- 
cent in  his  commercial  deceit.  Among  the  notable  examples  are,  first, 
spheres  made  out  of  the  various  shells,  either  from  a  good  part  of  the 
material  or  from  hinge-material,  or  else  from  the  spot  where  the 
mussel  is  attached,  these  pieces  of  the  shell  being  rounded  and  pol- 
ished ;  such  spheres  vary  in  color  from  white  to  pink  or  yellow,  just  as 
the  shell  itself  may  have  been  colored.  Second,  the  pupils  of  fish-eyes. 
Third,  imitation  pearls.  Fourth,  yellow  or  brown  translucent  or  trans- 
parent masses  of  hinge-binding  material  having  no  greater  hardness 
than  horn,  and  about  the  same  appearance.  The  most  interesting, 
however,  are  the  absolutely  beautiful,  smooth  spheres  of  anthracite 
coal,  which  admits  of  a  rich  polish  and  has  a  peculiar  luster;  these 
they  attempt  to  pass  off  as  black  pearls. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  Arkansas  a  negro  sold  a  very  valuable 
pearl  for  a  few  dollars,  under  the  persuasion  of  a  white  man,  who,  it 
is  said,  resold  the  pearl  for  nearly  a  hundred  times  more  than  what  he 
paid  for  it.  The  local  authorities  investigated  the  matter;  the  case 
was  brought  to  court,  and  the  negro  received  a  large  advance  on  the 
price  that  had  originally  been  paid  him. 

If  a  list  were  kept  of  the  thousand  and  one  different  methods  of 
wrapping  American  pearls  for  shipment  to  the  larger  cities,  it  would 
show  how  much  ingenuity  is  displayed  in  environments  that  frequently 
differ  very  much  from  each  other.  A  box  that  has  contained  the  pills 
that  relieved  him  of  fever,  ague,  and  other  ills  due  to  swamps  and 
damp  climates,  serves  a  secondary  purpose  for  the  fortunate  finder  of 
a  pearl  in  forming  a  receptacle  in  which  he  can  ship  it  to  the  greater 
market.  Sometimes  they  are  sewed  in  leather  cut  from  gloves  and 
shoes,  or  in  strips  of  cloth,  generally  of  the  humbler  varieties,  such  as 
calico  or  blue  jean ;  in  other  cases  they  are  wrapped  in  tissue-paper 
and  newspaper;  and  occasionally  they  are  packed  in  boxes  made  by 
hollowing  out  a  bit  of  wood,  a  cover  being  nailed  over  the  opening.  In 
almost  every  instance  they  have  be'en  treated  with  a  certain  degree  of 
care. 

The  majority  of  conch  pearls  which  are  carried  by  individuals  to 
New  York,  London,  or  Paris,  are  generally  brought  in  small  papers  or 


362  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

bits  of  cloth,  each  pearl  being  wrapped  separately.  Usually,  there  are 
a  few  white  ones,  a  few  yellow,  a  few  pale  pink,  occasionally  a  few  of 
a  very  beautiful  rich  pink,  and  once  in  a  great  while  a  fine,  large  pearl 
appears.  Many  of  these  pearls,  commonly  the  inferior  ones,  are  sold 
in  the  West  Indies  directly  to  the  tourists  who  wish  to  purchase  some- 
thing in  the  country  through  which  they  are  traveling,  with  the  result 
that  better  prices  are  generally  obtained  than  would  have  been  secured 
if  the  pearls  had  been  sent  to  the  great  markets. 

The  tariff  on  pearls  at  present  operative  in  the  United  States  is  so 
indefinite  as  to  have  led  to  much  serious  misinterpretation  and  misun- 
derstanding, as  well  as  to  an  endless  chain  of  lawsuits,  often  resulting 
in  serious  loss  to  the  dealer  or  client  who  imports.  As  a  consequence 
of  the  enforced  outlay  of  large  sums  for  unexpected  and  additional 
duties,  the  importer,  who  was  both  ready  and  willing  to  pay  what 
seemed  to  him  a  just  duty,  often  found  that,  where  he  had  quoted 
a  price  to  a  customer,  he  was  a  loser  by  the  transaction ;  and  if,  to 
escape  this  loss,  he  endeavors  to  dispute  the  payment  of  the  duty,  he 
becomes  involved  in  an  expensive  and  occasionally  unsuccessful  law- 
suit. On  the  other  hand,  a  private  buyer  who  has  paid  all  that  he  feels 
he  can  afford  at  the  time  for  a  necklace,  expecting  to  pay  a  duty  of  10 
per  cent,  and  interpreting  the  law  to  mean  a  duty  of  10  per  cent.,  may 
be  called  upon  to  pay  a  duty  of  60  per  cent.,  or  have  the  notoriety  of 
a  public  lawsuit,  because  the  pearls  have  been  strung,  or  because  it  is 
held  that  they  had  recently  or  at  some  former  time  been  assembled  as 
a  necklace.  In  other  words,  if  the  pearls  constituting  such  a  necklace 
are  bought  at  various  times  from  various  people,  either  here  or  in 
Europe,  and  not  as  a  necklace,  the  duty  is  held  to  be  10  per  cent.,  but 
if  they  are  sent  in  one  shipment,  a  duty  of  60  per  cent,  is  levied.  As 
it  is  held  that  pearls  assembled  in  the  form  of  a  necklace  have  a  greater 
value  than  before  they  were  so  assembled,  the  purchaser  might  naturally 
expect  to  pay  the  10  per  cent,  duty  on  this  higher  value,  but  instead  of 
this  a  60  per  cent,  duty  is  demanded  on  the  higher  assembled  value. 

The  ambiguity  of  this  clause  of  the  tariff  is  such  that  a  logical  ruling 
should  be  made  by  some  superior  official  such  as  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury.  As  the  law  is  now  interpreted,  a  pearl  worth  $20,000  can 
be  brought  in  with  a  duty  of  10  per  cent. ;  the  addition  of  a  simple 
gold  wire  makes  it  a  piece  of  jewelry,  with  a  duty  of  60  per  cent.  It 
would  seem  that  an  amendment  might  be  made  to  the  tariff  by  which 
an  importer,  whether  a  private  buyer  or  dealer,  could  be  called  upon  to 
pay  a  60  per  cent,  duty  on  a  high  \'^luation  of  the  setting  of  the  ring, 
brooch,  or  jewel,  such  as  $20,  $25  or  $50;  while  the  contents  of 
the  ring  or  ornament,  whether  a  pearl,  diamond,  emerald,  or  a 
collection  of  stones,  should  pay  a  duty  of  only  10  per  cent.     This 


VALUES  AND  COMMERCE  OF  PEARLS  363 

duty  would  sufificiently  protect  the  jewelry  industry,  and  would  at  the 
same  time  prevent  the  levying  of  an  unjust  and  unexpected  impost 
upon  a  fine  pearl  or  gem  of  any  kind. 

It  is  eminently  desirable  that  those  residing  in  the  United  States  who 
purchase  pearls  in  foreign  countries,  should,  if  possible,  consult  with 
the  United  States  consul  in  the  city  where  they  make  their  purchase, 
in  case  they  wish  to  bring  the  pearls  into  the  United  States.  In  this 
way  a  proper  declaration  can  be  made,  they  will  be  correctly  instructed 
as  to  the  duties  upon  the  pearls,  whether  unstrung,  strung,  or  set,  and 
they  will  thus  avoid  all  complications  when  they  reach  the  United 
States.  Of  course,  this  may  not  be  necessary  should  the  firm  with 
which  they  are  dealing  be  able  to  attend  to  the  matter  for  them. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  duty  of  25  per  cent,  on 
precious  stones,  which  was  imposed  during  Cleveland's  administra- 
tion, was  enacted  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  an  increased  revenue 
for  the  government,  and  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  the  time  was  one 
of  great  financial  stress.  Yet  even  with  the  duty  two  and  a  half  times 
as  high  as  in  the  previous  years,  only  a  small  fraction  was  added  to 
the  income  of  the  Government.  But  one  adequate  explanation  can  be 
given  of  this  remarkable  decrease  in  the  recorded  imports,  more  espe- 
cially when  we  consider  that  legitimate  dealers  could,  at  that  time,  buy 
precious  stones  in  New  York  City  for  less  than  it  cost  them  to  pur- 
chase them  abroad  and  pay  the  duty.  It  seems,  therefore,  that  a  10 
per  cent,  rate  is  calculated  to  produce  the  best  and  most  satisfactory 
results  in  every  way. 

As  examples  of  the  difficulties  encountered  in  the  attempt  to  arrive 
at  a  proper  classification  of  pearls  we  cite  the  following  cases  which 
have  been  the  subjects  of  recent  litigation:  In  1901,  two  very  valuable 
collections  of  pearls  were  brought  to  this  country.  One  of  these  con- 
sisted of  45  drilled  pearls  weighing  in  all  6y2]i  grains  and  en- 
tered at  $60,734;  the  other,  of  39  pearls,  having  an  aggregate 
weight  of  678%  grains  and  entered  at  $63,070.  At  first  a  duty  of  20 
per  cent,  ad  valorem  was  imposed  upon  these  pearls  under  Section  6  of 
the  Tarifif  Act,  treating  them  as  "unenumerated  articles  partly  manu- 
factured," according  to  the  rule  that  had  been  followed  since  the  enact- 
ment of  the  present  tarifif.  This  was  protested,  and  the  case  was 
brought  before  the  Board  of  Appraisers.*  Subsequent  to  the  protest, 
however,  the  collector  reliquidated  the  entry  of  the  45  pearls 
and  imposed  upon  them  a  duty  of  60  per  cent,  ad  valorem,  as  pearls  set 
or  strung.  This  was  done  in  view  of  Judge  Lacombe's  decision  in  an- 
other notable  case  which  had  been  taken  shortly  before  to  the  Circuit 

'General    Appraisers   5146    (Treasury    Department  23748). 


364  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

Court  of  Appeals.^  This  decision  was  to  the  effect  that  pearls  in  any 
form  not  especially  covered  by  paragraphs  434  or  436  of  the  Tariff 
Act  should  be  referred  to  one  or  the  other  of  those  paragraphs,  by  sim- 
ilitude, according  to  the  provisions  of  Section  7  of  the  Act. 

The  testimony  taken  before  the  Board  of  Appraisers  revealed  the 
fact  that  each  of  the  collections  of  pearls  had  been  inclosed  in  a  hand- 
some silk-lined  morocco  case,  with  a  groove  running  through  the  cen- 
ter; in  this  groove  the  pearls  were  laid,  the  largest  one  in  the  middle 
and  the  others  disposed  on  either  side,  graduated  according  to  their 
size;  the  row  or  series  having  the  effect  of  a  necklace,  although  the 
pearls  were  unstrung.  The  importer  testified  that  this  arrangement 
was  only  made  in  order  to  enable  him  to  judge  of  the  size  and  quality 
of  the  pearls,  and  evidence  was  given  showing  that  it  was  necessary  to 
rebore  some  of  them  and  to  ream  out  the  holes  before  any  use  could  be 
made  of  the  pearls  in  jewelry.  Nevertheless,  the  appraisers  adhered 
to  their  opinion  that  these  gems  had  been  selected  especially  to  form  a 
necklace,  and  that  the  time  and  labor  requisite  for  the  assembling  of  a 
carefully  matched  and  graduated  series  of  pearls  suitable  for  a  neck- 
lace constituted  the  main  factor  in  its  production,  since  the  cost  of 
stringing  it  was  trifling;  they,  therefore,  considered  that  such  a  series 
of  pearls  was  dutiable,  by  similitude,  under  paragraph  434  of  the  Tar- 
iff Act  as  jewelry.  An  application  was  made  to  the  Circuit  Court  of 
the  Southern  District  of  New  York  for  a  review  of  the  appraisers'  rul- 
ing,^ the  judge  decided  against  the  petitioner,^  and  an  appeal  was  then 
taken  from  his  decision.  On  December  12,  1904,  the  Circuit  Court  of 
Appeals  decided  that  the  pearls  were  dutiable,  by  similitude,  at  10  per 
cent,  ad  valorem,  under  Section  7,  paragraph  436,  and  the  excess  of 
duty  collected  was  refunded. 

Another  case  has  to  do  with  a  collection  of  37  pearls,  entered  at 
$220,000,  brought  to  New  York  in  January,  1906.  Duty  to  the 
amount  of  $22,000  (10  per  cent,  ad  valorem)  was  paid  by  the  importer, 
but  the  entry  was  liquidated  at  60  per  cent,  and  $110,000  additional 
duty  demanded.  This  was  paid  and  a  protest  was  made  to  the  Board 
of  General  Appraisers,  who  decided  in  favor  of  the  petitioner.  The 
Government  appealed  and  the  case*  was  tried  in  the  United  States 
Circuit  Court  on  February  24  of  this  year  (1908).  It  was  shown 
that  the  pearls  had  been  worn  several  times  in  Paris  as  a  necklace,  but 
the  defense  held  that,  as  they  were  loose  when  imported  and  were  not 
worth  more  collectively  than  separately,  this  was  not  material.  The 
judge  decided  for  the  Government  and  an  appeal  has  been  taken  in 
June,  1908. 

'  December  6,  1901 ;  112  Fed.  Rep.  672.  '  Dec.  29,  1903. 

'  Suit  No.  3328.  *  Suit  No.  4974- 


PERSIAN   PRINCESS  AND   LADIES   IN  WAITING 
From  a  Persian  illuminated  manuscript  of  the  eighteenth  century,  in  the  library  of  Robert  Hoe,  Esq. 


VALUES  AND  COMMERCE  OF  PEARLS  365 

The  proper  classification  of  half-pearls  has  also  been  a  matter  of 
controversy.  This  question  was  brought  before  the  Board  of  General 
Appraisers  in  New  York  on  a  protest'  entered  in  1897  against  the  im- 
position of  a  duty  of  20  per  cent,  on  several  lots  of  so-called  half-pearls 
imported  during  that  year.  This  duty  was  imposed  under  Section  6  of 
the  Tariff  Act,  providing  for  a  duty  of  20  per  cent,  on  "unenumerated 
partly  manufactured  articles."  The  petitioner  claimed  that  half- 
pearls  were  dutiable  at  10  per  cent,  ad  valorem,  "either  directly  or  by 
similitude  or  component  of  chief  value,  under  paragraph  436,  or  as 
precious  stones,  under  paragraph  435  of  the  Tariff  Act."  After  hear- 
ing the  testimony  of  a  number  of  competent  and  reliable  experts  con- 
nected with  some  of  the  leading  houses  dealing  in  precious  stones  and 
pearls,  the  appraisers  decided  that  the  evidence  showed  that  pearls,  be- 
ing the  product  of  animal  secretion,  could  not  properly  be  denominated 
stones,  and  that  they  were  not  in  fact  so  designated  commercially.  At 
the  same  time,  half-pearls  could  not  be  looked  upon  as  "pearls  in  their 
natural  state,"  since  time  and  labor  had  been  expended  in  their  produc- 
tion; it  was,  therefore,  evident  that  paragraph  436  did  not  apply  to 
them.    For  this  reason  the  original  ruling  was  reaffirmed. 

In  1902  a  duty  of  60  per  cent,  was  levied  on  an  assorted  lot  of  half- 
pearls  under  a  new  ruling  which  brought  them  by  similitude  under  the 
provisions  of  paragraph  434  of  the  Tariff  Act,  providing  a  duty  of 
60  per  cent,  on  "jewelry  .  .  .  including  .  .  .  pearls  set  or  strung."  A 
protest  was  entered  against  this  ruling  also."  In  the  meanwhile  Judge 
Lacombe  had  given  the  opinion  to  which  we  have  alluded  above,  and 
the  Board  of  Appraisers  upheld  the  duty  of  60  per  cent.,  basing  their 
decision  upon  the  fact  that  the  material  of  half-pearls  was  similar  to 
that  of  pearls  in  their  natural  state  or  of  pearls  set  or  strung,  thus  satis- 
fying the  requirements  as  to  similitude  of  Section  7  of  the  Tariff  Act. 
The  same  section  provides  that,  in  case  two  or  more  rates  of  duty  shall 
be  applicable  to  any  imported  article,  it  shall  pay  duty  at  the  highest 
rate,  and  therefore  the  60-per-cent.  rate  applying  to  pearls  set  or 
strung  was  imposed,  instead  of  the  lo-per-cent.  rate  on  pearls  in  their 
natural  state.  In  both  of  these  cases  an  application  for  a  review  was 
made  to  the  United  States  Circuit  Court.^ 

DUTIES  ON   PEARLS  IN  VARIOUS   COUNTRIES,   MARCH,    I908 

Basis.        Amount  in  money  U.  S. 

of  the  country.  currency. 

Great   Britain Free 

British  India Free 

Australia Free 

New  Zealand Free 

'  Genera!  Appraisers  4166.  '  Suits  Nos.  2781  and  3324. 

'General  Appraisers  5148. 


366  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

DUTIES  ON  PEARLS  IN  VARIOUS  COUNTRIES,  MARCH,  igdS-Cmlinued 

Basis.        Amount  in  money  U.  S. 

of  the  country.  currency. 

Canada,  precious  stones  (pearls),  pol- 
ished but  not  set,  pierced,  or  other- 
wise manufactured ad  val io% 

Austro-Hungary,  unset. lOO  kilogr.  .60  kr $24.00 

Belgium,  unenumerated. 

Bulgaria,  precious  stones  (pearls)  in 
the  natural  state,  polished,  cut,  or 
engraved,  but  not  mounted kilogr 75  lev  (  francs)  ....    14.25 

Denmark,  unenumerated. 

France Free 

Germany,  wrought  (smoothed,  pol- 
ished, perforated),  unset 100  kilogr.  .60  marks  I4-40 

Unset,  but  strung  on  textile  threads 
or  tape  for  the  purpose  of  packing 
and    transportation    100  kilogr. .  100  marks  24.00 

Greece   Free 

Holland,  unenumerated. 

Italy,       precious       stones        (pearls) 

wrought    hectogr. ...  14  lire ;     2.66 

Montenegro,  precious  stones  (pearls),  .ad  val.  .  .  ;  "^"^"  ^^^" 

(  max.  15% 

Norway,  precious  stones  (pearls) kilogr...    v"'"- -     krone .66 

( max.  3         " .80 

Portugal,  unenumerated. 

Portuguese  S.  E.  Africa  (Quilimane, 

Chinde  and  Zambesia)  Export  Duty  ad  val 6% 

Portuguese  India,  real  pearls  or  seed- 
pearls  ad  val y2% 

Rumania    kilogr 20  lei 3.80 

Russia,  loose  or  threaded funt 10  rubles    5.00 

Finland Free 

Servia,  threaded  for  facilitating  their 

preservation  or  sale kilogr 50  dinars    9.50 

Threaded  for  special  uses kilogr 70  dinars    i5-30 

Spain,  loose  or  mounted hectogr ....  25  pesetas 4.75 

Sweden,  not  set Free 

Switzerland,  not  mounted 100  kilogr. .  50  francs 9.75 

Turkey,  unset gramme  ...  3  piasters  (gold) 

Egypt  (on  all  imports)   ad  val 8% 

China  (on  all  unenumerated  imports)  .ad  val 5% 

Japan ad  val 60% 

Persia,  Export  Duty ad  val 5% 

Import  Duty,  precious  stones,  rough 

or  cut,  including  fine  pearls ad  val 25% 

Morocco  (on  all  imports)    ad  val 2i/^  % 


VALUES  AND  COMMERCE  OF  PEARLS 


367 


DUTIES  ON  PEARLS  IN  VARIOUS  COUNTRIES,  MARCH,  ig^-Continued 

Basis.        Amount  in  money  U.  S. 

of  the  country  currency. 

Guatemala,  imenumerated. 
Salvador,  precious  stones  (pearls)  un- 
mounted     kilogr 10  pesos,  nom.  val.. .      9.60 

Nicaragua,  precious  stones  (pearls)   ..kilogr 100  pesos,  "        "...   96.00 

Honduras >^  kilogr. . .  5  pesos,      "        "  .. .      4.80 

Costa  Rica,  unset kilogr. .  .  .  100  colones,  "        "  .. .   96.00 

Panama ad  val 15% 

Mexico,    unset    kilogr 100  pesos,  "        "  .. .   96.00 

United  States,  not  strung,  not  set ad  val 10% 

Strung,  set,  or  not,  and  split  pearls 

sorted  as  to  either  size,  quality,  or 

shajje ad  val 60% 

Philippine,    unset ad  val 1 5% 

Argentine    Republic,    precious    stones 

(pearls)     ad  val 5% 

Bolivia    appraisal...  3% 

Brazil    (natural)    ad  val 2% 

Chili    ad  val 5% 

Colombia,  precious  stones  (pearls)  set 

in  jewelry   ad  val 10% 

Ecuador,  precious  stones   (pearls),  set 

or  not  set kilogr 50  sucres,  nom.  val. .   48.00 

Paraguay,    unset ad  val 2% 

Peru,   unset appraisal .  .  .3% 

Uruguay    gramme.  .  .  13%  on  eval  of  i  peso     .12 

Venezuela    kilogr 10  bolivars 1.90 

Cuba,  not  set hectogr.  . .  .$7.50 

surtax  of  25% 
Dominican    Republic ounce 6  pesos,  nom.  val. .  . .      5.76 

The  only  changes  from  the  customs  lists  as  they  existed  in  the 
tariffs  of  1896  are  as  follows : 

1896  _  1908 

Portugal 3%  ad  val unenumerated 

Mexico 50  pesos  per  carat 100  pesos  per  kilogram 

Nicaragua 5  pesos  per  libra 100  pesos  per  kilogram 

Haiti 2o7o  ad  val unenumerated 

San  Doming(i 3.60  pesos  per  oimce 6  pesos  per  ounce 

Argentina 36  pesos  per  gram precious  stones  5%  ad  val. 

Austro-Hungary .  .24  florins  per  100  kilogr 60  kroner  per  100  kilogr. 

In  the  Parliament  of  1727-1732,  the  duty  on  pearls  and  precious 
stones  was  abolished  in  England.  We  give  facsimiles  of  the  title-page 
and  last  leaf  of  the  report  of  this  enactment. 


368 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


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VALUES  AND  COMMERCE  OF  PEARLS  369 

The  total  value  of  diamonds  and  precious  stones  imported  into  the 
United  States  during  the  period  from  1867  to  1906  inclusive,  was  as 
follows : 

Glaziers'  (except  1873-83) $2,215,972 

Dust 6,407,599 

Rough  or  uncut    (included  with  diamonds  and  other  stones, 

1891-96) 74,045,291 

Set  (not  specified  before  1897) 36,170 

Unset  (not  specified  before  1897) 124,615,662 

Diamonds  and  other  stones,  not  set 207,138,629 

Set  in  gold  or  other  metal 17,799 

Pearls    (from    1903) 7,809,261 

Total  $422,286,383 


CLASSIFIED  STATEMENT  OF  THE  IMPORTS  OF  PEARLS  INTO  THE  UNITED  STATES 


FROM    1 89 1    TO    1907  INCLUSIVE 


Pearls,  including 
pearls  strung  but 

Pearls  in  natural 
state,  not  strung 

Pearls  split 

Year                                                   Pearls 

not  set 

or  set 

etc. 

10% 

10% 

J0% 

20% 

I89I           ....        $11,711 

1892 

32,023 

1893 

6,926 

1894 

12,978 

1895 

$283,018 

1896 

583.214 

1897 

392,867 

1898 

$491,060 

$205,998 

1899 

1,412,952 

389,899 

1900 

1,163,382 

432.528 

1901 

929,247 

1,173.339 

1902 

1,896,322 

1,314,368 

1903 

2,835.936 

7,220 

1904 

1,680.615 

2,908 

1905 

1,626,476 

1906 

2,072,561 

218 

1907 

1.593.498 
$15,702,049 

$63,638 

$1,259,099 

$3,526,478 

Note.     Previous  to  1891  pearls  were  classified  with  "jewelry  and  precious  stones,"  and  it 
was  not  until  1895  that  most  of  them  were  reported  separately. 


There  are  several  things  that  are  essential  in  pearl  buying,  and  one 
of  the  most  important  of  these  is  that  the  light  in  which  the  pearls  are 
selected  shall  be  absolutely  pure  daylight,  with  no  reflections  from  the 


370  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

side  or  from  above  that  can  enhance  or  detract  from  the  color  of  the 
pearl.  This  must  be  carefully  considered,  as  it  is  not  uncommon — 
more  especially  in  certain  parts  of  Europe — that  jewelers  have  for 
their  selling-offices  rooms  sumptuously  fitted  up  with  hangings  of  dif- 
ferent colors,  and  sometimes  with  ground  glass  windows,  provided 
with  heavy  silk  hangings,  so  that  artificial  light  becomes  a  necessity 
to  make  the  article  sold  plainly  visible.  In  absolutely  pure  daylight, 
more  especially  with  an  unclouded  sky — on  such  days  as  are  probably 
more  frequent  in  the  United  States  than  in  some  of  the  European 
countries — it  is  possible  to  see  the  exact  tint  or  color  of  the  pearls;  that 
is,  whether  it  is  really  a  pure  white  with  a  tinge  of  pink  or  an  orient 
tending  to  cream-white,  or  whether  it  is  more  or  less  tinted  with  what 
is  considered  a  crude  or  red  color  in  a  pearl.  Besides  this,  in  a  pure 
light  it  is  possible  to  see  whether  the  pearl  is  brilliant,  and  to  estimate 
the  exact  degree  of  its  brilliancy;  whether  there  are  any  cracks, 
scratches,  or  mars  on  the  surface;  and,  lastty,  whether  the  form  is 
entirely  regular.  H  one  should  select  two  necklaces,  one  absolutely 
perfect  and  the  other  having  slight  blemishes  as  to  color  or  brilliancy, 
or  with  breaks,  marks,  or  irregularities,  these  two  necklaces  would  be 
scarcely  distinguishable  from  each  other  in  artificial  light,  or  in  day- 
light which  had  been  partly  confused  with  artificial  light;  although 
the  differences  between  the  two  would  signify  that  the  former  was 
worth  two  or  three  times  as  much  as  the  latter. 

At  great  receptions,  large,  and  apparently  magnificent  pearls  are 
frequently  seen,  which  are  really  of  inferior  quality,  and  yet,  owing  to 
the  absence  of  pure  daylight,  they  can  easily  be  mistaken  for  perfect 
specimens  by  any  one  not  especially  familiar  with  pearls.  Indeed,  if 
the  royalties  of  Europe  should  wear  all  the  pearls  belonging  to  the 
crown  jewels  at  the  same  time,  in  a  palace  or  hall  lighted  with  candles, 
gas,  or  even  with  some  types  of  electric  light,  they  would  frequently 
seem  to  have  a  quality  which  many  of  them  do  not  and  never  did  pos- 
sess. It  is,  therefore,  essential  for  the  buyer  to  use  every  precaution 
in  reference  to  the  light  in  which  he  examines  his  purchase.  And  we 
may  add  that  it  is  just  as  essential  that  he  should  know  the  dealer  from 
whom  he  buys;  for,  sometimes,  after  a  few  weeks  or  months,  cracks  or 
blemishes  develop  that  were  not  apparent  at  first,  more  especially  when 
the  pearls  have  been  "improved"  for  a  prospective  purchaser. 

A  test  to  ascertain  the  quality  of  pearls  is  quaintly  expressed  in  a 
work  published  in  1778,  as  follows: 

How  to  know  good  pearls.  To  discover  tlie  hidden  Defects  and  Faults 
of  a  Pearl  and  to  know  whether  she  is  speckled  or  broken  or  has  any  other 
imperfections,  the  best  way  is  to  make  trial  of  it  by  the  Reverberation  of  the 


VALUES  AND  COMMERCE  OF  PEARLS  371 

Sun-beams;  for  by  this  means  your  eye  will  penetrate  into  the  very  Centre  of 
the  Pearl  and  discover  the  least  defect  it  has ;  you  will  then  see  whether  it  be 
pure,  or  has  any  spots  or  not,  and  consequently  you  may  the  better  guess  its 
value.  ^ 

If  you  can  cause  a  ray  of  sunlight  or  of  electric  light  to  fall  on  a 
pearl,  the  light  will  penetrate  it  and  show  any  specks,  inclosed  blem- 
ishes or  impurities.  This  can  probably  best  be  done  by  wrapping  about 
the  pearl  a  dark  cloth  of  velvet  or  other  material  and  having  the  ray 
fall  slantingly,  whereby  the  defects  are  much  more  clearly  shown  than 
if  the  ray  be  allowed  to  fall  directly  upon  the  gem. 

A  pearl  necklace  valued  at  $200,000,  shown  at  one  of  our  recent 
great  expositions,  was  to  all  appearances  a  remarkably  beautiful  col- 
lection, and  it  was  only  when  the  intending  purchaser  took  them 
from  their  velvet  bed  and  held  them  in  his  hands  that  he  realized 
that  there  was  not  a  perfect  pearl  in  the  entire  collection.  It  must 
have  taken  more  than  a  week  of  study  for  the  clever  dealer  to  arrange 
them  so  that  the  best  part,  sometimes  the  only  good  part  of  each  pearl, 
should  be  where  the  eye  would  fall  upon  it.  After  they  had  been 
turned  in  the  hands  a  few  seconds,  not  one  perfect  specimen  was 
visible. 

The  demand  for  pearls  has  been  so  great,  and  the  enhancement  of 
value  so  rapid,  that  the  greatest  ingenuity  has  been  employed  in  pre- 
senting the  best  part  of  the  gems  to  view,  as  well  as  in  many  other 
ways.  The  result  is  that  when  pearls  are  to  be  used  as  borders  or  as  a 
gallery  on  a  comb  or  brooch,  they  are  pierced  in  such  a  way  that  only 
the  best  side  shall  be  outward,  so  that  the  general  effect  produced  is 
that  of  a  perfect  row  of  pearls ;  but  a  careful  examination  may  show 
that  two  thirds  or  three  fourths  of  them  are  irregular,  and  bear  abra- 
sion marks,  indentations,  or  other  imperfections. 

Following  the  analogy  of  the  well-known  precious  stones — the 
diamond,  the  ruby,  the  sapphire,  the  emerald  and  those  of  less  im- 
portance—the pearl  is  equally  potent  in  creating  great  and  permanent 
values  for  itself  in  catering  to  the  human  love  of  adornment;  and 
though  these  large  values  may  be  greatly  in  excess  of  the  original 
price  that  it  commanded  in  the  native  oriental  market,  yet  the  in- 
creased valuation  gives  profitable  livelihood  to  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  persons.  These  embrace  the  dealers  who  sell  the  original  pearls  in 
lots,  those  who  clean  and  treat  them,  others  who  drill  and  string  them, 
and  others  again  who  handle  them  in  setting  jewelry  of  all  kinds,  and 
also  the  large  ntimber  of  dealers  throughout  the  entire  world  who 
sell  either  the  jewelry  or  the  unmounted  pearls.     Directly  connected 

'John  and  Andrew  van  Rymsdyk,  "Museum  Brittanicum,"  London,  1778,  p.  8,  note. 


372  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

with  the  industry  in  localities  where  the  fisheries  are  pursued  are  a 
sufficient  number  of  persons  to  populate  a  city  the  size  of  Boston,  and 
to  these  we  may  safely  add  an  equal  number  as  herein  noted,  aggre- 
gating about  1,000,000  people  whose  livelihood  is  directly  dependent 
upon  the  production  and  traffic  of  the  pearl  industry,  and  who  for  lack 
of  it  would  be  forced  to  seek  some  other  employment.  Brought  thus 
to  a  concrete  form,  one  may  readily  grasp  the  important  bearing  which 
the  pearl  has  in  a  comprehensive  estimate  of  the  complexity  of  the 
world's  civilization  as  we  know  it  to-day. 


XIV 
TREATMENT  AND  CARE  OF  PEARLS 


XIV 
TREATMENT  AND  CARE  OF  PEARLS 

THE  pearl  is  at  the  height  of  its  perfection  when  taken  from 
the  shell;  from  that  moment  it  never  improves.  When  it  is 
drawn  from  the  depths  of  the  ocean  by  the  hand  of  man  and 
given  to  the  charmed  gaze  of  the  world,  it  is  as  complete 
and  perfect  in  its  way  as  the  most  beautiful  work  of  art,  and,  whether 
as  tiny  as  the  point  of  a  pin  or  as  large  as  a  marble,  it  is  always  a 
perfect,  fully  formed  individual ;  it  is  always  in  its  maturity. 

Who  found  the  first  pearl?  When  did  he  discover  it,  and  what 
were  his  emotions?  Was  it  found  by  primitive  man?  Very  likely 
it  was  discovered  by  chance  in  a  mother-of-pearl  shell  cast  up  by  the 
sea,  or  perhaps  in  a  mussel  in  a  brook.  If  this  happened  in  an  oriental 
country,  the  native  must  have  already  seen  many  equally  remarkable 
objects,  endowed  with  life,  while  the  pearl  could  charm  him  only  by 
its  luster  and  purity.  But,  besides  the  impression  produced  by  its 
beauty,  it  must  have  aroused  in  the  soul  of  the  discoverer  the  sensa- 
tion of  wonder  which  every  new  and  lovely  object  excites  when  seen 
for  the  first  time.  That  primitive  man  appreciated  the  pearl  is  evi- 
denced by  the  fact  that  it  is  found  in  the  mounds  and  graves  of  the 
American  continent,  from  the  State  of  Ohio  to  Peru  in  South  America. 

Almost  all  pearls  are  in  perfect  condition  for  setting  when  they  are 
found ;  all  that  needs  to  be  done  is  to  rub  them  with  a  damp  or  moist 
cloth  or  with  a  powder  of  finely  pulverized  small  or  broken  pearls,  and 
they  are  then  ready  for  the  succeeding  processes.  If  there  are  any 
blemishes,  these  can  be  removed  by  peeling  or  "faking,"  although  few 
fine  pearls  require  any  such  treatment;  and  then  the  gems  may  be 
drilled,  strung,  and  set,  and  all  that  is  necessary  for  their  preservation 
is  due  care  and  attention. 

Pearls  are  frequently  injured  in  opening  the  shells  or  in  removal  of 
the  outer  layers  around  the  true  pearly  nacre.  Both  the  Chinese  and 
the  Sulu  fishermen  are  very  clever  in  the  art  of  pearl  peeling  and  pearl 
improving.  This  method  is  called  "faking,"  although  it  is  a  perfectly 
legitimate  operation.  All  it  requires  is  a  very  sharp  knife,  a  set  of 
files,  and  a  powder  obtained  by  grinding  pearls  or  pearl  shells.     This 


376  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

powder  is  placed  upon  a  buffer  of  leather  or  cloth  to  polish  such  parts 
of  a  layer  as  may  not  have  been  entirely  removed.  The  Chinese  are 
unusual  adepts  in  pearl  peeling  and  have  been  frequently  known  to  sell 
as  true  pearls  scales  that  they  have  removed,  after  filling  these  scales 
or  peelings  with  wax  or  shellac,  and  strengthening  them  by  cementing 
them  on  a  piece  of  mother-of-pearl.  They  are  then  set  with  the  con- 
vex side  up  and  the  edges  carefully  covered  so  as  to  conceal  the  decep- 
tion. The  Chinese  are  also  very  expert  in  removing  layers  of  mother- 
of-pearl  from  an  encysted  or  buried  pearl,  taking  off  layer  after  layer 
with  the  greatest  care,  and  with  a  delicacy  of  touch  that  enables  them 
to  realize  the  moment  when  the  pearl  itself  has  been  reached,  rarely  in- 
juring the  latter,  although  the  coating  is  almost  as  hard  as  the  inclosed 
pearl. 

Peeling  is  employed  to  remove  a  protuberance  or  acid  stain,  to 
smooth  a  surface  broken  by  abrasion,  or  to  take  off  a  dead  spot  pro- 
duced by  careless  wearing  of  the  pearls  and  allowing  them  to  rub 
against  one  another.  There  are  many  instances  where,  by  careful 
peeling,  a  perfect  layer  and  skin  have  been  brought  to  light,  and  where 
irregular  or  broken  pearls,  or  those  with  a  blemish,  have  been  ren- 
dered much  more  valuable  by  a  good  peeler.  But  in  many  other  cases 
the  pearl  has  not  only  been  reduced  in  value,  but  even  rendered  alto- 
gether worthless,  when  it  had  a  dead  center  or  was  pitted  with  clay  or 
other  impurities. 

Ha  pearl  has  been  injured  by  coming  in  contact  with  the  acids  fre- 
quently used  in  medicine,  the  surface  may  become  roughened;  or  it 
may  be  scratched  by  being  rubbed  against  a  stone  in  case  of  a  fall  or 
other  accident.  H  the  surface  only  is  injured,  it  can  be  restored  to  its 
original  beauty  with  only  a  slight  loss  of  weight  by  carefully  peeling 
off  the  outer  layers. 

In  skinning  or  peeling  a  pearl,  a  magnifying  glass,  or  preferably  a 
fixed  lens,  such  as  is  used  by  engravers,  is  of  great  assistance,  and  a 
sharp  knife,  or,  better  still,  the  sharpened  edge  of  a  steel  file,  is  a  very 
essential  instrument.  Gloves  are  often  worn  by  the  peeler  so  that  no 
perspiration  shall  reach  the  pearl  and  cause  it  to  slip  in  the  hand  while 
it  is  being  manipulated,  and  thus  have  a  layer  or  more  injured  by  the 
knife. 

Streeter  mentions  a  very  interesting  incident  in  regard  to  a  genuine 
black  pearl.  This  pearl,  set  with  diamonds,  was  shown  in  a  jeweler's 
window;  but  after  exposure  in  this  way  for  some  time  to  the  sun's 
rays,  the  brilliant  black  luster  disappeared  and  gave  place  to  a  dull, 
grayish  hue.  When  the  pearl  was  removed  from  its  setting,  it  was  seen 
that  the  part  which  had  not  been  exposed  to  the  light  was  of  as  good 
color  as  when  first  removed  from  the  shell.     It  was  finally  determined 


Drilling  a  pearl  by  means  u(  the  bow-dri 


Thin  layers  <.if  pearl  removed  by  peeling  (  faking) 


H\amples  uf  properly  and  poorly  drilled  pearls 


Side  view  of  same  pearls 


PEARL  DRILLING 


I 


TREATMENT  AND  CARE  OF  PEARLS      Z77 

to  skin  off  the  outer  layer,  an  operation  which  was  performed  with  so 
much  success  that  the  original  brilliant  black  hue  was  fully  restored, 
proving  that  the  action  of  the  sunlight  had  only  changed  the  color  of 
the  surface.  We  may  add  that  the  pearl,  although  it  was  shown  in 
the  sun,  may  never  have  had  a  good  "skin"  or  layer  exposed;  or  the 
layer  which  was  not  perfect  may  have  been  affected  by  an  exudation 
of  the  wearer  produced  by  illness  or  medicine. 

When  pearls  are  of  a  poor  yellow  or  dull  brown  tint,  unscrupulous 
dealers  sometimes  intrust  them  to  an  operator  who  drills  them  almost 
entirely  through,  cracks  the  skin  slightly  and  impregnates  them  with  a 
solution  of  nitrate  of  silver ;  this  affects  the  outer  layers  of  the  pearls, 
and,  after  its  decomposition,  the  metallic  silver  is  deposited,  and  they 
become  absolutely  black.  The  effect  is  sometimes  hastened  by  ex- 
posing them  to  the  fumes  of  nitrate  of  silver.  These  pearls  are  then 
rubbed  up  or  slightly  polished  and  may  retain  a  good  appearance  for 
a  number  of  years.  The  upper  layers,  however,  which  have  been  in- 
jured by  the  chemicals  used  in  the  coloring,  often  scale  off,  and  the 
poor  and  unattractive  color  beneath  appears.  This  is  sometimes  not 
detected  until  years  after  and  when  tlie  dealer  from  whom  they  were 
purchased  has  been  forgotten.  The  breaks  or  cracks  which  have  been 
made  can  readily  be  detected  by  means  of  a  pocket  lens,  if  the  observer 
is  at  all  experienced.  In  many  cases  the  outer  layer  of  the  pearl  has 
been  colored  a  good  black,  although  scarcely  any  crack  is  visible. 

Frequently,  when  a  small  knol)  or  protuberance  appears  in  the  pearl, 
or  when  it  has  adhered  to  another  pearl  or  to  the  shell  itself,  this  pro- 
tuberance is  polished  off,  and  the  pearl  is  drilled  at  this  point.  This 
portion  of  the  surface,  however  carefully  polished,  will  never  have 
the  true  orient,  but  it  is  placed  in  the  necklace  in  such  a  way  that  it  is 
completely  hidden.  Often  pearls  become  scratched  through  rough 
usage,  or  by  the  knife  used  in  opening  the  shells.  These  are  occa- 
sionally polished  by  means  of  pearl-powder,  or  else  the  entire  outer 
layer  is  removed,  the  new  skin  beneath  appearing  absolutely  bright 
and  perfect.  It  sometimes  happens  that  a  pearl  will  have  a  good 
luster,  but  a  slightly  roughened  skin.  This  is  at  times  polished 
down ;  but  an  experienced  eye  easily  detects  that  it  has  been 
tampered  with.  Yellowish  pearls  are  sometimes  bleached  by  means 
of  strong  bleaching  substances  such  as  chlorine  or  other  powerful 
reagents,  which,  although  they  may  whiten  the  pearl,  cause  it  to  be- 
come very  friable,  as  the  animal  substance  becomes  more  brittle. 
Pearls  treated  in  this  way  frequently  wear  off,  layer  by  layer,  until 
fully  one  half  of  the  pearl  is  worn  out  of  the  setting.  When  pearls 
are  stained  yellowish  from  the  exudations  of  the  skin,  grease,  or  other 
impurities,  they  can  be  cleaned  by  putting  them  in  moist  caustic  mag- 


378  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

nesia  and  allowing  it  to  dry  on  them.  When  this  is  removed,  the  pearls 
will  often  be  found  much  purer  in  color  than  before. 

In  various  parts  of  the  world  certain  dubious  methods  have  been 
used  for  restoring  the  beauty  of  pearls  which  have  grown  dim.  In 
India  they  are  rubbed  in  boiled  rice.  Some  persons  have  even  fed 
them  to  a  chicken  fastened  in  a  coop ;  after  the  lapse  of  an  hour  or  two 
the  chicken  is  killed,  and  the  pearls  rescued  from  their  temporary  lodg- 
ing-place, where  they  have  been  somewhat  restored  by  the  digestive 
juices  of  the  fowl. 

Some  curious  tests  applied  to  pearls  are  given  us  in  a  Hindu  treatise 
on  gems  by  Buddhabhatta.  For  instance,  we  read :  "If  the  purchaser 
conceives  a  doubt  as  to  the  genuineness  of  a  pearl,  let  him  place  it 
during  one  night  in  a  mixture  of  water  and  oil  with  salt,  and  heat  it. 
Or  let  him  wrap  it  in  a  dry  cloth  and  rub  it  with  grains  of  rice ;  if  it  do 
not  become  discolored,  it  should  be  regarded  as  genuine."^  It  is  need- 
less to  state  that  these  tests  would  be  either  useless  or  injurious. 

If  the  reader  is  the  owner  of  a  pearl  or  of  a  pearl  necklace  and  feels 
that  the  pearls  need  treatment,  any  attempt  to  follow  the  directions 
given  by  many  ancient  writers  would  infallibly  result  in  their  injury  or 
destruction. 

Pearl  drilling  is  a  most  delicate  operation.  It  is  necessary  that  the 
drill  points  should  have  the  proper  shape, — that  is,  should  not  be  too 
tapering,  but  slightly  blunt  at  the  end,  and  turning  somewhat  in  a 
V-shape,  —  it  is  also  important  that  the  drill  should  be  revolved  with 
perfect  regularity,  so  as  not  to  jar  or  jolt  the  pearl,  as  this  is  likely  to 
lead  to  the  cracking  of  the  pearl  or  to  the  breaking  of  the  drill.  This 
latter  happens  not  infrequently,  and  is  due  either  to  the  structure  of 
the  pearl,  the  clogging  of  the  drill,  or  to  encountering  a  hard  grain  of 
sand  inclosed  in  the  pearl.  Should  the  drill  break  in  the  pearl,  it  can 
best  be  removed  by  drilling  from  a  point  directly  opposite,  and  slowly 
forcing  the  broken  drill  outward.  This  process  requires  great  care 
in  the  regulation  of  the  speed,  and  great  exactness  of  direction  in  order 
to  meet  the  broken  drill  accurately. 

Pearl  drilling  was  formerly  a  laborious  process,  and  it  was  scarcely 
possible  for  a  driller  to  perforate  more  than  from  forty  to  fifty  pearls 
per  day  by  means  of  the  bow-drill  operated  by  hand.  Now,  by  the  use 
of  a  modern  machine,  1500  pearls  of  average  size  can  be  drilled  with- 
out any  difficulty  in  the  same  time. 

Some  of  the  most  successful  drilling  of  fine  pearls  is  done  by  means 
of  the  bow-  or  fiddle-drill.  The  arm  of  this  is  made  either  of  steel 
or  of  wood,  with  a  strong  cord  stretched  across  it  in  the  style  of  an 
archer's  bow.     The  drill  is  inserted  in  the  end  of  a  brass  circular  disk 

Finot,    "Les    Lapidaires    Indiens,"    Paris,   1896,  p.  24. 


TREATMENT  AND  CARE  OF  PEARLS  379 

with  a  V-shaped  groove  on  its  edge,  to  admit  of  the  string  being  passed 
entirely  around  it  like  a  pulley,  so  that  when  the  drill  is  placed  on  any- 
thing and  held  at  the  other  side,  and  the  bow  is  moved  up  and  down, 
the  wheel  with  the  drill  end  rotates  rapidly. 

If  the  pearl  is  not  properly  secured,  if  the  drill  point  is  too  irregular, 
if  it  is  not  properly  centered,  or  if  it  is  too  rapidly  rotated  at  the  start, 
one  or  more  layers  of  the  pearl  are  likely  to  be  broken,  giving  an  irreg- 
ular, ragged  appearance.  If,  again,  the  drill  is  rotated  too  rapidly  as 
it  is  leaving  the  other  side  of  the  pearl,  one  or  more  layers  are  occa- 
sionally forced  ofif,  and  this  in  turn  will  produce  a  break  on  the  pearl. 
It  happens  not  infrequently  that  pearls  are  broken  away  on  the  surfaces 
at  both  drill  holes  if  the  workman  is  careless. 

As  pearls  have  become  more  valuable,  only  the  most  efficient  work- 
men are  employed  in  drilling  them.  Whereas  formerly  a  drill  hole 
would  be  half  a  millimeter  in  diameter,  at  present  it  is  much  smaller, 
and  such  drilling  requires  the  greatest  skill  in  manipulation.  The  use 
of  these  very  fine  drill  holes  is  due  principally  to  the  fact  that  pearls 
have  become  so  valuable  that  the  slightest  loss,  even  the  fraction  of 
a  grain,  would  amount  to  a  considerable  sum  in  a  necklace  of  large 
pearls. 

When  a  pearl  has  been  perforated  with  a  very  fine  drill  hole,  the 
hole  may  be  enlarged  somewhat  by  using  a  slender  copper  wire,  the 
fineness  of  the  drill  hole  itself,  charged  with  either  diamond-dust, 
emery,  or  sand.  When  the  wire  thus  charged  is  drawn  in  and  out, 
the  drill  hole  can  be  enlarged  to  any  desired  size. 

A  large  pearl  is  held  in  the  hand  or  secured  in  a  wooden  block,  or 
else  it  is  held  in  a  small  pair  of  forceps  with  a  rounded,  cup-shaped 
receptacle  at  the  end,  which  is  usually  lined  with  chamois  leather  and 
is  pierced  with  a  hole  through  the  center.  This  hole  serves  as  a  guide 
for  the  drill,  directing  it  while  the  pearl  is  being  perforated.  Adjust- 
able cups  or  forceps  with  cup-like  ends  of  every  size  are  necessary, 
according  to  the  size  of  the  pearl ;  and  in  order  that  it  may  be  properly 
seen,  it  is  requisite  that  the  pearl  should  always  be  larger  than  the  cup 
in  which  it  is  placed. 

The  poorest  part  or  spot  is  selected  to  form  the  beginning  of  the 
drill  hole.  The  pearl  is  placed  in  a  pair  of  calipers  with  a  circular 
disk,  one  end  of  the  caliper  being  placed  on  the  spot  to  be  pierced,  the 
other  end  naturally  touching  exactly  opposite,  the  pearl  absolutely  cen- 
tering it.  As  these  caliper  ends  have  been  rubbed  with  either  rouge, 
lampblack,  or  some  colored  sitbstance  that  will  readily  rub  ofif,  these 
two  spots  of  color  remain  on  the  pearl  and  serve  as  a  guide  for  the 
driller.  The  drill  end  is  then  placed  on  the  pearl,  and  the  bow  moved 
up  and  down;  and  so  rapid  is  this  work  that  five  pearls  weighing  fifteen 


38o  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

grains  each  can  be  drilled  with  the  greatest  care  in  less  than  one  hour's 
time.  Of  small  pearls,  weighing  about  one  grain,  as  many  as  fifty- 
have  been  drilled  in  less  than  one  hour  by  the  hand-drill  method. 

Many  of  the  thinnest  and  best  drills  are  made  out  of  thin  steel 
needles.  These  are  ground  flat  by  means  of  a  small  carborundum 
wheel,  so  as  to  have  two  flat  sides.  They  are  then  thin  pointed,  and 
with  a  V-shaped  edge.  These  prevent  the  drill  from  clogging  up, 
allowing  the  fine  dust  to  pass  upward  and  outward  readily,  and  the 
hard  steel  almost  invariably  penetrates  the  central  core  of  the  pearl, 
no  matter  how  hard  or  tough  this  may  be.  The  needle-drill  is  then 
secured  in  a  small  chuck  attached  to  the  brass  revolving  wheel. 
Some  recommend  lubricating  a  drill  with  milk  when  it  is  employed 
for  piercing  a  pearl,  but  a  well-made  drill,  that  allows  the  dust  to 
escape  as  it  is  formed,  does  not  require  this  treatment.  The  drill 
should  always  be  made  to  revolve  quite  slowly  so  that  no  unnecessary 
heat  may  be  generated  by  friction  to  injure  the  color  of  the  pearl 
and  also  to  avoid  the  possibility  of  the  drill  becoming  clogged  by  the 
pearl-dust. 

By  means  of  centering  calipers  or  markers,  the  driller,  especially  in 
the  drilling  of  a  large  pearl,  will  generally  drill  first  from  one  end, 
and  then  reverse  the  pearl  and  drill  from  the  other  end,  meeting  abso- 
lutely in  the  center.  This  prevents  the  breaking  of  the  outer  layer  of 
the  pearl.  A  skilful  workman  can,  by  turning  the  pearl,  so  operate  the 
calipers  that  the  true  center  can  be  obtained,  even  if  the  pearl  is  not 
absolutely  round,  and  the  drill  holes  so  centered  that  the  irregularity 
of  the  pearl  is  less  apparent. 

When  the  pearl  has  been  half  drilled  through  from  one  side,  consid- 
erable caution  is  necessary  in  drilling  from  the  other,  that  when  the 
two  drill  holes  are  about  meeting  the  drill  be  not  revolved  too  rapidly, 
as  the  clogging  is  likely  to  crack  the  pearl  or  break  the  drill.  If  the 
pearl  is  only  to  be  drilled  one  fourth  or  one  half  through,  the  depth  can 
always  be  gaged  by  watching  the  drill-end,  first,  by  measuring  the 
drill-end  itself,  and,  secondly,  by  noting  to  what  part  of  it  pearl-powder 
adheres. 

Pearls  are  more  easily  manipulated  than  anv  other  gems.  They  are 
also  more  easily  damaged.  Still,  when  properly  treated  by  the  work- 
man, there  is  no  material  that  offers  him  more  satisfactory  results  than 
the  pearl,  if  good  judgment  be  used. 

Drillers  occasionally  find  that  when  the  drill  reaches  the  center  of 
the  pearl,  there  is  a  sharp  click,  the  pearl  often  breaking  at  this  point. 
This  is  evidently  due  to  the  fact  that  a  harder  kernel  may  exist  in  the 
center,  such  as  a  tiny  grain  of  sand,  which  can  turn  the  drill-point;  or 
else  the  resistance  may  cause  the  tiny  drill  to  break. 


TREATMENT  AND  CARE  OF  PEARLS      381 

When  a  pearl  is  cracked  by  a  blow  or  by  some  accident,  it  is  cus- 
tomary to  drill  it  at  the  end  of  the  largest  crack;  this  method  pre- 
vents the  crack  from  extending  in  that  direction.  These  fissures 
are  sometimes  partly  filled  by  means  of  a  solution,  and  may  not  be  visi- 
ble at  the  time  when  the  pearl  is  bought,  but  they  are  liable  to  appear 
later. 

To  illustrate  the  difiference  in  the  care  used  in  drilling,  we  have 
selected  eight  pearls  from  a  paper  of  poor  ones,  and  reproduce  two 
views  of  them,  one  to  show  the  irregularity  of  the  pearls,  and  the  other 
to  show  the  varying  size  of  the  drill  holes.  Those  on  the  left  were 
drilled  by  an  artist,  while  those  on  the  right  show  the  work  of  an  inex- 
perienced driller. 

At  present  pendant  pearls  are  never  drilled  entirely  through,  and 
rarely  more  than  half  way.  But  in  the  Orient,  and  even  in  Europe  from 
the  fourteenth  to  the  sixteenth  century,  they  were  often  entirely 
pierced;  even  pear-shaped  pearls  were  entirely  drilled  through,  with  a 
metal  edge  projected  below  for  safety.  Frequently  old  pearls,  and  more 
especially  oriental  pearls,  have  been  entirely  drilled  through,  as  are 
often  large  oriental  rubies,  diamonds,  and  sapphires.  When  these  are 
set,  the  holes  are  either  plugged  with  pearl  shell  and  polished  smooth, 
or  a  tiny  ruby  or  diamond  is  set  in  a  metal  rim  fitting  entirely  into 
the  drill  hole  or  only  slightly  projecting.  This  is  well  instanced  in 
the  portrait  of  Marguerite  of  France  (1553-1615),  in  which  the 
artist  Delpech  shows  all  the  pear-shaped  pearls  worn  by  the  French 
queen  entirely  pierced. 

Frequently,  where  pearls  have  been  drilled  by  oriental  workmen,  the 
drill  holes  are  exceedingly  large,  five  or  six  times  the  width  of  the  silk 
string;  in  fact  often  from  one  to  two  millimeters  in  diameter.  In  the 
search  to  supply  the  great  demand,  many  oriental  pearls  have  been 
secured  which  formerly  were  strung  to  an  oriental  jewel  by  means  of 
a  thick  wire ;  it  is  necessary  to  close  this  aperture,  as  the  pearl  would 
lie  unevenly  on  the  string.  This  is  done  by  introducing  a  mother-of- 
pearl  plug,  through  which  a  new  drill  hole  is  made.  Unless  the  pearls 
are  unstrung,  this  is  rarely  visible;  but  not  infrequently  the  plug  drops 
out.  In  other  cases  the  pearl  has  been  drilled  not  only  from  end  to 
end,  but  also  from  the  side,  and  this  third  hole  is  filled  with  a  plug  of 
mother-of-pearl  and  ])oHshed  over  so  as  to  hide  the  blemish  from  the 
buyer.  It  is  also  no  uncommon  thing  for  a  purchaser  to  find,  after  a 
year,  that  cracks  begin  to  develop  where  none  apparently  existed  at  the 
time  of  his  purchase,  or  they  were  so  minute  as  to  be  considered  of  no 
consequence. 

One  of  the  earliest  references  to  drilling  pearls  was  made  by  Ruge- 
rus,  a  monk  who  lived  in  the  eleventh  century.    He  says : 


382  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

Pearls  are  found  in  the  sea-shell  and  shells  of  other  waters ;  these  are  per- 
forated with  a  fine  steeled  instrument  which  is  fixed  in  wood,  having  a  small 
wheel  of  lead,  also  another  wood  in  which  it  may  be  turned,  to  which  a  strap 
must  be  placed  by  which  it  may  be  revolved.  But  should  it  be  necessary  that 
the  aperture  of  any  pearl  be  made  larger,  a  wire  may  be  placed  in  the  opening- 
with  a  little  fine  sand,  one  end  of  which  may  be  held  in  the  teeth,  the  other  in 
the  left  hand,  and  by  the  right  the  pearl  is  conducted  upwards  and  down- 
wards, and  in  the  meantime  sand  is  applied,  that  the  apertures  may  become 
wider.  Sea  shells  are  also  cut  into  pieces  and  are  filed  as  pearls,  sufficiently 
useful  upon  gold,  and  they  are  polished  as  above.* 

In  "The  Toy  Cart,"  a  Hindu  drama  by  Sudrake,  who  lived  about  the 
beginning  of  the  Christian  era,  there  is  a  description  of  a  jeweler's 
workshop  attached  to  the  house  of  a  courtezan.  He  says :  "Some  set 
rubies  in  gold,  some  string  gold  beads  on  colored  thread,  some  string 
pearls,  some  grind  lapis  lazuli,  some  cut  shells  and  some  grind  and 
pierce  coral."' 

The  Chinese  and  Korean  method  of  drilling  pearls  differs  materially 
from  that  of  the  Occident.  A  pear-shaped  pearl  is  frequently  drilled 
horizontally  and  secured  by  wire  or  silk,  and  not  drilled  perpendicu- 
larly, as  with  us,  to  have  a  metal  wire  or  peg  fastened  into  it.  H  the 
orientals  drill  a  pearl  perpendicularly,  the  hole  is  generally  carried  en- 
tirely through  it,  and  a  gold  knot,  which  is  used  as  a  bead,  is  placed  at 
the  lower  end,  and  sometimes  a  tiny  gem  is  set  in  this  peg,  or  else  the 
pearl  is  secured  either  by  some  projection  below,  or  by  means  of  a  bit 
of  enamel,  or  some  other  object  may  be  attached  to  the  gold  or  wire 
below  it.  Button  pearls,  especially  those  of  the  abalone,  are  drilled 
horizontally  throtigh  the  base  and  secured  to  the  ornament,  or  to  the 
silk  or  other  material  on  which  they  are  sewed,  by  means  of  a  thread 
or  wire ;  or  else  they  may  be  drilled  from  below  by  means  of  two  slop- 
ing holes  forming  a  V,  the  thread  or  wire  being  passed  upward  until 
it  strikes  the  angle,  and  then  passed  outward  again  through  the  other 
branch  of  the  hole.  Many  fine,  round,  and  pear-shaped  pearls  of 
oriental  origin  may  be  seen  with  this  end  closed  either  with  a  speck  of 
pearl,  a  diamond,  or  a  ruby. 

A  most  interesting  and  careful  description  of  the  methods  of 
drilling  pearls  was  given  by  James  Cordiner  in  his  valuable  vol- 
ume, "A  Description  of  Ceylon,"  published  in  London  in  1807,  pages 
64-66. 

^  "An  Essay  upon  Various  Arts,  in  Three  '  "Indian  Art,"  by  Sir  George  C.  M.  Bird- 

Books  by  Theophilus,   called   also   Rugerus,      wood  (South  Kensington  Museum  Art  Books), 
Priest  and  Monk,  Forminsr  an  Encyclopedia       Pt.  II,  pp.  l88,  248. 
of  Christian  Art  of  the  Eleventh  Century." 
Translated,  with  notes,  by  Robert  Hendrie. 
London,  1847. 


Scrapiiig  ends  uf  silk  liir-j.id^  !■  r  ^Lriii^in;^  jjcarl  necklace 


Stringing  a  pearl  collar  in  sections  :  cleaning  and  reaming  out  a  pearl 


Sliding  a  pearl-along  the  string  in  pearl  stringing 


t.3:  ;rig.T»>^»>.3Bi«»««P^ 


ursmjs.  .ij^ 


Tying  a  knot  between  pearls  in  pearl  stringing 
PEARL  STRINGING 


TREATMENT  AND  CARE  OF  PEARLS      383 

The  next  operation  which  claims  attention  is  the  drilling  of  the  pearls.  I 
neglected  to  inspect  this  part  of  the  business;  but  have  been  informed  that 
much  admiration  is  excited,  both  by  the  dexterity  of  the  artist,  and  the  rude 
simplicity  of  the  machinery  which  he  employs.  A  block  of  wood,  of  the  form 
of  an  inverted  cone,  is  raised  upon  three  feet  about  twelve  inches  from  the 
ground.  Small  holes  or  pits  of  various  sizes  are  cut  in  the  upper  flat  surface, 
for  the  reception  of  the  pearls.  The  driller  sits  on  his  haunches  close  to  this 
machine,  which  is  called  a  vadeagrum.  The  pearls  are  driven  steady  into  their 
sockets  by  a  piece  of  iron  with  flat  sides,  about  one  inch  and  a  half  in  length. 
A  well  tempered  needle  is  fixed  in  a  reed  five  inches  long,  with  an  iron  point 
at  the  other  end,  formed  to  play  in  the  socket  of  a  cocoa-nut  shell,  which 
presses  on  the  forehead  of  the  driller.  A  bow  is  formed  of  a  piece  of  bamboo 
and  a  string.  The  workman  brings  his  right  knee  in  a  line  with  the  vade- 
agrum, and  places  on  it  a  small  cup,  formed  of  part  of  a  cocoa-nut  shell,  which 
is  filled  with  water  to  moderate  the  heat  of  friction.  He  bends  his  head  over 
the  machine,  and  applying  the  point  of  the  needle  to  a  pearl  sunk  in  one  of  the 
pits,  drills  with  great  facility,  every  now  and  then  dexterously  dipping  the 
little  finger  of  his  right  hand  in  the  water,  and  applying  it  to  the  needle,  with- 
out impeding  the  operation.  In  this  manner  he  bores  a  pearl  in  the  space  of 
two  or  three  minutes ;  and  in  the  course  of  a  day  perforates  three  hundred 
small  or  six  hundred  large  pearls.  The  needle  is  frequently  sharpened  with 
oil  on  a  stone  slab,  and  sometimes,  before  the  operation  is  performed,  is 
heated  in  the  flame  of  a  lamp. 

The  large  pearls  are  generally  drilled  first,  in  order  to  bring  the  hand  in  to 
work  with  more  ease  on  those  of  a  smaller  size;  and  pearls  less  than  a  grain 
of  mustard-seed  are  pierced  with  little  difficulty. 

After  the  pearls  have  been  drilled,  they  must  be  immediately  washed  in 
salt  and  water,  to  prevent  the  stains  which  would  otherwise  be  occasioned  by 
the  perforating  instrument. 

A  quaint  description  of  pearl  drilling  was  given  by  Anselmus  de 
Boot  in  1609.^ 

Since  all  are  not  aware  of  the  manner  in  which  pearls  are  perforated,  I  wish 
here  to  give  an  account  of  the  method.  The  handle.  A,  is  held  with  the  left 
hand,  and  then  the  handle,  B,  of  the  bow  is  pushed  back  and  forth  with 
the  right  hand,  so  that  there  is  a  reciprocal  movement  of  the  lance  AC.  The 
extreme  end,  C,  has  a  needle,  not  so  sharp  as  to  come  to  a  point,  but  slightly 
blunted.  The  needle  is  placed  on  the  pearl  which  is  to  be  perforated.  If  the 
pearls  are  too  small  to  be  held,  they  are  fastened  in  the  case,  D,  with  a  small 
hammer  of  soft  wood,  lest  they  should  slip.  The  board  is  inclosed  on  every 
side  by  strips  of  wood  so  that  the  water  which  comes  from  the  pearls  shall  not 
flow  off.  The  bow  being  moved,  the  needle  penetrates  and  pierces  the  pearl 
and  it  is  not  corroded  by  the  water. 

A  mythical  story,  but  a  pleasant  one,  is  told  of  a  great  pearl  collector 
who  had  owned  a  wonderful  pear-shaped  pearl  for  many  years  and 

^Anselmi  de  Boodt,  "Gemmarum  et  Lapidum  Historia,"  Hanover,  1609.    Lib.  II,  c.  40, 
"Quomodo  margaritae  perforuntur,"  p.  91. 


384  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

had  absolutely  failed  to  find  any  match  for  it.  After  years  of  fruit- 
less search  he  was  at  last  rewarded  by  finding  an  absolutely  perfect 
mate.  He  took  this  to  his  favorite  jeweler  in  one  of  the  great 
capitals  of  Europe,  and  ordered  the  new  gem  to  be  pierced  to  match 
the  other  so  that  both  could  be  set.  The  jeweler  called  a  small  German 
boy  from  an  adjoining  workshop,  simply  saying,  "Jakey,  drill  this  pearl 
to  match  the  other."  The  collector  was  dumfounded  that  no  caution 
should  be  given  to  the  boy  when  so  important  a  piece  of  work  was 
intrusted  to  his  care.  Scarcely  had  the  boy  left  the  room  when  the  col- 
lector inquired  of  the  jeweler,  almost  in  consternation,  "How  can  you 
trust  so  valuable  a  pearl  to  so  small  a  boy  without  a  word  of  caution  ?" 
To  this  the  dealer  replied:  "Jakey  is  the  most  careful  pearl  driller  I 
have  ever  known.  I  know  that  there  will  be  no  failure  in  the  drilling. 
I  have  never  cautioned  him  about  such  work.  He  never  has  drilled  a 
pearl  wrong.  Had  I  warned  him  of  the  value  of  the  gem  or  told  him 
how  important  a  piece  of  work  he  was  doing,  he  probably  would  have 
become  nervous  and,  as  a  result,  your  pearl  would  have  been  cracked 
The  conversation  had  scarcely  been  completed  before  Jakey  returned 
with  the  pearl  as  beautifully  drilled  as  the  original  one  which  it 
matched. 

In  the  Orient  and  elsewhere,  when  it  is  considered  desirable  to  mount 
a  pearl  so  that  it  shall  not  turn,  especially  when  only  one  part  of 
the  pearl  is  perfect  and  that  is  to  remain  outside,  the  drill  hole  is  some- 
times made  square,  that  is  to  say,  drilled  round  and  then  reamed 
out  with  a  small  saw  until  it  becomes  square,  when  a  square  wire 
is  inserted;  or  else  the  pearl  is  first  drilled  with  a  tiny  round  hole 
and  this  is  then  reamed  out  until  it  is  triangular,  when  a  triangular 
wire  is  introduced.  This  method  is  sometimes  used  for  studs  or  ring- 
settings. 

In  setting  pearls  with  points  or  claws  on  the  wire  or  band  of  a  ring, 
the  pearls  are  drilled  only  half  way  through.  A  gold  pin  is  then  in- 
serted, and  sometimes  a  thread  is  cut  into  the  pearl  itself ;  it  is  secured 
by  means  of  gum  mastic  or  some  other  strong  gum.  Occasionally,  to 
add  greater  strength,  a  side  pin  is  put  in,  so  that  the  pearl  is  drilled 
with  two  bits  of  metal,  which  penetrate  the  one  side  in  a  perfectly 
straight  line  and  the  other  at  an  angle  of  about  twenty-five  or  thirty 
degrees  (this  is  called  side-pegging).  This  gives  more  strength  and 
firmness  to  the  pearl  itself,  and  prevents  it  from  twisting  or  twining 
and  becoming  loose.  Sometimes  the  pearl  hole  is  drilled  so  that  the 
opening  is  that  of  a  screw-thread,  in  order  to  hold  it  to  the  earring, 
the  stud,  or  the  ring.  The  gold  pin  which  is  inserted  to  attach  the 
pearl  to  the  ring  or  stud  has  a  screw-thread  also,  and  the  peg  or  pin  is 
screwed  on  as  well  as  secured. 


TREATMENT  AND  CARE  OF  PEARLS      385 

An  ingenious  method,  termed  "keying,"  for  securing  the  peg  in 
pearls  to  be  set  on  rings  or  studs,  consists  in  drilling  a  hole  half 
through  the  pearl  and  then  two  smaller  holes  or  grooves  on  each  side 
of  the  first.  Cutting  tools  of  a  T-shape  are  now  introduced  into  the 
aperture  and  worked  about  until  the  pearl  is  undercut  all  around,  so 
that  when  a  peg  with  a  cross-piece  is  inserted,  the  latter  can  be  turned 
within  the  pearl  until  it  sets  at  right  angles  with  the  widest  part  of  the 
aperture.  In  this  way  the  peg  is  permanently  secured  and  cannot  slip 
out. 

The  fact  that  in  recent  years  more  pearls  have  appeared  in  neck- 
laces that  are  irregularly  bored,  that  the  bore  holes  are  so  large  that 
they  are  plugged  with  mother-of-pearl,  or  that  one  meets  with  pearls 
in  which  a  plug  has  been  placed  in  the  side  immediately  in  the  center 
between  the  two  drill  holes,  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  great  demand 
has  resulted  in  the  destruction  of  many  oriental  ornaments  in  which 
the  pearls  were  drilled  in  various  ways,  as  well  as  in  the  destruction  of 
the  different  Magyar  and  other  semi-official  jewels  of  eastern  Europe. 

The  most  primitive  known  drills  were  the  flint  drills,  made  by  the 
North  American  Indians  by  chipping  chert  or  flint-like  minerals  to  a 
fine  point.  With  these  rude  instruments  a  large,  irregular  hole  was 
made,  which  generally  measured  several  times  the  diameter  of  the  fine 
drill  hole  made  by  a  modern  pearl  driller  with  an  improved  drill.  The 
Indians  are  also  said  to  have  used  hot  copper  drills  for  boring  holes. 

The  earliest,  and  still  a  very  general  and  perhaps  the  best  way  of 
drilling  pearls,  is  by  means  of  the  bow-  or  fiddle-drill.  This  method 
has  been  used  in  a  more  or  less  perfected  form  by  all  the  aboriginal 
peoples  of  the  New  World  from  Iceland  to  Tierra  del  Fuego.  But  as 
none  of  these  peoples  were  familiar  with  fine,  hard  steel,  they  scarcely 
ever  succeeded  in  making  drill  holes  as  fine  as  those  that  can  be  pro- 
duced by  the  use  of  tempered  steel.  By  the  latter  means,  pearls  half 
an  inch  in  diameter  are  often  drilled  entirely  through  with  an  aperture 
no  larger  than  a  thin  bit  of  straw. 

The  largest  and  finest  pearls  are  frequently  drilled  with  the  smallest 
holes,  as  the  slightest  loss  in  weight  means  a  diminution  in  value. 
Then,  too,  a  pearl  with  a  small  drill  hole  is  not  so  liable  to  shift  on  the 
string,  and  thus  is  less  likely  to  cut  the  silk  thread  which  holds  the 
pearls  together. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  enumerate  all  the  tricks  to  which  some  jewel- 
ers now  resort  in  order  to  utilize  every  fragment  of  a  pearl  they  can 
lay  their  hands  on.  Some  of  them  are  wonderfully  clever  at  recon- 
struction, but  to  the  woman  who  loves  pearls,  nothing  can  take  the 
place  of  the  soft,  beautiful,  round  gem,  with  its  natural  surface. 

In  sorting  pearls  for  the  smaller  necklaces,  it  is  customary  to  open 


386         THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

up  a  number  of  dozen  bunches  of  the  East  Indian  pearls  as  they  are 
sent  from  the  East,  strung,  the  ends  fastened  together  in  bunches,  and 
then  sealed.  These  pearls  are  placed  on  a  table  and  are  first  arranged 
according  to  color  and  luster  on  the  sorting  board.  They  are  then 
grouped  according  to  size  and  graduation,  the  greatest  care  being  ex- 
ercised in  the  selection  for  color,  luster,  and  form.  In  this  way  ten 
necklaces  may  be  re-strung  into  ten  others,  the  necklaces  probably  be- 
ing improved  as  regards  selection,  or  else  better  arranged  for  the  uses 
to  which  the  jeweler  wishes  to  put  them. 

In  the  case  of  the  larger  necklaces,  it  frequently  requires  many  years 
of  selection  and  arrangement  before  one  becomes  perfect  enough  to 
pass  the  criticism  or  suit  the  fancy  of  the  jeweler. 

We  have  no  record  as  to  when  the  first  pearl  necklace  was  strung, 
nor  have  we  a  definite  record  of  the  first  use  of  silk  for  stringing  a 
necklace.  The  earliest  illustration  that  we  have  been  able  to  obtain  of 
the  use  of  pearls  in  the  form  of  a  necklace  is  the  one  from  Susa,  in 
which  the  pearls  were  secured  with  gold.  A  Syrian  necklace,  dating 
about  one  or  two  centuries  before  Christ,  was  strung  by  means  of  a 
bronze  wire.  We  will  endeavor  to  give  a  few  facts  on  the  interesting 
process  of  preparing  pearls  for  wearing. 

Pearl  stringing  is  an  art,  easy  as  the  process  may  seem,  and  it  is 
interesting  to  note  the  precision,  care,  and  delicacy  with  which  the 
pearl  stringer  performs  his  task.  The  first  step  is  to  grade  the  pearls 
according  to  their  size  and  color,  so  that  they  may  produce  the  best 
possible  efifect.  The  largest  and  finest  pearl  is  placed  in  the  center; 
alongside  of  this,  on  each  side,  are  laid  the  two  pearls  next  in  size 
which  are  the  most  nearly  alike  in  form  and  hue ;  and  so  on  to  the  end 
of  the  necklace.  This  grouping  requires  both  experience  and  judg- 
ment, and  is  of  great  importance,  since  the  value  of  the  pearls  is  often 
considerably  enhanced  by  a  proper  arrangement.  A  skilful  stringer 
is  able  to  grade  them  so  cleverly  that  only  a  trifling  difference  will  be 
found  in  the  weight  of  the  two  halves  of  a  necklace. 

The  stringing  process  consists  in  securing  the  end  pearl  by  a  knot  to 
the  diamond,  pearl,  or  other  clasp  which  may  be  used.  When  a  neck- 
lace is  being  strung,  the  thread  is  passed  through  the  metal  eye,  or 
pearl,  or  other  object  that  serves  as  a  clasp.  It  is  then  tied  with  one 
knot,  passed  through  the  next  pearl,  and  knotted  between  that  and  the 
second  pearl,  and  sometimes  between  the  second  and  the  third,  thus 
making  the  joint  doubly  secure.  The  other  pearls  are  then  strung 
in  their  order,  a  knot  being  placed  after  each  fifth,  fourth,  third,  or 
second  pearl,  or,  should  there  not  be  enough  to  give  a  proper  length 
to  the  necklace,  between  each  single  pearl.  The  deftness  with  which 
the  knot  is  tied  so  as  not  to  hold  the  pearl  too  tightly,  and  risk  the 


TREATMENT  AND  CARE  OF  PEARLS      387 

breaking  of  the  thread,  and  the  precision  with  which  forty,  fifty,  and 
even  sometimes  several  hundred  knots  are  made  on  a  single  string,  is 
a  pleasing  operation  to  witness,  and  requires  the  greatest  care  and 
nicety  of  touch.  If  knots  are  made  frequently  between  the  pearls, 
there  is  less  danger  of  losing  them  should  the  thread  break,  as  only 
one  or  two  can  fall  off ;  sometimes,  indeed,  when  the  drill  holes  are  very 
small,  the  silk  thread,  waxed  or  unwaxed,  fits  so  closely  that  the  pearl 
does  not  become  detached  even  when  the  thread  breaks. 

The  thread  used  is  invariably  of  silk  of  the  highest  standard  of 
purity,  strength,  and  texture,  undyed,  and  not  containing  any  chemi- 
cals. Two  or  three  of  these  threads  are  held  together,  then  with  a 
knife  the  edges  are  very  carefully  scraped  till  the  combined  mate- 
rial of  the  three  threads  is  less  than  the  thickness  of  one.  Some  use 
a  needle  to  scrape  or  fray  to  a  sharp  point.  Then  this  point  is  stiffened 
by  means  of  "white  glue,"  the  best  material  of  this  kind  being  pure 
gum  arabic  dissolved  in  water.  A  little  of  this  is  rubbed  on  the 
pointed  threads.  It  stiffens  in  a  moment,  then  the  pearls  are  passed 
on,  one  after  the  other.  If  the  pearls  to  be  strung  are  already 
on  a  necklace,  this  process  is  simplified  by  the  unknotting  of  the  end 
of  the  necklace  to  be  re  strung;  two  or  three  of  the  pearls  are  slid  on 
to  the  new  string,  the  ends  or  points  of  the  new  necklace  thread  are 
twisted  together  with  the  old  ends  and  the  pearls  are  simply  trans-J 
ferred. 

Frequently  the  holes  have  been  drilled  so  as  to  leave  the  rims  rather 
sharp;  in  this  way  the  thread  may  be  frayed  out  or  even  cut.  This 
sharp  edge  can  easily  be  removed  by  careful  reaming.  Silk  of  pure 
quality  is  the  best  material  known  for  stringing  pearls.  A  series  of 
experiments  were  made  with  every  available  fiber  of  sufficient  dura- 
bility from  every  quarter  of  the  globe,  but  silk  alone  was  found  to 
possess  the  strength,  the  flexibility,  and  the  smoothness  necessary  to 
permit  a  very  fine  set  of  threads  to  pass  through  an  opening  as  small 
as  the  drill  hole  of  a  pearl.  In  the  case  of  a  long  chain  or  sautoire, 
more  than  three  hundred  pearls  will  be  strung  on  a  single  row,  one  of 
over  eighty  inches  in  length  containing  over  three  hundred  pearls,  and 
it  requires  a  degree  of  neatness  and  patience  that  few  possess  to  do 
this  in  exactly  the  right  way,  so  that  the  thread  may  not  be  cut,  that 
the  pearls  may  not  be  too  tightly  strung,  and  that  the  ends  shall  be 
carefully  attached  at  the  clasp,  so  that  the  necklace  may  hang  well  and 
there  may  be  no  danger  of  the  ends  breaking  loose. 

According  to  the  frequency  with  which  it  is  worn,  a  necklace  should 
be  re-strung  every  three,  six,  or  twelve  months.  The  proper  time  for 
re-stringing  can  generally  be  determined  by  the  stretching  of  the 
thread  so  that  it  can  be  seen  either  between  the  pearls  or  at  either  end, 


388  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

giving  the  impression  that  one  or  more  pearls  are  missing.  A  newly 
strung  necklace  is  taut. 

Where  a  collar  is  from  thirteen  to  fourteen  inches  in  length,  there 
are  frequently  twenty-three  rows  of  pearls,  kept  straight  by  four 
jeweled  bars,  and  sometimes  from  ten  to  twenty-five  pearls  in  a  section 
between  a  bar.  This  would  mean  that  there  are  more  than  two  thou- 
sand pearls  in  a  collar  of  small  pearls.  When  one  considers  that  at 
each  bar  and  at  the  catch  and  clasp  of  the  collar  it  is  necessary  to  make 
a  knotting,  it  is  not  surprising  that  it  requires  from  three  to  four  days' 
time  of  a  very  expert  pearl  stringer  to  string  or  re-string  such  a  pearl 
collar.  A  splendid  example  of  such  a  twenty-three-row  collar  is  that 
belonging  to  Senora  Diaz,  wife  of  the  President  of  the  Republic  of 
Mexico.' 

Frequent  stringing  may  sometimes  serve  as  a  protection  for  pearls, 
as,  if  wax  is  used,  the  drill  hole  is  likely  to  become  coated  with  wax 
from  the  thread,  and  this  prevents  the  absorption  by  the  pearl  of  per- 
spiration or  moisture  of  any  kind  through  the  thread.  Indeed,  the 
thread  itself,  when  waxed,  does  not  readily  absorb  moisture,  and  as 
the  interior  of  the  pearl  also  becomes  waxed,  this  serves  to  protect  it 
from  the  absorption  of  humidity  of  any  kind. 

In  making  pearl  necklets  or  mufif-chains,  a  piece  of  gold  wire  of  the 
proper  strength  and  pliability  is  taken.  This  wire  is  passed  through 
the  hole  of  the  pearl  and  then  cleverly  bent  into  a  loop  on  each  side  and 
firmly  soldered.  It  is  important  that  the  wire  should  be  very  slightly 
smaller  than  the  dimension  of  the  hole  in  the  pearl  so  that  it  may  fit 
closely.  Sometimes,  instead  of  this  method,  a  ring  is  soldered  to  one 
end  of  the  wire  before  this  is  passed  through  the  pearl,  the  other  end 
being  then  secured  in  the  manner  described  above.  Still  another 
method  is  occasionally  employed ;  in  this  a  piece  of  the  wire  is  bent  into 
a  ring,  but  not  quite  closed,  the  aperture  being  just  large  enough  to 
admit  the  wire  that  has  traversed  the  pearl ;  in  this  way  the  wire  can 
be  introduced  into  the  opening  in  the  ring,  which  grips  it  tightly,  and  is 
then  soldered  to  it.  In  many  cases  two  small  rings  are  strung  on  the 
wire  on  each  side  of  the  pearl  before  the  loops  are  made,  so  that  they 
interpose  between  the  latter  and  the  pearl  itself.  This  serves  to  protect 
the  sides  of  the  pearl,  as  there  is  otherwise  some  danger  that  the  hole 
may  become  chipped  or  ragged;  the  same  result  can  be  obtained  if 
small  caps,  closely  fitting  the  pearl,  are  used  instead  of  the  rings.  This 
is,  however,  only  possible  when  the  pearl  is  quite  round,  and  in  this 
case  the  effect  produced  is  often  very  attractive. 

Many  of  the  pearls  set  as  rings  and  studs  are  no  longer  set  in  points, 
but  are  set  upon  a  peg,  or  are  "pegged,"  as  it  is  termed.     Setting  a 

'  See  portrait  facing  page  442. 


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TREATMENT  AND  CARE  OF  PEARLS      389 

pearl  in  claws  generally  hides  more  than  one  half  of  the  entire  sphere. 
But  if  the  pearl  is  not  properly  secured  upon  the  peg,  it  will  occasionally 
fall  off.  However,  this  can  be  obviated  to  a  great  extent  by  attaching 
the  pearl  to  a  double  peg  which  keeps  it  from  turning  and  also  prevents 
its  falling  off.  Pearls  have  occasionally  been  damaged  with  the  shellac 
used,  or  when  the  gold  peg  on  which  the  pearl  is  placed  was  too  hot. 

In  mounting  very  small  pearls  as  link  chains  so  as  to  form  a  con- 
tinuous pearly  rope  without  any  break  in  the  way  of  gold  links,  occa- 
sionally V-shaped  cavities  are  drilled  into  each  end  of  the  pearl,  and 
the  setting  itself  is  hidden  in  this  V-shaped  cavity.  This  is  only  done 
where  the  pearls  are  small  and  not  of  great  value. 

The  jeweler,  in  setting  pearls,  must  use  the  greatest  possible  care, 
first,  in  cutting  away  the  settings,  as  they  are  fastened  to  the  pearl, 
not  to  scratch  or  mar  it;  and  then,  when  he  files  the  settings,  not  to 
allow  the  file  to  touch  the  pearl,  as  both  the  steel  tool  and  the  file  would 
injure  it.  He  must  particularly  avoid  placing  the  pearl  too  close  to 
a  diamond,  ruby,  or  other  precious  stone;  for,  even  if  the  pearl  only 
slightly  touches  the  gem  against  which  it  is  set,  a  knock  of  the  hand 
may  mar  the  pearl's  surface.  More  especially,  as  pearls  are  set  at 
present,  "pegged"  and  without  points,  it  is  of  the  greatest  importance 
that  they  be  worn  in  such  a  way  that  they  may  not  touch  the  unexposed 
edges  of  any  precious  stones,  as  this  also  would  injure  the  pearls.  For 
lack  of  this  precaution  fine  pearls  have  frequently  been  harmed. 

A  large  jewelry  firm  has  under  consideration  the  following  pearl 
order :  Any  workman  who  in  any  way  mutilates  a  pearl  by  filing,  im- 
perfect drilling  or  shaping,  or  in  any  way  affects  the  shape  of  a  pearl, 
without  the  authority  of  the  foreman,  will  be  called  upon  to  pay  for 
the  same. 

As  pearls  are  natural  objects,  any  change  of  the  same  to  fit  the 
setting,  or  for  attachment  to  any  gold  object,  mutilates  the  gem  and 
greatly  affects  its  value.  If  belonging  to  a  customer,  this  frequently 
means  its  replacement,  often  at  a  great  cost  to  the  jeweler. 

Pearl  "blisters"  frequently  have  the  appearance  of  being  empty; 
they  are  generally  filled  with  a  fluid,  either  water  or  the  product  of 
animal  and  vegetable  decomposition.  These  contents  usually  emit 
a  peculiar  and  unpleasant  odor.  As  the  exterior  of  the  inclosure 
gradually  wears  away  and  disappears,  the  contents  of  the  blister  are 
slowly  absorbed  by  the  shell  itself,  and  any  organic  or  insoluble  sub- 
stances are  deposited  on  its  inner  surface. 

Thus,  when  a  shell  shows  any  protuberance  on  this  surface,  the 
peeler  will  cut  or  scrape  away  a  portion  of  the  decaying  shell  behind 
the  spot.  Should  he  discover  the  hole  of  a  borer,  he  lays  the  shell  aside; 
but  if  he  finds  it  to  be  perfect  at  this  spot,  it  is  evident  that  the  inclusion 


390  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

came  from  within,  and  frequently  it  turns  out  to  be  an  included  pearl. 
This  is  removed  by  breaking  the  shell,  or  by  cutting  around  the  pro- 
tuberance very  near  to  its  edge,  and  then  breaking  away  the  shell. 
The  pearl  is  often  visible,  and  layer  after  layer  of  the  covering  mass 
is  removed  with  the  greatest  care  by  the  peeler,  who  is  rewarded  by 
bringing  to  light  pearls  of  various  qualities,  and  frequently  those  of 
great  value. 

An  instance  in  which,  by  opening  a  pearl  blister,  the  speculator  re- 
ceived a  good  reward  is  given  by  Streeter,  who  says :  "The  Harriet  had 
the  good  luck  to  find,  in  1882,  a  pearl  103  grains  in  weight,  which  was 
inclosed  in  a  huge  blister.  It  was  a  fine  bouton,  of  splendid  color  in 
the  upper  portion,  but  a  trifle  chalky  below.  This  was  attributed  to 
the  admission  of  salt  water  into  the  shell  through  a  hole  made  by  a 
borer  which  happened  to  pierce  the  shell  just  where  the  pearl  lay,  and 
had  penetrated  the  latter  for  almost  a  quarter  of  an  inch." 

Sometimes  pearl  masses  are  hollow.  Barbot'  mentions  that  a 
French  merchant  residing  in  Mexico,  having  bought  one  of  these 
pieces  from  a  fisherman  at  a  low  price,  resolved  to  satisfy  his  curiosity 
by  finding  out  what  was  inside.  He  split  it  in  two  parts  and  was 
agreeably  surprised  to  find  a  pearl  weighing  14^4  carats  (57  grains), 
so  round,  of  such  good  water,  and  such  fine  orient,  that  he  sold  it  in 
Paris  for  nearly  5000  francs  ($1000)  in  1850. 

Seed-pearl  work  was  introduced  into  the  United  States,  about 
seventy  years  ago,  by  Henry  Dubosq,  who  had  studied  the  methods 
employed  in  Europe  and  has  been  succeeded  in  this  industry  by  his 
son,  Augustus  Dubosq.  The  father  bought  a  large  quantity  of  Eng- 
lish seed-pearl  jewelry,  brought  it  to  this  country,  and  hired  a  number 
of  girls  to  take  it  apart  carefully  and  re-string  it  with  white  horse- 
hair, to  learn  how  it  was  made.  With  no  more  teaching,  he  estab- 
lished an  industry  that  has  already  lasted  for  three  score  and  ten 
years. 

Seed-pearl  jewelry  was  most  in  vogue  from  the  year  1840  to  i860. 
It  was  generally  sold  in  sets,  in  a  case  consisting  of  a  collar,  two  brace- 
lets, two  earrings,  a  small  brooch,  and  a  large  spray  or  corsage  orna- 
ment. If  the  object  was  almost  round,  occasionally  there  was  a  larger 
central  pearl,  weighing  from  one  to  five  grains,  usually  a  button  pearl ; 
or,  if  the  ornament  was  elongated,  there  were  generally  three  larger 
pearls.  These  sometimes  possessed  a  fairly  good  luster.  Seed-pearl 
jewelry  was  at  one  time  so  popular,  and  the  values  were  so  small  in 
this  country,  that  a  $1000  seed-pearl  set  formed  a  principal  feature  of 
the  Tiffany  exhibit  at  the  International  Exposition  held  at  the  Crystal 
Palace,  New  York,  in  1855. 

'  Charles  Barbot,  "Traite  Complete  des  Pierres  Precieuses,"  Paris,  1858,  pp.  464,  465. 


^c-^ 

^^^H^^^V     "  " 

--.^  ^m 

If 

- 

.,.:^Lf 

._--^..  --  '"■•^ 

MOTHKR-OF-PEARL  SHELL 
FROM  TAHITI 

Illustration  of  a  mother-of-pearl  shell, 
showing  where  a  blister  has  been  cut 
nut.  In  thi^  instance  a  large  pear- 
shaped  pearly  blister  appeared  almost 
in  the  center  of  the  shell.  A  dealer  re- 
moved this  by  means  of  a  saw,  and  was 
surprised  to  find  that  the  molher-of- 
pearl,  instead  of  remaining  intact,  parted 
in  two  pieces.  Between  these  two 
pieces  was  a  mass  of  green  and  white 
calcareous  matter.  The  two  upper  fig- 
ures show  the  pearly  side  and  the 
outside  of  the  shell  whence  the  blister 
was  cut.  The  figures  below  show  the 
inside  and  outside  of  each  half  of  the 
blister  and  the  earthy  matter  inclosed. 

A  is  the  pearl  sawn  from  the  shell. 

B  is  the  piece  of  pearl  that  parted 
from  the  back  uf  this  pearly  mass. 

C  and  F  are  two  views  of  the  included 
calcareous  matter. 

D  is  the  reverse  of  A,  showing  the 
cavity. 

E  is  the  reverse  of  E;  originally  A 
rested  on  V>, 

There  was  no  indication  of  any  hol- 
'iiw  space,  or  that  the  mass  was  not 
i'crfect. 


TREATMENT  AND  CARE  OF  PEARLS      391 

Seed-pearl  tiaras  sell  for  from  $75  to  $200  or  $300  each.  The  work 
is  almost  entirely  done  by  girls,  either  German  or  of  German  origin. 
As  labor  is  higher  and  pearls  have  advanced  in  price,  none  of  the  old 
work  could  now  be  duplicated  for  the  amount  it  cost  twenty  or  thirty 
years  ago.  The  stringing  of  the  pearls  on  the  English  scroll  means 
probably  twelve  hours  of  continuous  work.  An  efificient  pearl  worker 
receives  $3.50  a  day,  which  consists  of  not  more  than  eight  hours,  as, 
owing  to  the  very  trying  character  of  the  work,  clear  daylight  is 
necessary  to  see  the  holes  in  the  small  pearls  and  in  the  mother-of-pearl 
shell. 

The  foundation  of  all  seed-pearl  work  is  mother-of-pearl.  The  shell 
is  brought  in  thin  plates,  measuring  from  one  and  one  half  to  two  and 
one  half  inches  square.  One  of  the  most  popular  and  attractive  pat- 
terns is  the  English  scroll.  If  a  design  is  to  be  repeated,  a  brass 
figure  is  made.  For  the  fabrication  of  a  brooch,  for  instance,  a  design 
is  first  made  by  drawing  on  a  paper  or  cardboard ;  then  a  brass  plate 
or  pattern  is  cut  out,  leaving  spaces  wherever  there  are  to  be  no  pearls. 
After  this  a  slab  of  stock  mother-of-pearl,  nearest  the  size  of  the  brass 
plate,  is  selected,  and  is  sawn  out,  using  the  brass  plate  as  a  guide  for 
the  outlines.  The  mother-of-pearl  is  then  pierced  wherever  a  pearl  is 
to  be  secured,  and  the  pearls  for  its  embellishment  are  chosen,  and  are 
strung  onto  the  mother-of-pearl  outlines  with  a  special  horsehair 
thread.  All  the  work  that  remains  for  the  jeweler  is  the  addition  of 
a  pin  or  catch  on  the  back.  A  representation  is  given  of  the  designs, 
the  brass  plate,  the  mother-of-pearl,  the  horsehair,  the  pearls,  and  the 
completed  brooch  made  by  this  model. 

Fine  horsehair  is  used  for  stringing  seed-pearls,  because  the  holes 
drilled  in  them  are  usually  too  small  to  admit  of  the  use  of  silk,  and  it 
is  very  important  that  what  is  known  as  pulled  hair,  taken  from  a 
living  horse,  should  be  used,  as  otherwise  the  hair  is  too  brittle.  This 
hair,  in  bunches  of  from  eight  to  fourteen  inches  in  length,  is  sold  at  an 
average  price  of  $1.50  a  pound,  and  frequently  only  one  ounce  is 
selected  for  use  from  the  entire  pound. 

All  the  pearls  used  by  the  seed-pearl  workers  are  purchased  in 
strings  and  bunches ;  the  finest  are  those  known  as  the  Chinese  seed- 
pearls;  they  are  drilled  and  strung  in  bunches,  weighing  three  ounces, 
and  are  worth  $40  an  ounce.  They  are  drilled  with  so  fine  an  aperture 
that  silk  will  not  pass  through  the  pearl,  and  only  horsehair  can  be 
used.  The  Indian  Madras  pearls,  however,  have  a  larger  drill  hole 
and  can  be  strung  with  silk ;  they  are  at  present  worth  from  eight  to 
fifteen  cents  a  grain,  that  is,  $48  to  $90  per  ounce. 

Immense  quantities  of  these  very  minute  pearls  are  also  used  in 
bunches  or  strings,  sometimes  as  many  as  twenty  or  thirty  strings 


392 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


being  grouped  together  and  either  bound  straight  or  else  twisted  into 
veritable  ropes  of  pearls. 

Seed-pearls  are  sold  by  the  ounce,  a  single  ounce  frequently  contain- 
ing as  many  as  9000,— that  is,  fifteen  pearls  to  the  pearl  grain  or  sixty 
to  the  carat, — selling  for  from  $48  to  $60  an  ounce.  Naturally,  some 
of  these  pearls  are  even  smaller  than  this,  but  the  average  is  main- 
tained by  those  that  are  a  little  larger. 

Pearls  as  small  as  100  to  a  diamond  carat  are  drilled  and  used 
in  seed-pearl  work.  Diamonds,  rubies,  and  even  sapphires,  however, 
are  cut  in  brilliant  form  when  they  are  as  small  as  250  to  300  to  the 
carat,  or  45,000  to  the  ounce.  The  price  of  these  small  pearls,  however, 
is  only  from  eight  to  fifteen  cents  per  carat,  whereas  diamonds  of  this 
size  are  worth  from  $200  to  $300,  their  value  being  three  times  that 
of  those  weighing  one  sixteenth  to  one  eighth  carat  each.  This  is  due 
to  the  fact  that  the  labor  expended  in  cutting  the  smaller  diamonds  is 
much  greater  than  that  bestowed  upon  the  pearls,  which  simply  require 
drilling  and  not  cutting. 

"Half-pearl,"  as  we  have  mentioned,  is  the  name  given  to  such  pearls 
as  are  round  and  spherically  domed  and  are  either  somewhat  flat  or 
almost  the  shape  of  one  half  of  a  whole  pearl  of  the  same  diameter. 
They  are  produced  in  two  ways:  some  are  cut  away  as  hemi- 
spheres from  the  inner  surface  of  the  shell  of  the  pearl-mussel,  but 
more  usually  they  are  the  better  portions  of  defective  whole  pearls 
which  are  sawn  or  split  by  hand  into  two  "halves"  with  a  minute  saw, 
the  defective  part  being  rejected  altogether  or  classified  as  inferior 
half-pearl,  while  the  better  half  is  classified  as  a  I  or  H  quality  half- 
pearl.  Frequently  a  fine  specimen  is  obtained  from  an  elongated  pearl, 
and  sometimes  two,  three,  or  even  four  half-pearls  are  secured  from 
the  various  bright  parts  of  a  round  pearl.  In  splitting  half-pearls,  the 
pearl  to  be  operated  upon  is  held  by  hand  in  a  kind  of  grooved  vice  or 
pincers  and  sawn  through  with  a  very  fine  saw ;  this  process  is  at  once 
simple,  rapid,  and  of  insignificant  cost. 

Only  pearls  which  cannot  be  cut  are  filed.  In  this  process  the  poorer 
side  of  the  pearl  in  question  is  laid  upon  the  file,  and  the  operator  takes 
a  piece  of  ordinary  hard  wood,  so  formed  that  he  can  grasp  it  firmly 
in  his  hand,  presses  it  down  upon  the  pearl,  and  rubs  the  latter  on  the 
file,  removing  all  but  the  good  side.  In  this  way  a  half-pearl  is  pro- 
duced. 

The  smaller  half-pearls  are  from  .5  to  .75  millimeters  in  diameter, 
and  an  ordinary  ounce  of  half-pearl  material  will  number  18,000.  Of 
the  manufactured  half-pearls  there  are,  on  an  average,  20,528  to  an 
ounce. 

The  half-pearl  industry  is  largely  carried  on  in  Idar,  on  the  Nahe 


TREATMENT  AND  CARE  OF  PEARLS      393 

River,  and  in  Oberstein,  in  the  Duchy  of  Oldenburg,  Germany.  The 
pearls  are  usually  purchased  from  London  or  Paris  houses  in  lots 
valued  up  to  $12,000  or  more,  although  some  of  the  firms  buy  directly 
from  India.  In  Idar  about  one  hundred  people  are  employed  in  this 
industry.  Frequently  it  is  pursued  m  the  home  of  the  manufacturer, 
who  may  employ  from  one  to  a  dozen  or  more  workers.  These  gen- 
erally include  a  sorter  or  arranger,  and  a  marker  to  indicate  the  part 
of  the  pearl  which  should  be  sawn  off.  There  is  also  a  trimmer  or  one 
who  finally  adjusts  the  pearls. 

An  unusually  clever  bit  of  deception  was  practised  by  an  American 
pearl  fisher  who  had  found  two  pearl  blisters  of  almost  identical  size. 
Both  of  these  blisters  were  hollow,  and  were  alike  in  form.  The  pearl 
dealer  very  cleverly  polished  down  both  sides,  rounded  off  the  edges, 
cemented  the  two  backs  together,  and  except  for  a  tiny  edge  they  had 
all  the  appearance  of  a  drop  pearl  that  was  fairly  perfect  on  both  sides. 
It  required  but  a  little  heating  to  separate  the  parts  and  show  the  de- 
ception. 

In  setting  half-pearls,  they  are  generally  selected  from  large  lots 
with  great  care  as  to  their  being  of  uniform  size.  A  circular  place  for 
the  setting  is  often  drilled  with  a  steel  drill,  either  for  several  or  for  a 
single  one.  The  half-pearl  is  frequently  placed  on  one  or  more  tiny 
disks  of  paper,  to  give  it  the  exact  height  in  the  setting,  and  the  edge 
of  gold  is  rubbed  up  against  the  pearl,  which  is  thus  secured  in  its 
place ;  or  else  tiny  edges  of  gold  are  left  projecting  between  each  pearl. 
These  are  pressed  down  after  the  pearl  is  in  place.  This  process  re- 
quires great  delicacy  and  skill  and  is  frequently  employed  in  the 
decoration  of  pearl  lockets  and  watches.  In  some  of  the  cheaper 
work,  the  half-pearls  are  cemented  into  the  shallow  disks  that  were 
drilled  for  them,  but  frequently  they  are  secured  by  metal  points  skil- 
fully raised  out  of  the  disks  in  which  the  pearls  are  set,  and  then 
pressed  down  to  hold  the  latter  in  place.  Although  apparently  frailly 
set,  it  is  surprising  that  half-pearl  ornaments  have  been  owned  for 
more  than  a  century,  scarcely  a  pearl  dropping  out;  and  even  if  one  or 
two  pearls  should  be  lost  from  the  piece  of  jewelry,  the  expense  of 
replacing  them  is  not  very  great.  They  are  often  not  as  safely  set 
when  they  are  mounted  with  diamonds,  rubies,  or  other  stones,  more 
especially  in  rounded  rings  or  bracelets. 

In  drilling  gold  for  the  setting  of  half-pearls,  where  the  hole  must 
not  be  carried  right  through  the  metal,  a  so-called  "pearl  drill"  is  used. 
This  is  designed  to  cut  a  hole  with  a  flat  base  in  comparatively  thin 
layers  of  metal  without  disfiguring  the  opposite  side,  a  task  that  can 
easily  be  accomplished  if  care  be  taken  not  to  drill  deeper  than  is 
strictly  necessary  for  the  safe  adjustment  of  the  pearl.    For  the  con- 


394  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

struction  of  this  drill  a  piece  of  round  steel  wire  of  suitable  size  is 
chosen;  this  is  hammered  flat  at  one  end  and  then  filed  away  at  each 
side,  leaving  a  small  spike  standing  in  the  center,  which  projects  a 
little  beyond  the  cutting  edges  and  acts  as  a  pivot  on  which  the  drill 
revolves.  The  steel  on  both  sides  of  this  spike  is  filed  down  to  a  fine 
edge,  care  being  taken  to  preserve  the  horizontal  line,  so  that  when  the 
spike  is  embedded  in  the  metal  both  cutting  edges  come  into  play  simul- 
taneously. If  the  drill  is  in  good  condition,  it  does  its  work  very  rap- 
idly, since  it  is  used  in  an  upright  drill-stock,  whose  weight  gives  a 
uniform  and  constant  pressure.  A  good  range  of  sizes  of  this  drill 
should  be  kept  ready  for  use,  so  that  one  may  be  found  to  suit  the  di- 
mensions of  any  given  pearl.  This  is  essential  in  order  to  make  an 
opening  just  large  enough  to  hold  the  gem,  so  that  it  may  fit  tightly, 
without  the  necesssity  of  reaming  out  the  hole. 

Half-pearls  were  frequently  used  with  the  most  pleasing  efifect  in 
the  decoration  of  antique  watches.  A  number  of  remarkable  examples 
of  this  type  are  among  the  collection  of  antique  watches  of  Henry 
Walters  of  Baltimore.  This  collection  had  been  acquired  by  Tiffany  & 
Co.  after  the  sale  of  the  San  Donato  Palace,  the  watches  having  been 
withdrawn  from  the  prince's  collection  by  his  sister  sometime  before 
the  sale. 

In  mounting  pearls  on  gold,  a  white  paste  is  sometimes  employed  in 
half-pearl  mounting,  which  is  called  by  the  French  jewelers  gouache. 
This  substance  contains  white  lead,  and  its  use  is  liable  to  be  injurious 
to  the  workmen,  cases  of  lead  colic  having  been  recently  recognized  as 
thus  produced.  This  subject  has  lately  (1907)  been  brought  forward 
at  the  Societe  Medicale  des  Hopitaux  in  Paris.  The  cases  were  at  first 
mistaken  for  appendicitis,  but  proved  to  be  well-marked  cases  of  lead 
poisoning.  They  had  not  been  reported  previously,  and  are  evidently 
not  frequent,  those  noted  being  confined  to  instances  in  which  the 
employees  had  carelessly  been  in  the  habit  of  removing  an  excess  of  the 
paste  with  the  tongue. 

Pearls  that  are  constantly  worn  with  judicious  care  do  not  seem 
to  deteriorate  in  any  way.  By  judicious  care  we  mean  that  pearls 
should  not  be  dropped  or  thrown  down  violently  or  placed  on  any 
substance  which  is  likely  to  act  injuriously  on  the  surface  of  the  pearl 
itself. 

Strings  of  pearls  should  never  be  dipped  into  water  or  solutions  of 
any  kind,  because  the  string  which  passes  through  them  is  likely  to  ab- 
sorb and  to  draw  the  liquid  into  the  pearl,  and  as  the  pearl  is  made  up 
of  many  concentric  layers,  it  is  quite  possible  that,  through  capillary 
action,  some  liquid,  either  pure,  or  stained  with  a  foreign  substance, 
might  be  brought  into  the  pearl,  which  would  in  this  way  eventually 
become  discolored.     Rings  and  brooches  containing  half-pearls  fre- 


Ladies'  sewing  case  and  scissors  inlaid  with  half-pearls 
Eiyhteenlh  Century 


Watch  incrusted  with  Jialf-pearls 
Paris  Iixposition,  1900 


Snuff-box,  ivory  inlaid  with  fresh-water  pearls 
Eighteenth  Century.    Collection,  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art 


Watch  incrusted  with 

half-pearls 

Paris  Exposition,  1900 


^-'-''^ 

''^■:j^ 

^ 

if 
if' 

J  ^ 

m   ^ 

^ 

w 

m 

M 

1- 

>^f 

m 

R 

m 

■f 

m 

\ 

L 

-^ 

^'^^ 

«-••'" 

r^^'- 

Watch  incrusted  with 

half-pearls 

Paris  Exposition,  1900 


Miniature  of  Catherine  Kmilie  Peake.  by  Richard  C'osway.    Gold 
frame,  surrounded  by  half-pearls.     Eighteenth  Century 


TREATMENT  AND  CARE  OF  PEARLS  395 

quently  change  color  from  this  cause ;  but  contact  with  the  skin,  or  with 
lace,  or  with  fabrics  which  are  not  stained  with  certain  chemical  solu- 
tions, seems  to  have  no  injurious  effect  upon  pearls. 

It  is  quite  possible  that  in  some  instances  where  pearls  which  have 
been  inherited  are  thought  to  have  changed  and  lost  their  beauty,  this 
belief  has  been  owing  to  an  exaggerated  opinion  of  their  quality  on 
the  part  of  those  who  expected  to  inherit  them  and  who  never  had  the 
opportunity  to  examine  them  carefully.  In  other  words,  in  many  cases 
where  pearls  are  believed  to  have  lost  their  luster,  to  have  died,  or 
partly  died,  there  seems,  from  the  personal  observation  of  the  writer,  to 
be  little  doubt  that  they  never  were  really  fine  pearls,  and  that  no 
change  had  actually  taken  place  in  them.  That  pearls  change  but 
slightly  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  a  splendid  necklace  belonging  to 
the  Empress  Eugenie,  which  was  purchased  about  the  year  i860,  is  in 
as  good  condition  to-day  as  when  it  first  passed  into  the  hands  of 
the  unfortunate  empress  of  the  Second  Empire.  Many  of  the  pearls 
in  the  royal  treasury  in  Vienna  that  belonged  to  Maria  Theresa, 
and  those  that  were  disposed  of  at  the  sale  of  the  French  crown 
jewels  in  1886,  as  well  as  the  pearls  that  are  in  the  imperial  collection 
at  St.  Petersburg,  do  not  seem  to  show  any  appreciable  evidence  of 
age. 

The  pearl  is  of  a  lower  hardness  than  any  of  the  precious  or  semi- 
precious stones,  and  almost  as  soft  as  malachite,  though  not  so  friable 
or  liable  to  break  as  is  that  mineral ;  nevertheless,  it  is  in  many  ways 
one  of  the  most  indestructible  of  natural  objects  of  the  low  hardness. 
Still,  pearls,  and  especially  fine  pearls,  require  some  care;  but,  if  the 
same  attention  is  accorded  them  as  would  be  given  to  a  fine  piece  of 
lace,  velvet,  or  other  fabric,  or  to  a  fine  jewel,  they  will  last  for  a  num- 
ber of  generations.  If,  however,  pearls  are  worn  at  all  times  without 
removal,  if  they  are  worn  in  the  bath,  if  they  are  thrown  on  a  dressing- 
table,  dropped  on  the  floor,  or  otherwise  ill-treated,  if  they  are  worn  on 
dusty  automobile  rides,  in  bicycle  riding,  or  during  other  gymnastic  or 
violent  exercise,  it  is  inevitable  that  their  sides  will  rub  together  and 
wear  one  another  away.  If  they  are  worn  in  the  bath  or  in  swimming, 
the  silk  string  which  holds  them,  should  it  become  soaked,  may  draw 
some  of  the  water,  accompanied  perhaps  with  dust  and  perspiration, 
through  the  drill  hole  into  the  center  of  the  pearl,  and  this  is  likely  to 
be  absorbed  in  turn  by  the  various  layers  of  the  pearl,  in  some  instances 
undoubtedly  affecting  the  color,  changing  it  to  a  yellow  or  a  gray.  It 
would  be  well  not  to  wear  pearls  under  the  exceptional  conditions 
above  mentioned;  and,  if  they  are  carefully  wiped  at  times,  so  as  to 
remove  any  perspiration  or  dust,  their  color  is  not  likely  to  be  affected 
for  a  long  period  of  time. 


396  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

Dr.  George  Harley  writes  in  the  "Proceedings  of  the  Royal  So- 
ciety," March  i,  1888,  p.  463: 

On  one  occasion  being  desirous  to  crush  into  powder  a  split-pea  sized  pearl, 
we  folded  it  between  two  plies  of  note-paper,  turned  up  the  corner  of  the 
carpet,  and  placing  it  on  the  hard,  bare  floor,  stood  upon  it  with  all  our  weight. 
Yet,  notwithstanding  that  we  weigh  over  twelve  stone,  we  failed  to  make  any 
impression  whatever  upon  the  pearl,  and  even  stamping  upon  it  with  the  heel 
of  our  boot  did  not  suffice  so  much  as  to  fracture  it.  It  was  accordingly  given 
to  the  servant  to  break  with  a  hammer,  and  on  his  return  he  informed  us  that 
on  attempting  to  break  it  with  the  hammer  against  the  pantry  table,  all  he 
succeeded  in  doing  was  to  make  the  pearl  pierce  through  the  paper  and  sink 
into  the  wooden  table,  just  as  if  it  had  been  the  top  part  of  an  iron  nail,  and 
that  it  was  not  until  he  had  given  it  a  hard  blow  with  the  hammer  against  the 
bottom  of  a  flat-iron  that  he  succeeded  in  breaking  it. 

As  the  foregoing  and  other  notes  had  appeared  on  this  subject,  the 
author  was  led  to  observe  that  pearls  are  possessed  of  greater  durabil- 
ity than  is  generally  supposed.  In  order  to  demonstrate  this  satisfac- 
torily, he  took  a  number  of  American  pearls  and  placed  them  upon 
different  kinds  of  woods,  such  as  white  and  yellow  pine,  white  oak, 
teak,  ash,  cherry,  chestnut,  and  rosewood.  He  then  stood  upon  them, 
thus  bringing  a  weight  of  more  than  two  hundred  pounds  to  bear  upon 
them  by  means  of  his  heel.  The  pearls  were  driven  into  the  different 
woods,  with  the  single  exception  of  the  rosewood,  which  offered 
greater  resistance  so  that  the  pearl  only  entered  partly.  In  but  one 
instance  did  a  pearl  suffer  by  a  slight  scaling  off.  This  shows  the 
strength  of  the  many  concentric  layers,  both  mineral  and  vegetable. 

This  does  not  signify  that  pearls  should  be  stepped  upon,  trodden 
upon,  or  thrown  about,  as  it  is  not  unlikely  that  a  pearl  would  crack  if 
it  should  fall  from  some  height  upon  a  hardwood  or  stone  floor. 

It  is  believed  by  many  that  wrapping  pearls  in  dyed  velvets  or  in 
fatty  woolen  materials,  and  locking  them  up  in  safe-deposit  vaults,  may 
slightly  change  them.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  no  doubt  that  sun- 
light will  bleach  a  pearl,  and  hence  it  is  that  wearing  them  in  the 
light  and  air  cannot  injuriously  affect  them. 

For  cleaning  pearls,  first  rub  them  with  a  cloth  dipped  in  alcohol 
diluted  with  warm  (not  hot)  water,  or  in  a  weak  solution  of  soap  and 
water,  then  dip  another  cloth  in  clean  water  and  rub  the  pearls  until 
they  are  dry.  Be  careful  not  to  leave  them  wet.  Either  salt,  rice, 
pearl-powder,  or  some  exceedingly  soft  substance  may  aid  in  cleaning 
them,  but  no  abrasive  such  as  ground  pumice,  electro-silicon,  or  any 
powder  that  is  sold  as  a  polishing  powder,  should  be  used. 

There  are  many  things  that  will  cause  injury  to  pearls.  Occasionally 


Mother-of-pearl  plate 

DosiL,'!!  '■r  It Ii 


EVULITION    OF    A    blitlJIEAKL    bKOoCH 

Rrass  model  PenrI  brooch  completed 


-■'l-[.LMris.   Iiuii.iii   ■ 


■-h,iir  torMniitrint' 


TREATMENT  AND  CARE  OF  PEARLS      397 

they  are  affected  by  the  wearer  having  exudations  from  the  skin  in- 
duced by  some  disease  or  else  by  acids  which  pass  out  through  the 
pores  with  the  perspiration.  A  smoky  atmosphere  in  which  a  sul- 
phuric acid  is  present  owing  to  sulphur  in  the  coal,  violent  usage  such 
as  knocking  severely,  or  dropping — all  of  these  will  in  time  cause  more 
or  less  injury  to  a  pearl,  more  especially  to  one  of  the  whiter  varieties ; 
but  it  is  believed  that  those  of  a  yellowish  cast  are  not  so  susceptible. 
Diderot  mentioned  this  as  early  as  1765. 

The  "life"  of  a  pearl  is  said  to  be  fifty,  one  hundred,  and  perhaps 
even  one  hundred  and  fifty  years ;  they  certainly  last  for  several  genera- 
tions. It  has  been  asserted,  without  any  particular  authority,  that 
pearls  from  the  Pacific  Ocean  and  those  from  Mexico  do  not  last  as 
long  as  those  from  the  Orient,  but  this  statement  is  questionable. 

If  there  be  any  foundation  for  the  belief  that  it  is  not  well  to  lock 
pearls  in  a  safe-deposit  box,  this  is  probably  owing  to  the  fact  that  the 
absolvite  exclusion  from  the  air  may  cause  the  drying  out  of  the  organic 
constituent  of  the  pearl.  This  may  be  obviated  by  putting  the  pearls 
in  a  piece  of  linen  absolutely  free  from  any  chemical,  at  the  same  time 
placing  with  them  a  bit  of  blotting-paper  or  fiber-paper  saturated  with 
water;  the  whole  should  then  be  wrapped  up  in  paraffin  paper,  which 
will  prevent  the  evaporation  of  the  moisture. 

Many  sentimental  recitals  have  appeared  in  the  press  during  the  last 
ten  years  in  regard  to  the  dying  of  pearls.  In  connection  with  this 
there  is  a  beautiful  though  mythical  story  to  the  effect  that  Carlotta, 
wife  of  the  ill-fated  Maximilian,  Emperor  of  Mexico,  was  the  posses- 
sor of  a  laige  collection  of  pearls  which  had  died,  and  that  these  pearls 
had  been  placed  in  a  casket  and  sunk  in  the  depths  of  the  Adriatic, 
opposite  the  beautiful  but  unhappy  palace  home,  Miramar,  in  the  hope 
that  the  salt  water  would  revive  and  restore  their  original  luster. 
When,  however,  the  time  came  to  bring  up  the  pearls  from  the  sea,  it 
was  found  that  the  casket  had,  in  some  way,  broken  loose  from  the 
chains,  and  all  trace  of  it  was  lost.  It  is  needless  to  state  that  there 
was  absolutely  no  foundation  for  this  romantic  tale;  indeed,  these 
very  pearls  were  afterward  sold.  Furthermore,  pearls  have  never 
lived,  and  hence  they  can  never  die.  They  do,  however,  decay,  if 
exposed  to  influences  which  destroy  either  the  calcareous  or  the 
animal  layer  of  the  pearl  itself.  This  is  due  to  many  causes:  first, 
overheating,  sometimes  through  the  inexperience  of  a  pearl  driller; 
secondly,  undue  exposure  to  heat  in  the  washing  of  a  pearl  necklace ; 
thirdly,  exposure  to  acids  or  acid  fumes.  Apparently  there  seems  to 
be  some  foundation  for  the  belief  that  if  they  are  confined  in  safe- 
deposit  boxes,  probably  in  contact  with  wool  or  with  the  colored  vel- 
vets of  jewel-cases,  the  skin  of  the  pearl  may  be  more  or  less  af- 


398  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

fected.     There  is  no  question  that  in  the  oriental  fisheries  so-called 
dead  pearls  have  been  found  in  the  shell  itself,  probably  owing  to  some 


des 
JVIUSEES      P>IaTIONAUX 


OM^t^A^ 


— -^^t^     AvTz^e^u^ 


Facsimile  letter  of  M.  Gaston  Mogeaud,  Director  of  the  Louvre,  Paris,  stating  that  the  Madame 
Thiers'  pearls  are  in  perfect  condition,  and  have  never  been  in  better  health. 

disease  of  the  pearl-oyster ;  and  they  have  also  appeared  in  the  fresh- 
water pearl  fisheries  of  the  United  States,  where  the  pearls  have  been 


MADAME  THIF-R--    I'KVKI.   ^■^L  KLA'.  L.  i',K 


IHK   LiiI,VRl.    Ml>r.I_'Nt,   IWRh 


TREATMENT  AND  CARE  OF  PEARLS  399 

too  long  boiled  in  the  opening  of  the  shell,  or  where  they  have  been 
swallowed  and  have  passed  through  the  body  of  some  ruminant,  such 
as  a  hog,  etc. 

Probably  about  no  necklace  has  more  been  printed  than  about  the 
famous  necklace  of  Madame  Thiers,  now  in  the  Louvre  Museum  of 
Paris.  Article  after  article  has  gone  over  the  face  of  the  earth,  stat- 
ing that  the  pearls  in  this  necklace  were  dying,  and  that  a  record  was 
being  kept  of  the  slow  death  that  was  overtaking  them.  Through  the 
courtesy  of  the  director  of  the  museum,  M.  Gaston  Mogeaud,  we  are 
permitted  to  reproduce  the  following  statement  from  a  letter,  showing 
very  clearly  that  there  is  absolutely  no  truth  in  the  assertion,  and  that 
this  necklace  has  in  no  way  suffered,  or  is  likely  to  suffer,  for  many 
years  to  come. 

"The  necklace  of  Madame  Thiers  has  caused  much  ink  to  flow,  to 
such  an  extent  that,  a  few  months  ago,  the  minister  ordered  an  ex- 
amination to  be  made  by  three  expert  jewelers,  who  have  found  that 
the  pearls  are  in  perfect  condition,  and  have  never  been  in  better 
health." 

For  assuring  the  safety  of  jewels  there  are  the  primitive  methods 
such  as  are  used  in  the  East  Indies,  of  hiding  pearls  in  out-of-the-way 
places,  where  they  often  escape  detection;  or  else  they  may  be  pro- 
tected by  means  of  an  armored  room,  like  the  gem-room  that  con- 
tained the  wonderful  collection  of  the  Duke  of  Brunswick  when  he 
resided  in  Paris.  Decoy  necklaces  have  even  been  made  to  represent 
the  original,  and  so  placed  that  they  were  taken  away  by  the  highway- 
man or  stolen  by  the  burglar  under  the  belief  that  he  was  stealing  the 
jewels ;  while  in  other  cases  the  pearls  have  been  carried  in  receptacles 
that  would  not  be  taken  for  jewel-caskets,  a  device  resorted  to  by  some 
travelers. 

A  word  in  regard  to  the  former  system  of  strong  boxes  or  small 
safes  for  the  home.  These  protect  from  fire  and  from  the  ordinary 
thief,  but  they  have  sometimes  not  proved  so  invulnerable  to  the  expert 
cracksman.  Quite  recently  a  jewel  chest  has  been  devised  which  can 
be  placed  in  a  trunk  and  carried  from  city  to  city  by  the  owner.  It  is 
provided  with  an  exceedingly  sensitive  electrical  apparatus,  by  means 
of  which  a  loud  burglar  alarm  is  set  off  should  the  chest  be  lifted  even 
one  thirty-second  of  an  inch  or  jarred  ever  so  slightly.  This  alarm  is 
set  automatically  when  the  owner  turns  the  key,  and  if  once  started,  it 
will  ring  for  a  couple  of  hours,  stopping  only  when  the  box  is  unlocked, 
thus  preventing  the  carrying  away  of  what  is  otherwise  a  portable  box. 

Lastly,  there  are  the  more  advanced  methods,  in  use  during  the  past 
two  centuries,  such  as  taking  the  jewels  to  a  banker  and  allowing  him 
to  place  them  in  his  vault,  where  they  are  guarded  as  well  as  are  his 


400  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

own  belongings,  but  not  always  with  the  security  of  the  modern  safe- 
deposit  vaults,  where  the  gems  are  absolutely  under  the  control  of  the 
owner,  and  can  frequently  be  obtained  at  any  hour  of  the  day;  or  as 
safely  kept  as  they  are  when  deposited  in  the  safe  deposit  of  the  jew- 
eler, in  whose  establishment  they  can  be  cleaned,  repaired,  added  to,  or 
changed  without  risking  their  removal  to  another  building. 


XV 

PEARLS  AS  USED  IN  ORNAMENTS  AND 
DECORATION 


XV 
PEARLS  AS  USED  IN  ORNAMENTS  AND  DECORATION 

And  the  necklace. 
An  India  in  itself,  yet  dazzling  not. 

Byron,  Marino  Falicro. 

THE  brilliant  diamond  and  the  love  of  its  possession  has  capti- 
vated many  to  such  a  degree  that  it  has  often  been  the  cause 
of  intrigue  and  bloodshed ;  and  national  history  has  been  in- 
fluenced by  its  acquisition  or  retention.  The  pearl,  however, 
though  the  most  quiet  of  gems,  has,  in  its  own  way,  found  favor  in  the 
sight  of  emperors  and  empresses,  kings  and  queens,  generals,  nobles, 
and  priests ;  and  even  savages  have  admired  its  quiet,  stately  dignity. 

The  following  pages  are  devoted  to  a  description  of  the  various 
ornamental  uses  of  the  pearl  in  different  times  and  countries.  Natu- 
rally, many  of  the  famous  pearls  in  the  following  chapter,  if  consid- 
ered purely  as  ornaments,  might  have  found  a  place  here. 

The  Egyptians  of  olden  times  do  not  appear  to  have  used  fine 
pearls,  although  they  probably  knew  of  them  on  account  of  the  pro.x- 
imity  of  the  Red  Sea.  M.  J.  de  Morgan,  the  explorer,  says :  "In  the 
tombs  of  Dashour  I  have  never  seen  any ;  the  only  ones  that  I  know  of 
in  Egyptian  jewelry  belong  to  the  Ptolemaic  period  and  are  mounted 
in  Greek  style."' 

This  statement  is  confirmed  by  Dr.  William  F.  Petrie,  the  well- 
known  Egyptologist,  who  writes  under  date  of  July  26,  1907:  "The 
pearl  was  often  used  in  Roman  jewelry  in  Egypt,  but  I  do  not  know 
of  any  instance  of  it  in  pure  Egyptian  work.  The  Romans  pierced 
it  and  hung  it  by  gold  wire  on  earrings.  They  also  made  glass, 
pearl-like  beads,  called  liili  by  the  modern  natives.  These  beads  are 
made  by  silvering  glass  beads  and  then  flashing  over  them  another 
coat  of  glass." 

Among  specimens  of  the  late  Egyptian  work  we  may  note  here  some 
objects  in  the  Louvre : 

A  pleasing  decoration  on  gold  wire  is  a  necklace  in  the  collection  of 

'  "Delegation  en  Perse,"   Paris,   1905,  Vol.  VIII,  p.  52. 


404  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

the  Egyptian  Gallery.  In  this  very  small  pearls  are  used  as  a  connec- 
tive decoration  for  the  points  of  leaves,  and  to  hold  the  leaves  and 
ornaments  is  a  gold  wire  which  is  secured  by  bending.  This  piece 
comprises  104  pearls,  a  greater  number  than  is  contained  in  any  other 
object  of  antiquity  foand  in  Egypt. 

An  Egyptian  pendant  of  unknown  origin  is  also  shown  in  this  col- 
lection. At  the  lower  end  is  a  bull's  head,  caparisoned,  and  the  tip  of 
each  horn  is  fitted  with  a  ball  like  the  oiibolados  toros  of  the  Spanish 
bull-fights.  The  rein  is  double,  and  above  this  there  are  two  rondelles 
of  an  unidentified  material ;  then  comes  a  rondelle  of  lapis  lazuli,  and 
after  this  a  rondelle  of  gold.  The  whole  is  strung  with  twisted  gold 
wire.  The  center  stone  is  an  hexagonal  amethyst,  evidently  a  crystal, 
the  two  faces  of  which  had  been  polished  and  incised.  One  of  these 
faces  represents  a  priest  with  a  staff  of  office,  and  the  other  a  priest 
holding  an  incense-burner  with  the  hieroglyph  of  the  altar.  With  one 
hand  he  is  offering  the  two  sacrifices,  the  mineral  and  the  vegetable; 
in  the  other  he  holds  a  garland  of  flowers  or  leaves.  Above  this  is 
an  Oriental  pearl  somewhat  worn  and  abraded.  All  these  are  secured 
by  a  twisted  gold  wire,  to  which  four  tiny  gold  beads  of  graduated  size 
are  affixed  at  the  top  of  the  pendant. 

There  are  six  other  pendants  and  earrings  in  the  Egyptian  Gallery, 
all  of  which  contain  pearls,  and  in  most  instances  these  pearls  have 
been  drilled  and  suspended  by  metal  wires,  unless  they  are  used  as  an 
ornament  facing  outward.  In  four  instances  they  are  secured  by  a 
peg  of  gold. 

The  Assyrian  and  Persian  bas-reliefs  show  that  the  sovereigns  and 
great  personages  of  those  countries  adorned  themselves  profusely 
with  pearls.  They  wore  them  not  only  in  their  jewelry,  but  also  on 
their  garments  and  even  in  their  beards !'  The  coins  of  the  Persian 
kings  also  bear  testimony  to  the  use  of  the  gem  in  ancient  Persia,  since 
the  sovereigns  are  represented  wearing  tiaras  ornamented  with  triple 
rows  of  pearls.^  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  imperial  Roman  diadem 
from  the  time  of  Caracalla  (188-217  a.d.). 

One  of  the  most  interesting  of  all  ancient  pearl  necklaces,^  contain- 
ing more  pearls  than  any  other  that  has  been  found,  and  in  a  better 
state  of  preservation,  is  the  Susa  necklace  now  in  the  Persian  Gallery 
of  the  Louvre  Museum.  It  consists  of  three  rows,  each  containing 
72  pearls,  so  that  there  are  216  in  all.  Ten  gold  bars,  formed  of  three 
small  disks,  each  about  five  millimeters  in  diameter,  divide  the  neck- 
lace into  nine  equal  sections ;  at  each  end  there  is  a  disk,  ten  milli- 

^  De  Morgan,  "Delegation  en  Perse,"  Paris,  '  See  "Delegation    en    Perse,"    Vol.    VIII. 

1905.  Vol.  VIII,  p.  52.  "Recherches    Archeologiques."     Paris,    1905, 

Mmhoof-Blumer,"Portratk6pfeauf  antiken  third  series,  pp.  51-2,  pi.  5. 
Miinzen,"  pi.  7,  figs.  12  sqq. 


ANTIQUE   ORNAMENTS    OF    PEARLS 

No.  I.     Gold  pin  from  Paphos,  Island  nf  Cyprus,  mounted  with  lar^e  marine  and  small  fresh-water  pearl,  now  in  British  Museum. 
Nos.  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8.      Gold  earrings  and  pins  set  with  pearls,  now  in  the  Egyptian  Gallery  of  the  Louvre,  Paris 
No.  g.     Pearl  and  gold  necklace  found  at  Susa,  Persia,  now  in  the  Louvre.  Paris. 


ORNAMENTS  AND  DECORATION  405 

meters  in  diameter,  to  which  the  three  strands  are  secured.  If  there 
was  any  other  setting,  it  has  evidently  disappeared,  although  it  is 
quite  possible  that  there  may  only  have  been  a  string  at  each  end,  as  in 
the  East  Indian  necklaces. 

This  ornament  was  found  on  the  site  of  the  ancient  Susa  or  Shu- 
shan  by  M.  J.  de  Morgan,  February  10,  1901,  in  a  bronze  sarcophagus, 
which  contained  the  skeleton  of  a  woman,  adorned  with  a  great  num- 
ber of  gold  ornaments  set  and  incrusted  with  precious  stones.  M.  de 
Morgan  gives  circa  350  b.c.  as  the  probable  date  of  these  objects.  The 
pearls  were  much  deteriorated.  About  238  were  found,  but  many  of 
them  crumbled  away  when  they  were  touched.  M.  de  Morgan  con- 
siders that  the  necklace  was  of  the  type  of  the  "dog-collar"  of  to-day, 
and  he  believes  that  it  originally  comprised  from  400  to  500  pearls. 

According  to  a  personal  communication  from  M.  P.  Cavvadias,  of 
the  Societe  Archeologique  d'Athenes,  there  are  no  pearls  on  the  an- 
cient ornaments  preserved  in  the  National  Museum  at  Athens.  This 
is  hardly  surprising  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  greater  part  of  these 
ornaments  belong  to  the  archaic  period  of  Greek  art ;  that  is  to  say,  to 
a  time  when  the  pearl  was  evidently  unknown  to  the  Greeks. 

The  fact  that  we  do  not  find  more  evidence  of  the  use  of  pearls  in 
Greece  at  a  later  period  need  cause  no  surprise,  when  we  consider 
how  many  of  the  treasures  of  Greek  art  have  disappeared  in  the  course 
of  more  than  twenty  centuries.  There  can  be  no  question  that  they 
were  known  arid  used  as  ornaments  at  an  early  time,  as  we  can  infer 
from  the  description  of  them  by  Theophrastus  and  later  Greek 
authors. 

Dr.  Edward  Robinson  of  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art,  and 
other  authorities  on  Greek  art  and  archaeology,  maintain  that  the 
Arethusa  necklace,  and  other  ornaments  of  that  time,  depicted  on 
coins,  etc.,  were  meant  to  represent  gold  ornaments,  as  it  is  believed 
by  many  that  pearls  were  unknown  in  Greece  at  that  period. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  specimens  showing  the  use  of  a  pearl 
in  ancient  times  is  a  very  beautiful  pearl  pin  from  Paphos,  on  the 
Island  of  Cyprus,  which  is  mounted  with  a  large  marine  pearl,  prob- 
ably the  largest  antique  pearl  ever  found,  measuring  fourteen  milli- 
meters in  diameter,  and  weighing  about  70  grains.  This,  unfor- 
tunately, has  been  very  much  abraded  and  worn  away,  although 
more  than  half  of  the  pearl  is  still  present.  It  is  surmounted  by  a 
small  fresh-water  pearl,  four  millimeters  in  diameter,  weighing  about 
two  grains  and  in  a  much  better  state  of  preservation.  This  unusually 
interesting  example  of  prehistoric  pearl  is  in  the  Greek  and  Roman  de- 
partment of  the  British  Museum,  and  we  are  able  to  show  it  by  the 
courtesy  of  the  keeper  of  that  department.  Dr.  Charles  Hercules  Read. 


406  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

In  excavations  made  last  spring  (1907),  in  the  Hauran  district  in 
Syria,  Azeez  Khayat  found  a  number  of  loose  pearls  which  had 
formed  a  necklace.  The  tomb  in  which  they  were  discovered  was  cut 
in  the  rock,  and  appeared  to  be  of  Roman  origin.  The  pearls  were 
still  attached  to  the  old  bronze  wire  with  which  they  had  been  strung. 
Mr.  Khayat  also  mentions  the  finding  of  a  pearl  pin,  and  a  single  ear- 
ring bearing  a  pearl,  in  a  rock-tomb  at  Cassarea,  in  Syria.  Rock-cut 
tombs  from  ten  to  twelve  feet  in  depth  are  frequently  discovered,  and 
they  probably  date  from  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era. 

The  habit  was  so  common  of  using  pearls  as  a  base  to  throw  up  the 
brilliance  of  other  gems,  that  we  may,  perhaps,  believe  even  in  Ca- 
ligula's slippers  of  pearls,  with  rubies  and  emeralds  set  upon  them  like 
flowers. 

The  Roman  ladies  had  a  special  favor  for  pearls  as  earrings,  and  it 
was  one  of  their  consuming  ambitions  to  possess  exceptionally  fine 
specimens  for  this  purpose.  They  preferred  pear-shaped  pearls,  and 
often  wore  two  or  three  of  them  strung  together.  They  jingled  gently 
as  they  moved  about — a  fitting  accompaniment,  it  may  be  said,  to  their 
graceful  movements— and  from  this  jingling  the  name  crotalia,  or 
"rattles,"  was  applied  to  them. 

The  description  given  by  Pliny  of  the  pearl  ornaments  of  Lollia 
Paulina  is  the  principal  claim  which  the  wife  of  Caligula  has  on  our 
interest. 

I  myself e  have  seen  Lollia  Paulina  when  she  was  dressed  ...  so  beset 
and  bedeckt  all  over  with  hemeraulds  and  pearles,  disposed  in  rewes,  ranks, 
and  courses  one  by  another ;  round  about  the  attire  of  her  head,  her  cawle,  her 
borders,  her  perruke  of  hair,  her  bongrace  and  chaplet ;  at  her  ears  pendant, 
about  her  neck  in  a  carcanet,  upon  her  wrest  in  bracelets,  &  on  her  fingers  in 
rings ;  that  she  glittered  and  shone  againe  like  the  sun  as  she  went.  The  value 
of  these  ornaments  she  esteemed  and  rated  at  forty  million  Sestertij '  and 
oflfered  openly  to  prove  it  out  of  hand  by  her  bookes  of  accounts  and  reckon- 
ings. Yet  were  not  these  jewels  the  gifts  and  presents  of  the  prodigall  prince 
her  husband,  but  the  goods  and  ornaments  from  her  owne  house,  fallen  to  her 
by  way  of  inheritance  from  her  grandfather,  which  he  had  gotten  together 
even  by  the  robbing  and  spoiling  of  whole  provinces.  See  what  the  issue  and 
end  was  of  those  extortions  and  outrageous  exactions  of  his :  this  was  it.  That 
M.  Lollius,  slandered  and  defamed  for  receiving  bribes  and  presents  of  the 
kings  in  the  East ;  and  being  out  of  favor  with  C.  Cssar,  sonne  of  Augustus, 
and  having  lost  his  amitie,  dranke  a  cup  of  poison,  and  prevented  his  judicial! 
triall :  that  forsooth  his  neece  Lollia,  all  to  be  hanged  with  jewels  of  400  hun- 
dred thousand  Sestertij,  should  be  scene  glittering,  and  looked  at  of  every 
man  by  candle-light  all  a  supper  time.- 

1  Equivalent  to  about   1,250,000  ounces  of  '"Naturall   Historie,"   London,    1601,  Lib. 

silver  ;  Hardouin  says  7,600,000  francs.  IX,  c.  35. 


o 

2 
< 

is 

2  w 
a  A. 

H  U 

o  ^ 

X  > 

X  J 

0.  X 

<  < 

O  1^ 

«° 

w  o 

D  O 

^o 

c/}  <; 

5  <: 

^  w 

«  e. 

a 


ORNAMENTS  AND  DECORATION  407 

And  the  taste  of  the  Roman  ladies  for  pearls  has  perpetuated  itself 
in  Italy,  though  other  of  the  luxurious  habits  which  in  their  case  ac- 
companied it,  have  long  since  died  out.  The  women  of  Florence  even 
now  are  not  content  if  they  do  not  possess  a  necklet  of  pearls,  and  this 
generally  forms  the  marriage  portion  of  the  middle-class  women. 
It  is  thought,  just  as  it  was  in  ancient  Rome,  that  this  gives  an  air  of 
respectability,  and  forms  a  sure  protection  from  insult  in  the  street  or 
elsewhere. 

One  of  the  earliest  illustrations  showing  a  pearl  earring  is  the  one 
in  the  ear  of  Julia,  the  daughter  of  Titus,  incised  on  a  splendid  aqua- 
marine in  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale.  This  gem  was  formerly  in  the 
Treasury  of  St.  Denis,  and  is  considered  to  belong  to  the-Carlovingian 
period.' 

So  large  and  heavy  were  the  earrings  worn  in  Rome  that  there  were 
women  known  as  auricula:  ornatrices,  special  doctresses  whose  sole 
occupation  was  the  healing  of  ear  tumors  and  of  injured  or  infected 
ears.  In  a  similar  way,  at  the  present  day,  we  have  the  ear  piercer, 
whose  vocation,  however,  is  rapidly  becoming  useless  because  of  the 
ingenious  modern  devices  for  holding  the  pearls  to  unpierced  ears; 
and  we  must  consider  this  eminently  desirable  when  we  think  of  the 
ear-piercing  outfits  of  the  former  jeweler,  who  never  disinfected  his 
apparatus,  and  when  we  recall  the  fact  that  it  was  always  expected 
that  the  ear  would  swell,  first,  from  the  crude  awl  that  was  used, 
and,  secondly,  from  the  unsterilized  instruments. 

That  the  Romans  believed  in  decorating  the  statues  of  their  god- 
desses with  pearls  and  dedicating  them  as  offerings,  is  evidenced  by 
the  gift  of  Cleopatra's  pearl,  which  was  cut  in  halves  to  make  ear- 
rings for  the  Venus  of  the  Pantheon;  and  by  the  buckler  of  British 
pearls  for  the  statue  of  Venus  Genetrix,  given  by  Julius  Caesar. 
Quite  a  number  of  statues  and  busts  of  the  Roman  period,  and  some 
of  an  earlier  time,  have  the  ears  pierced  for  the  reception  of  earrings, 
and  it  is  highly  probable  that  pearls  were  used  for  this  decoration. 
Among  these  are  the  busts  of  Pallas  and  Juno  Lanuvina  in  the  Vati- 
can; that  of  Eirene,  a  marble  copy  of  a  work  of  Cephisdotus,  in  the 
Glyptothek,  Munich,  and  the  Venus  de  Medici  in  the  Uffizi,  Florence. 

Pottier^  mentions  several  other  Greek  statues  which  show  that  ear- 
rings were  used  for  their  adornment ;  as,  for  example,  the  winged  Vic- 
tory of  Archernos,  in  Delos ;  the  head  of  one  of  the  caryatids  found  at 
Delphi,  a  cast  of  which  is  in  the  Louvre ;  the  archaic  Aphrodite  of  the 
Villa  Ludovisi;  the  Athena  from  the  frieze  of  the  temple  at  ^Egina; 

'  MS.   Bibliotheque   Nationale,   Paris,  2089,       Romaines."   ed.    by   Deremberg  and    Saglio : 
XLVII,  No.  12.  Art.  "Inaures"  by  Pettier,  Paris,  1899,  Vol. 

'  "Dictionnaire  des  Antiquites  Grecques  et      III,  pp.  440-447. 


4o8 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


the  Venus  of  Milo,  etc.  In  other  instances  the  ornament  was  simply- 
painted  on  the  ear  as  is  shown  in  the  Aphrodite  in  white  marble  which 
has  been  found  in  Marseilles.  This  may  also  have  been  the  case  in  the 
frieze  at  Olympia.  The  earrings  used  in  these  statues  were  usually 
metal  disks  entirely  covering  the  lobe  of  the  ear.  We  have,  however, 
many  representations  of  pearl  earrings  in  the  paintings  at  Pompeii, 
and  on  cameos  and  coins.  These  show  us  several  of  the  types  men- 
tioned by  Pliny  and  other  authors ;  still,  they  are  smaller  and  more  un- 
pretentious than  we  might  expect  in  view  of  the  well-known  luxury  of 
the  Roman  ladies  in  this  respect.  The  greater  part  of  the  earrings 
represented  show  a  pearl  suspended  from  a  single  wire;  there  are 


Pearl  earrings  from  Herculanenm  and  Pompeii 


some,  however,  with  three  pearls,  one  above  the  other,*  and  a  few 
bearing  several  pearls  loosely  hung  together,  answering  to  the  de- 
scription of  the  crotalia.  Others,  again,  bear  pear-shaped  pearls  or 
elenclii.^  It  is  a  singular  fact  that  scarcely  any  of  the  busts  of  Roman 
women  are  ornamented  with  earrings,  but  it  is  quite  possible  that  the 
cause  for  this  must  be  sought  in  the  desire  of  the  artist  to  dispense 
with  unimportant  details  which  might  detract  from  the  general  effect 
he  wished  to  produce.  We  may  note,  however,  four  female  figures  in 
the  Gallerie  des  Empereurs  in  the  Louvre  Museum,  with  the  ears 
pierced  for  the  reception  of  earrings  (Nos.  1195,  1202,  1230,  and 
1269). 

Many  numismatists,  among  them  Dr.  F.  Louis  Comparette,^  believe 


1  Babelon,  "Cab.  des  Antiq.,"  pi.  33,  fig.  3. 
'Duruy,  "Hist,   des   Romains,"  Vol.   I,  p. 
5". 


'  Custodian   of   the   coin   collection   of   the 
Philadelphia  Mint. 


ORNAMENTS  AND  DECORATION  409 

that  the  necklaces  and  earrings  represented  on  Greek  coins  from  the 
fifth  century  b.c.  are  intended  to  represent  pearl  ornaments,  since  the 
personages  depicted  are  in  all  cases  female  divinities,  goddesses,  or 
nymphs,  held  in  great  veneration  in  the  city  where  the  coins  were 
minted,  and  it  is  almost  certain  that  the  artist  intended  to  portray  the 
choicest  and  most  beautiful  of  gems  as  an  adornment  for  the  beautiful 
head  of  the  city's  patron. 

The  Syracusan  coins,  by  Euvenetus,  minted  in  the  early  part  of  the 
fifth  century  B.C.,  and  bearing  the  head  of  Arethusa,  seem  to  be  the 
earliest  coins  showing  a  neck  and  ear  ornament.  This  was  later  imi- 
tated on  the  Greek  and  Greco-Roman  coins.  A  coin  of  Sulla  shows  a 
double  necklace,  one  strand  consisting  of  round  beads  and  the  other 
of  pendants.  The  later  coins  almost  always  represent  the  goddesses 
with  neck  and  ear  ornaments.  Some  of  the  latter,  however,  resembling 
amphorae,  are  neither  round  nor  pear-shaped. 

In  view  of  the  great  fondness  of  the  Romans  for  pearls,  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  many  of  these  gems  have  been  found  in  the  excavations  at 
Pompeii,  Herculaneum,  and  Capodimonte.  The  collection  of  earrings 
preserved  in  the  Naples  Museum  is  especially  noteworthy.  Here  we 
can  see  earrings  consisting  of  a  simple  golden  hoop,  from  which  hangs 
a  wire  bearing  a  single  pearl ;  others  in  which  a  cross-bar  is  attached 
to  the  hoop,  and  at  each  end  of  this  bar  is  a  loosely  hung  wire  with  a 
pearl  at  its  extremity,  this  earring  suggesting  the  crotalia  mentioned  by 
Pliny  (see  Fig.  A)  ;  and  still  others  wherein  the  pearls  are  strung  di- 
rectly on  the  hoop.  The  cross-bars  are  of  various  designs,  sometimes 
entirely  smooth,  and  again  shaped  like  a  cornice  or  a  pediment ;  in  other 
cases  we  have  an  earring  with  two  pearls  on  a  wire,  then  a  pierced 
transparent  stone,  and  beneath  that,  two  pearls  terminating  the  large 
drop.  A  few  of  the  earrings  are  more  elaborate,  as,  for  example, 
one  represented  in  Fig.  B  which  was  found  in  Pompeii.  March  8, 
1870.  Here  there  is  an  emerald  in  the  center,  surrounded  by  gold  rays, 
between  which  were  set  eight  pearls,  two  of  which  are  now  missing; 
above  is  a  small  pearl.  The  single  earring  shown  in  Fig.  D  came  from 
Herculaneum,  and  bears  a  circlet  of  thirteen  pearls,  alternating  with 
rubies  and  other  stones ;  beneath  there  is  a  link  from  which  depends  a 
pearl  about  seven  and  a  fifth  millimeters  in  diameter,  and  weighing 
nearly  twelve  grains.  The  fact  that  we  know  the  latest  date  to  which 
these  pearls  can  be  assigned,  namely,  79  a.d.,  renders  them  peculiarly 
interesting  and  valuable  from  a  historical  point  of  view.  Naturally, 
many  of  them  are  calcined  or  otherwise  damaged,  but  others  are  fairly 
well  preserved  as  to  form,  although  the  luster  has  departed  from  them. 
There  are  twenty-seven  earrings  in  the  collection,  and  the  pearls  num- 
ber about  one  hundred.    No  great  pearls  were  found. 


410  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

In  the  Roman  excavations,  and  in  those  of  other  early  remains, 
many  objects  are  found  in  which  there  may  be  a  sapphire,  an  emerald, 
or  several  other  stones,  pierced,  and  pendant  on  a  gold  wire,  with  a 
blank  space  between,  showing  that  something  was  there  originally. 
This  object  has  apparently  decomposed  and  fallen  away.  We  may 
reasonably  suppose  that  it  was  either  a  pearl  or  a  glass  bead,  and  it  is 
unlikely  that  glass  would  be  used  in  connection  with  the  more  precious 
materials.  This  pearl  or  glass  may  have  been  afifected  by  the  organic 
acids  or  the  acids  resulting  from  the  decomposition  of  the  body  with 
which  the  ornament  was  buried  for  a  score  of  centuries. 

Among  the  ancient  jewels  containing  pearls  which  are  preserved  in 
the  Hermitage  at  St.  Petersburg,  we  may  mention  a  broken  gold 
ring  with  a  roughly  cut  turquoise  and  two  pendants,  each  set  with  two 
pearls  separated  by  a  garnet.  This  object  was  found  in  southern  Si- 
beria during  the  reign  of  Peter  the  Great,  and  may  belong  to  the  sec- 
ond century  before  Christ.  Also  may  be  noted  a  pair  of  gold  ear- 
rings, with  an  engi-aved  six-rayed  star,  in  the  center  of  which  a  pearl  is 
set,  while  below  hang  three  pendant  sticks,  two  of  which 'have  a  pearl 
at  the  extremity.  These  earrings  were  found  in  1892  in  a  tomb  situ- 
ated close  to  the  site  of  the  ancient  town  of  Chersonesus,  in  the  Crimea. 
As  a  coin  of  the  Emperor  Gordianus  HI  (224-244  a.d. )  was  discov- 
ered in  the  same  tomb,  we  may  assign  the  earrings  to  the  first  half  of 
the  third  century  a.d. 

Beside  another  pair  of  earrings,  one  of  which  is  set  with  a  pearl,  and 
two  pearl-headed  pins,  all  from  the  neighborhood  of  Tiflis,  in  the 
Crimea,  we  may  especially  refer  to  an  earring  made  of  a  plain,  thick, 
golden  wire,  on  which  seven  pearls  are  threaded ;  one  of  these  occupies 
the  center  and  the  others  are  grouped  around  it.  This  earring  was 
purchased  in  1903  by  the  Russian  Imperial  Archaeological  Commission 
from  a  collector  residing  at  Odessa ;  it  is  said  to  have  been  found  on 
the  site  of  the  ancient  Greek  colony  of  Olbia,  but  we  have  no  definite 
external  or  internal  evidence  to  sustain  this  view. 

We  may  also  note  the  gold  necklace  and  earrings^  containing  pearls 
found  near  the  site  of  Olbia  during  the  reign  of  Napoleon  III,  and  now 
in  the  collection  of  the  Roman,  Campana.  These  objects  are  especially 
interesting  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  pearls  are  drilled  a-nd  a  gold  cap 
is  set  on  each  side. 

A  pair  of  pearl  earrings  were  found  in  a  tomb  on  Mount  Mithri- 
dates,  near  Kertch,  in  the  Crimea.  These  earrings  probably  belong  to 
the  third  or  fourth  century  of  our  era.  Of  the  four  pearls  which  orig- 
inally adorned  the  cross-bars,  only  one  has  been  preserved.  Another 
pair  of  earrings  was  discovered  in  the  same  place.    It  is  probable  that 

'  Imperial   Museum  of   Archaeology,  St.  Petersburg,  Russia. 


ANTIQUE    PEARL   ORNAMENIS 


No.  1.  Gold  earring  wiih  turquoise  top.  Two  pearls,  two 
garnets,  and  two  pearls.  P'ound  in  southern  Siberia  in  1726; 
believed  to  be  of  the  second  century,  ad. 

No.  2.  Brass  earring  with  one  pearl  and  glass  beads. 
Fourth  century,  ad. 

No.  3.  Brass  dress  pin.  Sphere  of  amber,  surmounted  by 
a  pearl.  Found  near  village  of  Mzchet  Caucasus.  Fourth 
century,  a.d. 

No.  4.  Carnelian  dress  pins  with  pearl  tops.    Early  Christian. 


No-  5.  Gold  earring,  hook  and  eye  type.  From  Olbia, 
the    site    of    an    ancient    Greek    colony.       Fourth     century, 

A.D. 

Nos.  I  to  5  are  from  the  collection  of  the  Imperial  Her- 
mitage in  !^t.  Petersburg 

Nos.  6-S-9.  Pearl  and  gold  earrings,  Greek,  from  the  Island 
of  Cyprus.     Second  century,  a,d. 

No.  7.  Roman  brooch  (  pearls  and  gold  ),  found  in  the  river 
Thames,  England.      Ninth  century,  a,d. 


ORNAMENTS  AND  DECORATION  411 

they  were  ornamented  with  pearls  in  a  similar  way,  but  the  latter  have 
entirely  disappeared. 

Gabriele  Bremond  states  in  his  "Viaggi  di  Egitto,"  Lib.  I,  c.  30, 
that  it  was  a  Mohammedan  custom  to  embroider  baldachins  and  car- 
pets of  precious  metals  with  pearls.  This  use  is  especially  typified  in  a 
baldachin  of  gold  embroidered  with  pearls  which  is  over  the  sepulcher 
of  Mohammed  at  Mecca.' 

When  the  Mohammedans  captured  the  Persian  city  Ctesiphon,  in 
6T,y,  they  collected  an  immense  booty.  Each  of  the  60,000  soldiers 
received  the  value  of  12,000  dirhems  ($1560),  a  total  of  $93,600,000. 
Among  the  treasures  sent  to  Caliph  Omar  (581-644),  in  Medina,  was 
a  crown,  perhaps  that  of  Khusrau  I  (499-579),  which  Tabari  says 
was  studded  with  1000  pearls  each  as  large  as  a  bird's  egg.'  There 
was  also  a  wonderful  carpet  450  feet  long  and  90  broad,  with  a  border 
of  emeralds,  rubies,  sapphires,  and  pearls,  representing  luxuriant 
foliage  and  beautiful  flowers.  Tabari  states  that  it  was  called  the 
"Winter  Carpet,"  because  "the  Persian  kings  used  it  in  winter  when 
there  was  no  longer  verdure  or  flowers,  for  whoever  was  seated  on 
this  carpet  thought  he  looked  out  upon  a  garden  or  a  green  field.^ 

On  the  occasion  of  the  marriage  of  the  Caliph  Al-Mamun  (786- 
833)  with  the  daughter  of  Hassan  Sahal,  all  the  grandees  of  Al- 
Mamun  received  slaves  of  both  sexes  as  presents  from  the  bride's 
father.  The  preliminary  negotiations  were  held  at  Fomal  Saleh,  and 
the  road  traversed  by  the  bride  and  bridegroom  to  reach  Bagdad,  a 
distance  of  one  hundred  miles,  was  covered  with  mats  of  cloth  of  gold 
and  silver.  We  are  told  that  the  bride  wore  on  her  head-dress  a  thou- 
sand pearls,  each  of  which  is  said  to  have  been  of  enormous  value.* 

Describing  the  birthday  festival  of  Kublai  Khan  (circa  1275  a.d.), 
Marco  Polo  says :  "The  Great  Kaan  dresses  in  the  best  of  his  robes, 
allwrought  with  beaten  gold;  and  full  12,000  Barons  and  Knights  on 
that  day  came  forth  dressed  in  robes  of  the  same  colour,  and  precisely 
like  those  of  the  Great  Kaan,  except  that  they  are  not  so  costly;  but 
still  they  are  all  of  the  same  colour  as  his,  and  are  also  of  silk  and  gold. 
Every  man  so  clothed  has  a  girdle  of  gold ;  and  this  as  well  as  the  dress 
is  given  him  by  the  Sovereign.  And  I  will  aver  that  there  are  some  of 
these  suits  decked  with  so  many  pearls  and  precious  stones  that  a  single 
suit  shall  be  worth  full  10.000  golden  bezants  [about  $25,000]."® 

In  the  Kan  period,  in  China,  the  dead  bodies  of  the  emperors  were 

'"Delia  Storia  Naturale  delle  Genime  delle  'Alexander,    "The    History    of    Women," 

Pietre  e  di  tutti  i  Minerali,"  Giacinto  Gimma,  London.  1782,  Vol.  II,  p.  136. 

Naples.  1730.  °  "The  Book  of  Ser  Marco  Polo,  the  Vene- 

"  Tabari,  "Chronique,"  translated  by  Zoten-  tian."    trans,   and   ed.    by   Col.   Henry    Yule, 

berg,  Paris,  i86g.  Vol.  II,  p.  304.  London,  1871,  Vol.  I,  p.  343. 

'Ibid.,  Vol  III.  p.  417. 


412 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


embalmed  and  wrapped  in  a  garment  ornam.ented  with  pearls.  They 
were  then  inclosed  in  a  case  of  jade.' 

Speaking  of  the  jewels  of  the  King  of  Maabar,  or  what  is  now 
known  as  the  Coromandel  Coast,  Marco  Polo  tells  us:  "It  is  a  fact 
that  the  king  goes  as  bare  as  the  rest,  only  round  his  loins  he  has  a 
piece  of  fine  cloth  and  round  his  neck  he  has  a  necklace  entirely  of 
precious  stones, — rubies,  sapphires,  emeralds,  and  the  like,  insomuch 
that  this  collar  is  of  great  value.  He  wears  also  hanging  in  front  of 
his  chest  from  the  neck  downwards,  a  fine  silk  thread  strung  with  104 
large  pearls  and  rubies  of  great  price.  The  reason  why  he  wears  this 
cord  with  the  104  great  pearls  is  (according  to  what  they  tell)  that 
every  day,  morning  and  evening,  he  has  to  say  104  prayers  to  his  idols. 
Such  is  their  religion  and  custom;  and  thus  did  all  the  kings  his  an- 
cestors before  him,  and  they  bequeathed  the  string  of  pearls  to  him 
that  he  should  do  the  like."" 

A  favorite  East  Indian  amulet  is  known  as  the  "Nao-ratna"  or 
"Nao-ratan,"  and  consists  of  "nine  gems" :  in  former  times  the  pearl, 
ruby,  topaz,  diamond,  emerald,  lapis  lazuli,  coral,  sapphire,  and  a  stone, 
not  identified,  called  the  gomeda.  At  the  present  time  these  stones  are 
generally  the  coral,  topaz,  sapphire,  ruby,  flat  diamond,  cut  diamond, 
emerald,  hyacinth,  and  carbuncle.  This  talisman  may  suggest  the 
Urim  and  Thummin  or  sacred  oracle  of  the  Jews,  which  was  said  to 
have  been  taken  from  Jerusalem  in  615  a.d.  by  Khusrau  II,  the  Sas- 
sanian  Persian  king. 

The  East  Indian  custom  for  persons  of  quality  was  to  wear  a  pearl 
between  two  colored  stones  in  each  ear,  that  is,  either  between  two 
rubies  or  two  emeralds;  and  Tavernier  noted,  about  1670,  that  there 
was  no  person  of  any  consideration  in  those  regions  who  did  not  wear, 
in  each  ear,  a  pearl  set  between  two  colored  stones.  Another  favorite 
ornament  for  women  in  India  is  a  girdle  elegantly  embroidered,  bear- 
ing a  large  pendant  pearl  in  front,  where  it  is  fastened.* 

A  necklace  of  twenty-seven  pearls  bears  in  India  the  name  of  nak- 
shatra  mala,  naksJiatras  (originally  "stars")  being  the  name  of  the 
twenty-seven  divisions  of  the  Hindu  zodiac.'' 

In  the  Indian  jewels  often  a  small  spot  of  enamel  is  fastened  or 
melted  on  to  a  gold  wire,  and  then  one  or  several  pearls  are  hung  upon 
it ;  or  beads  of  some  gems,  as  sapphire,  ruby,  emerald,  or  even  glass, 
may  be  added  or  alternated  with  pearls.  Then  the  enamel  stop-piece  is 
turned  down  and  the  other  end  of  the  gold  wire  is  twisted  on  to  the 

'  De  Mely,  "Les  Lapidaires  Chinois,"  Paris,  ^  Alexander,    "The    History    of    Women," 

1896,  p.  178.  London,  1782.  Vol.  II,  p.  172. 

"The  Book  of  Ser  Marco  Polo,  the  Vcne-  *  Max   Miiller,   "Rig- Veda  Samhita,"   1862, 

tian,"   trans,    and    ed.   by    Col.    Henry   Yule,  Vol.  IV,  p.  64. 
London,  1871,  Vol.  II,  p.  275. 


EAST  INDIAN   NECKLACE  OF   PEARLS,  TABLE  DIAMONDS,  GLASS  BEADS,  GOLD  AND  ENAMEL 

Property  of  an  American  lady 


ORNAMENTS  AND  DECORATION  413 

setting,  loosely,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  swing  freely.  It  is  the  effect 
of  these  dozens  or  even  hundreds  of  swinging  drops  that  add  such 
grace  and  elegance  to  East  Indian  jewelry. 

In  China,  such  precious  stones  as  the  ruby,  sapphire— both  blue  and 
yellow — the  emerald,  and  the  pink  tourmaline,  are  not  facetted,  as  with 
us,  but  are  generally  polished  in  conformity  to  the  shape  of  the  bead 
or  other  ornament,  and  never  have  a  lathe-turned  or  cut  appearance ; 
they  are  either  set  in  cabochon  or  as  beads,  rounded,  oval,  or  elongated. 
All  these  forms,  and  the  colors  used  by  the  Chinese,  lend  themselves 
well  to  combinations  with  pearls ;  and  hence  pearls  are  often  found  in 
Chinese  jewelry,  especially  in  those  ornaments  which  are  flexible  and 
graceful,  in  which  the  pearls  and  gems  are  strung  on  wire  and  allowed 
to  swing  freely  with  a  gentle  tinkle  when  the  wearer  moves.  This  is 
not  unlike  the  setting  of  such  gems  in  ancient  Roman  times.  An  ad- 
mirable example  is  shown  and  described  in  Bushell's  "Chinese  Art" 
(Vol.  II,  plate  108,  page  90).  In  this  head-dress  of  a  Manchu  lady, 
there  are  combined  with  the  pearls,  jadeite,  amethyst,  amber,  and 
coral,  on  a  gilt  silver  openwork,  with  blue  kingfisher  feathers.  This 
great  cap  of  state  is  an  admirable  example  of  pure  Chinese  design  and 
workmanship.  The  pendant  strings  of  pearls  are  occasionally  relieved 
byabitof  carved  jade,  carnelian  or  coral,  especially  the  latter.  Another 
example,  the  "cap  of  state  "  has  silver-gilt  openwork  and  immortelles 
(Taoist  symbols),  and  is  much  enhanced  in  beauty  by  a  decoration  or 
inlay  of  plates  of  the  beautiful  blue  feathers  of  the  kingfisher,  which 
are  used  so  extensively  and  effectively  in  Chinese  jewelry.  The  pearls 
are  scattered  at  intervals  over  the  cap,  and  ten  strings  of  them  hang 
from  the  sides  of  it.  This  is  believed  to  be  of  Manchu  origin  by  Dr. 
Stephen  W.  Bushell,  the  great  Chinese  scholar,  to  whom  we  are  in- 
debted for  the  use  of  the  illustration.  We  are  also  told  that  young 
ladies  in  China  wear  a  sort  of  crown  constructed  of  pasteboard,  covered 
with  silk.    This  is  adorned  with  pearls,  diamonds,  and  other  jewels.^ 

The  pearls  on  many  Chinese  ornaments  were  generally  strung  upon 
silk,  often  with  half  a  dozen  or  a  dozen  seed-pearls  above  and  below 
the  large  pearl,  to  hold  the  latter  in  place,  and  also  to  add  a  softness  to 
the  whole  jewel.  The  end  pendant  pearl,  even  if  pear-shaped,  was 
usually  pierced  entirely  through,  and  a  wire  that  was  worked  through 
it  was  flattened  out,  and  this  gold  head  was  again  ornamented  in  some 
way.  A  Chinese  pendant  from  the  China- Japan  war-loot  offers  an 
excellent  illustration  of  this  kind  of  pearl-setting.  This  was  preserved 
in  a  double  box  of  finely  carved  gold. 

The  rosaries  containing  104  pearls,  which  are  used  to-day,  were 
mentioned  centuries  ago  by  Marco  Polo,  and  an  excellent  pearl  string 

'Alexander,  "The  History  of  Women,"  London,  1782,  Vol.  II,  p.  171. 


414  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

of  this  kind  has  been  in  the  Russian  Treasury  at  Moscow  for  over  two 
hundred  years.  Dr.  Stewart  CuHn,  the  archaeologist,  who  has  paid 
much  attention  to  Chinese  customs,  informs  us  that  the  black  and 
white  counters  inade  for  use  in  games  by  the  Chinese  are  called  black 
and  white  pearls. 

Dr.  T.  Nishikawa  writes  us  in  1908  that  pearls  were  used  in  Japan 
for  ornamental  purposes  more  than  a  thousand  years  ago.  Large 
abalone  pearls  are  found  in  images  of  Buddha  made  in  300  a.d.  Fresh- 
water pearls,  usually  from  Dipsas  and  Unio,  were  also  used.  A 
beautiful  color-print  was  made  by  Hoku'ai  of  the  first  pearl,  called 
"tide-jewel"  by  the  Japanese. 

Most  interesting  pearls  are  those  in  a  brooch  in  the  British  Museum, 
which  was  discovered  in  1839  while  excavating  a  sewer  opposite  Lud- 
gate  Hill  in  Thames  Street,  at  the  depth  of  about  nine  feet,  in  a  dark- 
colored  artificial  stratum  of  earth,  unaccompanied  by  any  remains  that 
could  aid  in  throwing  light  upon  its  history.  It  is  four  inches  and  a 
half  in  circumference,  and  is  composed  of  a  circular  compartment  an 
inch  and  a  quarter  in  diameter,  set  with  variegated  enamel,  represent- 
ing a  full-faced  head  and  bust,  with  a  crown  on  the  head,  and  the 
drapery  of  a  mantle,  formed  of  threads  of  gold  effectively  arranged 
so  as  to  mark  the  features  of  the  face  and  the  folds  of  the  drapery; 
this  is  inclosed  in  a  border  of  rich  gold  filigree-work,  set  at  equal  dis- 
tances with  four  pearls.^  Dr.  Charles  Roach  Smith  attributes  this 
brooch  to  the  time  of  King  Alfred,  and  supposes  it  to  have  been  ex- 
ecuted in  England  by  a  foreign  artist.  He  only  ventures  a  conjecture 
that  the  head  might  be  that  of  King  Alfred. 

Crowns,  both  ancient  and  modern,  are  richly  ornamented  with 
pearls.  We  shall  treat  of  the  crown  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire  and 
of  the  imperial  Austrian  crown  in  the  following  chapter.  One  of  the 
most  interesting  and  ancient  is  the  famous  crown  of  Khusrau  H 
(reigned  590-638),  made  in  the  latter  part  of  the  sixth  century,  which 
was  brought  to  light  by  Shah  Abbas  after  a  thousand  years  of  con- 
cealment in  an  obscure  fortress  among  the  mountains  of  Lauristan. 
It  does  not  contain  diamonds  among  its  ornaments,  but  is  incrusted 
with  pearls  and  rubies.^ 

From  the  representation  given  on  the  cup  of  Khusrau,  the  throne  of 
the  Sassanian  Persian  kings  appears  to  have  been  as  large  as  a  couch  ; 
it  was  supported  by  four  winged  animals,  whose  model  had  been  bor- 
rowed by  the  Sassanians  from  their  ancestors,  and  it  was  covered  with 
an  embroidered  stuff  thrown  over  mattresses  and  cushions.     If  we 

'  From   a   letter   of   Charles   Roach    Smith,  '  Augustus     C.     Hamlin,     "Leisure    Hours 

Esq.,    F.    S.    A.,    to   John    Gage    Rokewode,      Among  the  Gems,"  Boston,  1884,  p.  22. 
F.  R.  S.    "Archasologia,"  Vol.  XXIX,  p.  70. 


ORNAMENTS  AND  DECORATION  415 

may  believe  Tabari  ("Chronicles,"  trans,  by  Zotenberg,  Vol.  II,  p. 
304),  this  throne  was  of  gold,  enriched  with  precious  stones,  and  sur- 
mounted by  a  crown  of  gold  and  pearls,  so  heavy  that  the  sovereign 
could  not  wear  it,  and  therefore  had  it  suspended  above  his  head.^ 

One  of  the  crowns  in  the  Hermitage  at  St.  Petersburg  was  dis- 
covered in  1864  in  a  tumulus  near  Novo-Tcherkask,  with  many  other 
valuable  objects,  all  of  which  had  apparently  been  buried  with  some 
important  personage.  This  crown  resembles  somewhat  that  of  Rec- 
cesvinthus  in  the  treasure  of  Guerrazar,  although  some  portions  of  it 
seem  to  belong  to  the  period  of  the  Roman  empire.  The  conjecture 
has  been  made  that  the  crown  may  have  been  worn  by  a  queen  since  it 
is  decorated  with  a  finely  executed  bust  of  a  woman  in  amethyst.  The 
crown  itself  is  of  pure  gold,  and  was  bordered  with  two  rows  of  pearls, 
which  have  disappeared,  leaving  only  the  small  disks  to  which  they 
were  attached;  besides  these,  it  was  ornamented  with  a  number  of 
uncut  precious  stones.  The  date  of  this  object  cannot  be  exactly  de- 
termined, although  the  consensus  of  opinion  is  that  it  belongs  to  about 
the  third  century  after  Christ.  Possibly  the  bust  and  some  other 
portions,  which  appear  to  be  of  Greco-Roman  workmanship,  are  of 
this  period,  while  the  rest  of  the  crown  was  executed  one  or  two  cen- 
turies later ;  it  is  about  seven  inches  in  diameter  and  two  in  height.^ 

Toward  the  end  of  the  year  1858  a  French  officer  who  lived  in  Spain, 
while  making  some  excavations  on  a  property  he  owned  there,  discov- 
ered fourteen  small  gold  crowns.  They  were  taken  to  the  Spanish 
mint  and  are  said  to  have  been  melted  for  bullion.  New  excavations 
on  the  same  spot  brought  to  light  eight  other  crowns  of  considerable 
weight,  of  the  finest  workmanship,  and  incrusted  with  precious  stones, 
pearls,  etc.  There  is  no  doubt  that  these  crowns  were  buried  in  the 
early  years  of  the  eighth  century,  when  the  Arabs,  led  by  Tarik,  in- 
vaded Spain  and  forced  the  Gothic  dynasty  to  take  refuge  in  the  north 
of  Europe.  The  importance  of  this  discovery  is  very  great,  since  it 
gives  us  positive  evidence  of  the  development  of  the  goldsmith's  art  in 
Spain  at  that  early  period.  An  inscription  proves  that  one  of  the 
crowns  was  dedicated  in  the  second  half  of  the  seventh  century,  and  it 
is  one  of  the  few  authentic  memorials  we  possess  of  that  epoch.  In 
February,  1859,  the  eight  crowns  were  purchased  by  the  French  gov- 
ernment and  placed  in  the  Musee  de  Cluny.  Two  other  crowns  found 
in  the  same  place  were  added  in  i860,  and  complete  the  collection. 

The  largest  of  these  crowns  is  that  of  the  Gothic  king,  Reccesvin- 
thus,  who  was  King  of  Spain  from  649  to  672.     It  is  composed  of  a 

'  Dieulafoy,    "L'art    antique    de    la    Perse,"       sington  Museum  Handbooks),  London,  1884, 
Paris,  1884.    Pt.  V.  p.  137.  pp.  83,  84;  also  "La  Russie  Meridionale,"  by 

"See  Maskell,  "Russian  Art"  (South  Ken-       Reinach-Kondakoff- Tolstoy,  pp.  489,  490. 


4i6  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

wide  band  of  solid  gold,  ten  centimeters  wide  and  twenty-one  centi- 
meters in  diameter  (about  four  and  eight  inches  respectively).  This 
band,  which  opens  by  means  of  a  hinge,  is  surrounded  by  two  bor- 
ders of  gold  set  with  the  red  stones  of  Caria,  called  "gemmae  alaban- 
denses,"  and  the  band  itself  is  studded  with  thirty  large  oriental  sap- 
phires of  the  greatest  beauty.  Thirty  fine  pearls  of  appropriate  size 
alternate  with  the  sapphires  on  a  ground  incrusted  with  the  red  stones 
above  mentioned.  From  twenty-three  small  gold  chains  depend  large 
letters  in  cloisonne,  and  also  incrusted,  forming  the  sentence:  REC- 
CESVINTHUS  REX  OFFERET.  Each  letter  has  a  gold  pendant 
with  a  pearl  from  which  hangs  a  pear-shaped  sapphire. 

The  crown  is  suspended  from  four  chains,  converging  to  a  double 
floral  ornament  of  solid  gold,  adorned  with  twelve  sapphire  pendants. 
This  ornament,  the  leaves  of  which  are  open,  is  surmounted  by  a 
capital  of  rock  crystal,  then  comes  a  ball  of  the  same  material,  and  the 
whole  is  terminated  by  the  gold  center  to  which  the  four  chains  are 
attached. 

The  cross,  which  is  suspended  underneath  the  crown  by  a  gold  chain, 
is  remarkable  for  its  elegance  and  its  richness.  It  is  of  solid  gold  and 
is  inlaid  with  six  very  fine  sapphires  and  eight  large  pearls,  each  of 
which  is  mounted  in  relief  with  claws.  At  the  back,  the  cross  still  bears 
the  wire  by  which  it  was  attached  to  the  royal  mantle.  The  inside  of 
the  crown  is  quite  smooth ;  the  outside  is  composed  of  elegant  fleur- 
ettes  in  openwork,  the  leaves  being  filled  with  the  same  species  of  red 
carnelian  mentioned  above.  There  are  thirty  sapphires,  all  of  the 
finest  water,  and  a  few  of  them  show  the  natural  facetted  crystalliza- 
tion; the  two  principal  ones,  placed  in  the  center  of  the  band,  are  thirty 
millimeters  in  diameter.  The  peails  are  of  an  exceptional  size,  and 
only  a  few  of  them  have  been  injured  by  time.  The  total  number  on 
the  crown,  cross,  and  top  ornament,  is  seventy,  thirty  of  which  are 
unusually  large.  The  chains  are  each  composed  of  five  openwork 
ornaments  with  an  enamel  paste  inlaid  in  the  gold  edge.  A  close 
examination  of  the  crown  shows  that  it  had  been  worn  before  the  king 
presented  it  to  some  church. 

The  royal  Hungarian  crown  given  to  St.  Stephen  by  the  pope  in  the 
year  looo  a.d.,  when  Hungary  became  an  empire,  is  one  of  the  most 
ancient  crowns  in  existence.  It  contains  320  pearls  and  was  procured 
in  Byzantium.  It  was  pledged  to  the  emperor,  Frederick  IV,  by  Queen 
Elizabeth  of  Hungary,  probably  about  1440. 

In  the  cathedral  of  Prague  (the  metropolitan  church  of  St.  Vitus) 
there  may  be  seen  the  crown  which  was  made  by  the  order  of  Charles 
IV  (1378)  out  of  four  pounds,  ten  and  a  quarter  ounces  of  gold.  It  is 
adorned  with  twenty-nine  pearls,  forty-seven  rubies,  twenty  sapphires, 


yia:/'.  ?,'.,T  »<t  ■  ■  -'•  ,ti;;^:viva^^  ^.a^ritav  iiiS. 


CROWN    OF  RECCESVINTHUS   AND   OTHER   GOTHIC 
CROWNS  OF  THE  SEVENTH   CENTURY 

From  (he  treasure  of  Guarra^ar.  near  luledo 
Mus^c  de  Cluny,  Pari*- 


ORNAMENTS  AND  DECORATION  417 

and  twenty-five  emeralds.  The  value  of  the  gold  and  gems  was 
estimated  at  $10,000  in  1898,  which  is  probably  less  than  it  would 
be  worth  to-day.  The  sacred  crown  worn  by  St.  Wenceslaus  was 
inserted  within  the  crown  of  Charles  IV  at  the  instance  of  Queen 
Blanca.  The  golden  scepter  and  the  golden  orb  are  of  very  beau- 
tiful workmanship.  The  scepter  has  six  rubies,  eight  sapphires,  and 
thirty-one  pearls.  There  may  also  be  seen  in  the  treasury  a  gilded 
monstrance,  in  the  style  of  the  Renaissance,  studded  with  pearls  and 
precious  stones,  a  gift  of  the  princely  family  of  Schwarzenberg.  With- 
in the  same  cathedral,  in  the  tabernacle  of  the  chapel  of  St.  Ludmilla, 
wife  of  the  first  Duke  of  Bohemia,  is  the  head  of  that  saint,  bearing  a 
crown  studded  with  1800  pearls.' 

The  crown  of  Vladimir,  with  its  singular  and  thoroughly  Russian 
form,  is  preserved  in  the  treasury  of  the  Kremlin  at  Moscow,  and  has 
been  used  at  the  coronation  of  all  the  Russian  emperors.  It  has  borne 
the  name  of  the  crown  or  cap  of  Monomachus  from  the  reign  of 
Ivan  IV.  Although,  to  judge  from  this  designation,  the  crown  was 
probably  executed  in  the  twelfth  or  thirteenth  century,  there  is  a  legend 
to  the  efifect  that  it  was  sent,  in  988,  from  Byzantium  by  the  ruler  as  a 
gift  to  St.  Vladimir.  It  is  executed  in  filigree  work,  and  is  surmounted 
by  a  plain  cross  with  four  pearls  at  the  extremities;  between  these 
pearls  are  set  a  topaz,  a  sapphire,  and  a  ruby.  The  crown  itself  is 
ornamented  with  four  emeralds,  four  rubies,  and  twenty-five  pearls 
from  Ormus,  set  in  gold.  The  cap'  has  a  bordering  of  sable  fur,  and 
is  lined  with  red  satin.     (See  Maskell,  "Russian  Art,"  London,  1884, 

P-  125.) 

The  imperial  state  crown  of  her  Majesty  Queen  Victoria,  was  made 
in  the  year  1838  by  Messrs.  Rondell  and  Bridge,  with  jewels  taken 
from  old  crowns,  and  others  furnished  by  command  of  her  Majesty. 
It  consisted  of  diamonds,  pearls,  rubies,  sapphires,  and  emeralds,  set  in 
silver  and  gold.  It  had  a  crimson  velvet  cap  with  ermine  border,  and 
was  lined  with  white  silk.  Its  gross  weight  was  thirty-nine  ounces  five 
pennyweights  troy.  The  lower  part  of  the  band  above  the  ermine 
border  consisted  of  a  row  of  129  pearls,  and  the  upper  part  of  a  row 
of  112  pearls;  between  these  rows,  in  the  front  of  the  crown,  was  a 
large  sapphire  (partly  drilled)  purchased  for  the  crown  by  his 
Majesty  George  IV.  In  the  front  of  the  crown,  and  in  the  center  of  a 
diamond  Maltese  cross,  was  the  famous  ruby  said  to  have  been  given  to 
Edward,  Prince  of  Wales  (the  Black  Prince),  by  Don  Pedro,  King  of 
Castile,  after  the  battle  of  Najera,  near  Vittoria,  1367  a.d.  This  ruby 
was  worn  in  the  helmet  of  Henry  V  at  the  battle  of  Agincourt,  141 5 
A.D.  It  was  pierced  quite  through,  after  the  eastern  custom,  the  upper 


I  u 


27 


"Die   Domkirche  bei   St.   Veit  in   Prag,"  Prague,  1890,  pp.  13,  19,  21. 


4i8  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

part  of  the  piercing  being  filled  up  by  a  small  ruby.  From  the  Maltese 
cross  issued  four  imperial  arches  composed  of  oak  leaves  and  acorns, 
thirty-two  pearls  forming  the  acorns.  From  the  upper  part  of  the 
arches  were  suspended  four  large  pendant,  pear-shaped  pearls  with 
rose  diamond  cups.^  Writing  in  1850,  Barbot,  the  French  jeweler, 
placed  the  value  of  this  crown  at  $600,000. 

The  crown  of  St.  Edward,  the  official  crown  of  England,  is  used  at 
each  coronation.^  The  original  crown  of  this  name  was  destroyed  by 
the  republicans  in  1649,  but  at  the  time  of  the  coronation  of  Charles 
n,  another  crown  was  made  to  take  its  place,  under  the  direction  of 
Sir  Robert  Viner.  As  far  as  can  be  known,  this  crown  was  an  exact 
copy  of  the  older  one,  which  was  worn  by  Edward  the  Confessor,  and 
perhaps  even  by  King  Alfred.  The  crown  in  use  at  present  is  of  gold, 
richly  studded  with  pearls  and  precious  stones  of  various  kinds :  dia- 
monds, rubies,  emeralds,  and  sapphires.  There  is  a  mound  of  gold  on 
top,  and  on  this  a  cross  of  gold  ornamented  with  very  large  oval  pearls, 
one  attached  to  the  top  and  the  two  others  pendant  from  the  ends  of 
the  cross.  The  present  arrangement  of  the  jewels  cannot  date  back 
earlier  than  1689,  as  the  crown  was  found  to  be  despoiled  of  them  at 
the  time  of  the  accession  of  William  and  Mary.  Those  now  in  the 
crown  are  acknowledged  to  be  inferior  to  the  former  ones. 

The  orb  or  mound  which  is  placed  in  the  king's  hand  immediately 
after  his  coronation,  is  a  ball  of  gold,  six  inches  in  diameter,  sur- 
rounded by  a  band  of  the  same  metal  ornamented  with  roses  of  dia- 
monds set  around  other  precious  stones,  and  bordered  with  pearls.  It  is 
surmounted  by  a  cross,  embellished  with  four  larger  pearls  at  the  angles 
near  its  center,  and  three  others  at  the  ends.  The  orb^  including  the 
cross,  is  eleven  inches  high,  and  it  is  figured  on  the  coins  of  many  of  the 
Enghsh  kings,  who  are  represented  holding  it  in  their  left  hands. 

The  regalia  of  Scotland,^  consisting  of  the  crown,  scepter,  and 
sword  of  state,  are  preserved  in  the  castle  of  Edinburgh.  It  is  not 
certainly  known  at  what  time  this  crown  was  executed.  At  the  coro- 
nation of  Robert  Bruce  (1274-1329)  a  simple  circlet  of  gold  was 
used;  this  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  English  after  the  battle  of  Methven 
in  1306.  In  1307  Edward  I  issued  a  pardon  at  the  request  of  his  "be- 
loved Queen  Margarate,"  to  a  certain  Galfredus  de  Coigniers,  who 
was  said  to  have  concealed  and  kept  "a  certain  coronet  of  gold  with 
which  Robert  the  Bruce,  enemy  and  rebel  of  the  King,  had  caused 
himself  to  be  crowned  in  our  own  Kingdom  of  Scotland." 

-Abridged  from  a  description  by  Professor  "  Sir  Walter  Scott,  "Description  of  the  Re- 

Tennant.  galia  of  Ssotland,"  Edinburgh,  1869. 

"  Davenport    Debrett,    "Diotionary    of    the 
Coronation,"  London,  p.  52. 


HER  MAJESTY',  QUEEN  ALEXANDRA  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN  AND  IRELAND,  EMPRESS  OF  INDIA 


ORNAMENTS  AND  DECORATION      '  419 

Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  his  account  of  the  regaHa,  gives  it  as  his 
opinion  that  the  present  crown  was  probably  made  for  Robert  Bruce 
at  a  later  date,  and  that  it  was  used  at  the  coronation  of  his  son,  David 
II  (1324-1376).  The  style  of  workmanship  indicates  a  fourteenth- 
century  origin.  The  crown  was  originally  open  and  was  arched  over 
by  James  V  ( 15 12-1542).  As  Scott  notes,  this  was  done  to  many  royal 
crowns  in  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries,  in  order  to  assimilate 
them  to  the  type  of  the  old  irnperial  crowns. 

The  following  description  is  slightly  abridged  from  that  given  by 
Sir  Walter  Scott: 

The  lower  part  consists  of  two  circles,  the  undermost  much  broader  than 
that  which  rises  over  it;  both  are  of  the  purest  gold  and  the  uppermost  is  sur- 
mounted by  a  range  of  fleur-de-lis  interchanged  with  crosses  fleurecs,  and 
with  knobs  or  pinnacles  of  gold  topped  with  large  pearls ;  this  produces  a 
very  rich  effect.  The  under  and  broader  circle  is  adorned  with  twenty-two 
precious  stones,  betwixt  each  of  which  is  interposed  an  oriental  pearl.  The 
stones  are  topazes,  amethysts,  emeralds,  rubies  and  jacinths ;  they  are  not  pol- 
ished by  the  lapidary,  or  cut  into  facets  in  the  more  modern  fashion,  but  are 
set  plain,  in  the  ancient  style  of  jewellers'  work.  The  smaller  circle  is  adorned 
with  small  diamonds  and  sapphires  alternately.  These  two  circles,  thus  orna- 
mented, seem  to  have  formed  the  original  Diadem  or  Crown  of  Scotland,  until 
the  reign  of  James  V,  who  added  two  imperial  arches  rising  from  the  circle, 
and  crossing  each  other,  closing  at  the  top  in  a  mound  of  gold,  which  again  is 
surmounted  by  a  large  cross  patce  ornamented  with  pearls  and  bearing  the 
characters  J.R.V.  These  additional  arches  are  attached  to  the  original  crown 
by  tacks  of  gold,  and  there  is  some  inferiority  in  the  quality  of  the  metal. 

The  bonnet  or  tiara  worn  under  the  crown  was  anciently  of  purple,  but  is 
now  of  crimson  velvet,  turned  up  with  ermine — a  change  first  adopted  in  the 
year  1695.  The  tiara  is  adorned  with  four  superb  pearls  set  in  gold,  and  fast- 
ened in  the  velvet  which  appears  between  the  arches.  The  crown  measures 
about  nine  inches  in  diameter,  twenty-seven  in  circumference,  and  about  six 
and  a  half  in  height  from  the  bottom  of  the  lower  circle  to  the  top  of  the  cross. 

The  scepter,  made  by  order  of  James  V  at  the  time  he  added  the 
arches  to  the  crown,  is  a  slender  silver  rod  about  thirty-nine  inches 
long.  An  antique  capital  of  embossed  leaves  supports  three  small 
figures  representing  the  Virgin  Mary,  St.  Andrew,  and  St.  James, 
above  which  is  a  crystal  ball,  surmounted  by  an  oriental  pearl. 

The  regalia  have  passed  through  many  vicissitudes.  After  the 
execution  of  Charles  I,  his  son  Charles  II  was  crowned  King  of  Scot- 
land at  Scone  on  January  i,  1651.  On  the  advance  of  the  parliament- 
ary army  into  Scotland,  the  regalia  were  placed  in  the  care  of  the  Earl 
Mareschal  who  preserved  them  in  his  castle  of  Dunrottar,  and  here 
they  were  kept  until  the  castle  was  besieged  and  on  the  point  of  falling 


420  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

into  the  hands  of  the  EngHsh.  In  this  extremity,  they  were  rescued 
by  Christian  Fletcher,  wife  of  the  Rev.  James  Granger,  minister  of 
Kinneff.  She  obtained  permission  from  the  EngHsh  general  to  pay  a 
visit  to  the  Lady  Mareschal  and  succeeded  in  carrying  off  the  regalia. 
Her  husband  buried  them  in  the  church  of  Kinneff,  just  in  front  of 
the  pulpit.  When  they  were  brought  to  light  again  after  the  Restora- 
tion, an  Act  of  Parliament  was  passed  which,  after  reciting  Christian 
Fletcher's  services  in  the  matter,  stated:  "Therefore,  the  King's  Maj- 
estic, with  advice  of  his  estates  in  Parliament,  doe  appoint  Two  Thou- 
sand Merks  Scots  to  be  forthwith  paid  unto  her  by  his  Majestie's 
thresaurer,  out  of  the  readiest  of  his  Majestie's  rents,  as  a  testimony 
of  their  sense  of  her  service." 

In  1707,  after  the  union  of  England  and  Scotland,  it  was  considered 
wiser  to  remove  the  regalia  from  public  view,  since  they  were  calcu- 
lated to  arouse  memories  of  the  old  Scotch  monarchy.  These  precious 
objects  were  therefore  inclosed  in  a  chest,  which  was  their  usual  re- 
ceptacle, and  locked  up  in  the  crown-room,  a  strong  vaulted  apartment 
in  Edinburgh  Castle.  There  the  regalia  remained  until  1817,  when,  as 
doubts  had  been  expressed  as  to  their  existence,  a  commission  of  in- 
vestigation was  appointed,  one  of  the  members  being  Sir  Walter  Scott. 
The  chest — which  had  probably  been  the  jewel-safe  of  the  Stuarts — 
was  forced  open,  and  the  regalia  were  found  within,  just  as  they  had 
been  deposited  in  1707. 

An  imperial  German  crown  does  not  exist ;  a  design  has  been  made 
and  accepted,  but  at  the  present  date,  1907,  it  has  not  yet  been  ex- 
ecuted. On  festive  occasions,  when  the  imperial  insignia  are  neces- 
sary, the  Prussian  insignia  are  used,  especially  the  Prussian  royal 
crown.  This  consists  of  a  circlet  of  gold  set  with  thirteen  diamonds. 
On  this  are  five  leaves,  each  composed  of  three  larger  diamonds  and  a 
smaller  one,  and  four  prongs,  each  bearing  a  diamond  and  above  it  a 
large  pearl.  From  the  five  leaves  start  the  same  number  of  semicir- 
cular arches,  tapering  toward  the  central  point,  where  they  unite. 
Each  of  these  is  set  with  ten  diamonds  of  decreasing  size.  On  the  cen- 
ter rests  an  imperial  globe.  It  consists  of  a  large  Indian-cut  sapphire, 
— the  counterpart  of  the  one  on  the  Austrian  imperial  crown,  evidently 
dating  from  the  time  of  the  Crusades,  —  and  above  it  rises  a  chaplet 
ornamented  with  diamonds.  The  crown  has  a  lining  of  purple  velvet 
reaching  to  the  arches.  Between  the  arches  are  eight  pearl  pendants 
of  an  average  weight  of  80  grains ;  they  are  25  millimeters  in  length, 
and  have  a  fine,  brilliant  white  color,  although  they  are  not  perfectly 
regular  in  form. 

In  addition  there  belongs  to  the  regalia  a  pearl  necklace  of  three 
rows;  the  first  consists  of  thirty-seven  pearls  averaging  28  grains 


ORNAMENTS  AND  DECORATION  421 

each;  the  second  of  thirty-nine  pearls  averaging  34  grains,  and  the 
third  of  forty-five  pearls  averaging  39  grains.  There  is  also  a  guard 
chain  of  114  pearls,  averaging  20  grains,  making  a  total  of  2280 
grains  for  the  chain.    These  pearls  are  also  of  irregular  form.' 

The  crown  jewels  of  the  Sultan  Abdul- Aziz  (1830-1876)  were  of 
immense  richness  and  value.  At  the  exhibition  in  Vienna,  1873,  many 
of  these  were  exhibited  in  a  building  created  specially  for  the  purposes 
of  display  and  protection.  They  were  in  five  compartments,  in  what 
might  be  termed  five  impregnable  fire-proof  safes  of  a  peculiar  con- 
struction. Among  other  interesting  objects  was  the  armor  of  Sultan 
Murad  I  (1319-1389),  the  founder  of  the  Ottoman. empire  in  Europe. 
This  armor  is  of  the  most  delicate  oriental  workmanship.  Diamonds, 
pearls,  and  rubies  are  worked  broadcast  over  it  with  exquisite 
taste." 

In  Germany  and  Austro-Hungary  there  are  many  valuable  eccle- 
siastical ornaments,  some  of  which  possess  great  interest  for  the  his- 
tory of  early  German  art.  They  also  serve  to  show  the  appreciation  of 
the  pearl  even  in  the  Dark  Ages  and  the  Early  Renaissance  period. 

One  of  the  most  curious  productions  of  early  German  art  is  a  reli- 
quary in  the  form  of  a  sack,  which  is  from  Enger  near  Her  ford,  and  is 
exhibited  in  the  Kunstgewerbe  Museum  in  Berlin.  It  is  set  with 
cameos  and  pearls ;  several  of  the  latter  have  dropped  out ;  a  few,  how- 
ever, remain  in  their  setting.  According  to  a  very  probable  tradition, 
this  reliquary  was  given  by  Charlemagne  to  the  Saxon  duke,  Witte- 
kind,  on  the  occasion  of  his  baptism  in  785.  It  is  of  very  rude  and 
primitive  workmanship  and,  if  we  accept  the  tradition,  it  is  not  un- 
likely that  it  was  executed  at  Aix-la-Chapelle.'' 

Aniinteresting  example  of  German  art,  fron?  the  time  of  Archbishop 
Egbert  of  Treves  (977-993),  is  a  frame  now  in  the  Beuth-Schinkel 
Museum,  at  Charlottenburg.  This  was  probably  the  framework  of  a 
portable  altar.  It  is  decorated  with  a  simple  geometrical  design  in  the 
three  primary  colors,  and  has  four  polished  stones  and  four  pearls  on 
the  outer  border  of  gold  filigree.  Another  example  of  the  art  of 
Treves  at  the  time  of  Archbishop  Egbert  is  the  Echternacher  Codex. 
The  gold-plated  cover  is  a  worthy  product  of  the  school:  ivory,  en- 
amel, and  mosaic  are  combined  in  its  decoration  with  rows  of  pearls. 
Among  the  representations  of  many  saints,  appears  the  figure  of  the 
Empress  Theophanu.  daughter  of  the  Greek  emperor,  Romanos  II, 
with  the  inscription  "Theophaniu  imp."    Opposite  is  a  youthful  figure, 

'  Communicated  by  Prof.  H.  Schumacher  '  Otto  von  Falke  and  Heinrich  Frauberger, 

of  Bonn  and  Johann  Wagner  &  Sohn,  Jewel-  "Deutsche  Schmelzarbeiten  des  Mittelalters," 
ers  of  the  German  Court.  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  1904,  p.  2, 

'W.    Jones,   "Crowns    and    Coronations," 
London,  1883,  p.  425- 


422  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

probably  that  of  her  son,  Otho  HI.  It  seems  Hkely  that  the  work 
was  executed,  at  the  command  of  the  empress,  between  983  and 
991.^ 

In  the  cathedral  of  Treves  is  the  portable  altar  known  as  the  altar  of 
St.  Andrew.  This  was  primarily  a  reliquary  and  secondarily  an  altar. 
In  memory  of  the  relic  of  the  sandal  of  St.  Andrew,  which  was  greatly 
prized  by  Archbishop  Egbert,  this  altar  bears  the  representation  of  a 
foot  executed  in  wood  and  covered  with  plates  of  gold.  The  front  of 
the  case  is  divided  into  three  fields;  that  in  the  middle  containing  a 
Byzantine  lion  in  gold  relief,  and  the  others  the  symbols  of  the  four 
evangelists  in  enamel  work.  The  border  is  formed  of  rectangular 
pieces  of  enamel  and  smaller  ones  of  gold,  and  it  is  set  with  round 
stones  alternating  with  half-pearls ;  the  ends  are  covered  with  filigree 
and  enamel  work  wherein  are  embedded  strings  of  pearls.  A  coin  of 
Justinian  II  is  set  in  the  middle  of  the  back  of  the  case  and  is  sur- 
rounded by  a  wreath  of  larger  pearls." 

A  gold  cross,  the  work  of  Rogkerus  Theophilus,  is  in  the  Kunstge- 
werbe  Museum  in  Berlin,  and  comes  from  Herford.  The  frame,  which 
is  of  wood,  is  covered  with  plates  of  gold ;  at  the  extremities  and  in  the 
center  are  groups  of  precious  stones  surrounded  by  pearls ;  at  the  base 
is  a  fine  Augustan  cameo  with  a  wreath  of  pearls;  the  entire  cross  is 
covered  with  filigree  work  and  decorated  with  pearls  in  groups  of 
threes.  The  arrangement  of  the  precious  stones,  and  the  enhancement 
of  their  beauty  by  means  of  the  circles  of  pearls,  are  highly  artistic. 
As  a  work  of  Rogkerus,  this  cross  must  have  been  executed  at  the  very 
end  of  the  eleventh  century  and  it  may  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  finest 
examples  of  the  art  of  this  period.^ 

A  very  rich  collection  of  ecclesiastical  ornaments  is  contained  in  the 
treasury  of  the  cathedral  of  Gran  in  Hungary.'*  One  of  the  most  in- 
teresting objects  is  a  reliquary  in  the  form  of  a  Latin  cross,  which  is 
of  great  historical  and  artistic  value.  An  inventory  made  after  1528 
describes  it  briefly:  "crux  aurea  continens  lignum  vitae"  (a  gold  cross 
containing  the  wood  of  life).  Although  this  reliquary  probably  be- 
longs to  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century,  the  inventory  of  1659  describes 
it  as  a  gift  of  King  Stephen,  and  proceeds  to  say  that  the  kings  of 
Hungary  took  their  coronation  oath  upon  it.  This  custom  has  been 
preserved  to  the  present  day,  and  Emperor  Francis  Joseph,  on  the  oc- 
casion of  his  coronation  as  King  of  Hungary,  June  8,  1867,  swore, 
upon  this  cross,  to  uphold  the  constitution  and  the  laws  of  the  land. 

'  Otto  von  Falke  and  Heinrich  Frauberger,  '  Ibid.,  p.  i6. 

"Deutsche  Schmelzarbeiten  des  Mittelalters,"  *  Josef    Danko,    "Aus    dem    Graner    Dom- 

Frankfort-on-the-Main,  1904,  pp.  6,  7.  schatz,"  Gran,  1880,  pp.  64-66. 

'Ibid.,  p.  9. 


ORNAMENTS  AND  DECORATION  423 

The  cross  is  decorated  with  plates  of  gold  in  filigree  design,  and  has 
four  en  cabochon  cut  sapphires  and  eighteen  oriental  pearls. 

The  greatest  treasure  of  the  collection  is  known  as  the  cross  of  Cor- 
vinus,  King  of  Hungary,  and  is  decorated  with  a  great  number  of 
pearls.*  It  is  a  remarkable  example  of  early  Italian  Renaissance  art. 
'  The  entire  structure  is  about  twenty-eight  inches  high ;  the  pedestal  is 
triangular  and  ornamented  with  pearls  and  precious  stones;  three 
sphinxes  bearing  shields  with  the  arms  of  Corvinus  support  a  disk 
from  which  springs  a  triangular  support  sloping  outward ;  on  the  three 
sides  are  mythological  figures.  Upon  this  base  rests  the  chapel,  a  light 
Gothic  structure  with  the  figure  of  the  Saviour  bound  to  a  pillar  in  the 
center,  and  the  busts  of  three  prophets  in  the  niches  outside.  Above  all 
is  the  crucifix,  on  each  side  of  which  are  figures  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
and  of  St.  John.  Around  the  base  and  about  each  division  of  this 
elaborate  design  is  a  row  of  pearls ;  the  Gothic  chapel  is  surmounted 
by  a  close-set  row,  and  each  of  its  six  pinnacles  terminates  in  an  oval 
pearl.  The  cross  itself  has  fifteen  large  pearls  disposed  in  twos  and 
threes,  and  many  smaller  ones.  There  are  at  least  two  hundred  pearls 
on  the  whole  structure. 

Another  cross,  with  the  arms  of  the  primate,  George  Szolepchenyi, 
and  bearing  the  date  1667,  is  of  pure  design  and  richly  decorated  with 
pearls  and  precious  stones.^  It  is  quite  possible  that  this  cross,  which 
seems  to  belong  to  a  better  period,  was  bought  by  the  archbishop,  who 
afterward  added  his  arms.  There  are  thirteen  oriental  pearls,  three 
at  the  top,  three  at  the  end  of  each  of  the  arms,  and  four  at  the  inter- 
section. This  cross  was  used  as  an  "instrumentum  pacis,"  for  the  kiss 
of  peace,  on  solemn  occasions  such  as  coronations. 

We  may  also  note  the  pendant  with  the  image  of  the  Virgin  Mary  as 
patroness  of  Hungary,  which  is  of  gold  enamel  and  has  two  pendant 
pearls  and  a  sapphire,  and  likewise  the  pectoral  cross  of  the  primate, 
Emerich  Losy;  this  is  of  gold,  decorated  with  green,  blue,  and  black 
enamel,  and  has  three  pendant  pear-shaped  pearls,  one  quite  large,  as 
well  as  thirty-four  smaller  round  pearls. 

Among  the  many  valuable  and  interesting  objects  in  the  treasury 
of  the  house  and  chapel  of  Maria  Loretto  am  Hradschin,^  at  Prague, 
there  is  a  monstrance  of  silver-gilt,  thirty-seven  and  a  half  inches  high 
and  fifteen  and  three  quarter  inches  wide.  It  dates  from  the  begin- 
ning of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  is  not  a  harmonious  whole,  but 
only  a  combination  of  dififerent  ornaments  of  precious  stones,  corals, 
and  several  hundred  pearls  of  various  sizes.    All  these  are  the  devo- 

'  Josef    Danko,   "Aiis   dem    Graner    Dom-      ,    '  "Katalog  der   Schatzkammer  von   Maria 
schatz,"  Gran,  1880,  pp.  67-70.  ^Loretto    am    Hradschin    zu    Prag,"    Prague, 

'  Ibid.,  pp.  74,  75-  1891,  pp.  34,  40. 


4^4  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

tional  offerings  of  now  unknown  givers,  and  many  of  the  pieces  are  of 
artistic  workmanship.  This  monstrance  owes  its  origin  to  Josef  von 
BiHn,  who  was  a  monk  of  the  Capuchin  order  and  a  sacristan  of  Maria 
Loretto.  On  account  of  the  many  pearls  which  adorn  it,  it  is  known 
by  the  name  of  the  "Pearl  Monstrance." 

Another  monstrance  of  Arabic  gold,  of  the  year  1680,  is  twenty 
inches  high  and  is  studded  with  fifty-one  pearls,  of  which  twenty-nine 
surround  the  disk,  while  the  remainder  are  on  the  plate  and  the  base. 
There  are  also  two  crowns  of  silver-gilt  for  the  statues  of  the  Virgin 
and  of  the  Infant  Jesus.  The  larger  of  these  crowns  has  eighteen 
diamonds,  a  ruby,  and  102  pearls  set  in  two  rows  ;  while  the  smaller  has 
nineteen  diamonds  and  a  great  number  of  pearls ;  both  crowns  are  made 
up  of  the  offerings  of  the  faithful. 

In  a  historic  description  of  the  pearls  in  the  treasury  of  the  Kremlin, 
Margeret,  a  Burgundian  captain  ("Estat  de  I'empire  de  Russie," 
1649),  says  that  the  treasury  was  "full  of  all  kinds  of  jewels,  prin- 
cipally pearls,  for  they  are  worn  in  Russia  more  than  in  the  rest  of 
Europe.  I  have  seen  fifty  changes  of  raiment  for  the  emperors  around 
each  of  which  there  were  jewels  for  a  bordering,  and  the  robes  were 
entirely  bordered  with  pearls,  some  with  a  border  of  pearls  measuring 
a  foot,  half  a  foot,  or  four  inches  in  width.  I  have  seen  dozens  of  bed- 
coverings  embroidered  with  pearls.'"' 

In  the  treasury  of  the  celebrated  Troiza  Monastery  near  Moscow, 
there  is  an  immense  collection  of  ornamental  objects  for  ecclesiastical 
use,  the  value  of  which  has  been  estimated  at  many  millions  of  rubles. 
Here  may  be  seen  miters  and  bishops'  crooks— many  of  them  of  solid 
gold  and  set  with  precious  stones— Bibles  and  missals  in  golden  bind- 
ings, priestly  vestments,  altar-cloths,  etc.,  all  literally  covered  with 
pearls.  There  is  also  a  dish  filled  with  large  pearls  of  enormous  value.^ 
The  use  of  fresh-water  pearls  in  one  of  the  most  interesting  eccle- 
siastical objects  of  antiquity  is  shown  in  the  "Shrine  of  St.  Patrick's 
Gospels,"  which  is  in  the  Dublin  Museum.  It  was  purchased  by  the 
Irish  Royal  Academy  in  1845  for  ^300  ($1500).  This  shrine,  known 
as  the  "domnach  airgid,"  is  of  Irish  manufacture  and  was  perhaps 
made  in  the  eleventh  or  twelfth  century.  It  was  found  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Clones,  in  County  Monaghan,  and  is  ornamented  with  three 
bosses  which  contained  uncut  crystals,  and  are  decorated  with  figures 
of  grotesque  animals  and  traceries  enameled  in  blue  paste;  between 
these  may  be  seen  representations  of  four  horsemen.  On  each  of  the 
four  corners  there  was  a  fresh-water  pearl,  one  of  which  still  remains 

'Maskell.  "Russian  Art"   (South  Kensing-  '  Baedeker,  "Russland,"  Leipzig,  1888,  p.  317. 

ton  Museum  Handbooks),  London,  1884,  pp. 
119,  120. 


,>-^-i 


•  Igjg.  _ 


1#^ 


CROWN  OF  ST.  EDWARD 

The  official  crown  of  England 


ORNAMENTS  AND  DECORATION  425 

in  its  setting.  According  to  George  Petrie,  LL.D.,  in  his  "Christian 
Inscriptions  in  the  Irish  Language,"  the  shrine  bears  an  inscription  to 
the  effect  that  it  was  made  by  John  O'Barrdan  at  the  instance  of  John 
O'Carbry,  Abbot  of  Clones,  who  died  in  1353. 

Dr.  R.  F.  Scharff  informs  us  that  there  is  also  in  the  Dublin  Museum 
a  modern  Celtic  gold  brooch,  presented  to  Queen  Victoria  on  the  occa- 
sion of  her  visit  to  Ireland  in  1849,  ^^^  containing  a  pearl  of  beautiful 
luster,  discovered  in  Lough  Esk,  which  is  in  the  western  part  of  Ire- 
land. Dr.  Scharff  says  that  this  pearl  is  undoubtedly  from  the  Marga- 
ritifcra  inargaritifcra. 

Mr.  W.  Forbes  Howie  of  Dublin  writes  that  the  shrine  of  O'Donnel, 
made  in  1084,  originally  contained  pearls.  It  still  retains  some  pieces 
of  amber  and  coral.  Mr.  Howie  believes  that  fresh-water  pearls  were 
freely  used  in  the  decoration  of  ancient  Irish  shrines. 

The  inventories  of  jewels  and  ornaments  belonging  to  the  kings  and 
queens  of  France,  to  the  nobility,  and  to  the  treasures  of  the  Sainte- 
Chapelle,  in  Paris,  and  of  the  abbey  and  church  of  St.  Denis,  all  men- 
tion a  large  number  of  objects  decorated  with  pearls.^  The  more  im- 
portant of  these  are  given  below. 

The  following  ornaments  decorated  with  pearls  are  mentioned  in 
the  inventory  of  Louis,  Duke  of  Anjou,  which  was  made  circa  1360:^ 

A  large  silver-gilt  foot  for  a  vase  or  chalice,  resting  upon  six  lions  couchant, 
and  set  with  groups  of  four  pearls  with  a  garnet  in  the  middle. 

A  half  girdle  of  gold  with  a  hinge  bearing  two  ornaments,  one  a  balas  set  be- 
tween two  eagles.  Between  the  ornaments  is  a  gold  bar  set  with  eight  pearls 
in  two  rows.  In  front  is  a  clasp  with  a  large  sapphire  in  the  middle,  sur- 
rounded by  two  balases  and  two  sapphires  alternating  with  pearls. 

A  gold  brooch  having  a  balas-ruby  in  the  middle,  and  at  each  side  four 
sapphires  and  four  clusters  each  of  five  quite  large  pearls. 

A  gold  brooch  of  a  very  pretty  design,  with  five  balas-rubies,  two  sapphires, 
and  eight  very  round  pearls  weighing  about  four  carats  each.  At  each  end  of 
the  brooch  is  a  flat  pearl  weighing  about  five  carats. 

There  is  in  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale*  in  Paris,  the  original  record 
of  the  execution  of  the  testament  of  the  Comte  de  Montpensier,  son  of 

'  One  of  the  authors  has  in  his  possession  the    equivalent    in    United    States    currency, 

twenty  manuscript  vohimes  of  these  invento-  taking  account  of  the  progressive  changes  in 

ries.    They  are  careful  copies  from  the  origi-  the  French  monetary  standard, 

nals,  most  of  which  arc  in  the  BibUotheque  ^  "Inventaire    des    Joyaux    de    Louis    Due 

Nationale  in  Paris.     Tliese  copies  were  exe-  d'Anjou,"  In  De  Laborde's  "Emaux,"  Paris, 

cuted  for  M.   E.   Molinicr,  a  conservator  of  1853.  Vol.  11. 

the  Louvre   Museum,  and  were   disposed  of  '  Bibliotheque     Nationale.      MS.     fr.    6542 

after  his   death  in   1906.     The  values  in  the  (suppt.  4622)    parchemin  original,   13  pp.  in 

money  of  the  times  are  usually  given,  and  we  folio, 
have  endeavored  where  possible  to  indicate 


426  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

the  Due  de  Berri.  This  document  was  written  in  1398,  and  it  men- 
tions that  the  sale  of  the  jewels  and  plate  of  the  count  produced  the 
sum  of  "2390  livres  tournois  1 1  sols  3  deniers  [about  $8265]."  In  the 
record  we  have  a  description  of  "a  large  gold  cup,  weighing  5  marcs, 
7  ounces,  i  gros  [nearly  3  lbs.],  whereon  there  is  a  crown  of  precious 
stones."  The  decoration  of  the  cup  comprised  thirty  large  pearls,  six 
balas-rubies,  and  four  sapphires,  and  we  are  told  that  the  Due  de 
Berri  retained  it  for  his  own  use. 

An  early  mention  of  the  use  of  pearls  in  rings  occurs  in  the  inven- 
tory of  the  Due  de  Berri, ^  to  whom  we  have  just  referred.  This  in- 
ventory, which  was  made  in  1416,  notes  a  gold  ring  with  black  enamel, 
set  with  a  pearl  called  "the  great  pearl  of  Berri." 

The  inventory  of  the  personal  property  of  Marguerite,  Countess  of 
Flanders,  the  mother  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  was  made  in  1405.^ 
In  this  inventory  we  have  a  list  of  an  immense  number  of  ornamental 
objects  of  every  sort  and  kind,  and  everything,  from  the  ducal  crown  to 
the  smallest  trinket,  is  garnished  with  pearls.  In  most  cases  the  num- 
ber of  pearls  is  given,  and  we  find  that  no  less  than  4494  are  enume- 
rated. Evidently  the  duchess  was  ever  ready  to  honor  the  precious 
gem  to  which  she  owed  her'name,  and  fully  recognized  its  poetical  sig- 
nificance. The  following  are  a  few  of  the  more  noteworthy  ornaments 
in  the  inventory : 

The  circlet  of  the  great  crown,  composed  of  eight  sections ;  four  of  which 
each  comprise  sixteen  pearls,  four  diamonds,  and  four  balas-rubies,  with  a 
sapphire  in  the  center ;  the  four  others  contain  sixteen  pearls,  four  diamonds, 
and  four  sapphires,  with  a  balas-ruby  in  the  center ;  beside  this  there  are  two 
pearls  in  each  section.  Also,  eight  large  fleurons  of  the  great  crown,  four  of 
which  bear  each  twenty-three  pearls,  five  diamonds,  three  balas-rubies  and  a 
sapphire,  and  the  other  four  each  twenty-three  pearls,  five  diamonds,  four 
sapphires,  and  a  balas-ruby ;  and  eight  small  fleurons  of  the  said  crown  gar- 
nished each  with  a  pearl,  a  sapphire,  and  a  balas-ruby.  The  whole  is  valued  at 
8724  florins  ($22,682). 

A  gold  cap  with  ten  large  ornaments  fashioned  like  brooches,  five  of  which 
are  each  of  six  pearls  and  a  balas-ruby,  and  the  other  five  each  of  five  pearls 
and  two  balas-rubies,  and  between  each  ornament  there  is  a  balas-ruby.  This 
is  appraised  at  2159  florins  ($5613). 

A  headdress  garnished  with  balas-rubies  and  sapphires  and  tassels  of  large 
pearls,  each  of  six  pearls,  and  with  a  row  of  larger  balas-rubies,  larger  sap- 
phires and  larger  pearls.    This  was  estimated  at  2030  florins  ($5278). 

A  gold  necklace,  enameled  white  and  green,  garnished  with  nine  rubies,  thir- 

'De  Laborde,  "Emaux,"  Paris,  1853,  Vol.  °  "Inventaire  des  Biens  de  Marguerite  de 

II,  p.  437.  Flandre,"   Bibliotheque   Nationale  coll.,  Mo- 

reau,   1725   (Mouchet  5). 


ORNAMENTS  AND  DECORATION  427 

teen  diamonds  and  thirteen  pearls,  with  a  clasp  of  three  small  rubies,  and  three 
large  pearls  with  one  large  diamond  in  the  center.  The  worth  of  this  necklace 
is  given  as  1923  florins  ($5000). 

The  jewels  and  ornamental  objects  in  this  inventory  are  appraised  at  the 
sum  of  56,129  florins, — about  $145,000, — equivalent  to  a  m-uch  larger  sum 
to-day  in  consideration  of  the  greater  p'urchasing  power  of  money  in  the  fif- 
teenth century. 

In  1480,  during  the  reign  of  Louis  XI,  an  inventory  was  made  of  the 
objects  preserved  in  the  treasury  of  the  Sainte-Chapelle  in  Paris. ^  We 
select  the  following  items  from  this  inventory : 

A  very  beautiful  cross,  covered  with  gold,  bearing  on  one  side  a  crystal 
reliquary  which  contained  a  piece  of  the  True  Cross.  On  supports  attached  to 
the  cross  were  images  of  the  Virgin  Mary  and  of  St.  John,  each  holding  a 
reliquary.  The  cross  itself  rested  on  a  square  silver-gilt  base  bearing  the 
images  of  the  four  evangelists.  The  ornamentation  consisted  of  fifty  large 
Scotch  pearls  and  142  small  ones,  intermixed  with  garnets  and  emeralds ; 
there  were  also  many  balas-rubies  and  sapphires  of  dififerent  sizes.  The  in- 
ventory says :  "The  goldsmith  Nicholas  Roet  declares  that  the  stones  are 
genuine  and  that  the  pearls  are  from  Scotland." 

Another  gold  cross,  resting  on  a  silver-gilt  base  which  bore  the  arms  of 
France  and  Burgundy,  was  decorated  with  fourteen  sapphires,  twenty  balas- 
rubies,  and  twenty-four  Scotch  pearls.  On  the  base  were  the  figures  of  St. 
Louis  and  of  the  queen,  kneeling  in  prayer. 

Still  another  cross,  covered  with  gold  and  of  Venetian  workmanship,  bore 
thirty-nine  pearls,  twenty-seven  balas-rubies,  and  four  sapphires.  A  clasp  at- 
tached to  this  cross  was  set  with  four  large  perforated  pearls  surrounded  by 
small  emeralds  and  sapphires. 

A  silver-gilt  ornament,  consisting  of  a  golden  image  of  St.  Louis  seated 
on  a  silver  throne  and  holding  in  his  hand  a  reliquary  decorated  with  twelve 
pearls,  six  emeralds,  and  six  Alexandrian  rubies.  The  crown  of  the  image 
was  set  with  four  large  oriental  pearls,  three  balas-rubies,  etc. 

An  ivory  image  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  supported  by  a  silver-gilt  base  with  the 
arms  of  France.  This  base  was  borne  by  four  lions.  On  the  head  of  the 
Virgin  was  a  crown  of  gold  adorned  with  eight  large,  round,  oriental  pearls 
and  four  small  ones,  as  well  as  four  emeralds  and  four  balas-rubies.  On  the 
breast  of  the  image  was  a  very  large,  square  emerald. 

A  splendid  miter  studded  with  good-sized  pearls  and  decorated  with  emer- 
alds, rubies,  sapphires,  and  balas-rubies.  The  pendants  were  covered  with 
seed-pearls  and  precious  stones. 

A  fine  chasuble  of  Indian  satin  lined  with  crimson  tafifeta  and  covered  with 
lilies,  .birds,  unicorns,  etc.,  embroidered  in  gold  and  pearls.  It  was  also 
adorned  with  small  clusters  of  pearls  and  with  two  shields  bearing  the  arms  of 
France  and  Navarre,  quartered. 

'  Bibl.  Nat.  MS.  Latin.  9941  (suppt.  1656),  folio,  parchment,  40  leaves. 


428  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

A  beautiful  copy  of  the  gospels  with  covers  of  gold,  ornamented  with  four- 
teen large  sapphires,  thirteen  balas-rubies,  two  cameos,  and  eighty-nine  good- 
sized  pearls. 

The  following  items  are  taken  from  the  inventory  of  the  treasury  of 
the  abbey  of  St.  Denis,  made  in  1534,  during  the  reign  of  Francis  I. 
This  record  is  in  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale,  in  Paris :  ^ 

A  crown  of  gold,  with  four  fleurons,  garnished  with  several  balas-rubies, 
emeralds,  sapphires,  and  pearls;  valued  at  59,980  crowns  (about  $135,000). 

A  golden  cross  and  within  it  a  piece  of  the  True  Cross  which  belonged  to 
"Jeanne  d'Evreux,  royne  de  France  et  de  Navarre,"  valued,  with  the  pearls 
that  decorate  it,  at  345  crowns  ($776). 

A  wooden  chest  containing  eleven  cases  in  which  were  many  precious  stones 
and  large  and  small  pearls,  both  oriental  and  Scotch;  valued  at  1858  crowns 
($4180). 

A  number  of  priestly  vestments  embroidered  with  seed-pearls  are  inventoried 
at  1200  crowns  ($2700). 

A  blue  satin  chasuble  bordered  with  pearls  is  valued  at  350  crowns  ($787). 

An  altar-table,  set  in  the  "grand  altar,"  is  described  as  elaborately  decorated 
with  "arches  and  pillars  and  images  of  gold"  in  low  relief,  and  garnished  with 
precious  stones  and  pearls.    The  value  is  given  as  1203  crowns  ($2700). 

Another  altar-table  similarly  ornamented  is  valued  at  2645  crowns  ($5850). 
Above  this  table  was  a  great  cross  of  gold  with  a  silver  border,  called  the 
"cross  of  St.  Eloysius"  (the  patron  saint  of  goldsmiths)  ;  this  was  valued  at 
2291  crowns  ($5154). 

Over  the  sarcophagus  containing  the  body  of  St.  Denis,  there  was  "a  large 
tabernacle  of  wood-work  resembling  a  church,  with  a  lofty  nave  and  low 
arches."  In  this  nave  and  in  the  transepts  there  were  three  representations  of 
sarcophagi ;  the  whole  was  covered  with  gold,  precious  stones,  and  pearls,  and 
was  valued  at  7275  crowns  ('$16,368). 

The  head  of  St.  Denis,  incased  in  gold,  was  borne  by  two  silver-gilt  angels, 
while  a  third  held  a  small  shrine  containing  a  portion  of  the  jaw-bone  of  the 
saint.  All  these  objects  were  studded  with  precious  stones  and  pearls,  and 
were  valued  at  5622  crowns  ($12,650). 

There  were  also  in  the  treasury  several  miters  covered  with  "ounce-pearls" 
and  decorated  with  gold  and  silver  bands ;  on  this  field  several  larger  pearls 
were  set.  One  of  these  miters  is  valued  at  964  crowns  ($2169)  ^"^  another  at 
509  crowns  ($1135). 

The  total  value  of  the  articles  inventoried  is    185,500  crowns    (at  least 

$417-375)- 

Inventories  of  the  property  of  the  dukes  of  Lorraine,  dated  1544, 
1552,  and  1 61 4,  mention  a  number  of  pearl  ornaments.     In  the  in- 

^  Bibliotheque  Nationale  MS.  fr.  18766  (S.Germain    fr.    910)    40    ff.     Bound    in   green 

velvet. 


ORNAMENTS  AND  DECORATION  429 

ventory  of  1544,  made  about  the  time  of  the  accessioi\of  Francis  I  of 
Lorraine,  we  read  of  "a  very  fine  case  of  silver-gilt  around  which  are 
thirteen  personages  in  gold,  and  on  the  lock  three  balases  and  five 
pearls."  The  inventory  of  1552,  made  while  Charles  II  was  duke, 
mentions  "a  cap  of  crimson  velvet  whereon  there  are  large  pearls,"  and 
another  cap  "entirely  covered  with  pearls."  It  is,  however,  in  the  in- 
ventory of  1614,  made  a  few  years  after  the  accession  of  Henry  II  of 
Lorraine,  that  we  find  the  greatest  number  of  items  relating  to  pearls. 
An  estimate  of  the  value  of  the  rings  and  jewels  was  "faicte  du  com- 
mandement  de  son  Alteze  par  jouailliers  et  Lapidaires  et  Espertz  dudit 
ars."  All  these  jewels  were  to  remain  forever  the  property  of  the 
Duchy  of  Lorraine.  Among  the  items  relating  to  pearls,  the  following 
are  worthy  of  note : 

A  gold  collar  with  seven  settings,  each  containing  one  large  diamond  and 
two  large  pearls.  The  diamond  in  the  center  was  believed  to  weigh  fifteen 
carats,  and  the  collar  was  valued  at  35,000  crowns  (about  $70,000). 

Another  collar  contained  seven  diamonds  and  sixteen  pearls  set  in  pairs, 
and  was  considered  to  be  worth  19,750  crowns  (about  $40,000). 

A  collection  of  one  hundred  large  pearls,  some  weighing  twenty  grains,  some 
twenty-four,  some  twenty-eight,  and  a  few  thirty-two  grains,  were  estimated 
at  12,000  crowns  ($24,000). 

A  large  pearl,  very  nearly  pear-shaped  and  almost  as  large  as  a  pigeon's  egg, 
was  set  down  at  2000  crowns  ($4000). 

A  very  fine  pear-shaped  pearl  weighing  forty-eight  grains  was  valued  at  800 
crowns  ($1600). 

Another  pear-shaped  pearl  weighing  about  thirty-two  grains  was  placed  at 
500  crowns  ($rooo). 

Four  other  pear-shaped  pearls,  nearly  as  large  as  the  one  above-mentioned, 
were  estimated  at  300  crowns  ($600),  while  a  round  "pearl  of  Seville"  was 
valued  at  only  fifty  crowns  ($100). 

Six  clusters  of  pearls,  each  containing  two  of  fourteen  grains,  and  four  of 
eight  grains,  were  thought  to  be  worth  700  crowns  ($1400). 

A  large  chalice  was  decorated  with  seven  large  oriental  emeralds  and  eight 
clusters,  each  composed  of  fourteen  fine,  round  pearls,  six  of  twelve  grains 
and  eight  of  eight  grains ;  the  whole  valued  at  2400  crowns  ($4800). 

A  hat  ornament  composed  of  eleven  fine  rubies  and  ten  large,  round  pearls, 
each  weighing  twelve  grains,  was  estimated  at  800  crowns  ($1600). 

A  similar  ornament,  composed  of  thirteen  rubies  and  fourteen  pearls, 
partly  flat  and  partly  round,  was  placed  at  2000  crowns  ($4000). 

A  collar  set  with  seven  fine  rubies  and  the  same  number  of  round  pearls, 
each  weighing  twelve  grains,  and  with  seven  other  pendant  pearls,  was  valued 
at  550  crowns  ($1100). 

There  was  also  a  bed  called  the  "bed  of  pearls,"  which  was  elaborately  dec- 
orated with  ornamentation  in  gold  and  richly  studded  with  pearls. 


430         THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

The  inventory  made  in  1634  of  the  ornaments,  etc.,  contained  in  the 
abbey  of  St.  Denis,  offers  some  new  material  and  a  fuller  description  of 
a  few  of  the  objects  mentioned  in  the  inventory  of  1534.  The  most 
noteworthy  entries  are  given  below : 

A  golden  scepter  upon  a  staff  of  wood.  The  scepter  bears  the  figure  of 
Charlemagne  seated  upon  a  throne ;  at  the  corners  are  two  lions  and  two  eagles 
(one  of  the  latter  was  lacking  in  1634).  The  figure  holds  a  scepter  in  its  right 
hand,  and  a  globe  surmounted  by  a  cross  in  its  left;  on  its  head  is  a  crown 
with  a  large,  round,  oriental  pearl  valued  at  200  livres  ($135).  The  throne 
rested  on  a  fleur-de-lys,  beneath  which  was  a  ball  of  gold  ornamented  with 
eight  oriental  pearls.  Around  the  throne  was  the  inscription :  "Sanctus  Carolus 
Magnus  Italia  Roma  Gallia  Germania,"  and  three  clusters  of  three  pearls  each. 
The  value  of  this  scepter  was  given  at  3300  livres,  or  about  $2200. 

The  reliquary  of  the  hand  of  St.  Thomas.  Two  angels,  resting  on  a  silver- 
gilt  base,  bore  the  crystal  receptacle  containing  the  relic.  The  ornamentation 
consisted  of  eight  clusters  of  four  large  pearls  each,  with  a  small  diamond  in 
the  center.  On  the  hand  was  a  gold  band  bearing  the  inscription :  "Hie  est 
manus  beati  Thomae  apti.  quam  misit  in  latus  domini  nostri  Jesu  Christi." 
On  the  hand  was  a  pontifical  ring  set  with  a  large  sapphire.  The  reliquary 
also  bore  the  images  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  of  St.  Thomas,  and  of  the  Virgin 
Mary.    It  was  valued  at  5590  livres,  or  about  $3700. 

A  vessel  made  of  a  porphyry  resembling  jasper  and  embellished  with  forty- 
six  pearls;  estimated  at  1500  livres  ($1000). 

A  cope  given  by  Anne  of  Bretagne,  Queen  of  France,  and  bearing  six  scenes 
from  the  life  of  the  Virgin  Mary  embroidered  in  gold  and  pearls ;  the  whole 
bordered  with  pearls  and  gold  of  Cyprus.  On  the  cope  were  the  letters  A  and 
S,  and  the  words  "plutost  mourir."  There  were  two  ounces  of  pearls.  Varlued 
at  2000  livres  ($1350). 

A  vase  of  rock  crystal,  of  antique  workmanship,  with  a  cover  and  base  of 
silver-gilt ;  the  top  decorated  with  a  band  of  amethysts,  garnets,  and  sapphires, 
alternating  with  Scotch  and  oriental  pearls.  On  the  base  are  various  precious 
stones  and  twenty-three  Scotch  and  oriental  pearls,  and  the  inscription  "Hoc 
vas  sponsa  dedit  Anor.  regi  Ludovico."  This  vase  was  given  by  Eleanor  of 
Aquitaine  to  her  husband,  Louis  VII  of  France  ( 1 137-1 180) ,  by  whom  it  was 
bestowed  upon  Suger,  Abbot  of  St.  Denis  ( 1082-1 152).  The  goldsmith  work 
and  decoration  belong  to  the  time  of  Suger.     The  vase  is  now  in  the  Louvre. 

A  chalice  of  agate,  with  two  handles,  and  engraved  with  the  figures  of  men, 
animals,  and  birds.  It  stood  on  a  foot  of  gold  adorned  with  sixteen  sap- 
phires, forty-four  pearls,  and  twenty-two  clusters  of  fourteen  pearls  each. 
This  chalice  rested  upon  a  paten  of  porphyry  decorated  with  seven  fishes  in- 
laid in  gold,  and  with  a  bordering  of  pearls  and  precious  stones  disposed 
around  the  edge.     Both  together  valued  at  25,000  livres  (about  $16,000). 

A  vase  of  agate  with  a  foot  of  silver-gilt,  and  furnished  with  a  cover  and  a 
spout  in  the  form  of  a  serpent,  both  of  silver-gilt.  Around  the  base  an  in- 
scription :  "Dum  libare  deo  gemmis  debemus  et  auro,  Hoc  ego  Sugerus  offero 


THE  EMPRESS  DOWAGER  OF  CHINA 

From  a  portrait  painted  by  Miss  Katharine  A.  Carl 


ORNAMENTS  AND  DECORATION  431 

vas  domino"  (Since  we  should  pour  libations  to  God  out  of  gems  and  gold,  I, 
Suger,  offer  this  vessel  to  the  Lord).  This  vase,  which  is  now  in  the  Louvre 
and  is  of  sardonyx,  was  enriched  with  many  precious  stones  and  with  nineteen 
Scotch  and  oriental  pearls.    The  value  given  was  1500  livres  (about  $1000). 

A  book  beginning:  "Kyrie  Eleison,"  with  covers  of  wood,  one  overlaid  with 
gold  and  the  other  with  silver.  On  the  golden  cover  was  an  ivory  crucifix,  and 
images,  in  ivory,  of  the  Virgin  Mary  and  of  St.  John.  The  cross  was  bor- 
dered with  seed-pearls,  as  were  the  diadems  of  the  images.  The  cover  was  also 
decorated  with  an  engraved  crysolite,  an  engraved  peridot,  and  with  sap- 
phires, emeralds,  and  garnets.^ 

A  curious  item  regarding  the  use  of  pearls  in  embroidery  is  con- 
tained in  one  of  the  inventories  of  the  dukes  of  Burgundy,  made  in 
1414;  this  reads  as  follows: 

The  sum  of  276  livres  7  sols  6  deniers  tournois  (about  $960),  the  price  of 
960  pearls  destined  to  ornament  a  dress ;  along  the  sleeves  are  embroidered  the 
words  of  the  song  "Madame,  je  suis  joyeulx,"  and  the  notes  are  also  marked 
along  the  sleeves.  On  each  sleeve  are  264  pearls  which  help  in  forming  the 
notes  of  the  said  song,  numbering  142;  that  is  to  say,  a  square  made  of  four 
pearls  for  each  note.^ 

Mention  is  made  in  two  old  French  documents  of  the  use  of  pearls 
from  Compiegne  in  ornamentation.  In  the  "Inventaire  de  la  royne 
Clemence,"  in  1328,  we  read  of  "a  cock  covered  with  precious  stones 
and  bearing  a  pearl  of  Compiegne" ;  and  in  the  "Comptes  Royaux," 
under  date  of  1353,  appears  this  item:  "For  fotir  pearls,  oriental, 
Scotch  and  of  Compiegne,  for  the  said  arm-chair,  48  crowns."  As 
these  pearls  could  not  have  been  found  in  Compiegne,  we  may  sup- 
pose that  there  was  a  market  for  their  sale  in  that  place,  which  gave 
rise  to  the  designation.^ 

The  English  authority  and  writer  on  early  English  silver,  F.  Alfred 
Jones,  communicated,  under  date  of  September,  1907,  that  pearls  were 
rarely  used  in  old  English  plate;  in  fact,  any  such  embellishments 
were  of  exceedingly  infrequent  occurrence.  They  are,  however, 
frequently  mentioned  in  the  inventory  of  the  marvelous  collection  of 
gold  plate  dispersed  by  Charles  I  of  England,  which  may  have  dated 
from  the  time  of  the  looting  of  the  churches  and  monasteries  by 
Henry  VIII. 

The  following  items  are  from  the  inventories  of  Philip  II  of  Spain 

'  Bibl.  Natl.  MS.  frangais,  461 1,  folio,  pp.  'See  De  Laborde.     "Eraaux,"  Paris,  1853, 

433  in  parchment.  Vol.  II,  p.  437. 

■  "Inventaires    des    Dues    de    Bourgogne," 
De  Laborde,  "Emaux,"  Vol.  II,  p.  438. 


432  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

and  of  Margarita,  wife  of  Philip  HI.    The  original  documents  are  in 
the  Austrian  archives. 

A  golden  cup  which  came  from  England.  Around  the  foot  was  a  wreath  of 
fifteen  fleurons,  each  containing  pearls,  and  also  four  St.  Andrew's  crosses 
comprising  eighteen  pearls  each.  The  interior  of  the  cup  showed  scenes  from 
the  life  of  St.  George  and  was  studded  with  pearls,  while  thirty-one  pearl 
pendants  hung  from  the  edge.     11,897  reals  (about  $1700).^ 

Some  curious  jewels,  belonging  to  Queen  Margarita,  wife  of  Philip 
HI  of  Spain,  were  entered  in  an  inventory  made  in  161 1. 

An  imperial  eagle,  full  of  diamonds,  that  came  from  England,  with  two 
pendants  of  two  pearls,  which  could  be  unhooked  from  the  said  eagle  and 
were  worn  by  her  Majesty  at  two  masks  as  earrings.  Valued  at  77,000  reals 
(about  $11,000). 

Gold  earrings,  enameled  in  various  colors,  with  seven  diamonds  in  each  one 
and  three  pendant  pearls,  two  small  ones  of  equal  size  and  the  other  shaped  like 
a  pear.    Valued  at  1320  reals  ($188).- 

In  the  older  Spanish  jewelry  pearls  were  frequently  entirely  pierced 
through,  as  if  they  had  been  worn  in  necklaces;  and  if  hung  as  drops 
of  one  to  three  or  more,  they  were  strung  on  a  wire,  the  upper  end 
usually  forming  an  ornament,  and  they  were  kept  from  falling  off  be- 
low by  flattening  the  lower  end  of  the  wire,  this  flattening  acting  as  a 
stop.  These  styles  have  a  marked  resemblance  to  the  oriental  methods 
elsewhere  described,  and  suggest  the  derivation  of  the  early  Spanish 
pearl  mounting  from  the  Moorish  occupation  of  the  country.  If  they 
were  set  singly  on  any  part  of  the  jewel,  they  were  put  on  a  wire  peg 
fastened  to  it,  and  then  the  end  of  the  wire  which  projected  was  ham- 
mered flat  to  keep  the  pearl  in  place.  Excellent  examples  of  these 
styles  are  the  Spanish  earrings  in  the  collection  of  the  Hispano- Ameri- 
can Museum  of  New  York.  The  same  method  was  used  in  Transyl- 
vania in  the  seventeenth  century  with  remarkably  artistic  effect. 

The  pearls  of  the  Virgin  of  the  Rosary  in  the  church  of  St.  Dom- 
ingo, Lima,  were  famous.  It  is  believed  that  they  were  sold  in  the 
war  of  independence.  Those  of  the  monstrance  in  the  sanctuary  of 
the  cathedral  of  Lima  were  sold  during  the  last  war  with  Chile.  The 
monstrance  of  the  cathedral  of  Cuzco  still  shows  pearls  and  emeralds, 
but  they  are  of  small  size. 

A  lady  who  left  a  great  fortune  in  pearls  to  the  church  of  Nazareno 

^"Jahrbuch    der   kunsthistorischen    Samm-       Vienna,  1895,  Vol.  XIV,  Pt.  II,  p.  52.     "In- 
lungen     des     allerhochsten     Kaiserhauses,"       ventories  of  Philip  11"  (1598-1607). 

'Ibid.,  Vol.  XIX,  Pt.  II,  p.  170. 


ORNAMENTS  AND  DECORATION  433 

and  the  House  of  the  Poor  of  the  church  of  St.  Peter,  Lima,  was  Doha 
Maria  Fernandez  de  Cordoba,  from  the  family  of  Borda,  grandmother 
to  the  minister  of  Peru  in  Washington.  She  was  a  descendant  of 
Hernan  Cortes  and  of  Pizarro  by  her  ancestor  Carmen  Cortes. 

The  pearls  of  Lima  figure  prominently  in  the  history  of  the  Peruvian 
families.  The  war  of  independence,  which  ended  in  1822,  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  suppression  of  the  entailed  estates;  this  forced  a  division 
of  the  family  fortunes,  and  it  became  necessary  to  sell  the  family 
jewels  in  Europe.  Thither  went  all  the  famous  pearls  of  the  Peruvian 
aristocracy,  whose  luxury  is  proven  by  the  fact  that  in  1780  there  were 
in  Lima  no  less  than  two  thousand  private  carriages. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  uses  of  Bohemian  pearls  was  that  of  a 
large  triptych  owned  by  Count  Moritz  of  Lobkowitz  and  Duke  of 
Raudnitz.  It  measured  six  or  more  feet  in  height.  The  entire  borders 
were  ornamented  with  pearls.  The  center  of  the  triptych  represented 
the  ascension  of  Christ  on  a  chariot  drawn  by  lambs.  In  the  panel  to 
the  right  was  the  Angel  Gabriel,  and  to  the  left  the  Virgin  Mary  pray- 
ing. The  borders  and  lettering  were  magnificently  embroidered  and 
decorated  in  Bohemian  pearls.  This  object  probably  dated  from  the 
sixteenth  or  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century.  It  was  estimated 
by  one  of  the  authors  to  contain  at  least  one  hundred  thousand  pearls. 

Madame  Zelie  Nuttal,  the  great  Maya  scholar,  personally  writes 
that  pearls  are  not  mentioned  either  as  articles  of  tribute  or  of  decora- 
tion in  ancient  Mexican  codices;  possibly  a  lack  of  fine,  hard  instru- 
ments with  which  to  drill  holes  in  pearls  may  have  caused  them  to  be 
comparatively  little  used  in  personal  adornment.  Neither  do  they  ap- 
pear to  have  been  found  incrusted  in  prehistoric  objects,  and  we  have 
no  written  evidence  of  their  having  been  used  in  this  way.  We  do  not 
know  of  any  instances  of  the  wearing  of  pearls  by  the  Indian  women, 
but  the  women  of  the  higher  classes  used  to  wear  them  profusely,  more 
especially  drop-earrings  and  pendants.  Madame  Nuttal  also  com- 
municates as  follows : 

Bernadino  de  Sahagun  states :  "There  are  also  pearls  in  New  Spain,  and 
they  are  familiar  to  everybody.  They  are  named  epyollotti,'  which  means 
the  heart  of  the  shell,  because  they  are  formed  in  the  shell  of  the  oyster."  In 
Molina's  dictionary  "seed-pearls"  are  named  "piciltic  epyollotti,"  which  means 
"water-stars,"  a  poetical  name,  composed  of  the  word  a  =  att  =  water,  and  cit- 
tallin  =  star.  The  latter  name  leads  us  to  infer  the  possibility  that  the  "star- 
skirt,  or  skirt  of,  or  with  stars,"  the  "cittallin  icue"  of  the  living  image  of  the 
goddess  "Tlamateculitti"  was  decorated  with  pearls,  although  it  is  only  de- 
scribed (Book  II,  chap.  36)  as  being  "of  leather,  cut  into  strips  at  the  bottom 
(forming  a  fringe),  at  the  end  of  each  of  which  hung  a  small  shell  named 

iprom  epili — shell,  and yolloii — heart,  i.e.,  life. 
28 


434 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


'cueclitti'  which  reproduced  a  sound  when  she  walked."  As  it  is  stated  that 
this  "star-skirt"  was  worn  over  "a  white  one"  it  seems  as  though  it  must  have 
been  of  the  kind, represented  in  codices  and  sculptures,  made  of  open-work  and 
netlike,  and  studded  with  round  objects — possibly  pearls — at  the  crossings  or 
in  the  centers  of  the  open  spaces. 

Oil-paintings  of  the  madonnas  represent  them  with  robes  richly 
embroidered  with  pearls,  and  wearing  "ropes  of  pearls."  The  Virgin 
of  the  Rosario,  in  the  church  at  Santo  Domingo,  Mexico,  was  noted 
for  her  pearls,  and  there  is  a  small  oil-painting  of  this  virgin,  in  which 
she  is  depicted  with  a  wealth  of  pearls. 

In  the  Bohemian  National  Exposition,  held  at  Prague  in  1891, 
Count  Schwarzenberg  exhibited  four  embroideries,  each  fourteen  by 
eight  inches.  They  were  embroidered  with  Bohemian  pearls  found 
on  his  domains  a  century  or  more  previous,  and  contained  many  thou- 
sands of  pearls. 

In  Hungary  pearls  have  always  been  the  favorite  jewels,  especially 
among  the  aristocracy,  and  they  have  served  to  adorn  the  national 
costume  of  both  men  and  women.  A  century  ago  nearly  every  family 
of  distinction  owned  a  necklace,  but  most  of  the  pearls  were  small  and 
of  indifferent  quality.  Since  that  time  fine  pearls  have  become  more 
usual,  and  many  wealthy  Hungarian  families  have  acquired  beautiful 
pearls  of  good  size  and  excellent  quality,  and  many  splendid  necklaces 
can  now  be  seen  in  Hungary.    The  following  are  some  of  the  finest: 

A  necklace  of  three  large  rows,  owned  by  the  Archduke  Joseph  and  valued 
at  one  million  francs. 

A  still  larger  necklace  in  the  possession  of  Prince  Nicholas  Esterhazy ;  this, 
however,  is  an  entailed  heirloom,  and  may  not  be  parted  with  without  the 
king's  permission. 

A  very  fine  necklace  of  five  rows,  also  an  entailed  heirloom,  owned  by  Count 
Maurice  Esterhazy. 

A  large  necklace,  possessed  by  Countess  Alois  Karoly,  wife  of  the  late  am- 
bassador in  London.  This  is  another  entailed  heirloom;  its  value  is  at  least 
a  million  and  a  half  francs. 

An  unusually  large  necklace  of  four  rows,  such  as  one  rarely  sees,  owned 
by  the  Countess  Wenkheim.  The  pearls  are  white,  and  have  a  good  shape, 
but  not  much  brilliancy.  The  average  size  of  these  pearls  is  approximately 
twenty-four  grains. 

An  equally  large  necklace  consisting  of  a  single  row,  averaging  twenty-six 
grains,  in  the  possession  of  Countess  Louis  Batthyani. 

There  are  a  great  many  other  necklaces  of  fine  quality,  worth  from  300,000 
francs  down  to  100,000  francs,  belonging  to  families  such  as  those  of  Count 
Joseph  Hunyadi,  Countess  Festetics-Hamilton,  Count  Landor  Nako,  Peer 
Leo  Lanczi,  Count  Albert  Apponyi,  Mr.  Eugene  Dreher,  ^ladame  Emma  de 


Hungarian  Aigret  Earring,  Hungary 

Earrings,  Nijnl-Novgorod  Spanish  earring 

PEARL  ORNAMENTS  OF   THE  SEVENTEENTH  AND   EIGHTEENTH   CENTURIES 


ORNAMENTS  AND  DECORATION  435 

Bachrach,  etc.,  etc.     Indeed,  almost  every  wealthy  family  of  the  better  class 
owns  a  necklace  worth  up  to  100,000  francs  and  over. 

The  portraits  of  the  fifteenth,  sixteenth,  and  seventeenth  centuries 
afford  us  many  interesting  evidences  regarding  the  various  forms  of 
jewelry  in  which  pearls  were  used.  Indeed,  had  we  no  other  records, 
these  pictures  alone  would  prove  the  great  popularity  of  the  gem  as  an 
ornament. 

In  the  finely  executed  portrait  of  the  Duchess  Anne  de  France,  she 
wears  a  coronet  with  three  pearls  at  each  point.  It  seems  to  be  made 
up  of  three  large  pearls,  set  on  a  row  of  pearls  circling  the  entire  top 
of  her  head,  beneath  which  is  a  row  of  great  emeralds,  and  then  an- 
other row  of  pearls.  Flaring  downward  and  entirely  covering  the  side 
of  her  head  near  the  ear,  are  two  rows  of  pearls  with  a  row  of  fine 
emeralds  between  them,  the  rows  of  pearls  deflecting  slightly  down- 
ward until  the  chin  line  is  reached,  and  then  turning  back  and  slightly 
upward,  meeting  at  the  back.  As  in  the  crown  cap,  the  same  severe 
decoration  in  pearls  is  the  main  feature,  and  is  repeated  on  each  side  of 
the  robe,  the  front  of  which  is  of  ermine.  Beginning  on  a  line  with  the 
shoulder  is  a  broad  band  of  pearls  and  emeralds  set  in  gold  which  ex- 
tends below  her  waist.  At  the  top  of  this  are  six  pearls  set  in  a  straight 
line.  Then  from  the  end  of  this  line,  dropping  straight  down,  is  a  row 
on  each  side.  Between  the  two  rows  is  a  gem,  then  two  great  pearls 
and  another  gem,  then  two  more  pearls,  this  being  repeated  to  below 
the  waist.  The  ermine  is  held  at  her  waist  by  a  trefoil  reversed ;  that 
is,  two  pearls  above  and  one  below  a  great  gem,  and  then  a  trefoil  re- 
versed below  this.  This  portrait  is  dated  1498  and  is  on  a  triptych  in 
the  cathedral  of  Moulins. 

Quite  unique  is  the  pearl  decoration  in  a  picture  of  St.  Barbara, 
painted  by  an  artist  of  the  French  school,  and  dated  1520,  which  is  in 
the  National  Museum  of  Budapest.  This  artist  uses  pearls  with  the 
utmost  severity  of  taste  and  richness.  Beginning  a  trifle  above  the  cen- 
ter of  her  forehead  is  an  emerald  ornament,  and  on  each  side -there  ex- 
tend to  the  back  of  her  head  three  rows  of  pearls,  not  placed  exactly 
one  row  above  the  other,  but  the  rows  intertwined  with  each  other. 
The  whole  is  enriched  by  a  great  string  of  pearls  about  her  neck.  The 
eiTect  produced  is  extremely  artistic  and  beautiful. 

Catharine  de'  Medici  wore  two  rows  of  pearls  on  her  bonnet,  and  a 
quaint  necklace  in  sections  of  two  rows  of  four  pearls,  with  a  large 
pearl  between ;  a  pear-shaped  pendant  on  a  Renaissance  jewel ;  a  row  of 
pearls  around  her  low-cut  bodice,  and  a  girdle  of  jewels  alternating 
with  pearls,  which  extended  to  the  lower  end  of  her  gown.  In  addition 
to  all  this,  she  wore  a  bracelet  of  jewels  with  a  pearl  set  between  each 


436  THE  BOOKIDF-THE  PEARL 

ornament.  This  artistic  combination  is  best  shown  in  her  portrait  in 
the  Uffizi,  Florence  (No.  726),  painted  by  an  unknown  artist. 

One  of  the  most  unique,  rich,  and  chic  collections  of  pearls,  and  one 
worn  with  unusual  grace,  is  that  of  the  Infanta  Isabella  Clara  Eugenia, 
shown  in  the  fine  portrait  of  her  by  Coello  Sanchez.  In  this  portrait 
her  hat  shows  the  plumes  embroidered  with  slanting  rows  of  three, 
four,  and  five  pearls.  In  the  center  of  the  hat  is  an  ornament  shaped 
like  a  flower,  with  seven  large  pearl  petals  surrounding  a  great  pearl 
center.  The  hat  is  tilted  to  one  side  showing  her  hair  on  the  left,  while 
a  little  to  the  right  of  the  center  of  her  forehead,  and  touching  it,  there 
hangs  from  her  hair  a  great  pear-shaped  pearl,  which  adds  a  wonder- 
ful amount  of  character  to  the  jeweling  of  her  head.  Around  her  neck 
is  a  high  fluted  ruff ;  below  which  is  a  collar  of  large  gems  relieved  by 
an  ornament  of  two  pearls  placed  between  each  gem.  The  same  inter- 
esting motive  is  carried  out  in  a  girdle  of  gems  which  comes  down  very 
low  to  her  waist,  terminating  in  a  large  jeweled  heart  ornament.  The 
painting  shows  sixteen  remarkable  pearls  in  the  collar,  and  thirty-six 
pearls  in  the  jeweled  girdle. 

A  very  interesting  collection  of  portraits  was  exhibited  last  spring 
(1907)  at  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale  in  Paris.  The  pictures  are  con- 
tained, in  some  instances,  in  old  illuminated  manuscripts,  while  in 
others  they  are  contemporary  crayon  sketches.  Many  pearl  decora- 
tions are  represented,  and  we  give  a  few  of  the  most  important. 

The  portrait  of  Anne  de  Bretagne  (1476-15 14),  wife  of  Louis  XII,  from 
the  "Heures  d'Anne  de  Bretagne,"  illuminated  by  Jean  Bourdichon,  represents 
the  queen  kneeling;  she  wears  a  collar  ornamented  with  groups  of  four  pearls 
alternating  with  precious  stones. 

A  crayon  sketch  of  Frangoise  de  Foix,  Comtesse  de  Chateaubriant  (1490- 
1537),  who  became  the  mistress  of  Francis  I,  shows  her  wearing  a  hood  or 
coif  ornamented  with  forty  oval  pearls.  She  also  wears  a  necklace  of  sixty 
fine  round  pearls. 

Diane  de  Poitiers  (1499-1566),  granddaughter  of  Charles  VII  and  Agnes 
Sorel,  is  represented  with  a  headdress  similar  to  that  worn  by  the  Comtesse  de 
Chateaubriant.  It  has  a  border  of  sixty  round  pearls.  This  crayon  is  of  the 
time  of  Jean  Clouet. 

A  portrait  of  Philip  Strozzi  (1541-1582)  who,  although  an  Italian,  had  the 
rank  of  colonel-general  in  the  French  army,  is  interesting  as  an  illustration  of 
the  wearing  of  earrings  by  the  men  of  this  period.  The  fine  round  pearl 
which  hangs  from  his  ear  strikes  us  now  as  a  curious  ornament  for  a  warrior. 

A  crayon  sketch  of  Gabrielle  d'Estrees  (d.  1599),  mistress  of  Henri  IV, 
is  attributed  to  the  hand  of  Daniel  Dumonstier.  Here  may  be  seen  a  splendid 
pearl  necklace,  which  apparently  consists  of  six  sections,  each  comprising  three 
rows  of  eight  round  pearls,  the  sections  being  connected  with  each  other  by  a 
large  oval  pearl.     The  necklace,  which  hangs  down  over  the  bosom,  is  fas- 


ORNAMENTS  AND  DECORATION  437 

tened  by  a  clasp  in  the  form  of  a  four-leaved  clover,  from  which  depend  two 
other  sections  similar  to  those  described  above,  and  terminating  in  an  oval 
pearl  pendant. 

The  portrait  of  the  Duchesse  de  Montpensier  (1627— 1693),  the  "Grande 
Mademoiselle"  of  Mme.  de  Sevigne's  letters,  is  from  the  "Maximes  de  nostre 
salut,"  dedicated  to  the  duchess  by  the  author,  M.  de  la  Serre,  and  is  attributed 
to  Nicolas  Jarry.  It  represents  the  duchess  wearing  a  beautiful  necklace  of 
round  pearls  and  a  large  pear-shaped  pearl  earring,  while  another  pear-shaped 
pearl  depends  from  a  clasp  which  serves  to  loop  up  her  fichu  on  the  shoulder. 

A  fine  example  of  the  Renaissance  style  existing  in  the  sixteenth 
century  is  that  of  a  gold  and  enamel  necklace  of  Italian  workmanship, 
embellished  vi^ith  pearls.  This  necklace  was  presented  to  the  Louvre 
Museum  by  Don  A.  de  Rotschildt.  The  two-pearl  motive  is  carried 
out  exquisitely,  two  pearls  appearing  in  a  small  connecting  ornament 
between  two  larger  enameled  and  engraved  gold  plaques,  which  rep- 
resent scenes  from  the  life  of  our  Saviour. 

At  the  exposition  of  1900  there  was  shown  in  the  Russian  Pavilion, 
a  most  interesting  collection  of  jewelry  of  decidedly  oriental  character, 
dating  from  the  sixteenth  to  the  eighteenth  century.  These  jewels 
were  said  to  have  belonged  to  the  Emir  of  Bokhara.  They  dififered 
slightly  from  the  East  Indian  in  character,  and  generally  consisted  of 
combinations  of  pearls,  rubies,  and  emeralds,  the  three  colors  of  these 
gems  predominating.  One  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  necklaces, 
acquired  by  J.  Gelatley,  Esq.,  shows  an  arrangement  of  the  pearls 
which  is  peculiarly  attractive  and  decorative. 

The  heraldic  significance  of  pearls  has  at  times  been  very  impor- 
tant. While  in  the  eighteenth  century  the  crowns  of  the  French  nobles 
were  surmounted  with  silver  points,  it  appears  that  in  the  sixteenth 
century  they  were  provided  with  pearl  points.  According  to  Rudol- 
phus,^  the  dukes  wore  a  leaf  crown  of  eight  leaves,  with  or  without  as 
many  commingled  pearl  points ;  the  marquises  a  crown  of  four  leaves 
with  twelve  pearl  points,  or  with  four  groups  of  three  pearls  set  one 
over  the  other;  and  the  counts,  a  pearl  crown  which  sometimes  had 
four  pearls  in  each  corner,  one  above  the  other.  The  viscounts  wore  a 
gold  ring  set  with  four  pearls,  and  the  barons  a  gold  ring  entwined 
with  pearls. 

The  same  is  true  of  the  English  coronets.  Instead  of  the  pearls 
which  they  bore  at  an  earlier  period,  silver  balls  are  now  used  on  those 
of  the  English  barons,  viscounts,  earls,  and  marquises.  This  change 
probably  owed  its  origin  to  the  desire  on  the  part  of  the  sovereigns  to 
confine  the  ofificial  tise  of  pearls  and  other  precious  stones  to  them- 
selves.   The  rules  at  the  coronation  of  Edward  VII  forbade  the  use  of 

'"Heraldic.  Curios.,"  Pars  III,  c.  8,  p.  12. 


438  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

pearls  except  as  a  special  royal  privilege.  The  earl's  coronet  has  eight 
balls  raised  on  points,  with  gold  strawberry  leaves  between  the  points. 
The  marquis  wears  one  with  four  gold  strawberry  leaves  and  four 
silver  balls  alternating,  the  latter  raised  above  the  rim.^ 

A  pearl  and  gold  ring,  formerly  belonging  to  Washington,  is  now 
in  the  possession  of  Vice-Chancellor  E.  B.  Learning,  of  Camden,  N.  J. 
It  bears  in  the  center  a  lock  of  Washington's  hair  under  a  conical  glass, 
around  which  is  a  setting  of  blue  and  white  enamel  with  a  square  of 
red  at  each  corner.  The  whole  is  surrounded  by  a  circle  of  thirteen 
pearls.  This  ring  was  presented  by  Washington  to  Lieutenant  Richard 
Somers  prior  to  the  latter 's  departure  on  the  expedition  against  the 
Algerine  pirates  in  Tripoli,  in  the  course  of  which  he  lost  his  life.  Be- 
fore his  departure  he  left  the  ring  with  his  sister,  Sarah  Keen.  Vice- 
Chancellor  Leaming's  paternal  grandmother  inherited  it  as  heir  to 
Somers's  estate,  and  from  her  it  descended  successively  to  her  son  and 
grandson.  The  lock  of  Washington's  hair  is  admitted  to  be  one  of 
only  three  now  existing,  of  the  other  two,  one  is  at  Washington's  head- 
quarters at  Newburg  and  the  other  in  the  museum  at  Boston.  The 
ring  was  exhibited  at  the  Centennial  Exposition  in  1876. 

And  what  a  wealth  of  pearls  was  seen  at  the  marriage  of  the  late 
Emperor  Frederick  III  of  Germany  with  Princess  Victoria,  in  1858! 
The  wedding  gift  of  the  bridegroom  consisted  of  a  necklace  of  thirty- 
six  enormous  pearls,  three  superb  ones  in  the  middle,  and  graduated 
in  size  toward  the  ends.  From  her  mother,  Queen  Victoria,  the  bride 
received  a  diamond  necklace  and  three  massive  brooches  set  with  un- 
usually large  pearls;  and  from  Prince  Albert,  a  magnificent  hair-net 
of  pearls,  diamonds,  and  emeralds.  The  king  and  queen  of  Prussia 
presented  a  diadem  of  brilliants  surrounded  with  a  splendid  circlet  of 
pearls.  On  the  day  of  her  entry  into  Berlin,  the  queen  bestowed  on  the 
bride  a  costly  brooch  of  pearls  and  diamonds,  representing  a  bouquet, 
the  leaves  of  which  consisted  of  diamonds,  while  the  flowers  them- 
selves were  of  pear-shaped  pearls  of  large  size,  one  weighing  160 
grains,  and  fourteen  of  them  weighing  600  grains  together. 

One  of  the  most  splendid  and  best  known  collection  of  pearls,  and 
one  worn  with  as  much  grace  as  any  in  Europe,  consists  of  those  owned 
by  the  dowager  Queen  Margherita  of  Italy,  whose  name  signifies  pearl, 
and  who  has  always  been  fond  of  the  ocean  jewel.  Her  husband.  King 
Humbert,  made  her  many  presents  of  this  regal  gem.  A  photograph, 
signed  by  the  queen  and  sent  to  us  for  this  volume  by  her  gracious 
courtesy,  shows  her  wearing  her  magnificent  twelve  strings  of  pearls, 
a  pearl  bracelet,  and  a  pearl  tiara  with  pear-shaped  pearl  tips. 

At  the  coronation  of  Edward  VII  and  Queen  Alexandra,  beside  her 

'  Debrett,  "Dictionary  of  the  Coronation,"  p.  127. 


MARGHERITA,  DOWAGER    QUEEN    OF    ITALY 


ORNAMENTS  AND  DECORATION  439 

coronation  crown,  the  latter  wore  many  of  her  richest  and  most  beauti- 
ful jewels.  These  consisted  of  seven  immense  rows  of  pearls,  each 
twenty-four  to  thirty  inches  in  length,  hanging  below  five  large 
neck  circlets  of  diamonds  and  a  great  corsage  ornament  which  cov- 
ered her  entire  bodice ;  and  beneath  part  of  this  was  a  splendid  orna- 
ment of  diamonds  with  large,  pear-shaped  pearls. 

A  careful  study  of  the  decorations  conferred  by  potentates  and  gov- 
ernments shows  that  the  pearl  is  rarely  used  in  the  ornamentation  of 
these  marks  of  distinction.  A  notable  exception  is  that  given  by  the 
Siamese  government.  This  decoration  is  known  as  the  nine-jewel 
Siamese  decoration,  and  bears  a  large  center  pearl.  It  is  only  con- 
ferred on  nine  members  of  the  royal  Siamese  family,  including  his 
Majesty  the  King  of  Siam.  The  central  pearl  represents  the  king  and 
the  eight  other  jewels  surrounding  it  the  members  of  his  family.  It 
is  strange  that  Siam  should  find  so  much  significance  in  white,  as  is 
illustrated  by  the  white  elephant,  and  also  by  the  use  of  the  white  pearl 
for  this  order. 

The  Order  of  Christ,  the  chief  Portuguese  order,  has  a  long  cross 
enameled  in  bright  red  surcharged  with  a  white  cross  and  bordered 
with  fine  pearls.    The  eflfect  is  both  striking  and  beautiful. 

The  order  of  the  crown  of  India  is  a  jeweled  badge  with  a  device 
composed  of  the  imperial  cipher,  E.  R.  and  I.,  in  diamonds,  pearls,  and 
turquoises,  set  within  a  border  of  pearls  and  surmounted  by  the  im- 
perial crown.^ 

A  remarkable  pearl  necklace  was  recently  the  subject  of  litigation  in 
England.  It  was  the  property  of  the  late  Duchess  of  Sermonata,  an 
Englishwoman  who  married  an  Italian.  She  was  a  daughter  of  the 
late  Lord  Howard  de  Walden,  one  of  the  wealthiest  of  the  English 
nobility.  The  duchess  was  in  the  habit  of  investing  all  her  spare  cash 
in  pearls,  and  it  seems  that  she  chose  a  very  good  form  of  investment, 
since  pearls  have  increased  in  value  to  a  greater  extent  even  than  dia- 
monds during  the  same  period.  Of  the  ten  rows  of  which  this  neck- 
lace consisted,  six  were  deposited  for  safekeeping  in  a  London  bank 
and  the  other  four  were  in  Florence  at  the  time  of  the  death  of  the 
duchess.  She  had  bequeathed  the  gems  at  the  bank  to  her  niece.  Miss 
Henrietta  Ellis,  and  had  left  directions  that,  if  her  pearl  necklace  was 
in  London  when  she  died,  it  should  be  sent  to  her  Italian  executors. 
All  the  jewels  are  now  claimed  by  these  executors,  while  Miss  Ellis 
contends  that  it  was  the  intention  of  the  duchess  to  leave  to  her  the 
pearls  in  the  hands  of  the  London  bankers.  The  necklace  consisted  at 
one  time  of  ten  rows ;  the  first,  thirteen  and  a  half  inches  long,  com- 
prised forty-one  pearls ;  the  second,  fourteen  inches  in  length,  thirty- 

'  "Illustrated  London  News,"  April  13, 1878,  p.  347. 


440  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

nine  pearls;  the  third,  fourteen  and  a  half  inches,  forty-three  pearls; 
the  fourth,  seventeen  inches,  forty-seven  pearls;  the  fifth,  seventeen 
and  a  half  inches,  forty-nine  pearls;  the  sixth,  nineteen  and  a  half 
inches,  fifty-five  pearls;  the  seventh,  twenty-one  inches,  sixty-six 
pearls ;  the  eighth,  twenty-three  and  a  half  inches,  seventy  pearls ;  the 
ninth,  twenty-six  inches,  eighty-two  pearls ;  the  tenth,  twenty-nine  and 
a  half  inches,  ninety-one  pearls.  The  total  number  of  pearls  is  583, 
and  the  necklace  is  valued  at  $150,000. 

A  widely  advertised  necklace  of  large  size  was  shown  in  the  English 
section  of  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1900.  This  necklace  consisted  of 
forty-six  pearls  weighing  1596  grains,  and  was  valued  at  $450,000.  It 
was  loaned  by  an  English  gentleman  now  dead,  and  was  returned  to 
him  at  the  close  of  the  exposition  and  later  dispersed. 

In  regard  to  the  possession  of  pearls  by  families  in  the  United  States, 
we  may  safely  say  that  there  is  not  a  letter  in  the  alphabet  under  which 
we  cannot  find  the  names  of  from  one  to  a  dozen  families,  owning 
single  strings  or  collections  from  the  value  of  $10,000  to  $200,000, 
or  even  more.  If  one  is  a  wearer  of  jewels,  pearls  are  an  absolute 
necessity;  indeed,  they  are  as  essential  and  indispensable  for  the 
wealthy  as  are  houses,  horses,  and  automobiles.  At  no  period  in  the 
world's  history  have  pearls  been  more  widely  distributed;  and  some  of 
those  of  to-day  are  finer  in  quality  and  orient,  and  also  more  carefully 
matched,  than  those  in  the  great  collections  of  the  past.  Of  course 
there  are  exceptions,  where  royal  personages  have  been  careful  ob- 
servers and  have  used  good  taste,  but  it  is  a  question  whether  there 
have  ever  been  more  critical  or  better  buyers,  as  far  as  selection  is 
concerned,  than  are  many  American  men  and  women  who  have  pur- 
chased this  gem. 

One  of  the  largest  pearl  necklaces  in  the  United  States  is  in  the  pos- 
session of  an  American  lady.  There  are  perhaps  thirty  pearls  in  the 
necklace,  weighing  in  all  about  1400  grains ;  the  largest  pearl  weighs 
nearly  120  grains.  There  is  also  one  of  75  grains  and  one  of  70 
grains,  the  others  graduating  down  to  20  grains. 

With  increasing  wealth,  and  a  demand  for  rich  rather  than  gaudy 
or  showy  jewelry,  there  is  nothing  that  commends  itself  so  highly  as 
the  pearl,  which  acts  as  a  foil  to  the  diamond,  emerald,  ruby,  and  sap- 
phire, and  at  the  same  time  harmonizes  with  them  and  in  fact  with  all 
the  colored  stones.  The  true  pearl,  as  it  increases  in  size  and  beauty, 
becomes  proportionately  more  rare  and  costly;  and  yet  it  differs  from 
other  jewels  in  the  fact  that  they  are  mined  in  the  depths  of  the  earth, 
and  their  existing  quantity  is  speculative,  while  the  home  of  the  pearl 
is  much  more  accessible,  and  it  is  possible  to  make  an  estimate  of  the 
number  of  pearls  in  course  of  growth.    Pearls,  however,  are  forming 


COLLECTION   OF   HLACK   PEARLS   BELONGING  TO  AN   AMERICAN   LADY 


ORNAMENTS  AND  DECORATION  441 

all  the  time,  while  other  gems  are  perhaps  to-day  as  they  were  ages  be- 
fore the  advent  of  man.  Nevertheless,  even  if  pearls  were  cultivated  as 
they  should  be,  and  people  cared  for  the  mollusks  as  the  oyster-gath- 
erer does  for  his  crop — by  planting  it,  guarding  it  and  gathering  it 
systematically — still,  the  ever-increasing  demand  would  more  than  bal- 
ance the  greater  supply.  As  we  have  said,  at  no  time  since  pearls  were 
worn  have  they  enjoyed  such  favor;  and  while  they  have  always  in- 
creased in  value,  this  increase  has  never  been  so  rapid  as  in  the  past 
ten  years.  They  are  jewels  which  can  be  worn  by  young  or  old,  and 
which  adapt  themselves  to  every  fabric  that  man  or  woman  can  use  for 
attire ;  whether  they  are  white,  gray,  or  black,  they  are  never  obtrusive, 
but  always  have  a  refining  effect.  Round  as  the  globe  upon  which  we 
live,  they  will  probably  be  worn  and  appreciated  as  long  as  life  exists 
upon  this  sphere. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  change  of  taste  and  the  difference  of 
opinion,  at  various  epochs,  in  regard  to  the  respective  merits  of  pear- 
shaped  and  round  pearls.  In  the  Roman  period  the  pear-shaped  pearls 
were  more  highly  valued ;  in  the  eighteenth  century  round  pearls  were 
esteemed  the  more  valuable,  while  at  the  present  day  they  are  both  on 
about  the  same  basis. 

With  the  progressive  twentieth  century  taste  for  independence  in 
fashion,  our  modern  ladies  take  from  every  epoch  what  they  think  will 
best  suit  their  superrefined  beauty.  Therefore  we  are  not  surprised  to 
find  in  their  jewel-cases  the  long  earrings  and  large  brooches  adorned 
with  seed-pearls,  similar  to  those  worn  by  their  grandmothers  of  the 
early  Victorian  period.  Although  these  jewels  cannot  be  considered 
very  beautiful  according  to  the  artistic  standard  of  to-day,  they,  never- 
theless, lend  to  their  wearers  a  certain  quaint  dignity  and  piquancy 
which  is  very  attractive. 

As  an  instance  of  modern  pearl-wearing  by  a  lady  of  the  present 
century,  we  may  note  a  portrait  in  which  there  is  a  simple  necklace  of 
large  pearls;  over  this  a  collar  of  twenty-three  rows  of  pearls  with  a 
diamond  centerpiece,  and  to  relieve  the  severity,  a  sautoir,  which  is 
made  up  of  alternate  pearls  and  diamonds,  and  pearl  earrings.  No 
better  illustration  can  be  given  than  the  portrait  of  Sefiora  Carmen 
Romero  Rubio  de  Diaz,  wife  of  President  Porfirio  Diaz  of  Mexico, 
which,  by  her  courtesy,  we  are  able  to  figure. 

The  gathering  of  a  great  necklace  is  not  the  work  of  a  day;  it  often 
requires  many  years.  Such  necklaces  are  frequently  held  for  a  long 
time  by  dealers  or  by  a  number  of  people  who  are  interested  in  their 
sale,  and  whenever  one  or  more  pearls  can  be  purchased  which  form  a 
better  graduation  or  which  are  of  better  color  or  more  perfect,  they  are 
usually  purchased  to  improve  the  necklace  if  the  price  is  a  proper  one. 


442  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

In  the  early  sixties,  when  most  American  women  aspired  to  owning 
a  pair  of  diamond  earrings,  it  was  not  uncommon  for  ladies  to  start 
with  a  hundred,  two  hundred,  five  hundred,  or  a  thousand-dollar  pair, 
and,  for  a  dozen  years  to  come,  to  add  an  annual  sum  of  one  hundred, 
two  hundred  or  five  hundred  dollars  to  increasing  the  size  of  these  by 
exchanging  them  with  the  dealer  at  the  cost  price  and  paying  the  dif- 
ference between  the  value  of  the  pair  that  had  been  purchased  and  that 
of  the  new  pair.  In  this  way  ladies  who  never  would  have  thought  of 
spending  five  thousand  dollars  for  a  pair  of  earrings,  virtually  made  a 
savings-bank  of  the  jewels.  This  is  frequently  done  with  pearls.  A 
small  necklace  or  a  few  pearls  will  be  purchased;  these  are  added  to 
annually  or  at  such  times  as  the  owner  may  have  spare  savings  or  gifts 
to  invest.  It  is  not  uncommon  for  a  family  to  buy  a  pearl  for  a  daugh- 
ter on  her  first  birthday,  and  each  succeeding  year  add  one  pearl  to 
this,  so  that  she  may  first  wear  one  pearl,  then  two,  then  three,  and  by 
the  time  the  young  lady  makes  her  debut  in  society,  a  good  start  has 
been  made  toward  a  pearl  necklace.  It  was  the  custom  of  King  Hum- 
bert of  Italy  to  present  his  queen,  Margherita,  with  one  fine  pearl 
every  year,  and  with  this  succession  of  annual  gifts  she  possessed  one 
of  the  finest  collections  in  Europe. 

In  the  portraits  of  the  four  daughters  of  the  present  Czarina  of 
Russia,  the  Grand  Duchesses  Tatiana,  Olga,  Maria,  and  Anastasia,  we 
can  see  that  their  pearl  necklaces  were  built  up  gradually,  as  that  of  the 
eldest  daughter  is  notably  longer  than  those  of  her  younger  sisters. 
These  pearls  were  annual  gifts  from  the  Czar  and  Czarina  and  from 
others  of  the  imperial  family. 

There  are  few  ornaments  worn  by  man  or  woman  that  have  not  at 
one  time  or  another  been  bepearled,  either  with  large  or  small  pearls, 
with  one  pearl  or  many  pearls,  with  pearls  of  high  or  low  degree,  and 
no  object  is  ever  made  the  less  rich  by  the  addition  of  the  peerless  gem 
of  the  ocean  depths. 

As  the  prices  of  pearls  have  increased,  naturally  the  single  objects 
containing  them  have  also  become  more  costly.  It  is  not  unusual  to  see 
rings  with  pearls  each  costing  from  $5000  to  $10,000,  $20,000,  and 
even  $30,000  and  over,  the  pearls  not  infrequently  being  in  button  form. 

Rings  are  occasionally  made  up  of  one  white  and  one  black  oriental 
pearl,  and  if  a  pink  one  is  combined  with  these,  it  is  either  a  fresh- 
water or  a  conch  pearl.  Such  rings  sell  for  $5000,  $8000,  $10,000  and 
$15,000  each. 

Pendant  pearls,  either  round,  ovate,  drop,  or  pear-shaped,  sell  from 
$5000  to  $10,000,  $20,000,  $50,000,  and  even  $100,000. 

The  prices  for  one  or  two  choice  pearls  worn  for  the  adornment  of  a 
man's  shirt-front  are  $2000,  $3000,  $5000,  and  even  $10,000. 


SENORA   CARMEN   ROMERO   RUBIO   DE  DIAZ,  WIFE  OF 
PRESIDENT   PORFIRIO  DIAZ  OF    MEXICO 


ORNAMENTS  AND  DECORATION  443 

In  link  buttons,  slightly  ovate,  button  or  round  pearls  are  used,  the 
link  being  made  up  of  one  white  and  one  black  pearl,  costing  $2CX)0. 
$3000,  $5000,  and  even  $20,000  a  set. 

It  is  not  unusual  for  a  man  to  wear  a  scarf-pin  set  with  a  round, 
ovate,  or  pear-shaped  pearl  costing  $2000,  $5000,  $10,000,  $15,000, 
and  even  $30,000. 

For  men's  scarf-pins,  a  variety  of  colors  are  frequently  selected, 
such  as  a  white  oriental,  a  pink  American,  a  pink  conch,  or  a  gray  and 
black  oriental  pearl. 

Single  pearl  necklaces  sell  for  $1000,  $2000,  $5000,  $8000,  $10,000, 
$15,000,  $20,000,  $50,000,  $100,000,  $250,000,  and  $500,000  necklaces 
are  not  unknown. 

Tiaras  sell  for  $10,000,  $20,000,  $50,000,  and  $100,000. 

Waistcoat  buttons,  sometimes  made  up  of  baroque  pearls,  cost  from 
$200  to  $500 ;  sometimes,  however,  when  fine  pearls  are  used,  the  price 
paid  for  a  set  of  five  or  six  buttons  is  as  high  as  $10,000. 

It  is  scarcely  possible  to  mention  all  the  various  forms  in  which  the 
pearl  has  been  worn :  whether  as  a  spray  of  many  small  pearls  or  a  few 
large  ones,  either  round,  ovate,  or  pear-shaped  for  aigrets;  in  points 
on  crowns,  used  either  for  ornamental  or  heraldic  purposes ;  for  the 
decoration  of  the  orbs,  scepters,  and  crowns  of  kings  and  emperors; 
for  forming  an  edging  on  bonnets,  caps,  fillets,  or  diadems ;  in  pendant 
form,  usually  consisting  of  one,  although  sometimes  of  three  or  four 
pendants  in  rows  and  lines  to  ornament  the  side  of  the  face;  or  one, 
two,  three,  or  a  bunch  together  to  adorn  the  ear;  as  a  single  pearl  on  a 
wire  or  a  group  of  them,  as  worn  in  the  nose  of  the  East  Indian  beauty ; 
as  a  single,  two,  three,  or  many-rowed  necklace  to  grace  the  lady,  the 
queen,  and  the  empress ;  or  else  in  six,  ten,  to  twenty  or  more  rows  with 
a  tiny  gold  jeweled  bar,  or  a  large  diamond  center,  in  the  form  of  col- 
lars ;  as  a  long  chain  from  four  to  ten  feet  long  to  hang  from  the  neck 
to  the  waist,  or  else  to  be  worn  once,  twice,  or  thrice  around  the  neck, 
hanging  down  and  then  encircling  the  waist  in  the  form  of  a  sautoir ; 
either  as  a  single  drop,  consisting  of  an  ovate  or  pear-shaped  pearl  or 
a  number  of  them  together  in  the  form  of  a  pendant  combined  with 
diamonds;  as  a  single  pearl  surrounded  with  pearls  or  diamonds  for 
buttons  to  adorn  my  lady's  crown;  in  rows,  or  combined  with  jewels 
and  enamel,  in  the  form  of  a  bow-knot  with  long  bunches  of  pearls,  for 
shoulder  bars ;  either  as  one  pearl  alone  or  alternating  with  gold  wire, 
with  jewels,  or  with  many  pearls,  in  endless  forms,  as  bracelets ;  either 
as  a  single  row,  two  rows  or  alternate  rows  in  infinite  variety  on 
bodices,  as  worn  in  the  past  more  than  at  the  present ;  in  a  single  row 
on  ornamenting  metal,  enamel,  or  jewelwork  in  the  form  of  girdles ;  in 
five  hundred  forms  for  rings ;  as  an  embroidery  or  in  rows  pendant  on 


.1^/1  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

slippers;  and,  finally,  as  a  stole.  These  are  only  a  few  of  the  uses  to 
which  a  lady  can  put  pearls. 

By  men,  pearls  are  worn  to  adorn  the  shirt,  to  wear  in  the  scarf,  as 
link  buttons,  as  waistcoat  buttons,  or  as  a  fob.  The  pearls  used  in  this 
way  are  sometimes  quite  as  expensive  as  any  of  those  worn  by  the 
ladies. 

Ecclesiastics,  for  more  than  two  thousand  years,  have  appreciated 
the  richness  of  bepearling.  In  Russia  we  find  pearls  decorating  crosses, 
missal  covers,  vestments,  bindings  on  books,  chalices  and  crook-tops; 
they  are  employed  as  borders  to  ikon  frames,  or  for  the  decoration 
about  the  Madonna  and  Child.  In  Persia  we  find  pearl-embroidered 
rugs,  pillows,  and  bolsters.  Half-pearls  are  used  in  quaint  decorations 
for  watches,  snuff-boxes,  miniatures,  and  portrait  frames.  Even  sad- 
dles and  horse-trappings  in  the  East  do  not  escape  the  charm  and 
beauty  of  the  pearl.  Even  the  English  coronation  spoon  is  known  for 
the  pearls  which  ornament  it. 

Of  the  many  forms  of  earrings  that  have  come  down  to  us,  none  is 
simpler  or  daintier  than  a  single  pearl  worn  as  an  ear-screw,  or  partly 
or  entirely  strung  on  a  thin  gold  wire.  Another  dainty  style  is  three 
pearls,  worn  one  below  the  other  as  in  ancient  Rome,  known  as  a  tric- 
lum;  or  the  round  pearl  with  a  pear-shaped  pendant  or  bunches  of 
pearls  known  as  crotalia,  also  worn  in  ancient  times. 

A  pearl  necklace  is  usually  clasped  either  by  a  round  or  ovate  pearl, 
drilled  so  that  the  catch  and  snap  are  contained  within  the  pearl  itself, 
or  else  by  a  pearl  surrounded  by  diamonds,  rubies,  or  other  gems.  Such 
a  clasp  frequently  serves  to  bind  from  two  to  fifteen  rows  of  pearls, 
the  first  or  smaller  row  encircling  the  neck,  and  each  row  in  turn  being 
larger  until  the  fifteenth  row  reaches  to  the  bosom  or  even  to  the  waist. 

Pearl  collars  are  usually  made  up  of  four,  six,  ten,  twenty,  and  even 
twenty-five  rows ;  often  of  v^ry  small  pearls,  generally  fitting  closely 
to  the  neck.  The  pearls  are  held  in  position  either  by  four  gold,  dia- 
mond, or  jeweled  bars,  or  frequently  the  entire  front  of  the  collar  is 
occupied  by  a  large  diamond  ornament. 

In  ancient  times,  pearls  were  a  favorite  decoration  of  crosses;  fre- 
quently an  entire  cross  was  made  up  of  pearls,  either  of  a  single  or  a 
double  row.  Many  portraits  dating  from  the  fifteenth  to  the  seven- 
teenth century  show  the  cross  used  in  connection  with  a  necklace,  this 
either  starting  from  the  top  of  the  cross  or  from  each  side  at  the  end 
of  each  arm.  Sometimes  from  below  the  arms  and  the  lower  part  of 
the  cross  there  hung  pendant  either  round  or  pear-shaped  pearls.  We 
have  other  instances  where  at  the  top,  the  cross  was  attached  to  a  pearl 
necklace,  while  below  each  of  the  two  arms  there  hung  a  pearl,  and 
from  the  lower  part  of  the  cross  a  double  necklace  again  reached  to  the 


Jade  jar  inlaid  with  pearls  set  with  fine  gold 
Heber  K.  Bishop  Collection,  Metropolitan  Museum  o(  Art 


r\<-.  ■••••• 

'^* 

^^n 

Japanese  decoration  set  with  pearls 

Ord-jr  of  llie  crown  nt"  the  First  Class.     MetrojuiliUn  Museum  of  Art 


ORNAMENTS  AND  DECORATION  445 

back  of  the  neck.  Frequently  a  festoon  collar  will  be  made  up  of  five 
rows  of  pearls,  each  of  a  graduated  length,  and  pendant  on  each  a 
diamond.  Recently  pearls  have  been  drilled  and  invisibly  joined  by  fine 
platinum  links,  so  as  to  form  a  continuous  ribbon  or  even  a  collar  two 
inches  wide;  occasionally,  a  Greek  border  or  some  other  design,  of 
larger  pearls  or  of  diamonds,  rubies,  sapphires  or  other  gems,  is  inter- 
woven. This  constitutes  a  veritable,  smooth  pearl  cloth,  or  pearl  mesh, 
very  beautiful  and  also  comfortable  to  wear.  Indeed,  a  purse,  measur- 
ing five  by  six  inches,  has  been  made  of  this  cloth  of  pearls. 

Dust  pearls,  too  minute  to  drill,  and  numbering  over  100,000  to  the 
ounce,  were  used,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  and  the  early  part 
of  the  nineteenth  centuries,  for  the  embellishment  of  the  hair-work 
then  so  much  in  favor  and  which  was  placed  under  glass.  Where 
foliage  was  represented  the  leaves  were  made  of  the  most  minute  seed- 
pearls,  graduated  in  size  and  set  on  an  outline  of  enamel  or  white  paint, 
the  pearls  being  cemented  to  the  outline.  This  added  a  softness  to  the 
hair-work  and  other  decoration. 

As  long  as  the  pearl  has  been  known,  there  has  been  a  desire  to  ob- 
tain possession  of  one  in  some  of  its  degrees  of  perfection,  and  for  this 
reason  many  attempts  have  been  made  to  prepare  something  that 
might  pass  for  a  pearl  or  even  suggest  a  pearl.  Sometimes  the  mother- 
of-pearl  shell  has,  naturally,  a  protuberance,  either  round  or  pear- 
shaped,  which,  if  cut  off  and  highly  polished  may  resemble  an  imper- 
fect pearl;  and  this  operation  is  often  so  cleverly  performed  that,  at 
the  first  glance,  this  object  may  pass  for  a  true  pearl.  In  Russia,  and 
especially  in  Bohemia,  they  have  gone  farther  than  this.  They  have 
cut  out  a  bit  of  mother-of-pearl  shell,  leaving  a  piece  of  the  natural 
shell  for  the  top,  or  the  part  that  will  be  visible,  and  rounding  off  the 
rest  of  the  surface  so  as  to  give  it  a  pearly  effect.  These  objects  are  of 
trifling  value  and  are  used  in  necklaces  and  earrings,  and  in  the  orna- 
mentation of  icons  and  miniature  frames  and  even  as  beads.  Glass 
with  either  an  exterior  or  interior  coating  of  a  nacreous  substance  is 
sometimes  made  absolutely  round,  while  at  other  times  it  is  made  with 
many  imperfections  so  as  to  resemble  either  a  marine  baroque  or  a 
fresh-water  irregular  pearl.  The  North  American  Indian,  as  de- 
scribed elsewhere,  has  coated  little  balls  of  clay  with  a  powder  made 
from  a  pearl-bearing  fresh-water  mussel  and  then  baked  them. 


XVI 
FAMOUS  PEARLS  AND  COLLECTIONS 


XVI 
FAMOUS  PEARLS  AND  COLLECTIONS 

The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  hke  unto  a  merchant  man,  seeking 
goodly  pearls :  who,  when  he  had  found  one  pearl  of  great  price,  went 
and  sold  all  that  he  had  and  bought  it. 

St.  Matthew,  xiii,  45,  46. 

IN  the  course  of  twenty  centuries  many  pearls  and  pearl  collections 
have  become  famous,  either  because  of  their  intrinsic  value  or 
else  through  historic  associations.  An  attempt  is  made  here  to 
list  briefly  the  more  important  of  these.  While  we  have  pur- 
posely omitted  any  mention  of  the  pearl  collections  in  private  hands  at 
the  present  time,  some  of  which  are  more  valuable  than  many  of  those 
noted  in  the  following  pages,  we  have,  nevertheless,  given  the  prin- 
cipal sales  of  pearls  at  auction  during  the  past  twenty  years.  Many 
specimens  of  remarkable  size  and  beauty  have  changed  hands  in  this 
way,  more  especially  in  England. 

Cleopatra  Pearls.  Next  to  that  "pearl  of  great ^price,"  mentioned  by 
Christ,  probably  the  most  famous  of  all  pearls  were  the  two  which 
Pliny  records  as  having  been  worn  in  the  ears  of  Cleopatra,  "the  sin- 
gular and  onely  jewels  of  the  world  and  even  Nature's  wonder."  This 
writer  does  not  note  their  size,  but  estimates  their  value  at  sixty  mil- 
lion sestertii.  We  have  already  quoted  the  passage  in  which  Pliny 
relates  how  one  of  these  pearls  was  dissolved  and  swallowed  by  Cleo- 
patra in  order  to  win  a  wager  she  had  made  with  Antony.  After  the 
death  of  that  queen  the  other  pearl  "was  cut  in  twaine,  that  in  memo- 
riall  of  that  one  halfe  supper  of  theirs,  it  should  remaine  unto  pos- 
terite,  hanging  at  both  the  eares  of  Venus  at  Rome  in  the  temple  of 
Pantheon." '  Bude  estimated  the  value  of  the  pearl  dedicated  to  Venus 
at  250,000  escus  of  gold.^ 

Another  famous  pearl  mentioned  by  Pliny  was  the  one  which  Julius 
Caesar  presented  to  Servilia,  mother  of  Brutus,  the  value  of  which  he 
notes  as  six  million  sestertii.^ 

'  Pliny,  "Naturall    Historie,"  London,  1601,  'Bude,  "De  Asse,"  Paris,  1514. 

Lib.  IX,  c.  35.  =  Pliny,  "Historia  Naturalis,"  Lib.  IX,  c.  35. 

29  .  uo 


450  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

Peroz  Pearl.  The  historian  Procopius/  of  the  sixth  century,  tells  of 
a  magnificent  pearl  which  belonged  to  Peroz,  or  Firuz  (459-484), 
one  of  the  Sassanian  kings  of  Persia.  In  the  course  of  his  disastrous 
battle  with  the  White  Huns,  in  which  both  he  and  his  sons  perished, 
Peroz,  having  a  presentiment  of  the  misfortune  about  to  befall  him, 
took  the  pearl  from  his  right  ear  and  cast  it  away,  lest  any  one  should 
wear  it  after  him.  This  pearl  is  described  as  being  "such  as  no  king 
had  ever  worn  up  to  that  time."  Procopius,  however,  thinks  it  more 
probable  that  the  ear  of  Peroz  was  cut  off  in  the  combat,  and  he  states 
that  the  emperor  (Zeno,  426-491)  was  very  anxious  to  buy  the  gem 
from  the  Huns,  but  that  all  search  for  it  was  in  vain.  Nevertheless, 
a  rumor  was  current  that  it  was  recovered  later,  but  that  another 
pearl  was  substituted  for  it  and  sold  to  Kobad,  a  successor  of  Peroz. 
A  different  version  is  given  by  Panciroli,^  who  quotes  Zonaras,  a 
Byzantine  historian  of  the  twelfth  century,  as  his  authority.  Accord- 
ing to  this  version  Justinian  the  Great,  who  succeeded  to  the  throne 
forty-three  years  after  the  death  of  Peroz,  offered  one  hundred  pounds 
of  gold  (about  $25,000)  for  the  pearl,  but  the  barbarians  refused  to 
part  with  it,  preferring  to  keep  it  as  a  memorial  of  Persian  folly.  On 
the  coins  of  Peroz  he  is  represented  wearing  an  earring  with  three 
pendants,  one  of  which  may  have  been  this  wonderful  pearl. 

Charles  the  Bold.  One  of  the  greatest  jewels  of  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury was  that  belonging  to  Charles  the  Bold,  Duke  of  Burgundy 
(1433-1477).  According  to  notes  and  drawings^  made  in  1555  by  J.  J. 
Fugger  of  Nuremberg,  who  was  the  banker  jeweler  of  his  generation, 
this  consisted  of  a  large  pyramid  diamond  five  eighths  of  an  inch  square 
at  the  base,  with  the  apex  cut  as  a  four-rayed  star  in  relief;  surround- 
ing this  were  three  rectangular  pyramid-shaped  rubies  and  three  mag- 
nificent pear-shaped  pearls,  and  a  large  ovate  pearl  was  suspended 
from  the  lowest  ruby.  The  pear  pearls  are  described  as  measuring 
half  an  inch  in  diameter  and  must  have  weighed  about  sixty  grains 
each.  This  magnificent  jewel  was  probably  the  most  celebrated  in 
Europe  during  the  fifteenth  century.  According  to  Comines,  on  the 
defeat  of  the  Grand  Duke  and  the  plundering  of  his  baggage  by  the 
Swiss  at  Granson  in  1476,  the  ornament  was  found  by  a  careless  soldier 
who  tossed  it  away,  but  retained  the  gold  box  containing  it.  On  sec- 
ond thought,  he  searched  for  and  recovered  the  jewel  and  sold  it  to  a 
priest  for  one  florin,  and  the  ecclesiastic  sold  it  to  a  Bernese  govern- 

*  "Historia,"    Lib.    I,    c.    4,    ed.    Niebuhr,  nals    of    Zonaras ;    it    was    possibly    derived 

Bonnae,  1833.  from  some  gloss  or  annotation. 

'  Panciroli,    "Rerum    Memorabilium,    libri  '  Published  by  Lambeccius  in  "Bibliotheca 

duo,"  Frankfort.  1660,  Ft.  I,  p.  44.    We  have  Caesarea,"  Vol.  II,  p.  516. 
been  unable  to  find  this  statement  in  the  An- 


l.>  I     f^"  'r 


GAIKWAR   OF    BARODA,  19 


FAMOUS  PEARLS  AND  COLLECTIONS  451 

ment  official  for  the  sum  of  three  florins.  Some  years  later  this  jewel, 
together  with  the  ducal  cap  of  Charles  the  Bold,  which  was  covered 
with  pearls,  and  bore  a  plume  case,  set  with  diamonds  (points),  alter- 
nating- with  pearls  and  balas-rubies,  was  sold  by  the  Bernese  govern- 
ment to  Jacob  Fugger,  as  related  by  J.  J.  Fugger  in  the  manuscript 
above  noted,  "for  no  more  than  47,000  florins."  In  the  vain  hope  that 
it  would  be  purchased  by  Emperor  Charles  V,  grandson  of  Charles  the 
Bold,  Fugger  held  the  jewel  for  many  years,  but  he  broke  up  the  cap 
and  reset  the  stones  in  it  for  Maximilian  II.  The  brooch  was  finally 
sold  to  Henry  VIII  of  England  just  before  his  death,  and  it  passed  to 
his  daughter  and  successor.  Bloody  Mary,  who  presented  it  to  her 
Spanish  bridegroom,  Philip.  Thus,  after  seventy-six  years,  the  jewel 
was  restored  to  a  descendant  of  the  original  owner.  This  history  has 
been  given  at  some  length  owing  to  its  illustration  of  the  manner  in 
which  great  pearls  were  easily  lost  on  battle-fields  and  were  passed 
about  from  one  country  to  another. 

Tararequi  Pearls.  The  early  American  fisheries  yielded  several 
magnificent  pearls,  many  of  which  eventually  became  part  of  the  im- 
perial Spanish  jewels.  Prominent  among  these  was  the  Huerfana  or 
Sola.  According  to  Gomara,  this  was  secured  in  15 15  from  the  In- 
dians at  Tararequi,  in  the  Gulf  of  Panama,  in  a  large  collection  which 
weighed  880  ounces.  It  was  pear-shaped  and  weighed  thirty-one 
carats.  Gomara  states  that  this  pearl  was  purchased  from  Caspar  de 
Morales,  leader  of  the  Spanish  expedition,  by  a  merchant,  for  the  sum 
of  12,000  castilians.  "The  purchaser  could  not  sleep  that  night  for 
thinking  on  the  fact  that  he  had  given  so  much  money  for  one  stone, 
and  sold  it  the  very  next  day  to  Pedrarias  de  Avila,  for  his  wife  Donna 
Isabel  de  Bovadilla" ;  and  afterward  it  passed  to  Isabella,  wife  of  Em- 
peror Charles  V  (i 500-1 558).  It  was  remarkable  for  its  luster,  color, 
and  clearness,  as  well  as  for  its  size.  Another  large  pearl  in  this  col- 
lection weighed  twenty-six  carats. 

OviEDO  Pearl.  As  already  noted  on  page  237,  in  his  "Historia  natural 
y  general  de  las  Indias,"  published  at  Toledo  in  1526,  Gonzalo  de 
Oviedo  wrote  of  having  purchased  at  Panama  a  pearl  weighing 
twenty-six  carats  for  which  he  paid  650  times  its  weight  in  fine  gold, 
and  which  he  claimed  was  the  "greatest,  fairest  and  roundest"  that  had 
ever  been  seen  at  Panama.  Probably  this  was  the  twenty-six-carat 
pearl  obtained  at  Tararequi  by  Caspar  de  Morales  in  15 15.  At 
650  times  its  weight  in  gold  the  value  of  this  pearl  would  be 
$2294.54;  representing  a  base  of  $.2124  per  grain;  but  at  a  base  of  $5 


452 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


per  grain  the  same  pearl  would  be  worth  $54,080,  equaling  15,320 
times  its  weight  in  gold. 

Temple  of  Talomeco.  Among  great  collections  of  pearls,  some  writ- 
ers would  place  that  described  by  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega  as  having  been 
found  by  De  Soto  and  his  followers  in  1540  in  the  Temple  of  Talomeco 
near  the  Savannah  River  in  America/  According  to  Garcilasso,  the 
quantity  of  pearls  there  was  so  great  that  300  horses  and  900  men 
would  not  have  sufificed  for  its  transportation,  vastly  excelling  every 
other  if  not  all  other  collections  in  the  history  of  the  world.  Unfortu- 
nately the  accuracy  of  this  account  has  not  been  unquestioned. 

La  Peregrina.  Most  celebrated  among  the  early  American  pearls 
was  La  Peregrina  (the  incomparable),  or  the  Philip  H  pearl,  which 
weighed  134  grains.  According  to  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  who  says 
that  he  saw  it  at  Seville  in  1597,^  this  was  found  at  Panama  in  1560  by 
a  negro  who  was  rewarded  with  his  liberty,  and  his  owner  with  the  office 
of  alcalde  of  Panama.  Other  authorities  note  that  it  came  from  the 
Venezuelan  fisheries  in  1574.  It  was  carried  to  Spain  by  Don  Diego  de 
Temes,  who  presented  it  to  Philip  H  ( 1 527-1 598).  Jacques  de  Treco, 
court  jeweler  to  the  king,  is  credited  with  saying  that  it  might  be  worth 
30,000,  50,000  or  100,000  ducats,  as  one  might  choose  to  estimate,  for 
in  fact  it  was  so  remarkable  as  to  be  beyond  any  standard  valuation. 
H  we  can  credit  Garcilasso,  at  one  time  this  pearl  decorated  the  crown 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin  in  the  church  of  Guadeloupe,  which  was  re- 
splendent with  gems.*  A  contemporaneous  account*  notes  that  it  was 
worn  at  Madrid  by  Queen  Margarita,  wife  of  Philip  III,  at  the  fetes 
given  in  celebration  of  the  treaty  of  peace  between  that  country  and 
England  in  1605. 

Chari.es  n  Pearl.  Somewhat  similar  to  the  foregoing  was  the  pearl 
of  Charles  H  of  Spain  (1661-1700),  which  was  presented  to  that 
monarch  by  Don  Pedro  de  Aponte,  Conde  del  Palmer,  a  native  of  the 
Canaries.  This  gem  was  found  in  1691,  or  more  than  a  century  after 
La  Peregrina.  These  two  pearls  were  nearly  equal  in  size,  and  for 
many  years  they  were  worn  as  earrings  by  the  successive  queens  of 
Spain.  It  is  reported  that  they  were  destroyed  in  1734,  when  a  large 
portion  of  the  old  palace  at  Madrid  was  burned.® 

The  jewels  of  the  Spanish  crown  have  passed  through  so  many  vicis- 
situdes that  it  is  not  surprising  that  but  few  of  them  remain  in  the 

'  See  p.  254  for  Garcilasso's  description.  'Miscel.    Academ.    Nat.    Curios,    Dec.    i, 

'  Garcilasso,  "Historic  des  Incas,   Rois  du  Ann.   II,  obs.  288. 

Perou,"  Amsterdam,  1704,  Vol.  II,  p.  352.  "'Hawkins'    Voyages,"    Hakluyt    Society, 

'  Ibid.,  p.  351.  1878,   p.   315   note. 


MARY,  QUEEN  OF  SCOTS 
The  pniperty  «'f  the  Earl  of  Leven  and  Melville.     About  1559-1560 


FAMOUS  PEARLS  AND  COLLECTIONS  453 

Spanish  treasury.  After  the  overthrow  of  the  Spanish  monarchy  by 
the  French  in  1808,  Ferdinand  VII,  during  the  time  of  his  exile,  dis- 
posed of  many  of  these  jewels.  It  is  asserted  that,  after  the  deposition 
of  Queen  Isabella,  in  1868,  the  crown  jewels  were  divided  between 
herself  and  her  sister,  the  pious  Duchesse  de  Montpensier,  and  a  con- 
siderable portion  was  eventually  distributed  among  the  numerous  de- 
scendants of  the  latter.  It  is  also  stated  that  there  is  no  mention  of 
the  Spanish  crown  jewels  during  the  reign  of  King  Amadeus,  the  first 
sovereign  of  the  restored  monarchy.  There  are,  however,  great  quan- 
tities of  pearls  and  other  gems  belonging  to  the  various  madonnas  in 
the  Spanish  churches,  as,  for  example,  Nuestra  Seiiora  de  Atocha, 
Cavadonga  and  others. 

Pearls  of  Mary  Stuart.  The  pearls  owned  by  the  unfortunate  Mary 
Queen  of  Scots  ( 1 542-1 587)  were  among  the  most  beautiful  in  Europe. 
Inventories  of  these ^  show  great  bordurcs  de  tour  of  large  pear  pearls 
with  entredeux  of  round  pearls,  long  ropes  of  pearls  strung  like  beads 
on  a  rosary,  carcans  or  broad  belts  set  with  pearls,  and  a  large  number 
of  loose  pearls.  Many  of  these  appear  in  the  portraits  of  this  popular 
queen;  but  probably  the  most  remarkable  exhibition  of  them  is  in  the 
portrait  now  owned  by  the  Earl  of  Leven  and  Melville,"  which  appears 
to  agree  fairly  well  with  the  inventories  of  her  jewels,  although  this 
portrait  is  not  wholly  free  from  impeachment  as  to  its  accuracy  and 
contemporaneousness. 

After  the  downfall  of  the  queen,  most  of  her  jewels  were  sold, 
pawned,  or  lost  by  theft.  A  number  of  them  passed  into  the  possession 
of  Queen  Elizabeth  in  1568,  in  a  manner  not  wholly  satisfactory  to 
lovers  of  justice.  Some  of  these  were  described  in  a  letter  dated 
May  8,  1568,  and  addressed  to  Catharine  de'  Medici  by  Bodutel  de  la 
Forest,  the  French  ambassador  at  the  English  court,  as  "six  cordons  of 
large  pearls,  strung  as  paternosters;  but  there  are  about  twenty-five 
separate  from  the  others  much  larger  and  more  beautiful  than  those 
which  are  strung.  They  were  first  shown  to  three  or  four  jewelers 
and  lapidaries  of  this  city,  who  estimated  them  at  three  thousand 
pounds  sterling,  and  who  offered  to  give  that  sum;  certain  Italian 
merchants  who  viewed  them  afterwards  valued  them  at  12,000  escus, 
which  is  the  price,  as  I  am  told,  this  queen  [Elizabeth]  will  take  them 
at.  There  is  a  Genevese  who  saw  them  after  the  others  and  estimated 
them  as  worth  16,000  escus  [$24,000]."^ 

Catharine  de'  Medici,  who  was  a  mother-in-law  of  Mary  Stuart,  was 

^  See  Robertson,  "Inventaires  de  la  Royne  '  Teulet,  "Relations  poHtiques  de  la  France 

d^Ecosse,"  Bannatyne  Club,  1863.  et   de   I'Espagne  avec   TEcosse,"  Vol.  II,  p. 

'  See  Lane;,  "Portraits  and  Jewels  of  Mary  352. 
Stuart,"  Edinburgh,  1906. 


454 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


very  anxious  to  obtain  these  pearls ;  but  the  ambassador  wrote  on 
May  15,  1568,  that  he  had  found  it  impossible  to  purchase  them;  for, 
as  he  had  told  her  from  the  first,  they  were  intended  for  the  gratifica- 
tion of  the  Queen  of  England,  who  had  purchased  them  at  her  own 
price,  and  was  even  then  in  possession  of  them/ 

Queen  Elizabeth's  Pearls.  Although  in  her  youth  she  is  said  to 
have  had  a  distaste  for  personal  decorations,  in  her  later  years  Queen 
Elizabeth  entertained  an  extravagant  fondness  for  pearls.  In  speak- 
ing of  her  portraits,  Horace  Walpole  says:  "A  pale  Roman  nose,  a 
head  of  hair  loaded  with  crowns  and  powdered  with  diamonds,  a  vast 
ruff,  a  vaster  f ardingale,  and  a  bushel  of  pearls,  are  features  by  which 
everybody  knows  at  once  the  pictures  of  Queen  Elizabeth."^  And  to 
the  end,  her  love  for  them  was  unabated,  for  in  the  last  tragi-comic 
scene  of  her  life,  to  meet  the  Angel  of  Death  himself,  she  was  dressed 
up  in  her  most  splendid  jewels  with  great  pearl  necklaces  and  ear- 
rings and  pendants,  as  Paul  Delaroche  so  successfully  pictured  in  his 
remarkable  painting  in  the  Louvre. 

The  faded  waxwork  effigy  of  her,  long  preserved  in  Westminster 
Abbey  in  that  curious  collection  of  effigies^— the  "Ragged  Regiment," 
as  Walpole  called  them— has  a  coronet  of  large  spherical  pearls  in 
wax,  long  necklaces  of  them,  a  great  pearl-ornamented  stomacher, 
pearl  earrings  with  large  pear-shaped  pendants,  and  even  broad,  pearl 
medallions  on  the  shoe-bows.  In  accordance  with  that  singular  custom 
which  prevailed  from  the  time  of  Henry  V  (1422),  to  that  of  Queen 
Anne  (1714),'*  this  effigy  lay  on  her  coffin  at  the  funeral  and  caused, 
says  Stow  in  his  Chronicle,  "such  a  general  sighing,  groning,  and 
weeping,  as  the  like  hath  not  beene  scene  or  knowne  in  the  memory  of 
man."  A  contemporaneous  poet  wrote  that  when  the  corpse  with  the 
effigy  passed  down  the  Thames  to  lie  in  state  at  Whitehall, 

Fish  wept  their  eyes  of  pearl  quite  out, 
And  swam  blind  after. 

Gresham  Pearl.  During  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  Sir  Thomas 
Gresham,  the  merchant  prince,  was  credited  with  possessing  a  pearl 
valued  at  £15,000,  which  he  reduced  to  powder  and  drank  in  a  glass  of 
wine  to  the  health  of  the  queen,  in  order  to  astonish  the  Spanish  ambas- 
sador, with  whom  he  had  laid  a  wager  that  he  would  give  a  more  costly 

'  Teulet,  "Relations,"  etc.,  p.  364.  published  in  London  in  1793  by  John  Rob- 
'  Walpole,  "Anecdotes  of  Painting  in  Eng-  erts,   entitled   "A   View  of  the  Waxen   Fig- 
land,"  London,  1849,  Vol.  I,  p.  151.  ures   in  Henry  VII's  Chapel." 

'  An  interesting  account  of  this  collection  *  Bolton,   "Curious   Relics   of   English   Fu- 

was  given  in  a  little  book,  now  quite  rare,  nerals,"  Boston,  1894,  p.  233. 


FAMOUS  PEARLS  AND  COLLECTIONS  455 

dinner  than  could  the  Spaniards.^  No  other  information  regarding 
this  pearl  seems  available.  The  valuation  certainly  appears  excessive 
when  compared  with  that  of  some  other  pearls  of  that  period. 

We  quote  an  item  from  Burgon,^  taken  from  the  manuscript  journal 
kept  by  Edward  VI : 

25  [April,  1 551].  A  bargaine  made  with  the  Fulcare  for  about  60,000  1. 
that  in  May  and  August  should  be  paid,  for  the  deferring  of  it.  First,  that 
the  Foulcare  should  put  it  off  for  ten  in  the  hundred.  Secondly,  that  I  should 
buy  12,000  marks  weight  at  6  shilinges  the  ounce  to  be  delivered  at  Antwerpe, 
and  so  conveyed  over.  Thirdly,  I  should  pay  100,000  crowns  for  a  very  faire 
juel  of  his,  four  rubies  marvelous  big,  one  orient  and  great  diamount,  and  one 
great  pearle. 

Rudolph  II  Pearls.  The  scientific,  art-loving,  but  eccentric  Rudolph 
II  (1552-1612),  Emperor  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire,  gathered 
about  him  at  Prague  a  great  collection  of  jewels  and  wealth  of  all  sorts. 
The  values  of  his  pearls  and  precious  stones,  of  the  gold  and  silver 
articles,  was  estimated  by  the  archaeologist,  Jules  Caesar  Boulenger,  at 
seventeen  millions  of  gold  florins,  which  was  a  very  considerable  sum 
at  that  time,  as  appears  when  we  consider  that  one  hundred  gold  flo- 
rins annually  was  deemed  a  good  salary  for  an  official  at  the  emperor's 
court.  De  Boot  mentions  a  pearl  belonging  to  Rudolph  II  which 
weighed  "thirty  carats  and  cost  as  many  thousands  of  gold  pieces."  It 
is  quite  likely  that  this  was  the  one  noted  by  Gomara  as  coming  from 
the  Gulf  of  Panama,*  and  which  Rudolph  probably  inherited  from  his 
grandfather,  Emperor  Charles  V.  The  pearl  bought  by  Oviedo  in 
Panama,  prior  to  1526,  may  be  one  of  the  principal  decorations  of  the 
imperial  crown  of  Austria. 

We  read  in  that  curious  and  interesting  book,  "The  Generall  His- 
toric of  the  Turkes,"  by  Richard  Knolles,*  that  Abbas  the  Great,  Shah 
of  Persia  (1557-1628),  after  having  defeated  the  Turks  in  many  bat- 
tles, desired  to  form  an  alliance  with  Emperor  Rudolph  II,  and  to  in- 
duce him  to  break  his  engagements  with  the  Turks.  To  this  end  Shah 
Abbas,  in  1610  sent  an  embassy  to  Prague,  with  many  valuable  gifts 
for  the  emperor,  among  which  were  "three  orientall  pearles  exceeding 
big."  It  has  been  conjectured,  and  it  is  also  claimed,  that  these  may 
be  three  of  the  eight  pear-shaped  pearls  which  are  now  to  be  seen  in  the 
crown  of  Rudolph  II.  One  of  the  largest  pearls  in  the  Austrian  crown, 
as  we  have  stated,  is  most  probably  the  Oviedo  pearl. 

'  Lawson,   "History  of  Banking,"  London,      Thomas  Gresham,"  London,  1839,  Vol.  I,  p. 
1750,  pp.  24,  25.  69. 

^  Burgon,    "The    Life    and    Times    of    Sir  "  See  p.  451. 

'  London,  1631,  p.  1297. 


456  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

Charles  I  Pearl.  Admirers  of  Vandyke's  pictures  of  Charles  I 
(1600-1649)  readily  recall  the  pearl  pendant  from  his  right  ear,  which 
appears  in  nearly  all  of  his  portraits  by  that  artist.  Janin  wrote :  "This 
pearl  in  the  ear  of  his  majesty  was  greatly  coveted,  and  as  soon  as  his 
head  had  fallen,  the  witnesses  of  the  dreadful  scene  rushed  forward, 
ready  to  imbue  their  hands  in  his  blood  in  order  to  secure  the  royal 
jewel."  It  seems  more  probable  that  the  martyr  king  would  have  left 
this  gem  in  the  hands  of  a  trusty  friend  for  his  family  than  to  the  risk 
of  injury  by  the  ax  and  to  be  torn  from  his  mutilated  head  by  a 
scrambling  mob. 

Owing  to  their  control  of  the  great  fisheries,  the  most  valuable  col- 
lections of  pearls  have  been  held  by  eastern  monarchs,  and  particularly 
by  those  of  India  and  Persia.  It  has  been  estimated  that  one  third  of 
the  portable  wealth  of  these  countries  is  in  jewels.  Most  Orientals  are 
as  suspicious  of  interest  in  their  jewels  as  they  are  of  inquiry  regard- 
ing their  harems,  imagining,  doubtless,  that  the  interest  conceals  a 
sentiment  of  cupidit}^,  hence  it  is  not  practicable  to  give  a  minute  de- 
scription of  them.  However,  several  travelers  have  recorded  glowing 
accounts  of  collections  which  they  have  examined,  which  read  much 
like  a  description  of  Aladdin's  palace  in  the  Arabian  Nights.  Among 
these,  some  of  the  greatest  are  the 

Pearls  described  by  Tavernier.  For  accounts  of  remarkable  pearls 
in  eastern  countries  in  the  seventeenth  century,  we  are  indebted  to  that 
well-informed  old  French  jeweler,  Tavernier,  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able gem  dealers  the  world  has  ever  known.  He  made  numerous  jour- 
neys to  Persia,  Turkey,  Central  Asia,  and  the  East  Indies,  gaining  the 
confidence  of  the  highest  officials  and  trading  in  gems  of  the  greatest 
value.  After  amassing  a  large  fortune  and  purchasing  a  barony  near 
Lake  Geneva,  he  died  at  Moscow  in  1689  while  on  a  mercantile  trip  to 
the  Orient,  at  the  age  of  eighty-four  years.  His  "Voyages,"  published 
in  1 676-1 679,  reveal  a  critical  knowledge  of  gems,  a  remarkable  in- 
sight into  human  nature,  and  the  absence  of  any  intention  to  impart 
misleading  information. 

In  the  first  English  edition  of  his  travels,  published  in  1678,  Taver- 
nier gave  sketches  of  five  of  the  principal  pearls  which  came  under  his 
careful  observation. 

Figure  i  of  Tavernier's  diagram  shows  what  he  considered  "the 
largest  and  most  perfect  pearl  ever  discovered,  and  without  the  least 
defect."  The  weight  of  this  pear-shaped  gem  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  noted,  but  from  the  sketch  it  may  be  estimated  at  about  500 
grains.     Tavernier  states  that  the  bloodthirsty  Shah  Sofi,  King  of 


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1.     "^^^JL     s 

FAMOUS  PEARLS  AND  COLLECTIONS  457 

Persia,  purchased  it  in  1633  from  an  Arab  who  had  just  received  it 
from  the  fisheries  at  El  Katif.  "It  cost  him  32,000  tomans,  or  1,400,- 
000  Hvres  of  our  money,  at  the  rate  of  46  Hvres  and  6  deniers  per  to- 
man ($552,000)."' 

Very  much  smaller  but  more  beautiful  than  this  great  pearl,  was  the 
one  which  Tavernier  saw  in  1670  at  Ormus  in  the  possession  of  the 
Imam  of  Muscat,  who  had  recently  recovered  the  Muscat  peninsula 
from  the  Portuguese.  The  jeweler  stated  that  although  this  weighed 
only  twelve  and  one  sixteenth  carats  (forty-eight  and  a  quarter 
grains),^  and  was  not  perfectly  round,  it  surpassed  in  beauty  all  others 
in  the  world  at  that  time.  It  was  so  clear  and  lustrous  as  to  appear 
translucent.  At  the  conclusion  of  a  grand  entertainment  given  by  the 
Khan  of  Ormus,  at  which  Tavernier  was  present,  the  Prince  of  Muscat 
drew  this  gem  from  a  small  purse  suspended  about  his  neck,  and  ex- 
hibited it  to  the  company.  The  Khan  of  Ormus  offered  2000  tomans 
(about  $34,500)  for  it,  but  the  owner  would  not  part  with  his  treasure. 
Tavernier  states  that  later  the  prince  refused  an  offer  of  40,000  escus 
($45,000)  from  Aurangzeb,  the  Great  Mogul  of  India.^ 

Figure  3  in  the  diagram  represents  a  pear-shaped  pearl  of  fifty-five 
carats  (220  grains)  which  Tavernier  sold  to  Shaista  Khan,  uncle  of 
the  Grand  Mogul.  Although  of  large  size  and  good  shape,  this  was 
deficient  in  luster.  According  to  the  jeweler,  this  pearl  was  from  the 
Island  of  Margarita  on  the  Venezuelan  coast,  and  was  the  largest  ever 
carried  from  Occident  to  Orient. 

Tavernier  listed  among  the  Great  Mogul's  jewels  a  large  olive- 
shaped  pearl,  perfect  in  form  and  luster.  The  weight  was  not  noted, 
but  from  the  sketch  which  he  gave  (see  Fig.  4)  it  may  be  estimated  at 
about  125  grains.  It  formed  the  central  ornament  of  a  chain  of  emer- 
alds and  rubies,  which  the  Mogul  sometimes  wore  about  his  neck.  He 
also  listed  a  round  pearl  of  perfect  form  (see  Fig.  5).  The  weight  of 
this  also  is  not  noted,  but  from  the  sketch  it  may  be  estimated  at  no 
grains.  This  was  the  largest  perfectly  spherical  pearl  known  to  Taver- 
nier. Its  equal  had  never  been  found,  and  for  that  reason  it  was  kept 
with  the  unmounted  jewels. 

Among  the  other  pearl  treasures  of  the  Great  Mogul,  Tavernier 
noted  the  following : 

(a)  Two  grand,  pear-shaped  pearls,  one  weighing  about  seventy 
ratis,*  a  little  flattened  on  both  sides,  and  of  beautiful  water  and  good 
form,  (b)  A  button-shaped  pearl,  weighing  from  fifty-five  to  sixty 
ratis,  of  good  form  and  good  water,     (c)   A  round  pearl  of  great  per- 

^  Tavernier,    "Travels    in    India,"    London,  ^  Tavernier,    "Travels    in    India,"    London, 

1889,  Vol.  II,  p.  130.  1889.  Vol.  II,  p.  no. 

^  Tavernier     used     the     Florentine     carat,  '  One   rati   equaled    seven    eighths   of   the 

which  equaled  3.04  grains  troy.  Florentine  carat,  or  2.66  grains  troy. 


458  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

fection,  a  little  flat  on  one  side  and  weighing  fifty-six  ratis ;  this  had 
been  presented  to  the  Great  Mogul  by  Shah  Abbas  H,  King  of  Persia, 
(d)  Three  round  yellowish  pearls  weighing  from  twenty-five  to 
twenty-eight  ratis  each,  (e)  A  perfectly  round  pearl,  thirty-five  and 
a  half  ratis,  white  and  perfect  in  all  respects.  This  was  the  only  jewel 
purchased  by  the  Great  Mogul  himself,  the  others  being  inherited  or 
coming  to  him  as  presents,  (f)  Two  pearls  perfectly  shaped  and 
equal,  each  weighing  twenty-five  and  a  quarter  ratis.  (g)  Also  two 
chains,  one  of  pearls  and  rubies  of  difl:'erent  shapes  pierced  like  the 
pearls ;  the  other  of  pearls  and  emeralds,  round  and  bored.  All  of  these 
pearls  were  round  and  ranged  in  weight  from  ten  to  twelve  ratis  each.^ 

Peacock  Throne.  The  famous  Takht-i-Ta'us,  or  "Peacock  Throne," 
at  Delhi  doubtless  contained  the  greatest  accumulation  of  gems  in  the 
seventeenth  century.  It  was  completed,  in  the  eighth  year  of  his  reign 
(1044  A.H.,  1634  A.D.)  by  Shah  Jehan,  greatest  of  Mogul  sovereigns, 
who  likewise  built  the  Taj  Mahal  at  Agra,  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
edifices  ever  designed  by  man.  Abd-al-Hamid,  of  Lahore,  in  his  Pad- 
shah-namah,  "Book  of  the  King,"  composed  prior  to  1654,  writes  as 
follows:* 

In  the  course  of  years  many  valuable  gems  had  come  into  the  imperial 
jewel-house,  each  one  of  which  might  serve  as  an  ear-drop  for  Venus  or  as  an 
adornment  for  the  girdle  of  the  Sun.  Upon  the  accession  of  the  emperor,  it 
occurred  to  him  that,  in  the  opinion  of  far-seeing  men  the  acquisition  of  such 
rare  jewels  and  the  keeping  of  such  wonderful  brilliants  could  render  but  one 
service,  that  of  adorning  the  throne  of  the  empire.  They  ought,  therefore,  to 
be  put  to  such  a  use  that  beholders  might  benefit  by  their  splendour  and  that 
majesty  might  shine  with  increased  brilliancy. 

As  described  by  Tavernier  in  1676,  great  quantities  of  pearls  were 
used  in  the  ornamentation  of  this  throne,  the  arched  roof,  the  support- 
ing pillars,  the  adjacent  sun-umbrellas,  being  well  covered  with  these 
gems,  many  of  them  of  great  value.  The  choicest  one  was  pear- 
shaped,  yellowish  in  color,  and  weighed  about  fifty  carats  (200 
grains)  ;^  this  was  suspended  from  a  great  ruby  which  ornamented  the 
breast  of  the  peacock.  "But  that  which  in  my  opinion  is  the  most 
costly  thing  about  this  magnificent  throne  is  that  the  twelve  columns 
supporting  the  canopy  are  surrounded  with  beautiful  rows  of  pearls, 
which  are  round  and  of  fine  water,  and  weigh  from  6  to  10  carats  each 
[24  to  40  grains]."*    The  total  value  of  the  jewels  entering  into  the 

^  Tavernier,   "Travels    in   India,"   London,  ed.  by  A.  V.  W.  Jackson,  New  York,  1907, 

1889.  Vol.  I,  pp.  397-399.  p.  324. 

'Sir   Henry   Miers    Elliot,   "The    Moham-  °  See  Fig.  2  of  Tavernier's  diagram, 

medan  Period  as  described  by  Its  Own  His-  'Tavernier.   "Travels   in   India,"   trans,   by 

torians,"  Vol.  V.  of  "The  History  of  India,"  V.  Ball,  London,  1889,  Vol.  II,  p.  384. 


FAMOUS  PEARLS  AND  COLLECTIONS  459 

ornamentation  was  estimated  at  160,500,000  livres  or  $60,187,500;  and 
the  present  value  of  the  throne  as  it  stands  in  the  shah's  palace  at 
Teheran,  whither  it  was  carried  by  Nadir  Shah  from  the  sack  of 
Delhi  in  1739,  even  though  divested  of  many  of  its  most  valuable  gems, 
is  estimated  at  $13,000,000/  The  designer  of  the  Peacock  Throne 
was  Austin  de  Bordeaux,  who  also  planned  the  magnificent  Taj 
Mahal.  He  was  named  by  Shah  Jehan,  "Jewel-Handed,"  and  received 
a  salary  of  two  thousand  rupees  a  month. 

Shah's  "Tippet."  Sir  Harford  Jones  Brydges'  description  of  the 
jewels  of  the  Shah  of  Persia  at  Teheran  is  of  particular  value,  since 
he  had  formerly  dealt  in  jewels  and  was  an  expert  in  such  matters.  He 
says: 

I  was  particularly  struck  with  the  king's  tippet,  a  covering  for  part  of  his 
back,  his  shoulders  and  his  arms,  which  is  only  used  on  the  very  highest  occa- 
sions. It  is  a  piece  of  pearl  work  of  the  most  beautiful  pattern ;  the  pearls 
are  worked  on  velvet,  but  they  stand  so  close  together  that  little,  if 
any,  of  the  velvet  is  visible.  It  took  me  a  good  hour  to  examine  this  single 
article,  which  I  have  no  fear  of  saying  can  not  be  matched  in  the  world. 
There  was  not  a  single  pearl  employed  in  forming  this  most  gorgeous  trap- 
ping less  in  size  than  the  largest  marrow-fat  pea  I  ever  saw  raised  in  England, 
and  many — I  should  suppose  from  150  to  200 — the  size  of  a  wild  plum, 
and  throughout  the  whole  of  these  pearls,  it  would  puzzle  the  best  jeweler 
who  should  examine  them  most  critically  to  discover  in  more  than  4  or  5  a 
serious  fault.  The  tassel  is  formed  of  pearls  of  the  most  uncommon  size  and 
beauty;  and  the  emerald  which  forms  the  top  of  the  tassel  is  perhaps  the  larg- 
est perfect  one  in  the  world.  .  .  .  For  some  days  after  I  had  seen  these  jewels, 
I  attempted  to  make  an  estimate  of  their  value,  but  I  got  so  confused  in  the 
recollection  of  their  weight  and  the  allowance  to  be  made  in  some  of  them  for 
their  perfection  in  water  and  color,  that  I  gave  it  up  as  impossible.  I  cannot, 
however,  think  I  shall  much  mislead  if  I  say  that  on  a  moderate,  perhaps  a 
low  calculation,  their  value  cannot  be  less  than  fifteen  millions  [sterling?]  of 
our  money.^ 

Shah's  Pearls  in  1820.  Nearly  a  century  ago  the  elaborate  state 
costume  of  the  Shah  of  Persia  was  described  by  the  English  artist,  Sir 
Robert  Ker  Porter.  In  this  description  he  mentioned  particularly  the 
pearls  in  the  tiara,  the  pear-shaped  pearls  of  immense  size  with  which 
the  plumes  were  tipped,  the  two  strings  of  pearls — "probably  the 
largest  in  the  world"— which  crossed  the  king's  shoulders,  and  the 

*  Benjamin,  "Persia,"  p.  73.  of  Persia,  in  the  Years  1807-  181 1,"  London, 

'  Brydges,   "An   Account   of  the   Transac-       1834,  p.  383. 
tions  of  His  Majesty's  Mission  to  the  Court 


46o         THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

large  cushion  incased  in  a  network  of  beautiful  pearls  against  which 
he  reclined.^ 

Pearls  of  the  Gaikwar  of  Baroda.  Among  the  greatest  jeweled 
treasures  of  India  are  those  of  the  present  Mahratta  Gaikwar  of 
Baroda,  who  has  precedence  over  all  the  rulers  in  India  at  all  func- 
tions, and  is  one  of  the  most  prominent  and  enlightened  of  the  Indian 
princes.  He  governs  a  province  of  about  8225  square  miles  and 
2,415,396  inhabitants  in  the  northwestern  part  of  India,  248  miles 
north  of  Bombay.  Most  of  these  treasures,  whose  value  is  estimated 
at  a  dozen  million  dollars,  were  collected  by  his  predecessor,  Mahratta 
Khandarao,  who  lived  in  barbaric  splendor,  and  they  are  rarely  worn 
by  the  present  gaikwar.  These  treasures  include  a  sash  of  one  hun- 
dred rows  of  pearls,  terminating  in  a  great  tassel  of  pearls  and  emer- 
alds; seven  rows  of  superb  pearls  whose  value  is  estimated  at  half  a 
million  dollars;  a  litter  set  with  seed-pearls,  quantities  of  unstrung 
pearls,  and  more  remarkable  yet,  a  shawl  or  carpet  of  pearls,  which 
closely  resembles  the  "tippet"  at  Teheran  described  by  Brydge.  This 
carpet  is  said  to  be  ten  and  one  half  feet  long  by  six  feet  wide,  and  to 
be  made  up  of  strings  of  pearls,  except  that  a  border,  eleven  inches 
wide,  and  also  center  ornaments,  are  worked  out  in  diamonds.  Some 
writers  assert  that  this  costly  ornament  was  originally  intended  by  the 
late  Mahratta  Khandarao  as  a  covering  for  the  tomb  of  Mohammed. 
Others  state  that  it  was  designed  as  a  present  for  a  woman  of  whom 
he  was  enamoured,  but  that  the  British  resident  interfered,  claiming 
that  the  wealth  of  Baroda  was  not  sufficient  to  warrant  such  an  expen- 
sive gift  on  the  part  of  the  ruler.  This  ornament  is  now  retained  among 
the  regalia  at  Baroda,  and  is  probably  the  most  costly  pearl  ornament 
in  the  world,  its  value  being  estimated  at  several  million  dollars. 

Summer  Palace  in  i860.  Many  superb  pearls  were  among  the  pre- 
cious objects  in  the  Yuen-Min-Yuen  or  Summer  Palace  in  Pekin  at 
the  time  of  its  capture  by  the  European  forces  in  i860.  Numbers  of 
these  were  lost  in  the  confusion  of  the  sacking  and  plunder,  when  the 
soldiers'  pockets  were  filled  and  the  floors  were  strewn  with  jewels, 
beautiful  objects  of  gold  and  silver,  rich  silks  and  furs,  carved  jade, 
lapis  lazuli,  etc.  Some  of  the  pearls  found  their  way  to  Europe,  and 
especially  to  France  and  England.  They  were  of  good  size  and  luster 
and  were  mostly  yellowish  in  color.  Unfortunately,  many  were 
crudely  drilled  with  large  holes,  and  had  been  strung  on  gold  wires  by 
which  they  were  attached  to  the  idols  they  decorated  at  the  time  they 

^Porter,  "Travels  in  Georgia,  Armenia,  Ancient  Babylon,"  etc.,  London,  1821,  Vol.  I,  p.  325. 


^:f^'' 


'^J-,  .•^^^  '^'^  ^l   -J.  >     .=^:- 


PEARL   CARPET   OR    SHAWL   OF   THK    I.AIKWAR    OF    BARODA 


FAMOUS  PEARLS  AND  COLLECTIONS  461 

were  stolen.  More  than  one  hundred,  each  over  thirty  grains  in  weight, 
were  received  in  England,  and  sold  at  an  average  of  nearly  one  thou- 
sand dollars. 

A  similar  booty  came  from  the  spoliation  during  the  war  between 
China  and  Japan  in  1894,  and  during  the  Boxer  outbreaks  of  1901, 
and  quantities  of  pearls,  often  large  and  of  fine  color,  but  a  little  the 
worse  for  wear,  were  brought  to  the  United  States  and  Europe  by  the 
soldiers  and  officials,  and  also  by  traders  and  travelers  who  obtained 
them  in  China.    The  pendant  figured  is  one  of  these  objects. 

The  Gogibus  Pearl.  This  famous  pearl,  said  to  have  been  the  largest 
in  Europe,  weighed  no  less  than  126  carats  (504  grains).  It  was 
pear-shaped  and  of  fine  orient,  and  was  brought  from  the  West  Indies, 
in  1620,  by  Frangois  Gogibus,  a  native  of  Calais,  who  sold  it  to 
Philip  IV  of  Spain.  As  no  match  could  be  found  for  this  magnificent 
gem,  it  was  mounted  as  a  button  in  the  royal  cap.^ 

La  Reine  des  Perles.  The  large  round  pearl  of  the  French  crown 
jewels  which  is  listed  in  the  inventory  of  1791  at  200,000  francs,  was 
purchased  in  1669^  for  the  sum  of  40,000  livres,  from  a  gem-dealer 
named  Bazu,  who  had  traveled  in  the  East  at  about  the  time  of  Taver- 
nier's  voyage.  In  the  inventory  of  1691,  it  is  described  as  "a  virgin 
pearl,  perfect,  round,  and  of  fine  water,"  weighing  27^4  carats  and 
valued  at  90,000  livres.  When  the  greater  part  of  the  jewels  were 
stolen  from  the  Garde-Meuble  in  1792,  we  are  told  that  the  thieves  took 
a  pearl  inclosed  in  a  gold  box  on  which  was  written:  "The  queen  of 
pearls."  This  was  most  probably  the  one  we  have  described  and  there 
is  reason  to  believe  that  this  same  pearl  came  later  into  the  possession 
of  the  Zozima  brothers,  and  was  called  La  Pellegrina. 

La  RfGENTE.  This  name  was  bestowed  upon  a  big,  ovate  pearl  which 
was  in  the  collection  of  the  French  crown  jewels.  This  pearl,  which 
weighs  337  grains,  was  furnished  in  November,  181 1,  by  the  court 
jewelers,  Messrs.  Noitat,  for  a  tiara,  worn  by  Marie  Louise,  Empress 
of  France.  By  order  of  the  emperor.  Napoleon  III,  the  pearl  was 
taken  out  of  the  tiara  and  mounted,  in  August,  1853,  by  the  Paris 
jeweler  Lemounier  into  a  brooch.  This  great  brooch,  with  "La  Re- 
gente"  as  the  central  gem,  was  bought  by  Faberge  &  Company  of  St. 
Petersburg,  Russia,  for  the  Princess  Youssoupofif  at  the  "Vente  des 
Diamants  de  la  Couronne"  in  1887. 

*  Robert  de  Berquen,  "Les  Merveilles  des  '  Bibl.    Nat.    MS.    "Melanges   de   Colbert," 

Indes  Orientales  et  Occidentales,"  Paris,  1661,      Tome  218,  p.  14. 
p.  78  b. 


462  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

La  Pellegrina.  For  nearly  a  century  there  has  been  in  Russia  one 
of  the  most  lovely  pearls  in  the  world ;  this  is  La  Pellegrina,  formerly 
owned  by  the  Zozima  brothers  of  Moscow,  who  were  antiquarians  of 
note  in  St.  Petersburg.  In  1818  a  small  book  of  forty-eight  pages  was 
written  about  this  beautiful  gem  by  G.  Fischer  de  Waldheim,  vice- 
president  of  the  Imperial  Medico-Chirurgical  Academy,  probably  the 
only  book  ever  devoted  to  a  single  pearl.  According  to  this  writer.  La 
Pellegrina  was  purchased  at  Leghorn  by  one  of  the  Zozima  brothers 
from  an  English  admiral  who  had  just  returned  from  India.  It  com- 
bines all  the  requisites  of  perfection :  it  is  absolutely  spherical  and  has 
never  been  pierced ;  its  luster,  its  silvery  sheen,  make  it  appear  almost 
transparent,  and  for  a  pearl  of  this  high  grade,  it  is  of  remarkable  size, 
weighing  1113^  grains. 

The  Zozima  brothers  retained  it  in  a  sea-urchin  shell  mounted  in 
gold  and  with  a  convex  lens  as  cover;  this  was  contained  in  a  silver 
box,  and  this  in  turn  in  another  box  studded  with  gems.  Although 
the  lens  enlarged  the  appearance  of  the  pearl,  it  detracted  from  its 
beautiful  form,  giving  it  an  oval  shape.  But  when  removed  from  the 
triple  inclosure,  it  rolled  about  like  a  globule  of  quicksilver,  and  sur- 
passed that  metal  in  whiteness  and  brilliancy. 

Everything  that  is  beautiful  and  perfect  takes  such  possession  of  the  be- 
holder that  words  become  insufficient  to  express  his  feelings ;  and  that  is  what 
happened  to  me  in  the  case  of  La  Pellegrina  of  Zozima.  One  must  have  seen 
an  object  of  this  kind  in  order  to  appreciate  the  impression  it  makes.  As  an 
evidence  of  this,  I  shall  note  the  last  visit  which  I  made  to  the  owner  in  com- 
pany with  several  distinguished  persons. 

After  having  examined  many  curious  medals  and  coins,  and  also  some 
pearls  which  exceeded  in  size  the  one  of  which  I  treat,  and  after  they  had 
received  their  due  meed  of  admiration.  La  Pellegrina  appeared,  rolled  upon 
a  sheet  of  paper  by  the  owner's  little  finger.  Attention  and  admiration  was 
depicted  on  every  face ;  a  perfect  silence  reigned.  It  was  only  when  the  pearl 
had  been  removed  very  carefully  lest  it  should  slip  away,  and  was  again  triply 
enclosed,  that  we  recovered  the  power  of  speech  and  could  unanimously  ex- 
press our  admiration.^ 

As  it  had  been  stated  that  this  pearl  was  in  the  possession  of  the 
Princess  Youssoupoff,  Mr.  Henry  W.  Hiller  of  New  York,  who  was  in  St. 
Petersburg,  courteously  made  inquiries  and  was  successful  in  obtaining 
a  view  of  the  two  splendid  pear-shaped  pearls.  These  are  almost  exactly 
alike,  but  neither  of  them  can  well  be  La  Pellegrina,  since  this  is  a 
round  pearl ;  possibly  the  one  on  the  right  may  be  La  Peregrina.^ 

iDe  Waldheim,  "Essai  sur  la  Pellegrina,"  p.  48.  "See  p.  452. 


THE   HOPE  PEARL.     WEIGHS  iSoo  tlRAlNS 
Actual  3ize 


FAMOUS  PEARLS  AND  COLLECTIONS  463 

The  owner  of  La  Pellegrina  in  1818,  Z.  P.  Zozima,  died  in  Moscow 
at  a  great  age,  in  1827.  He  was  a  Greek  dealer  in  curiosities  and 
gems,  who  had  resided  in  Moscow  for  a  long  time,  and  had  many- 
clients  among  the  nobility  of  Russia.  It  is  stated  that  a  few  months 
before  his  death  the  best  pieces  of  his  collection,  including  La  Pelle- 
grina, were  stolen  from  him  by  a  compatriot. 

Moscow  Pearl,  1840.  The  German  traveler,  Johann  Georg  Kohl 
(1808- 1 878),  in  the  account  of  his  travels  in  Russia,  relates  an  inter- 
esting incident  connected  with  a  beautiful  pearl  in  the  Imperial  Trea- 
sury. Shortly  previous  to  1840,  a  rich  Moscow  merchant  died  in  a 
convent,  whither  he  had  retreated  after  the  manner  of  the  wealthy 
pious  ones  of  his  nation.  Feeling  the  approach  of  age,  he  had  given 
up  the  toils  of  business  to  his  sons.  His  wife  was  dead,  and  the  only 
beloved  object  which  even  in  the  cloister  was  not  separated  from  him 
was  a  large,  beautiful,  oriental  pearl.  This  precious  object  had  been 
purchased  for  him  by  some  Persian  or  Arabian  friend  at  a  high  price, 
and,  enchanted  by  its  water,  magnificent  size,  and  color,  its  perfect 
shape  and  luster,  he  would  never  part  with  it,  however  enormous  the 
sum  oflfered.  He  himself  inhabited  an  ordinary  cell  in  the  convent; 
but  this  object  of  his  love  reposed  on  silk  in  a  golden  casket.  It  was 
shown  to  few  persons,  and  favorable  circumstances  and  strong  rec- 
ommendations were  necessary  to  obtain  such  a  favor.  A  Moscow 
resident  reported  the  style  and  manner  of  the  ceremony.  On  the  ap- 
pointed day  he  went  with  his  friends  to  the  convent,  and  found  the 
old  gentleman  awaiting  his  guests  in  his  holiday  clothes.  Their  re- 
ception had  something  of  solemnity  about  it.  The  old  man  went  into 
his  cell  and  brought  out  the  casket  in  its  rich  covering.  He  spread 
white  satin  on  the  table,  and,  unlocking  the  casket,  let  the  precious 
pearl  roll  out  before  the  enchanted  eyes  of  the  spectators.  No  one 
ventured  to  touch  it,  but  all  burst  into  acclamations,  and  the  old  man's 
eyes  gleamed  like  his  pearl.  After  a  short  time  it  was  returned  to  the 
casket.  During  his  last  illness,  the  old  gentleman  never  let  the  pearl 
out  of  his  hand,  and  after  his  death  it  was  with  difficulty  taken  from 
his  stiffened  fingers. 

There  seems  to  be  a  great  similarity  between  the  description  of  this 
pearl  and  that  of  La  Pellegrina,  although  we  have  been  unable  to 
verify  our  surmise  as  to  their  identity. 

The  Hope  Pearl.  In  the  first  half  of  the  last  century,  Henry  Philip 
Hope,  a  London  banker,  brought  together  a  great  collection  of  gems, 
among  which  were  many  pearls.  The  most  famous  of  these  was  the 
often-described  Hope  pearl,  one  of  the  largest  known;  the  value  of 


464  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

which,  however,  is  not  in  proportion  to  its  size,  owing  to  its  irregu- 
lar formation.  As  described  in  the  catalogue  of  the  Hope  collection, 
published  in  1839,  this  oriental  pearl  is  of  an  irregular  pear-shape, 
weighs  1800  grains,  or  three  ounces,  measures  two  inches  in  length, 
and  in  circumference  four  and  one  half  inches  at  the  broadest  and 
three  and  one  fourth  inches  at  the  narrowest  end.  The  color  at  the 
larger  end  is  of  a  bronze  or  a  dark  green  copper  tint,  this  gradually 
clearing  into  a  fine  white  luster  for  within  one  and  one  half  inches  of 
the  smaller  end.  This  baroque  pearl  was  firmly  attached  to  the  shell, 
and  it  yet  shows  the  point  of  attachment,  which  has  been  polished  so 
as  to  correspond  to  the  remaining  portion.  It  is  attractively  mounted, 
the  smaller  end  being  capped  with  an  arched  crown  of  red  enameled 
gold  set  with  diamonds,  rubies,  and  emeralds.^  After  remaining  in 
the  Hope  jewel  collection  at  the  South  Kensington  Museum  for  many 
years,  it  was  sold  at  auction,  at  Christie's,  in  1886,  when  that  collec- 
tion was  placed  on  the  market.  This  pearl  is  now  held  by  Messrs. 
Garrard  &  Company  of  London,  at  the  price  of  £9000. 

The  Hope  collection  also  contained  about  148  pearls  of  good  form. 
Notable  among  these  were  the  following:  (a)  a  conical  pearl  weigh- 
ing 151  grains,  cream-white  in  color,  from  Polynesia;  (b)  a  bouton 
pearl  of  124  grains,  bluish- white  at  the  top  and  encircled  by  a  dark 
bronze  color;  (c)  an  oval  cream-colored  pearl,  weighing  ninety- four 
grains,  from  the  South  Seas;  (d)  an  eighty-nine-grain,  roughly 
spherical  pearl,  one  side  bluish  and  the  other  of  a  light  bronze;  (e) 
an  eighty-five-grain,  acorn-shaped,  bluish-white  pearl,  with  a  band  of 
opaque  white  near  the  base;  (f)  an  oval  conch  pearl,  pink  in  general 
color  and  somewhat  whitish  at  the  ends,  weighing  eighty-two  and  one 
fourth  grains;  (g)  another  conch  pearl,  seventy-seven  and  one  half 
grains,  button  shaped,  yellowish- white  with  a  slight  shade  of  pink; 
(h)  a  seventy-six-and-one-half-grain  drop-shaped  pearl  of  a  chato- 
yant aspect,  of  white  color  shaded  with  red,  purple,  and  green;  and 
(i)  a  pear-shaped  Scottish  pearl  of  thirty-four  and  three  fourths 
grains,  of  a  milky  bluish  caste,  slightly  tinged  with  pink. 

Van  Buren  Pearls.  Among  the  collections  of  the  United  States 
National  Museum  are  two  pendant  pearls  each  weighing  about  thirty 
grains,  and  a  necklace  containing  148  pearls  with  an  aggregate 
weight  of  700  grains.  These  were  presented  in  1840  to  President 
Van  Buren  by  the  Imam  of  Muscat.  They  were  deposited  in  the 
vaults  of  the  Treasury  Department,  where  they  remained  until  a 
few  years  ago,  when,  by  the  order  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 

'Hertz,    "Catalogue    of   the    Collection    of  Pearls    and     Precious     Stones     Formed    by 
Henry  Philip  Hope,  Esq.,"  London,  1839. 


HER   GRACE,  THE   DUCHESS   OF   MARLBOROUGH 


FAMOUS  PEARLS  AND  COLLECTIONS  465 

they  were  transferred  to  the  custody  of  the  National  Museum  where 
they  now  are. 

Thiers  Necklace.  In  the  galleries  of  the  Louvre  at  Paris  may  be 
seen  a  pearl  necklace  formerly  owned  by  the  wife  of  President  Thiers 
(1797-1887),  consisting  of  145  pearls  in  three  rows.  The  weights  of 
the  three  largest  individual  pearls  are  fifty-one,  thirty-nine,  and 
thirty-six  grains,  respectively.  The  aggregate  weight  is  2079  grains, 
and  the  value  at  the  time  of  their  deposit  was  estimated  at  300,000 
francs.  This  is  on  a  base  of  $2.02 ;  at  a  higher  valuation  the  figures 
would  be : 

$148,947  =  $71.64  per  grain;  base,  $5 
238,315  =  114.63     "         "         "       8 

the  last  being  very  probably  nearer  to  the  correct  value  of  the  necklace 
at  the  present  time. 

Tiffany  Queen  Pearl.  Doubtless  the  most  famous  pearl  ever 
found  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States,  and  likewise  one  of  the 
choicest,  is  the  well-known  "Queen  Pearl,"  found  in  Notch  Brook  near 
Paterson,  New  Jersey,  in  1857.*  In  form  it  is  a  perfect  sphere,  and 
weighs  ninety-three  grains.  The  history  of  the  discovery  and  of  the 
sale  of  this  beautiful  gem  is  set  forth  on  page  260. 

The  Bapst  Pearls.  Very  practical  is  the  account  given  by  Streeter 
of  a  pair  of  magnificent  spherical  pearls  exhibited  at  the  Paris  Exhi- 
bition in  1878  by  Messrs.  Bapst  of  Paris.  One  of  these  pearls — then 
weighing  116  grains — was  purchased  by  Mr.  Streeter  in  1877,  and  by 
him  sold  to  a  leading  merchant  of  London,  who  skilfully  removed  a 
blemish  on  it,  reducing  it  to  113%  grains  in  weight.  After  holding  it 
for  some  months,  it  occurred  to  him  that  it  would  match  a  pearl  sold 
by  Hunt  and  Roskell  to  Dhuleep  Singh  about  fifteen  years  previously. 
On  comparison,  the  two  were  found  to  match  perfectly,  one  weighing 
113^.  and  the  other  11334  grains.  The  two  were  eventually  sold 
early  in  1878  "for  £4800,  which  was  even  then  much  below  their 
value,  and  to-day  they  would  be  worth  £10,000.  They  were  exhibited 
in  the  great  Paris  Exposition  in  1878,  where  they  attracted  universal 
attention,  and  were  pronounced  by  connoisseurs  to  be  the  most  ex- 
traordinary pair  of  pearls  ever  seen  in  Europe.  They  were  sold  from 
the  exhibition  to  an  individual  for  a  very  large  sum."  - 

'"Gems  and    Precious    Stones    of    North  '  Streeter,  "  Pearls  and  Pearling  Life,"  Lon- 

America,"  New  York,  1892,  PI.  VIII,  p.  229.      don,  1886,  pp.  295,  296. 

30 


466  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

The  "Southern  Cross."  The  "Southern  Cross"  is  an  unusual  pearl 
or  rather  cluster  of  pearls  which  attracted  much  attention  twenty- 
years  ago.  It  consists  of  nine  attached  pearls  forming  a  Roman  cross 
about  one  and  one  half  inches  in  length,  seven  pearls  constituting 
the  shaft  or  standard,  while  the  arms  are  formed  by  one  pearl  on  each 
side  of  the  second  one  from  the  upper  end.  The  luster  is  good,  but 
the  individual  pearls  are  not  perfect  spheres,  being  mutually  com- 
pressed at  the  point  of  juncture  and  considerably  flattened  at  the 
back.  If  separated,  the  aggregate  value  of  the  individual  pearls 
would  be  small,  and  the  celebrity  of  the  ornament  is  due  almost  exclu- 
sively to  its  form.  This  striking  formation  was  exhibited  at  the  Colo- 
nial and  Indian  Exhibition  at  London  in  1886,  and  later  at  the  Paris 
Exhibition  in  1889,  where  it  was  the  center  of  interest,  and  obtained 
a  gold  medal  for  the  exhibitors.  It  is  reported  that  an  effort  was 
made  to  bring  about  its  sale  at  f  10,000,  the  owners  suggesting  that  it 
was  especially  appropriate  for  presentation  to  Leo  XIII,  on  the  occa- 
sion of  his  jubilee  in  1896.  The  writers  have  been  unable  to  obtain 
information  as  to  its  present  location. 

Much  information  relative  to  the  "Southern  Cross"  was  volun- 
teered by  Henry  Taunton  in  the  very  interesting  account  of  his  wan- 
derings in  Australia.  He  presents  apparently  reliable  statements 
showing  that  it  was  found  on  March  26,  1883,  ofif  Baldwin  Creek  in 
Lat.  17°  S.  and  Long.  122°  E.,  by  a  boy  named  Clark,  in  the  employ 
of  James  W.  S.  Kelly,  a  master  pearler.  When  delivered  to  Kelly,  it 
was  in  three  distinct  pieces,  but  the  boy  reported  that  it  was  in  one 
piece  when  he  found  it  a  few  hours  before.  Kelly  sold  it  in  the  three 
pieces  in  which  he  received  it  for  f  10  to  a  fellow  pearler  named  Roy; 
Roy  sold  it  for  £40  to  a  man  named  Craig,  and  he  sold  it  to  an  Austra- 
lian syndicate. 

However,  according  to  Taunton's  positive  statement,  there  were 
only  eight  pearls  in  the  cluster  when  it  was  sold  by  Kelly  in  1883,  and 
to  make  it  resemble  a  well-proportioned  cross — the  right  arm  being 
absent — another  pearl  of  suitable  size  and  shape  was  subsequently 
secured  at  Cossack  and  attached  in  the  proper  place  to  the  others, 
which,  in  the  meantime,  had  been  refastened  together  by  diamond 
cement,  thus  making  three  artificial  joints  in  the  present  cluster.  "As 
if  to  assist  in  the  deception,  nature  had  fashioned  a  hollow  in  the  side 
of  the  central  pearl  just  where  the  added  pearl  would  have  to  be  fitted ; 
and — the  whole  pearling  fleet  with  their  pearls  and  shells  coming  into 
Cossack  about  this  time— it  was  no  difficult  matter  to  select  a  pearl  of 
the  right  size  and  with  the  convexity  required.  The  holder  paid  some 
ten  or  twelve  pounds  for  the  option  of  selecting  a  pearl  within  given 
limits ;  and  then  once  more,  with  the  aid  of  diamond  cement  and  that 


FAMOUS  PEARLS  AND  COLLECTIONS  467 

of  a  skilful  'faker,'  this  celebrated  gem  was  transformed  into  a  per- 
fect cross."* 

Morgan-Tiffany  Collection.  Probably  the  most  interesting  assort- 
ment of  American  pearls  is  the  Morgan-Tiffany  Collection  in  the 
American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  New  York.  The  excellence 
of  this  collection  lies,  not  in  the  high  cost  of  any  individual  pearl,  but 
in  its  illustrating  in  a  comprehensive  manner  the  great  variety,  colors, 
and  forms  of  American  pearls.  Not  only  are  the  many  varieties  of 
fresh-water  pearls  represented,  but  likewise  abalone  pearls  from  the 
Pacific  coast,  conch  pearls  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  a  good  as- 
sortment of  pearly  concretions  from  edible  oysters  and  clams  of  the 
Atlantic  coast. 

This  collection  contains  557  species  of  white  and  colored  Unio 
pearls,  four  multicolored,  five  mallet-shapes,  166  baroques,  thirty- 
nine  hinge-pearls,  twenty  pearlaceous  masses,  thirty-four  clam 
(Venus)  pearls,  fifteen  abalone  pearls,  eleven  conch  pearls,  and  twelve 
oyster  (Ostrea)  pearls.  The  collection  was  exhibited  in  two  parts, 
the  first  at  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1889,  and  the  second  at  the  Paris 
Exposition  of  1900.    On  each  occasion  a  gold  medal  was  awarded. 

Count  Batthyani's  Pearl.  A  curious  history  is  connected  with  a 
beautiful  black  pearl*  which  was  at  one  time  in  the  possession  of 
Count  Louis  Batthyani,  the  premier  of  the  revolutionary  government 
of  Hungary.  The  count  was  shot  in  1849,  by  the  orders  of  a  court- 
martial,  and  on  the  eve  of  his  execution  he  gave  the  pearl,  which  he 
had  worn  mounted  on  a  scarf-pin,  to  his  trusty  and  faithful  valet. 
The  latter  left  it  to  his  son,  who,  when  in  straightened  circumstances, 
sought  to  raise  money  upon  the  pearl.  The  pawnbroker  of  the  small 
town  was  distrustful  of  its  value  and  took  it  to  Budapest  for  ap- 
praisal. There  the  suspicions  of  the  authorities  were  aroused,  an  in- 
vestigation was  ordered,  and  it  was  finally  discovered  that  the  pearl 
had  been  stolen  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  before  from  the  English 
crown.  The  English  government  redeemed  it  for  the  sum  of  £2500 
($12,500).  How  it  came  into  the  possession  of  Count  Batthyani  is  a 
mystery ;  probably  he  purchased  it  from  some  antiquarian. 

In  1900  there  was  shown-  in  Paris  one  of  the  most  important  black 
pearls  of  any  time,  a  pear-shaped  pearl  of  forty-nine  grains,  of  a  most 
wonderful  jjlack  color  with  a  green  sheen,  as  perfectly  formed 
as  though  it  had  been  turned  out  of  a  lathe ;  it  did  not  terminate  in  a 
point  at  the  small  end,  but  was  slightly  flattened.  It  was  so  beauti- 
ful an  object  that  it  almost  seemed  it  should  never  be  drilled  for 

'  Taunton,  "Australind,"  London,  1900,  p.  231.  '  Austrian  Court  Journal,  1899. 


468  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

mounting.  This  pearl  ultimately  sold  for  more  than  $30,000,  and  it  is 
probably  the  finest  black  pearl  that  has  ever  reached  the  European 
markets. 

According  to  a  personal  communication  from  E.  Z.  Steever,  gov- 
ernor of  the  District  of  Sulu,  the  largest  pearl  that  he  has  seen  in  the 
islands  belongs  to  the  sultan,  and  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Hadji 
Butu,  former  prime  minister.  It  is  an  oblate  spheroid,  there  being  a 
trifling  difference  between  the  two  diameters.  The  upper  hemisphere 
is  very  beautiful ;  the  lower  one  has  a  few  minute,  black  specks  which 
are  superficial  and  could  be  easily  removed,  the  pearl  not  having  been 
treated  since  it  was  taken  from  the  oyster.  This  pearl  measures 
five  eighths  of  an  inch  at  its  greatest  diameter  and  is  said  to  weigh 
twelve  carats  (forty-eight  grains).  Hadji  Butu  informed  Gov- 
ernor Steever  that  the  sultan  had  refused  $25,000  for  the  pearl  in  Sing- 
apore. 

The  Nordica  pearl  is  the  finest  abalone  of  which  we  have  any  record. 
It  weighs  175  grains,  is  a  drop  pearl  of  a  greenish  hue,  with  bril- 
liant red  fire-like  flashes,  and  serves  as  a  pendant  to  the  famous  collec- 
tion of  colored  pearls  belonging  to  the  beloved  and  admired  American 
prima  donna.  Madam  Nordica. 

At  the  International  Exposition  in  Paris  in  1889,  Mr.  Alphonse 
Falco,  president  of  the  Chambre  Syndicale,  exhibited  a  round  pearl, 
white  and  lustrous,  weighing  seventy  grains,  and  valued  at  50,000 
francs. 

Augusto  Castellani,  the  well-known  Italian  jeweler  of  Rome,  in  the 
year  1868,  during  the  Papal  regime,  executed  a  crown  for  King  Vic- 
tor Emmanuel  II.  This  crown  was  destined  for  the  Church  of  the 
Holy  Sepulchre,  in  Jerusalem,  and  on  it  is  a  pearl  which,  although 
slightly  irregular,  is  as  large  as  the  famous  Gogibus  pearl. 

A  remarkable  golden-yellow'  pearl  from  Shark's  Bay,  West 
Australia,  is  in  the  possession  of  a  New  York  lady;  it  weighs  thirty 
and  one  half  grains,  is  perfectly  round,  and  is  without  a  flaw  or  blemish. 

Crown  Jewels  of  France.  The  collection  of  gems  known  as  the 
Crown  Jewels  of  France  owed  its  origin  to  Francis  I  (i 494-1 547). 
While  in  Bordeaux,  on  his  way  to  meet'his  bride,  Eleanor  of  Austria, 
sister  of  Emperor  Charles  V,  Francis  created  by  letter  patent  the 
Treasure  of  the  Crown  Jewels,  giving  to  the  state  a  number  of  his 
most  valued  diamonds,  under  the  condition  that  at  each  change  of 
sovereign  a  careful  inventory  should  be  made.  The  original  collec- 
tion consisted  of  six  pieces  of  jewelry  valued  at  272,242  "ecus  soleil," 
or  about  $700,000.  The  crown  jewels  have  passed  through  many  vi- 
cissitudes in  the  course  of  time.  A  number  of  the  gems  were  at  various 


jdis^ 


ZMi 


nV,    MAQAM  3HT 


THE   MADAM   NORDICA   COLLECTION   OF  COLORED   PEARLS 

The  Nordica  drop  pearl  weighs  175  grains 


FAMOUS  PEARLS  AND  COLLECTIONS  469 

times  pledged  as  security  for  loans  made  in  France  and  Italy,  and  it  is 
said  that  in  1588,  during  the  reign  of  Henry  III,  all  the  jewels  disap- 
peared from  the  royal  treasury.  Henry  IV  strove  to  regather  the 
scattered  ornaments,  but  it  was  only  in  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV  that 
the  collection  became  really  important.  At  the  time  of  the  French 
Revolution,  in  1791,  an  inventory  was  made  by  the  order  of  the  Na- 
tional Assembly. 

The  jewels  were  then  deposited  in  the  Garde-Meuble,  where  they 
were  exposed  to  public  view.  Either  they  were  very  carelessly 
guarded,  or  the  guardians  were  in  collusion  with  a  band  of  thieves, 
for  the  room  wherein  they  were  kept  was  entered  on  five  successive 
nights,  and  when  the  theft  was  finally  discovered  only  about  500,000 
francs'  ($100,000)  worth  of  the  gems  remained.  Many  of  the  most 
valuable  objects  were,  however,  traced  and  recovered.  Napoleon  I, 
when  he  became  emperor,  made  every  effort  to  enrich  the  treasure, 
and  purchased  gems  to  the  value  of  6,000,000  francs  ($1,200,000), 
and  subsequent  rulers  added  to  the  collection  on  various  occasions. 

At  the  time  of  the  ofHcial  inventory  in  1791  the  entire  collection  of 
pearls  was  estimated  at  about  1,000,000  francs  ($200,000).  The  fin- 
est specimen  in  the  collection  was  a  splendid  round  pearl  weighing 
10934  grains^  and  estimated  at  200,000  francs  ($40,000),  or  $366  per 
grain,  on  a  base  of  $3.35-  Then  came  two  pear-shaped  pearls  of  a 
fine  orient  and  well-matched,  weighing  respectively  iiy}i  and  113 
grains,  and  valued  at  300,000  francs  ($60,000)  or  $260  per  grain,  on 
a  base  of  $2.25.  In  addition  to  the  above  there  were  twenty-five  sepa- 
rate round  pearls  which  had  constituted  the  necklace  of  the  queen ;  they 
ranged  in  weight  from  36  to  1653^  grains,  and  were  valued  at  about 
90,000  francs  ($18,000).  Beside  the  pear-shaped  pearls  to  which  we 
have  alluded,  there  were  two  other  pairs,  each  valued  at  32,000  francs 
($6400)  for  the  two  pearls;  they  averaged  about  100  grains  in 
weight.  In  addition  to  these  there  were  two  weighing  respectively 
1753^  and  20534  grains,  each  valued  at  20,000  francs  ($4000),  and 
seven  others  ranging  in  weight  from  923/2  to  167  grains  and  valued 
at  from  10,000  to  15,000  francs  ($2000  to  $3000).  The  best  oval 
pearl  was  one  weighing  seventy-six  and  one  half  grains  and  esti- 
mated at  20,000  francs  ($4000) ;  there  were  two  others,  one  of 
ninety-three  grains,  valued  at  12,000  francs  ($2400),  and  one  of  121 
grains,  valued  at  10,000  francs  ($2000).  We  may  also  mention  an 
egg-shaped  pearl  weighing  14534  grains,  estimated  as  worth  10,000 
francs  ($2000),  and  a  button  pearl  of  198  grains  entered  at  15,000 
francs  ($3000).  Beside  these  separate  pearls  there  were  eleven 
strings  comprising  310  pearls,  weighing  in  all  6778  grains  and  valued 

'See  p.  461. 


470 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


at  but  29,400  francs  (about  $6000).  The  average  per  pearl  was  95 
francs  ($19),  less  than  one  dollar  a  grain. 

These  pearls,  according  to  their  beauty,  would  now  be  worth  from 
four  to  six  times  the  valuation  here  given,  so  that  the  two  large  pear- 
shaped  pearls  of  the  French  crown  may  be  worth  to-day  $200,000  and 
the  great  roimd  pearl  from  $100,000  to  $250,000. 

Many  of  these  pearls  were  a  century  old.  They  were  collected  at  a 
time  when  not  as  much  attention  was  paid  to  their  absolute  per- 
fection and  beauty  as  at  the  present  time,  for  there  probably  never  has 
been  a  period  when  rare  and  perfect  pearls,  diamonds,  or  rubies  have 
been  appreciated  so  much  more  highly  than  those  of  mediocre  quality. 


No. 

Round  Pearls  i 

3 

II 

7 
14 

43 
Pear-shaped 2 

4 
6 
8 

47 
Oval   3 

9 
II 

Egg-shaped    i 

Irregular  12 

Button  I 

6 

Baroque   4 

Strings  310 

503 


RECAPITULATION 

Weight  in  grains 
Average  Total 


79 

64^ 

53^ 
34/2 

99>^ 
i63>^ 
11414 

42M 
27 

7^y^ 
43 

39>^ 
(£% 

21% 


109  >4 
238/2 
804/ 
450/ 
753^ 
1488/ 
230^ 

397/ 
9783/4 

91454 

1989M 

290/ 

654M 
473  M 
145/ 
475/ 
198 

398 

150/ 
6778 


Francs 
200,000 
29,000 
37.300 
19,400 
23,100 
16,100 
300,000 
64,000 
92,000 
55,000 
24,600 
42,000 
20,100 

5,000 
10,000 

7.300 
15,000 

4.900 

1,500 
29,400 


Value 

U.  S.  currency 

$40,000 

5,800 

7,460 

3,880 

4,620 

3,220 

60,000 

12,800 

18,400 

11,000 

4,920 

8,400 

4,020 

1,000 

2,000 

1,460 

3,000 

980 

300 

5,880 


ZSfi    17,919/         995.700      $199,140 


After  the  downfall  of  Napoleon  III  and  the  proclamation  of  the 
French  Republic,  the  jewels  were  inventoried,  and,  by  a  law  passed 
December  10,  1886,  it  was  decreed  that  a  large  part  of  the  treasure 
should  be  sold  at  public  auction.  The  sale  was  held  in  the  Pavilion  de 
Flore,  a  part  of  the  Palace  of  the  Tuileries,  on  May  12,  1887,  and,  very 
naturally,  all  the  principaJl  gem-dealers  and  collectors  were  represented. 
A  number  of  remarkable  pearl  ornaments  were  among  the  objects 
offered  at  this  sale,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  being  a  diadem  of  an 


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FAMOUS  PEARLS  AND  COLLECTIONS  471 

exceptionally  artistic  openwork  design,  adorned  with  large,  round 
pearls  and  surmounted  by  a  row  of  magnificent  pear-shaped  pearls. 
The  total  number  of  pearls  in  this  diadem  was  212,  and  their  weight 
2452  grains.  It  was  sold  for  the  sum  of  78,000  francs  ($15,600). 
The  coronet  which  accompanied  the  diadem  comprised  274  pearls, 
weighing  984  grains ;  the  design  was  similar  to  that  of  the  diadem, 
but  the  points  consisted  of  a  round  and  a  pear-shaped  pearl  in  alter- 
nation. This  ornament  realized  the  sum  of  30,000  francs  ($6000). 
A  large  brooch  of  very  elaborate  and  beautiful  design,  beside  a  num- 
ber of  smaller  pearls,  comprised  four  fine,  pear-shaped  pendants, 
weighing  100  grains  each,  and  two  choice  bouton  pearls,  and  had  in 
the  center  the  famous  pearl  known  as  "La  Regente,"  which  was  pur- 
chased in  181 1  for  40,000  francs  ($8000).  This  splendid  ornament 
brought  the  sum  of  176,000  francs  ($35,200).  Four  other  brooches 
each  contained  seven  pearls  and  many  brilliants,  the  twenty-eight 
pearls  having  a  total  weight  of  1496  grains,  an  average  of  more  than 
fifty-three  grains.  Each  brooch  had  two  pearls  surrounded  with  bril- 
liants, and  five  large,  pear-shaped  pearls  set  as  pendants.  They  were 
sold  to  different  purchasers  at  prices  ranging  from  18,500  francs 
($3700)  to  43,000  francs  ($8600),  the  four  together  realizing  113,- 
500  francs  ($22,700). 

Six  pearl  necklaces  were  also  offered.  One  of  forty-seven  pearls 
weighing  698  grains  was  sold  for  34,600  francs  ($6920),  and  two 
others,  each  consisting  of  fifty-eight  pearls,  with  a  total  weight  of 
524  and  400  grains  respectively,  brought  the  sum  of  22,300  francs 
($4460)  and  15,000  francs  ($3000).  Another  necklace  composed  of 
thirty-eight  round  pearls  and  nine  pear-shaped  pendants,  the  total 
weight  being  1612  grains,  sold  for  74,300  francs  ($14,860).  The  two 
finest  necklaces  were  broken  up  into  a  number  of  separate  lots.  One 
of  them,  consisting  of  362  pearls  and  weighing  in  all  5808  grains, — 
an  average  of  a  trifle  over  sixteen  grains, — was  offered  in  four  lots 
which  together  brought  295,800  francs  ($59,160).  The  other  neck- 
lace comprised  542  pearls  weighing  6752  grains,  and  was  disposed  of  in 
eight  lots,  realizing  in  all  331,800  francs  ($66,360).  Two  bracelets 
adorned  with  202  pearls  and  a  number  of  small  brilliants  were  pur- 
chased for  the  sum  of  90,200  francs  ($18,040).  The  total  amount  real- 
ized for  the  pearl  ornaments  was  1,261,500  francs  ($252,300).  There 
are  several  American  ladies  who  own  single  strings  of  pearls  which  are 
of  more  value  than  the  whole  pearl  parure  of  the  Empress  Eugenie. 

Pearl  parure  of  the  crown  jewels  of  France,  worn  by  the  Empress 
Eugenie,  and  sold  at  the  Tuileries,  May  12,  1887. 

A  diadem  containing  212  pearls,  weighing  2452  grains. 

A  coronet  with  274  pearls,  weighing  984  grains. 


472 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


Four  brooches,  each  containing  four  large  pearls,  two  round,  two 
pear-shaped,  and  three  smaller  ones,  weighing  in  all  1496  grains. 

A  larger  brooch  comprising  four  large  pear-shaped  pearls,  each 
weighing  100  grains.    In  the  center  is  the  pearl  called  "La  Regente." 

Two  necklaces  each  consisting  of  forty-seven  pearls,  with  an  ag- 
gregate weight  of  698  and  1612  grains,  respectively. 

Two  bracelets  with  202  pearls,  weighing  2000  grains. 

Five  buttons,  three  with  nine  and  two  with  ten  pearls. 

A  necklace  of  542  pearls,  weighing  6752  grains. 

Another  necklace  of  362  pearls,  weighing  5808  grains. 

Two  other  necklaces,  each  containing  fifty-eight  pearls,  the  total 
weight  being  400  and  524  grains,  respectively. 

SUMMARY  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  PEARL  ORNAMENTS  FORMING  THE  PEARL  PARURE 

OF  THE  FRENCH   CROWN  JEWELS  SOLD  AT  PALACE  OF  THE  TUILERIES  IN 

MAY,    1887 

No.  of 
Designation 

1  necklace 
I 
I 
I 
I 
I 

2  bracelets 
I  large  diadem 
I  coronet 
I  brooch  . 
4  brooches 

Total  1875  23,926  1,261,500 


No.  of 

Aegregate  weight 

Amount  rec'd 

pearls 

grains 

francs 

362 

5,808 

295,800 

542 

6,752 

331,800 

47 

698 

34,600 

58 

524 

22,300 

58 

400 

15,000 

47 

1,612 

74,300 

202 

2,000 

90,200 

212 

2.452 

78,000 

274 

984 

30,000 

45 

1,200 

176,000 

28 

1.496 

113,500 

Imperial  Austrian  Schatzkammer.  The  weights  and  values  of  the 
great  gathering  of  pearls  of  the  imperial  Austrian  Schatzkammer  were 
carefully  estimated  by  one  of  the  authors  and  by  his  friends,  and  it  is 
the  first  attempted  inventory  ever  published.^ 

The  imperial  crown  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire,  preserved  in  the' 
treasury  of  the  imperial  Burg  at  Vienna,  and  known  as  the  crown  of 
Charlemagne,  has  in  front  seventeen  pearls  weighing  424  grains,  of 
which  two  weigh  fifty-six  grains  each.  The  remaining  fifteen  pearls 
average  20.8  grains.    The  values  of  these  pearls  are  as  follows: 


15  pearls,  20.8  grains. 
2  56-grain  pearls . .  . . 


$2.50 
$16,224 
15,680 


Base 


$5-00 

$32,448 
31,360 


$7.50 

$48,672 

47,040 


Total  $31,904  $63,808  $95,712 

'  The  senior  author  was  permitted  to  handle  these  treasures  in  1899. 


THE   IMPERIAL  AUSTRIAN   CROWN 

Made  by  order  of  Emperor  Rudolph  II.  in  1604 


FAMOUS  PEARLS  AND  COLLECTIONS  473 

At  the  back  of  the  crown  there  are  eighteen  pearls,  weighing  180 
grains.  One  of  these  has  a  weight  of  twenty-six  grains;  the  remain- 
ing seventeen  average  9.058  grains.     The  values  estimated  are  as 

follows  :  Base 

$2-50  $5.00  $7.50 

17  pearls,  9.058  grains...         $3,487.55         $6,975.10         $10,462.65 
I  pearl  of  26  grains  ....  1,690.00  3,380.00  5,070.00 

Total  $5-177-55       $io.355-io        $15,532.65 

The  pearls  in  the  cross  surmounting  the  crown  have  a  weight  of 
thirty-six  grains. 

The  imperial  cross  is  profusely  ornamented  with  pearls  in  front, 
while  the  back  consists  simply  of  silver-gilt.  There  are  three  strings 
of  pearls  in  the  front  running  in  each  direction.  The  total  weight  of 
the  pearls  is  4092  grains;  one  weighing  sixty- four  grains,  and  the 
smallest  two  grains. 

The  crucifix  of  the  Golden  Fleece  is  ornamented  only  in  front  with 
pearls ;  these  have  a  weight  of  but  136  grains. 

The  imperial  Austrian  regalia,  dating  from  the  time  of  Emperor 
Rudolph  II,  are  also  in  the  imperial  Burg;  some  of  the  emperor's 
jewels  were  sold  at  auction  in  Prague  in  1728. 

The  crown  is  adorned  with  two  rows  of  pearls,  weighing  respec- 
tively 960  and  840  grains ;  between  these  rows  are  pearls  having  a  to- 
tal weight  of  440  grains,  while  the  ornaments  and  eight  large  drops 
weigh  2052  grains.  The  largest  pearl  on  this  crown  weighs  104 
grains.  It  is  drop-shaped  and  belonged  to  Rudolph  II ;  it  is  slightly 
uneven  and  the  color,  although  white,  is  not  that  of  a  new  pearl,  but 
this  pearl  has  a  positive  history  of  three  hundred  and  six  years,  and 
at  the  present  time  is  probably  the  oldest  known  unchanged  pearl  with 
a  direct  and  authentic  record. 

The  imperial  orb  is  studded  with  pearls  weighing  in  all  1560 
grains.  Four  of  these  weigh  forty  grains  each,  the  others  are  of  lesser 
size,  the  smallest  weighing  ten  grains.  The  scepter  is  adorned  with 
pearls  to  the  weight  of  300  grains. 

In  addition  to  these  insignia  and  regalia  there  are  in  the  treasury 
two  magnificent  pearl  necklaces,  deposited  by  Empress  Maria  Theresa 
in  1765.  The  first  consists  of  a  single  string  of  114  large-sized  pearls 
with  the  "Baden  Solitaire,"  a  diamond  of  30  carats,  as  a  clasp.  Three 
of  these  pearls  weigh  from  92  to  100  grains  each,  and  the  whole 
string  has  a  total  weight  of  3400  grains.  This  would  give  us  the 
following  values,  the  pearls  averaging  29.82  grains. 

Base 

$2.50     $253,432.12 

5.00     506,864.24 


474 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


The  other  necklace  contains  121  pearls  of  a  total  weight  of  3788 
grains,  arranged  in  three  rows;  these  pearls  average  31.3  grains,  the 
largest  weighing  forty  grains  and  the  smallest  ten  grains.  The  neck- 
lace has  a  diamond  clasp  of  I4%2  carats.    The  pearls  are  worth: 

Base 
$2.50    $296,450 

5-00  592.900 

7-50  889,350 

Two  bracelets  with  brilliant  clasps,  belonging  to  the  same  set,  and 
consisting  of  240  medium-sized  pearls  weighing  2800  grains  and  av- 
eraging 11%  grains,  have  the  following  values: 

Base 

$2.50  $81,658.80 

500  163,317.60 

7-50  244,976.40 

There  is  also  a  pendant  of  six  pearls,  weighing  300  grains  and  aver- 
aging fifty  grains ;  these  pearls  are  worth : 

Base 
$2.50     $37,500 

5-00  75.000 

750  112,500 

Another  necklace,  bequeathed  to  the  treasury  by  the  late  Empress 
Caroline  Augusta,  consists  of  eighty-six  pearls  disposed  in  two  rows, 
the  largest  pearl  weighing  seventy-two  grains  and  the  smallest  eight 
grains.  The  total  v/eight  is  2600  grains  and  the  average,  30.2.  This 
necklace  is  worth: 

Base 

$2.50  $196,088.60 

5.00  392,177.20 

7-50  588,265.80 

Still  another  necklace  is  composed  altogether  of  black  pearls,  of 
which  there  are  thirty,  the  largest  weighing  forty-eight  grains  and 
the  smallest  ten.  The  total  weight  of  this  necklace  is  1040  grains,  an 
average  of  34.66  grains  for  each  pearl.  On  a  base  of  $5  this  necklace 
is  worth  $180,150. 

The  diamond  crown  of  the  empress  bears  pearls  to  the  total  weight 
of  2000  grains;  among  them  are  four  weighing  100  grains  each. 
These  pearls  alone,  on  a  $5  base,  would  be  worth  $200,000. 

The  total  weight  of  the  pearls  in  all  these  ornaments  is  35,816 


THE  GREAT  SEVIGNE   OF  THE   FREN'CH   CROWN  JEWELS 
Contammg  "  Ihe  Regent  Pearl,"  weighing  337  grains,  and  four  pear-shaped  pearls  of  100  grains  each  ;  also  ico  carats  of  diamonds 


FAMOUS  PEARLS  AND  COLLECTIONS  475 

grains,  equal  to  four  and  a  half  pounds,  avoirdupois,  and  they  are 
worth  from  $2,000,000  to  $4,000,000. 

The  so-called  crown  of  Charlemagne  bears  the  inscription :  "Chuon- 
radus  Rex  Dei  gratia  Romanorum  Imperator  Aug."  It  is  believed 
to  be  a  work  of  the  twelfth  century  and  originally  the  royal  crown  of 
Conrad  III,  king  of  the  Germans  (1093-1152),  the  first  Hohenstau- 
fen.'  The  arch  is  said  to  have  been  added  to  adapt  this  royal  crown 
for  use  in  the  expected  coronation  of  Conrad  as  emperor.  He  died, 
however,  while  making  preparations  for  his  journey  to  Rome. 

The  imperial  vestments  used  in  the  coronation  ceremonies  of  the 
Holy  Roman  Empire,  were  produced  in  the  celebrated  Hotel  de  Tiraz, 
at  Palermo.  Roger  II,  King  of  Sicily  (1096-1154),  after  a  victorious 
campaign  in  Greece,  brought  back  with  him  to  Sicily  a  number  of 
skilled  silk-weavers  and  embroiderers,  whom  he  established  at  Pa- 
lermo. The  imperial  mantle  is  of  a  brilliant  purple  and  bears  an  in- 
scription, embroidered  in  gold  and  pearls,  stating  that  the  garment 
was  made  in  the  royal  manufactory  in  the  year  1133.  Two  pearl-em- 
broidered representations  of  a  lion,  who  has  stricken  down  a  camel  and 
is  about  to  tear  it  to  pieces,  also  appear  on  this  mantle.  This  symbol 
of  royal  power  was  used  frequently  by  the  Saracens,  and  it  is  said  that 
Richard  CcEur  de  Lion  had  this  design  embroidered  on  his  saddle- 
cloths.^ 

A  fine  collection  of  large  baroque  pearls  is  preserved  in  the  Grune 
Gewolbe  (Green  Vaults)  in  the  palace  at  Dresden,  which  contains  the 
treasures  of  the  royal  family  of  Saxony.  Most  of  these  were  mounted 
during  the  eighteenth  century  by  J.  M.  Dinglinger  (i 665-1 731),  the 
famous  goldsmith  to  the  Saxon  Elector,  King  Augustus  II  of  Poland, 
and  who  is  sometimes  called  the  German  Cellini.  A  splendid  specimen 
of  his  work  is  a  vase  of  Egyptian  jasper  in  the  shape  of  a  shell,  bear- 
ing a  representation  of  Hercules  fighting  with  the  Nemsean  lion ;  this 
bears  reference  to  the  immense  personal  strength  and  power  of 
Augustus  II,  whose  portrait  is  painted  in  enamel  on  a  mirror  at  the 
back.  The  pedestal  is  adorned  with  a  great  many  precious  stones, 
pearls,  and  enamel  paintings  in  the  shape  of  cameos  representing  the 
twelve  labors  of  Hercules.  A  dragon  is  studded  with  emeralds  and 
its  back  is  formed  of  pearls,  with  a  large  sardonyx  in  the  middle.  Her- 
cules and  the  lion  are  in  enamel. 

In  the  same  collection  may  be  seen  the  figure  of  a  dwarf  made 
by  Ferbecq,  who  was  one  of  the  goldsmiths  of  King  Augustus.  The 
body  of  the  dwarf  is  formed  of  a  baroque  pearl,  which  is  studded 
with  small  diamonds.  His  sleeves  and  trousers  are  in  black  and 
green  enamel;  his  hat  is  also  of  green  enamel  and  on  it  is  a  string 

'Winckler,  "Die  Reichskleinodien,"  Berlin,  1872,  p.  17.  'Ibid.,  p.  9. 


476         THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

of  diamonds.  In  his  right  hand  the  dwarf  holds  a  spit  and  in  his  left 
a  roast.  On  his  left  shoulder  he  bears  a  goose,  the  upper  part  of 
whose  body  is  formed  of  a  pearl ;  at  his  right  side  hangs  a  bottle  also 
formed  of  a  pearl.  The  gilded  pedestal  is  ornamented  with  white 
enamel-work  on  a  pink  ground.  Above  and  below,  it  is  set  with  white 
and  yellow  diamonds.  Another  figure,  similarly  formed  of  a  large 
baroque  pearl  ornamented  with  gold  and  diamonds,  shows  a  drunken 
vintager  and  his  dog;  and  an  exceedingly  grotesque,  ornamented 
baroque  is  said  to  bear  a  striking  resemblance  to  Sehor  Pepe,  the 
court  dwarf  of  Charles  H  of  Spain. 

Exhibited  at  the  Palace  of  Rosenberg  at  Copenhagen,  are  similar 
designs  in  which  large  baroques  form  the  principal  part  of  fish,  birds, 
dragons,  mermaids,  etc.  Prominent  among  them  is  the  figure  of  a 
skater,  executed  by  the  jeweler,  Diederichsen;  it  is  said  that  this  was 
made  for  Frederick  VII,  who  died  before  it  was  accepted,  and  in  1895 
it  was  presented  to  the  museum. 

A  beautiful  and  costly  figure  of  this  nature  was  completed  a  year  or 
two  ago  by  the  court  jeweler,  Alfred  Dragsen,  of  Copenhagen.  This 
is  nearly  four  inches  in  height,  and  represents  a  female  snake-charmer. 
A  very  long  baroque  pearl  forms  the  body  from  the  shoulders  to  the 
knees,  and  the  head,  arms,  and  the  legs  below  the  knees  are  of  gold. 
The  figure  is  ornamented  with  a  diamond-studded  garland,  ruby  neck- 
lace and  earrings,  and  garters  set  with  similar  gems,  a  red  enameled 
girdle  ornamented  with  pearls,  and  golden  anklets  with  black  pearls. 
With  a  flute  she  charms  a  serpent  twined  about  her  body  and  grasped 
with  the  other  hand. 

What  is  said  to  be  the  finest  collection  of  black  pearls  in  all  Europe 
is  that  belonging  to  the  Duchess  of  Anhalt  Dessau,  Germany.  It 
consists  of  three  large  caskets  of  black  pearls  that  have  taken  a  cen- 
tury to  collect.  It  is  traditional  in  the  family  that  these  pearls  are 
never  to  be  sold  except  as  their  last  possession,  since  they  know  they 
will  always  find  a  purchaser. 

A  collection  of  pearls  had  been  kept  for  many  years  in  the  Monte 
de  Piedad  of  Mexico  City,  which  it  was  claimed  had  been  pawned  by 
a  friend  of  the  Empress  Carlotta,  in  order  to  provide  her  with  money 
at  the  time  of  the  assassination  of  Emperor  Maximilian.  These  pearls 
were  contained  in  a  necklace  and  a  pearl  and  diamond  tiara,  which 
were  sewn  upon  cardboard  covered  with  black  velvet,  and  had  the  ap- 
pearance of  not  having  been  disturbed  for  many  years.  The  necklace 
consisted  of  old  pearls,  both  of  the  so-called  Madras  and  Panama 
varieties ;  in  the  center  was  a  large  diamond  medallion  from  which 
pear-shaped  pearls  were  suspended.  It  is  believed  that  these  pearls 
were  part  of  Empress  Carlotta's  marriage  portion,  and  that  they 


MADAM    NORUICA 


FAMOUS  PEARLS  AND  COLLECTIONS  477 

came  from  the  Austrian  crown  jewel  collection.  None  of  them  pos- 
sessed much  quality  with  the  exception  of  one,  a  large  pear-shaped 
pearl  which  was  set  at  the  base  of  the  necklace  and  weighed  eighty- 
four  grains.  The  drilling  of  this  pearl  was  of  a  very  old  style,  being 
of  that  type  in  which  a  tube  is  inserted  in  the  drill  hole,  through  which 
a  gold  wire  passes  to  hold  the  pearl ;  a  diamond  is  then  set  at  the  base 
of  the  tube  to  disguise  the  drill  mark.  It  is,  however,  possible  that 
the  pearl  came  from  the  East  Indies,  where  large  drill  holes  are  usual. 
The  pearls  were  sent  in  bond  to  the  United  States  as  a  collection, 
and  then  to  Europe,  where  they  were  sold  separately,  the  pear-shaped 
pearl  appearing  again  in  the  New  York  market  in  1906.  There  has 
been  some  doubt  as  to  these  really  being  Carlotta's  pearls,  but  the 
Mexican  account  is  fairly  consistent,  and  it  satisfactorily  disposes  of 
the  newspaper  romance  in  which  it  was  claimed  that  Carlotta  had 
taken  these  pearls  with  her  to  Europe  and  that  they  had  been  buried 
in  a  casket  in  the  Adriatic  Sea. 

Recent  Auction  Sales.  In  England  and  in  France,  more  than  in 
the  United  States,  great  auction  sales  of  jewels  are  common.  They  are 
held  in  London,  principally  at  Christie's,  originally  a  coflfee  house, 
established  in  1880;  and  in  Paris,  at  the  Hotel  Drouot.  Good  prices  are 
generally  realized,  as  the  buyers  of  the  entire  continent  attend  these 
great  sales.  The  purchases  are  usually  made  by  dealers  who  fre- 
quently do  not  neglect  each  other's  interests  if  private  buyers  are  pres- 
ent. No  matter  how  great  may  be  the  amount  involved,  no  matter 
whether  the  collections  consist  of  paintings,  furniture,  or  jewels, 
there  are  always  buyers,  to  a  much  greater  extent  than  in  the  United 
States.  The  price  for  fine  jewels  may  naturally  vary  a  trifle  in  the 
different  markets,  according  to  the  conditions  of  payment.  It  must 
evidently  make  an  appreciable  difference  whether  almost  the  entire 
amount  is  paid  in  cash  or  whether  a  credit  of  thirty  days  is  extended, 
or  one  for  a  much  longer  period,  in  some  countries  for  as  long  as 
one,  two,  or  even  three  years. 

While  in  the  United  States  such  sales  of  valuable  jewels  are  very 
unusual,  it  has  been  a  custom  in  England  and  in  France  for  many 
years,  in  the  settlement  of  estates,  to  sell  not  only  the  furniture,  bric-a- 
brac,  etc.,  but  also  the  jewels.  Sales  of  this  kind  are  naturally  calcu- 
lated to  attract  not  only  the  dealers,  but  also  many  rich  collectors  and 
connoisseurs,  and  as  they  are  frequently  widely  advertised,  and  Lon- 
don and  Paris  are,  at  the  most,  but  one  to  two  days'  journey  from  all 
parts  of  Europe,  many  people  attend,  most  of  the  private  buyers  being 
represented  by  their  agents.  By  means  of  these  sales  many  heirlooms, 
which  have  been  handed  down  from  generation  to  generation,  often 


478  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

pass  into  the  possession  of  strangers.  In  the  matter  of  jewels,  it  has 
been  frequently  noticed  that  dealers  are  in  the  majority  of  cases  the 
ultimate  buyers,  and  it  has  also  been  inferred  that  when  an  outsider 
participates  in  the  bidding,  the  prices  are  advanced  to  such  an  extent 
that  it  does  not  often  appear  profitable  for  him  to  buy  in  the  face  of 
such  competition.  All  manner  of  people  have  had  their  estates  disposed 
of  in  this  way,  and  the  list  of  these  sales  during  the  past  twenty  years 
is  a  striking  one :  royalty,  nobility,  merchants,  and  people  in  many  other 
conditions  of  life  find  a  place  in  it. 

It  is  not  an  infrequent  custom  in  London  for  solicitors  to  advance 
money  on  jewels,  and  when  the  payments  are  not  forthcoming  these 
jewels  are  sold.  Hence,  many  sales  appear  at  the  larger  auction 
rooms  in  which  no  name  is  given,  the  owners  frequently  being  people 
of  high  degree. 

On  July  19,  1892,  a  necklace  containing  eighty-five  graduated  pearls  of  un- 
usual size  and  quality,  the  property  of  the  late  H.  W.  F.  Bolchow,  M.P.,  was 
sold  in  London  for  the  sum  of  £2500  ($12,500).  Another  necklace  of  146 
fine  graduated  pearls  disposed  in  two  rows,  brought  £2400  ($12,000)  ;  a  single- 
row  necklace  of  eighty-five  pearls  realized  £1600  ($8000),  and  one  of  118 
pearls  in  two  rows  £1660  ($8300). 

An  exceptionally  fine  pearl  necklace  which  belonged  to  her  Grace  the  late 
Caroline,  Duchess  of  Montrose,  mother  of  the  present  Duke  of  Montrose, 
was  sold  at  Christie's  on  April  30,  1895.  The  necklace  comprised  362  grad- 
uated pearls,  arranged  in  seven  rows  of  forty-four,  forty-seven,  forty-eight, 
forty-nine,  fifty-two,  fifty-eight,  and  sixty-four  pearls,  respectively.  The 
amount  realized  for  this  ornament  was  £11,500  ($57,500). 

On  July  9,  1901,  a  pearl  necklace,  advertised  as  the  property  of  "a  French 
lady  of  rank,"  and  several  other  valuable  pearl  ornaments,  were  offered  at 
Christie's.  It  is  supposed  by  many  that  these  jewels  belonged  to  Madame 
Humbert.  The  necklace  was  composed  of  six  rows  of  graduated  pearls  con- 
sisting of  fifty-five,  sixty-one,  sixty-seven,  seventy- three,  seventy-nine,  and 
eighty-nine  pearls,  respectively,  a  total  of  424,  all  of  good  color  and  luster. 
A  London  dealer  considers  that  they  owed  their  value  mainly  to  skilful  match- 
ing and  fineness  of  color;  they  are  perhaps  a  century  old.  As  may  be  sup- 
posed, there  were  many  bidders  who  competed  eagerly  for  possession  of  this 
fine  ornament,  and  it  was  at  last  adjudged  for  the  sum  of  £20,000  ($100,000). 
While  this  was,  up  to  that  date,  a  record  price  in  an  auction  room,  it  was  by 
no  means  an  exceptional  figure  for  private  sales ;  indeed,  at  about  the  time 
this  necklace  was  sold,  a  London  dealer  disposed  of  another  for  £34,000 
($170,000). 

A  necklace,  the  property  of  the  late  Lady  Matheson  of  the  Lews,  was  sold 
at  Christie's,  March  5,  1902.  Well-matched  and  graduated  round  pearls,  to 
the  number  of  233,  were  disposed  in  four  rows,  and  strung  with  seed-pearls 
between.    This  necklace,  which  had  been  presented  to  Lady  Matheson  at  the 


FAMOUS  PEARLS  AND  COLLECTIONS  479 

time  of  her  marriage  in  1843  by  Sir  Jamsetjee  Jejeebhoy,  Bart.,  brought  the 
sum  of  £6800  ($34,000). 

A  pearl  necklace,  containing  fifty-three  fine  and  graduated  pearls,  was  sold 
in  London,  June  9,  1902,  for  the  sum  of  £2250  ($1 1,250).  Another  necklace 
of  sixty-eight  fine  round  pearls,  one  of  which  formed  the  clasp,  brought  £1580 
($7900).  A  beautiful  pearl  and  brilliant  pendant  of  open  scroll  design,  with 
a  large,  round  white  pearl  in  the  center,  and  a  large,  pear-shaped  black  pearl 
as  drop,  realized  £800  ($4000),  and  a  pearl  collar  of  ten  rows  of  round  pearls 
brought  £820  ($4100).  A  noteworthy  offering  at  this  sale  was  a  rope  of  135 
pearls,  an  heirloom  sold  under  the  will  of  Lady  Marianna  Augusta  Hamilton. 
These  pearls  had  been  given  to  Lady  Augusta  Anne  Cockburn  in  1769  on  the 
occasion  of  her  marriage  to  Sir  James  Cockburn,  Bart.,  by  her  godmother, 
Augusta,  Duchess  of  Brunswick,  sister  to  George  IIL  The  rope  was  sold  for 
£900  ($4500). 

The  pearls  of  Lady  Dudley  were  sold  at  Christie's  on  July  4,  1902.  Among 
them  was  a  magnificent  necklace  of  forty-seven  slightly  graduated  round 
pearls,  of  large  size  and  unusually  brilliant  orient;  their  gross  weight  was  1090 
grains.  This  necklace  brought  the  sum  of  £22,200  ($111,000).  A  single 
pear-shaped  pearl  of  the  finest  orient  mounted  with  a  diamond  cap,  as  a  pen- 
dant, and  weighing  209  grains,  was  sold  for  £13,500  ($67,500).  A  rope  of 
222  graduated  round  pearls  of  the  highest  quality,  weighing  2320  grains  was 
purchased  for  £16,700  ($83,500),  and  a  pearl  and  brilliant  tiara  brought 
£10,300  ($51,500).  The  entire  casket  of  thirty-one  lots  realized  £89,526 
($447,630). 

At  the  sale  of  the  jewels  of  Mile.  Wanda  de  Boncza,  at  the  Hotel  Drouot, 
Paris,  December  6,  1902,  a  fine  necklace  was  disposed  of  for  the  sum  of 
150,000  francs  ($30,000),  and  a  rope  of  100  small  pearls  realized  38,100 
francs  ($7620)  ;  the  proceeds  of  the  entire  sale  of  these  jewels  were  1,249,578 
francs  ($249,915). 

Among  the  Aqualia  jewels,  sold  in  London  in  1903,  was  a  pearl  necklace 
that  brought  £4480  ($22,400). 

The  jewels  of  the  late  Marquis  of  Anglesey,  an  enthusiastic  jewel  and  art 
collector,  were  disposed  of  at  Qiristie's  on  May  4  and  5,  1904.  At  the  time  of 
his  death,  the  marquis  was  supposed  to  be  a  bankrupt,  but  the  value  of  the 
gems  which  he  had  purchased  had  increased  so  rapidly  that  the  sale  realized 
the  sum  of  £22,988  los.  ($114,942),  more  than  enough  to  cover  all  the  ob- 
ligations of  the  estate.  Of  this  amount  a  magnificent  drop-pearl,  mounted  as 
a  scarf-pin,  brought  £4000  ($20,000)  ;  another  drop-pearl  of  the  finest  orient, 
weighing  105^  grains,  but  slightly  cracked,  was  sold  for  £3700  ($18,500). 
Four  other  drop-shaped  pearls,  mounted  as  scarf-pins,  were  sold  for  £5220 
($26,100),  one  of  them  bringing  £1720  ($8600).  A  single  bouton  pearl,  used 
as  a  coat  fastener,  realized  £980  ($4900),  and  a  pearl  trefoil  was  purchased 
for  £580  ($2900).  One  fine  large  bouton  pearl,  set  as  a  stud,  was  disposed  of 
for  £3000  ($15,000),  and  another  somewhat  smaller  bouton,  also  set  as  a 
stud,  brought  £1600  ($8000"). 

A  splendid  necklace  comprising   forty-nine  well-matched  and  graduated 


48o         THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

pearls  of  fine  quality,  weighing  563  ^/^  grains,  was  sold  in  London  on  June  29, 
1905,  for  the  sum  of  £4700  ($23,500).  At  the  same  sale  a  necklace  of  thirty- 
two  graduated  pearls,  weighing  about  890  grains,  brought  £2600  ($13,000). 

On  July  20,  1905,  a  pearl  necklace  comprising  forty-five  graduated  pearls 
of  fine  orient,  with  a  cabochon  ruby  clasp,  the  gross  weight  being  832  grains, 
was  sold  in  London  for  £3150  ($15,750). 

A  fine  pearl  and  brilliant  pendant  was  disposed  of  at  the  sale  in  London, 
February  21,  1906,  of  the  stock  of  Mr.  E.  M.  Marcoso.  This  pendant  was 
composed  of  one  large  white  brilliant,  weighing  18/^2  carats,  and  a  drop- 
shaped  pearl  weighing  75^  grains.  The  ornament  brought  the  sum  of  £2050 
($10,250). 

A  pearl  necklace  composed  of  285  well-matched  and  graduated  pearls  dis- 
posed in  five  rows  was  sold  in  London  on  June  13,  1906,  for  the  sum  of 
£10,000  ($50,000).  At  the  same  sale  a  three-row  necklace,  with  213  graduated 
and  matched  pearls  of  fine  orient,  brought  £3200  ($16,000),  and  a  rope  of  237 
fine  pearls  realized  £2800  ($14,000). 

Among  the  jewels  disposed  of  at  a  sale  in  London  on  July  11,  1906,  may  be 
mentioned  a  five-row  pearl  necklace  of  445  graduated  oriental  pearls  which 
was  sold  for  £2500  ($12,500).  Three  other  necklaces  were  offered  at  the 
same  sale ;  one  of  fifty-five  matched  and  graduated  pearls  of  fine  quality  bring- 
ing £3400  ($17,000)  ;  one  of  fifty-seven  pearls,  £2700  ($13,500),  and  the 
other  of  219  well-matched  and  graduated  pearls  realizing  £2350  ($11,750). 
Still  another  necklace  of  417  matched  and  graduated  pearls  arranged  in  five 
rows  was  sold  for  £4800  ($24,000).  A  splendid  pearl  drop,  of  the  finest  orient, 
brought  £1650  ($8250),  and  a  pearl  rope  of  191  oriental  pearls,  arranged  so 
as  to  form  three  single-row  necklaces,  realized  the  sum  of  £3700  ($18,500), 
three  fine  black  pearls,  mounted  as  studs,  were  sold  for  £1000  ($5000).  The 
most  important  necklace  was  reserved  for  the  end  of  the  sale;  this  was  com- 
posed of  forty-seven  large  oriental  pearls,  and  was  purchased  for  the  sum  of 
£10,000  ($50,000). 

At  the  sale  of  the  Massey-Mainwaring  collection  at  Christie's  on  March  18, 
1907,  a  five-row  pearl  necklace  consisting  of  471  graduated  pearls,  with  a 
bouton  pearl  in  the  center,  was  sold  for  £4600  ($23,000). 

Another  collection,  sold  at  Christie's.  April  15,  1907,  was  the  property  of 
the  late  Mrs.  Lewis-Hill,  and  the  proceeds  of  the  first  day's  sale  reached  the 
heretofore  unapproached  total  of  £94,805  ($474,025),  thus  exceeding  by 
$26,395  the  amount  obtained  in  one  day  by  the  sale  of  Lady  Dudley's  jewels. 
Among  the  valuable  pearls  in  this  collection,  we  may  mention  a  pair  of  large 
bouton  pearl  earrings,  with  small  diamond  tops,  which  brought  £1180 
($5900).  The  enthusiasm  and  interest  of  the  assembly  were  aroused  by  a 
necklace  of  forty-five  large,  graduated  pearls  of  fine  orient,  with  a  bouton 
pearl  and  brilliant  cluster  snap ;  after  spirited  bidding  this  was  bought  for 
£6100  ($30,500).  The  greatest  event  of  the  day.  however,  was  the  appear- 
ance of  a  splendid  rope  of  229  pearls  of  very  good  form,  well-matched  and 
graduated.  The  opening  bid  was  £10,000  ($50,000)  and  after  a  warm  con- 
test the  pearls  were  finally  acquired  for  the  sum  of  £16,700  ($83,500).     A 


rnpjriglit,  1907,  b.v  Tlieo.  (.'.  Mimical),  N.  V. 


MRS.  GEORGE  J.  GOULD 


FAMOUS  PEARLS  AND  COLLECTIONS  481 

necklace  consisting  of  fifteen  graduated  drops,  each  formed  of  one  bouton 
pearl,  one  brilliant,  and  one  pear-shaped  pearl  drop,  depending  from  a  narrow 
band  of  small  diamonds,  drew  forth  a  bid  of  £5000  ($25,000)  and  was  finally 
awarded  for  the  sum  of  £12,200  ($61,000).  A  pearl  rope  of  183  graduated 
and  well-matched  pearls  realized  £7200  ($36,000),  and  a  fine  pair  of  pearls  set 
as  earrings  brought  £3400  ($17,000).  The  crowded  auction  room,  the  keen 
competition  among  the  bidders,  and  the  amount  obtained  for  these  jewels  are 
good  indications  of  the  firmness  of  the  market  at  the  present  time. 

At  the  sale  of  the  jewels  of  Lady  Henry  Gordon-Lennox,  held  at  Christie's 
on  May  12,  1907,  a  splendid  necklace  was  offered.  It  comprised  287  graduated 
pearls  of  the  finest  orient,  disposed  in  five  rows,  with  a  large  circular  pearl. 
This  magnificent  ornament  was  sold  for  £25,500  ($127,500). 

On  July  II,  1907,  a  splendid  necklace  of  forty-nine  graduated  pearls,  of 
fine  luster  and  carefully  matched,  was  sold  at  auction  by  Debenham  and  Storr 
of  London,  for  the  sum  of  £5600  ($28,000).  At  the  same  sale  a  single-row 
necklace  of  forty-five  pearls  brought  £5300  ($26,500),  and  a  rope  of  oriental 
pearls  realized  £4500  ($22,500). 

At  the  auction  sale  of  the  collection  of  the  late  Bishop  Bubics  of  Hungary, 
among  other  objects,  a  very  handsome  saber  pouch  was  offered,  of  the  style 
worn  by  the  Hungarian  hussars.  It  was  of  green  silk  and  richly  embroidered 
with  hundreds  of  pearls  of  varying  sizes.  After  a  spirited  competition  this 
pouch  was  sold  to  Prince  Esterhazy  for  13,500  crowns  ($2700).  Some  time 
after  the  sale  a  letter  from  the  late  bishop  was  found,  containing  the  statement 
that  he  had  borrowed  the  ornament  from  the  jewel-room  of  the  Princess  Es- 
terhazy. Naturally,  Prince  Esterhazy  was  not  called  upon  to  pay  the  amount 
of  his  bid.  It  is  a  gratification  to  know  that  at  least  one  of  the  remarkable 
Magyar  jeweled  ornaments  has  escaped  the  cupidity  of  enterprising  jewelers 
who  have  broken  up  so  many  of  these  ornaments  for  the  gems  which  they 
contained. 


A  BRIEF  SUMMARY  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  GREAT  PEARLS  OF  HISTORY 

Weight 

Charles  the  Bold's  Pearls.    Three,  each  about 60  grains 

Gomara  Pearl,  3 1  carats , 1 24       " 

Oviedo  Pearl,  26  carats  (probably  the  Morales  or  Pizarro  Pearl)  104       " 

La  Peregrina 134       " 

Charles  IPs  Pearl,  (nearly  equal  to  La  Peregrina)   

Morales  and  Pizarro  Pearl,  26  carats    104       " 

Rudolph  IPs  Pearl,  30  carats 120       "* 

Tavernier's  Pearls : 

Shah  Sofi's  Pearl  (estimated)   500       " 

Imam  of  Muscat's  Pearl,  12^6  carats 48^  " 

Shaista  Khan  Pearl,  55  carats 220       " 

Great  Mogul's  Pearls : 

Peacock  Throne  Pearl    200       " 

Two  pear-shaped,  one  about  70  ratis 186. 2  " 

31 


482  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

A  BRIEF  SUMMARY  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  GREAT  PEARLS  OF  HISTORY-Conlimud 

Tavernier's  Pearls — Coiitimicd:  ^^.  ^^ 

Olive-shaped  pearl  (estimated)    125  grains 

One  button-shaped,  55-60  ratis    146.3-159.6  " 

One  round  pearl,  56  ratis  (gift  of  the  Shah  Abbas  II) 148.9  " 

Round  pearl   (estimated) '   no       " 

Three  yellowish  pearls,  25-28  ratis 66. 5-  74. 5  " 

One  perfectly  round  pearl,  35 J4  ratis 94 J^   " 

Two  perfectly  shaped  and  equal,  each  2534  ratis 67.  i   " 

La  Reine  des  Perles 10934   " 

Pearls  of  Maria  Theresa's  Necklace  (three)   02-100       " 

La  Regente  (now  owned  by  Princess  Yousoupoflf)   337       " 

La  Pellegrina    1 1 1  }^   " 

The  Ynaffit,  pear-shaped    i43/^   " 

Hope  Pearl,  drop-shaped  baroque    1800       " 

Also  in  the  Hope  Collection  : 

Conical  pearl    151       " 

Bouton  pearl   124       " 

Oval  pearl    94       " 

Roughly  spherical  pearl    89       " 

Acorn-shaped   pearl    85       " 

Oval  conch  pearl    82^   " 

Button-shaped  conch  pearl    77V2  " 

Drop-shaped  pearl    76^   " 

Pear-shaped  Scotch  pearl 34H  " 

Van  Buren  Pearls: 

Two,  each  about 30       " 

Also  necklace  148  pearls 700       " 

Tiffany  Queen  Pearl,  American 93       " 

Black  bouton  earring-pearl   88       " 

White  bouton  earring-pearl   93       " 


•'4 


<( 


Bapst  Pearls,  two 1 13/4   and  113^ 

Round  pearl  of  Paris  Exposition  of  1889 70 

Mme.  Nordica's  Pearl  (abalone)    175 

Great  Bahama  Conch  Pearl 13834 

The  Queen  Conch  Pearl   90 

W.  H.  Moore's  Pearl  (Arkansas  pearl,  brown)    12234 

Shark's  Bay  Pearl,  golden  yellow 3034 

Rudolph  II  Crown  Pearl,  26  carats 104       " 

Carlotta's  Pearl,  pear-shaped    84       " 

Marquis  of  Anglesey's  Pearl,  drop-shaped 10534   " 

Black  pear-shaped  pearl   (Lower  California)    49       " 

lAs  this  pearl  was  brought  from  the  East  later  stolen  from  them,   reappearing  as   the 

later  on,  it  may  be  the  same  as  the  Reine  des  pearl  described  by  Kohl,  in  1840,  first  in  the 

Perles,  stolen  from  the  French  crown  jewels  possession  of  a  Russian  merchant  and  then 

in  1791.      It  is  evidently  the  same  as  the  La  later  in  the  Russian  Treasury. 
Pellegrina  of  the  Zozima  brothers  (1814)  and 


XVII 

THE  ABORIGINAL  USE  OF  PEARLS,  AND  THEIR 
DISCOVERY  IN  MOUNDS  AND  GRAVES 


XVII 

THE  ABORIGINAL  USE  OF  PEARLS,  AND  THEIR 
DISCOVERY  IN  MOUNDS  AND  GRAVES 

THE  use  of  pearls  by  the  aborigines  of  the  territory  now  com- 
prised in  the  United  States  is  proven  by  their  appearance  in 
the  mounds  and  certain  graves  of  pre-Columbian  date.  This 
is  of  great  interest  in  view  of  the  unique  system  of  burial  and 
the  great  variety  of  objects  buried  with  the  pearls.  It  is  evident  from 
the  quantities  discovered  in  some  of  the  mounds  that  a  very  great 
number  of  pearls,  many  of  large  size,  must  have  been  owned  by  these 
aborigines,  and  they  were  evidently  quite  expert  in  the  art  of  drilling 
them.  Pearls  must  have  been  freely  used  for  ornamental  purposes, 
and  it  is  clear  that  many  rivers  in  this  region  must  have  produced  them 
in  great  numbers,  when  we  consider  that  in  all  probability  the  mussels 
were  taken  only  as  they  were  required  for  food  or  for  bait  in  fishing, 
and  had  probably  reached  their  full  growth. 

It  is  not  unlikely  that  pearls  were  used  on  this  continent  for  a  long 
period,  and  they  may  have  been  in  use  centuries  before  any  employ- 
ment was  made  of  them  in  Europe.  In  the  age  of  the  mound-builders 
there  were  as  many  pearls  in  the  possession  of  a  single  tribe  of  Indians 
as  existed  in  any  European  court.  We  have  no  means  of  ascertain- 
ing the  precise  date  of  any  of  these  burials,  and  there  are  no  historical 
records  relating  to  this  region,  such  as  were  kept  in  Mexico  as  well  as 
in  Europe  and  Asia.  No  trace  has  been  found  of  the  employment  of 
pearls,  either  for  decoration  or  ornament,  by  the  aborigines  of  Europe 
or  Asia;  either  they  did  not  use  them  or  else  the  pearls  have  entirely 
passed  away  in  the  course  of  twenty  or  more  centuries.  We  do  know, 
however,  that  neither  pearls  nor  Unio  shells  were  used  by  any  of  the 
lake-dwellers  of  Switzerland  or  the  adjacent  countries. 

Many  eminent  archaeologists  have  investigated  the  finding  and  his- 
tory of  the  pearls  of  the  mound-builders  of  Ohio  and  Alabama,  espe- 
cially Squjer  and  Davis,  F.  W.  Putnam,  Warren  K.  Moorehead,  C. 
C.  Jones,  W.  C.  Mills,  and  Clarence  B.  Moore.  The  discoveries  made 
up  to  1890  were  fully  treated  by  one  of  the  writers  in  several  pam- 
phlets (one  of  them,  "Gems  and  Precious  Stones  of  North  America"). 

485 


486  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

It  is  not  unlikely  that  the  Indians  of  the  Atlantic  coast  may  have 
known  of  pearls  from  the  common  clam  as  well  as  from  the  edible 
oyster.  The  former  may  have  often  contained  pearls  weighing  from 
fifty  to  one  hundred  grains  each,  as  at  that  period  the  mollusks  were 
permitted  to  attain  their  full  growth,  and  perhaps  were  not  eaten  ex- 
cept when  they  were  as  small  as  little-neck  clams ;  the  larger  ones  were 
sought  for  the  purple  spot  which  held  the  muscle,  and  was  used  for 
wampum.  We  have  no  record  of  the  finding  of  pearls  in  any  graves 
north  of  Virginia,  as  the  many  graves  opened  in  the  past  century  have 
failed  to  reveal  them,  nor  has  the  use  of  pearls  been  mentioned  by  any 
of  the  early  writers.  They  may  have  been  worn,  but  if  so  they  have 
passed  away  or  may  have  been  mistaken  for  ashes  if  they  had  decrep- 
itated. 

The  first  English  settlers  found  the  Indians  of  the  tidewater  region 
of  what  now  constitutes  the  Middle  States  using  pearls  quite  freely  and 
esteeming  them  among  their  favorite  treasures  and  ornaments.  Cap- 
tain John  Smith,  and  all  the  early  chroniclers  'of  the  Virginia  colony, 
have  given  many  accounts  of  this  aboriginal  use  of  pearls. 

In  view  of  the  general  interest  awakened  by  the  tercentenary  of  the 
founding  of  Jamestown,  and  the  exposition  in  commemoration  thereof, 
the  "American  Anthropologist"  devoted  its  first  number  for  1907  prin- 
cipally to  topics  relating  to  the  Virginia  Indians.^  Among  these  arti- 
cles is  one  of  much  interest  by  Mr.  Charles  C.  Willoughby,  of  the 
Peabody  Museum  at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  dealing  with  the 
tribes  occupying  tidewater  Virginia  at  the  time  of  the  first  colonization, 
their  habits  and  customs,  their  distribution,  and  their  subsequent  his- 
tory of  diminution  and  almost  of  extinction.  These  were  a  branch  of 
the  Algonquian  stock,  and  extended  as  far  south  as  the  Neuse  River  in 
North  Carolina.  To  the  south  and  west  they  were  hemmed  in  by  tribes 
of  Iroquoian  and  Siouan  race,  and  on  the  north  they  were  separated 
from  other  hostile  Indians  by  the  Potomac  River  and  Chesapeake  Bay. 
The  powerful  confederacy  under  Powhatan  comprised  some  thirty 
tribes  or  "provinces,"  covering  most  of  the  tidewater  region  of  Vir- 
ginia proper.  To  the  greater  chiefs,  John  Smith  states  that  tribute 
was  paid,  consisting  of  "skinnes,  beads,  copper,  pearle,  deere,  turkies, 
wild  beasts  and  corne."^  Many  other  references  in  this  article  con- 
firm and  illustrate  this  general  statement,  especially  regarding  pearls, 
both  as  to  their  use  by  the  living  and  their  deposit  with  the  remains  of 
the  dead. 

In  the  account  given  of  the  native  clothing,  the  outer  mantles  are 

'"American Anthropologist," Lancaster, Pa.,  "True  Travels,"  Richmond  edition,  1819, 

Vol.  IX,  No.  I,  Jan.-March,  1907,  pp.  57-86.^      p.  144. 


ABORIGINAL  USE  OF  PEARLS  487 

described,  made  usually  of  deerskin  with  the  hair  removed,  and  bor- 
dered with  a  fringe.  These  were  often  "couloured  with  some  pretty 
work,  .  .  .  beasts,  fowle,  tortayses,  or  such  like  imagery,"  ^  or  adorned 
with  shells,  white  beads,  copper  ornaments,  pearls,  or  the  teeth  of 
animals.^  Strachey  describes  a  wonderful  cloak  made  of  feather- 
work,  belonging  to  an  Indian  princess,  the  wife  of  a  deposed  chief, 
Pipisco ;  with  it  she  wore  "pendants  of  great  but  imperfect  couloured 
and  worse  drilled  pearles,  which  she  put  into  her  eares,"  besides  a  long 
necklace  made  of  copper  links.^ 

With  regard  to  such  ornaments,  Mr.  Willoughby  says  (p.  71)  that 
"the  ears  of  both  sexes  were  pierced  with  great  holes,  the  women  com- 
monly having  three  in  each  ear,  in  which  were  hung  strings  of  bones, 
shell,  and  copper  beads,  copper  pendants,  and  other  ornaments.  Cap- 
tain Amidas  met  the  wife  of  a  chief  who  wore  in  her  ears  strings  of 
pearl  beads  as  large  as  'great  pease'  which  hung  down  to  her  middle.* 
The  husband  of  this  woman  wore  five  or  six  copper  pendants  in  each 
ear.  It  was  a  common  custom  for  the  men  to  wear  a  claw  of  a  hawk, 
eagle,  turkey,  or  bear,  or  even  a  live  snake  as  an.ear  ornament." 

"Bracelets  and  neck  ornaments  of  various  kinds  of  beads  were  com- 
mon. Beads  of  copper  seem  to  have  been  most  highly  valued  in  the 
early  colonial  period.  These  were  made  of  'shreeds  of  copper,  beaten 
thinne  and  bright,  and  wound  up  hollowe,'  and  were  sometimes  strung 
alternately  with  pearls  which  were  occasionally  stained  to  render  them 
more  attractive.'^  Beads  of  polished  bone  or  shell  were  strung  into 
necklaces  either  alone  or  with  perforated  pearls  or  copper  beads. 
Some  of  these  chains  were  long  enough  to  pass  several  times  around 
the  neck.  Necklaces  of  such  construction  as  to  be  easily  identified 
were  worn  by  messengers  as  a  proof  of  good  faith.  Powhatan  gave 
Sir  Thomas  Dale  a  pearl  necklace,  and  requested  that  any  messenger 
sent  by  Dale  to  him  should  wear  it  as  a  guaranty  that  the  message  was 
authentic."'' 

"Pearls  of  various  shapes  and  sizes  were  comparatively  common,  but 
symmetrical  pearls  of  uniform  size  were  more  rare.  Strachey  writes 
of  having  seen  'manie  chaynes  and  braceletts  (of  pearls)  worne  by 
the  people,  and  wee  have  found  plentie  of  them  in  the  sepulchers  of 
their  kings,  though  discoloured  by  burning  the  oysters  in  the  fier,  and 
deformed  by  grosse  boring.'     One  of  Harlot's  companions  obtained 

'  Strachey,  "Historic  of  Travaile  into  Vir-       'violet-colored'     pearls     shown     in     White's 

ginia   Britannia,"   Hakluyt   Society,  London,      original     drawings     are     probably     stained 

1849,  p.  65.  pearls."     These  were  most  probably  the  dark 

"  Smith,  op.  cit.,  p.  130.  purple  pearls  of  the  round  clam  or  quohog 

'  Strachey,  op.  cit.,  p.  57.  of  the  coast,  although  it  is  possible  that  they 

*  Smith,  op.  cit.,  p.  83.  were  only  glass  beads. 

'  Strachey,  op.  cit.,  p.  67.     "The  'blue'  or          '  Smith,  op.  cit.,  Pt.  II,  p.  19. 


^88  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

from  the  Indians  about  five  thousand  pearls,  from  which  a  sufficient 
number  of  good  quahty  and  of  uniform  size  were  obtained  to  make  a 
'fayre  chaine,  which  for  their  hkenesse  and  uniformitie  in  roundnesse, 
orientness  and  pidenesse  of  many  excellent  colours,  with  equalitie  in 
greatnesse,  were  verie  fayre  and  rare.'  ^ 

"Those  who  have  examined  the  thousands  of  pearls  from  the  Ohio 
mounds,  to  be  mentioned  later,  can  readily  understand  these  condi- 
tions. The  pearl  beads  from  the  mounds  vary  in  diameter  from  about 
an  eighth  of  an  inch  to  nearly  an  inch,  the  great  majority  being  small 
and  irregular,  although  there  are  many  among  them  of  good  form  and 
value.  It  is  probable  that  most  of  the  Virginia  pearls  were  obtained 
from  the  fresh-water  mussel  (Unio)";  not  unlikely  from  the  common 
marine  clam  (Venus  mercenaria),  or  the  common  oyster  (Ostrea 
virginica). 

As  regards  the  burial  of  pearls  with  the  dead  and  their  use  in  re- 
ligious rites,  curious  and  quite  full  accounts  are  given  by  Strachey, 
Smith,  Hariot,  and  Beverley.^  There  was  a  "temple,"  also  occupied 
as  a  residence  by  one  or  more  priests,  in  the  territory  of  every  chief. 
This  building  was  usually  some  eighteen  or  twenty  feet  wide,  and 
varied  in  length  from  thirty  to  one  hundred  feet,  with  an  entrance  at 
the  eastern  end,  and  the  western  portion  partitioned  off  with  mats  to 
form  a  sort  of  sanctuary  or  "chancel."  Within  this  were  kept  the 
dried  bodies  of  deceased  chiefs,  and  an  image  of  the  god,  called  Okee, 
made  in  the  shape  of  a  man,  "all  black,  dressed  with  chaynes  of  perle." 
Full  descriptions  of  these  idols  and  their  manufacture  are  given  by 
Hariot  and  Beverley,  also  of  the  process  of  preserving  the  remains  of 
the  chiefs.''  After  the  body  had  been  disemboweled,  the  skin  was  laid 
back  and  the  flesh  was  cut  away  from  the  bones.  When  this  operation 
was  completed,  the  skeleton,  held  together  by  its  ligaments,  was  again 
inclosed  in  the  skin,  and  stuffed  with  white  sand,  or  with  "pearle,  cop- 
per, beads,  and  such  trash  sowed  in  a  skynne."'*  It  was  then  dressed 
in  fine  skins  and  adorned  with  all  sorts  of  valuables,  including  strings 
of  pearls  and  beads.  The  same  kinds  of  treasures  were  also  deposited 
in  a  basket  at  the  feet  of  the  mummy. 

Captain  Smith  describes  the  temple  of  Powhatan,  at  Uttamussack, 
which  was  in  charge  of  seven  priests,  and  was  held  in  great  awe  by 
"the  salvages."  At  a  place  called  Orapaks,  was  also  his  treasure- 
house,  fifty  or  sixty  yards  long,  frequented  only  by  priests,  where  he 
kept  a  great  amount  of  skins,  beads,  pearls,  and  copper,  stored  up 

1  Thomas  Hariot,   "A  Brief  and  True  Re-      Lancaster,  Pa.,  Vol.  IX,  No.  i,  January,  1907, 
port  of  the  New  Found  Land  of  Virginia,"       pp.  61,  62 
Holbein  edition,  p.   11.  "Beverley,  "History  of  Virginia,"  1722,  pp. 

'  Willoughby,   "American   Anthropologist,"       167,  186. 

*  Strachey,  op.  cit.,  p.  89. 


ABORIGINAL  USE  OF  PEARLS  489 

against  the  time  of  his  death  and  burial.  A  vivid  account  is  given 
of  the  four  grotesque  images  that  stood  guard  at  the  corners  of  this 
building,  all  made  "evill  favouredly  according  to  their  best  workman- 
ship.'" 

The  use  of  pearls  as  ornaments,  and  their  deposit  with  the  remains 
of  chiefs  and  persons  of  distinction,  have  already  been  described  as 
familiar  among  the  Indian  tribes  of  tidewater  Virginia,  in  the  notes 
above  cited  from  early  explorers  and  colonists.  It  is  a  curious  circum- 
stance, however,  that  this  habit  does  not  appear  to  have  extended  in 
that  part  of  the  country  much  beyond  the  dominions  of  Powhatan,  as 
no  pearls  have  been  noted  in  the  Indian  graves  in  Maryland.  This 
statement,  in  reply  to  a  letter  of  special  inquiry,  is  made  by  Dr.  P.  R. 
Uhler,  of  the  Peabody  Institute  of  Baltimore,  who  has  been  making 
very  careful  studies  of  all  aboriginal  remains  in  that  region,  for  the 
Maryland  Academy  of  Sciences. 

It  would  seem  from  this  and  other  evidence,  that  the  use  and  appre- 
ciation of  pearls  must  have  been  in  some  way  a  tribal  matter,  familiar 
to  some  and  not  to  others,  of  the  Indian  peoples.  In  the  Mississippi 
Valley,  the  ancient  population  known  as  the  mound-builders,  by  some 
regarded  as  a  distinct  and  earlier  race,  and  by  others  as  of  true  Indian 
stock,  although  much  more  advanced  in  arts  and  culture,  have  left  in 
their  mounds  most  remarkable  quantities  of  pearls.  But  here  again, 
the  same  feature  appears,  that  these  treasures  are  not  found  wherever 
there  are  mounds,  but  only  in  certain  regions.  Of  these,  by  far  the 
most  celebrated  is  that  of  the  Scioto  and  Miami  valleys,  in  Ohio.  Out- 
side of  these,  no  large  amounts  have  been  found,  and  only  at  a  few 
localities  are  they  met  with  at  all. 

The  valleys  of  the  Miami  and  Scioto  rivers  and  their  tributaries 
contain  many  remarkable  mounds  and  "earthworks,"  which  have  at- 
tracted much  attention,  and  have  been  more  or  less  explored  at  dif- 
ferent times,  with  increasing  care  and  thoroughness  as  archaeological 
science  has  advanced.  It  may  be  well  to  give  a  brief,  general  account 
of  these  investigations  and  some  leading  features  of  the  mounds  as  a 
whole,  before  going  into  particulars  as  to  the  occurrence  of  pearls. 

The  first  important  and  scientific  study  of  these  remarkable  struc- 
tures was  that  conducted  in  the  early  forties  by  Dr.  Edwin  H.  Davis 
and  Mr.  E.  George  Squier,  and  published  in  their  celebrated  and 
standard  work  entitled  "Ancient  Monuments  of  the  Mississippi  Val- 
ley," issued  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution  in  1848.  This  book  and  the 
"Correspondence"  in  regard  to  the  mounds  by  the  same  writers,  pub- 
lished in  1847,  were  the  first  works  issued  by  the  Smithsonian  In- 
stitution. 

'  Smith,  op.  cit.,  p.  143. 


490         THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

According  to  Squier  and  Davis/  two  quarts  of  pearls  were  ori- 
ginally deposited  in  one  of  these  mounds.  The  writers  consider  that 
the  pearls  were  probably  derived  from  the  fisheries  in  the  southern 
waters,  and  they  regard  their  presence  in  the  Ohio  mounds  as  a  proof 
of  "an  extensive  communication  with  southern  and  tropical  regions 
and  a  migration  from  that  direction." 

A  number  of  pearls  or  pearl  beads  from  the  Ohio  mounds  and  which 
formerly  belonged  to  the  Squier  and  Davis  collection,  are  now  in  the 
Blackmore  Museum  at  Salisbury,  England.  According  to  a  com- 
munication from  Dr.  H.  P.  Blackmore,  director  of  the  museum,  these 
pearls,  which  originally  formed  five  necklaces,  have  been  much  injured 
by  the  action  of  fire  at  the  time  the  bodies  of  those  interred  in  the 
mounds  were  burned.  Mr.  Blackmore  considers  that  the  greater  part 
of  the  pearl  beads  are  of  mother-of-pearl  cut  from  some  large  shell, 
made  into  a  round  shape  and  perforated,  but,  after  very  careful  ex- 
amination, he  is  of  the  opinion  that  about  ten  may  be  classed  as  natural 
pearls.  Their  present  color  is  a  dull,  leaden  gray,  rather  lighter  than 
the  "black  pearl"  of  commerce.  The  size  of  these  pearls  or  beads 
varies  from  four  millimeters  to  twenty  millimeters  in  diameter.  One 
of  the  necklaces  consists  of  thirty-three  beads  well  graduated,  but  of  a 
dead  white  color  from  the  action  of  the  earth. 

A  quarter  of  a  century  later,  when  the  Centennial  Exposition  was  in 
preparation,  the  Smithsonian  Institution  undertook  the  formation  of  a 
public  exhibit  illustrating  American  archaeology,  and  engaged  Prof. 
F.  W.  Putnam,  of  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  to  open  and  examine 
some  of  the  most  remarkable  of  the  mounds  described  by  Squier  and 
Davis.  These  explorations  were  continued  for  some  years,  partly  for 
the  government  and  partly  for  the  Peabody  Museum  of  Archaeology  at 
Cambridge,  and  their  results  were  exhibited  at  the  Columbian  Exposi- 
tion in  1893.  The  mounds  explored  were  chiefly  in  the  valley  of  the 
Little  Miami,  and  particularly  those  known  as  the  Turner  group. 

A  very  important  series  of  explorations  was  also  carried  on  by  Mr. 
Warren  K.  Moorehead,  covering  the  years  from  1887  to  1893,  largely 
in  preparation  for  the  Columbian  Exposition.  These  investigations 
were  mainly  in  the  Scioto  valley,  in  the  counties  of  Ross,  Franklin,  and 
Pickaway,  Ohio.  Among  the  most  important  results  then  obtained 
were  those  from  the  mounds  of  the  "Porter"  and  "Hopewell"  groups, 
in  Ross  County. 

Since  that  time,  much  valuable  work  has  been  done  by  Mr.  Moore- 
head and  others,  and  particularly  under  the  auspices  of  the  Ohio  State 
Archaeological  and  Historical  Society.  The  latest  and  most  complete 
investigation  was  made  for  this  society  in  1903,  by  its  curator.  Prof. 

^  Squier  and  Davis,  Smithsonian  "Contributions  to  Knowledge,"  Vol.  I,  1848,  p.  283. 


ABORIGINAL  USE  OF  PEARLS  491 

William  C.  Mills,  in  the  Harness  mound,  seven  miles  north  of  Chilli- 
cothe,  Ohio,  near  the  Scioto  River,  in  Ross  County.  This  locality  had 
been  previously  explored  in  part,  by  Professor  Putnam  in  1885,  and 
Mr.  Moorehead  in  1896;  it  was  nov^^  systematically  examined  down  to 
the  original  surface  at  every  point. 

Squier  and  Davis  divided  these  ancient  monuments  into  four 
classes:  (i)  Altar  mounds,  which  contain  what  appear  to  be  altars, 
and  are  also  called  hearths,  of  stone  or  hardened  clay;  (2)  Burial 
mounds,  containing  human  bones;  (3)  Temple  mounds,  with  neither 
altars  nor  bones,  but  seeming  to  have  had  some  special  religious  signi- 
ficance; and  (4)  Anomalous  mounds,  including  "mounds  of  observa- 
tion" and  others  of  mixed  or  uncertain  character.  The  burials  are 
found  to  be  of  two  kinds,  simple  interment  and  cremation;  and  these 
are  sometimes  met  with  in  the  same  mound. 

This  classification  has  been  generally  followed  in  describing  these 
ancient  structures,  although  the  whole  subject  is  obscure  and  difficult, 
from  our  ignorance  of  the  purposes  and  conditions  of  their  formation. 
In  many  of  the  mounds  of  the  first  two  classes  especially,  not  only 
have  pearls  been  found,  but  quantities  of  interesting  and  remarkable 
objects,  many  of  which  have  been  brought  from  distant  points,  and 
prove  clearly  the  existence  of  an  extensive  intertribal  commerce  at  a 
remote  period.  Galena  from  Illinois  and  Wisconsin,  mica  from 
North  Carolina,  obsidian  from  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  sea- 
shells  from  the  Gulf  coast,  are  among  these  objects,  and  particularly 
native  copper  from  Lake  Superior,  from  which  many  articles  were 
fashioned  by  hammering.  Pearls  are  extremely  abundant,  and  were 
at  first  supposed  to  have  been  brought  from  the  coast,  and  may  have 
been  the  pearls  of  the  common  clam  and  the  common  oyster,  the  pearls 
being  found  in  opening  the  mollusks  for  food;  but  the  recent  de- 
velopment of  pearl  hunting  in  the  western  rivers,  where  the  fresh- 
water mussels  (Unios)  are  so  abundant  and  produce  such  beautiful 
pearls,  shows  that  these  treasures  were  undoubtedly  gathered,  partly, 
if  not  wholly,  in  the  region  where  the  mounds  exist.  The  enormous 
numbers  found  are,  indeed,  no  source  of  surprise,  as  such  quantities 
of  pearls  have  been  obtained,  for  over  twenty  years  past,  from  the 
same  regions.  The  mollusks  are  still  abundant  in  all  the  streams  of 
the  Mississippi  Valley,  except  where  they  have  been  reduced  or 
exterminated  by  the  reckless  methods  of  pearl  hunting  employed 
where  the  "pearl  fever"  has  prevailed. 

It  is  quite  possible  that  the  fresh-water  Unios  were  not  sought  for 
their  pearls  alone,  but  were  also  used  as  food,  and  perhaps  as  bait  for 
fishing.  They  were  evidently  gathered  in  great  quantities,  as  is  shown 
by  the  old  heaps  of  shells  found  along  the  banks  of  streams  at  many 


492  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

points;  and  doubtless  there  are  multitudes  of  such  heaps  that  have 
never  been  observed.  They  are  known  as  far  north  as  Idaho,  as  com- 
municated by  Dr.  Robert  N.  Bell,  State  mineralogist,  and  they  extend 
still  farther  north,  as  noted  by  Dr.  Harlan  I.  Smith,  in  his  "Prelimi- 
nary Notes  on  the  Archaeology  of  the  Yakima  Valley."^  He  says: 
"Small  heaps  of  fresh-water  clam-shells  were  examined,  but  these 
being  only  about  five  feet  in  diameter  and  as  many  inches  in  depth,  are 
hardly  to  be  compared  to  the  immense  shell-heaps  of  the  coast." 

These  Unio  shell-heaps  are  frequent  in  the  South,  and  some  of  the 
Spanish  chroniclers  of  De  Soto's  expedition  in  1 540-1 541,  describe  the 
gathering  and  cooking  of  the  mussels,  and  the  finding  of  occasional 
pearls  therein.  The  same  writers  also  give  glowing  accounts  of  the 
pearls  possessed  by  the  natives.  Some  of  these  accounts  may  be  exag- 
gerated, but  they  cannot  be  wholly  so.  It  would  seem  that  some  of 
the  pearls  may  have  come  from  marine  shells,  and  others  from  those 
of  the  rivers  and  streams ;  but  there  are  few  pearl-producing  shells  on 
our  own  coasts,  and  it  is  not  very  likely  that  there  was  any  trade  or 
intercourse  with  the  West  Indian  Islands,  where  marine  pearls  occur 
freely. 

Albert  H.  Pickett,  in  his  "History  of  Alabama,"  refers  to  the  ac- 
counts of  De  Soto's  historian,  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  and  holds  that 
the  pearls  which  he  noted  were  evidently  from  the  Unios  of  Alabama. 
"Heaps  of  mussel  shells,"  he  says,  "are  now  to  be  seen  on  our  river 
banks  wherever  Indians  used  to  live.  They  were  much  used  by  the  an- 
cient Indians  for  some  purpose,  and  old  warriors  have  informed  me 
that  their  ancestors  once  used  the  shells  to  temper  the  clay  with  which 
they  made  their  vessels.  But  as  thousands  of  the  shells  lie  banked  up, 
some  deep  in  the  ground,  we  may  also  suppose  that  the  Indians  in  De 
Soto's  time,  everywhere  in  Alabama,  obtained  pearls  from  them.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  about  the  quantity  of  pearls  found  in  this  State  and 
Georgia  in  1540,  but  they  were  of  a  coarser  and  more  valueless  kind 
than  the  .Spaniards  supposed.  The  Indians  used  to  perforate  them  and 
string  them  around  their  necks  and  arms  like  beads."" 

The  use  of  fragments  of  these  shells  in  tempering  the  clay  for  pot- 
tery, alluded  to  in  the  preceding  paragraph,  is  well  known.  Prof. 
Daniel  S.  Martin  describes  an  old  village  site  in  South  Carolina,  near 
the  Congaree  River,  a  few  miles  south  of  the  city  of  Columbia,  where 
the  ground  had  been  plowed,  and  along  the  furrows  the  soil  was 
gleaming  with  brilliant  pearly  fragments  of  Unio  shells,  intermingled 
with  bits  of  pottery. 

Mr.  Clarence  B.  Moore  discovered  pearls  pierced  for  stringing  in 

'"Science,"  April  6,  1906,  Vol.  XXIII,  No.  '"History     of     Alabama,"     Charlestown, 

588.  1851,  Vol.  i,  p.  12. 


ABORIGINAL  USE  OF  PEARLS  493 

several  of  the  mounds  at  Moundville,  Alabama.  He  also  found  a 
sheet-copper  pendant,  elongated  oval  in  outline,  with  an  excised  re- 
pousse decoration,  embracing  a  swastika  within  a  circle,  and  a  triangle. 
This  pendant,  which  lay  near  the  skull  of  burial  No.  132,  bears  a  per- 
forated pearl  nearly  seven  millimeters  in  diameter  and  weighing  about 
nine  grains;  it  is  fastened  to  the  pendant  by  a  piece  of  vegetable  fiber 
that  passes  through  the  pearl.  With  another  burial  (No.  162),  the 
skeleton  of  an  adult,  was  an  elliptical  gorget  of  sheet-copper  decorated 
with  a  pearl. ^  In  a  personal  communication  Mr.  Moore  states  that 
all  the  pearls  found  by  him  in  the  mounds  were  very  much  disinte- 
grated by  the  lapse  of  time ;  he  also  writes  that  he  has  never  found  any 
shells  immediately  with  the  pearls,  although  masses  of  Unio  shells 
were  often  met  with  in  the  mounds.  He  believes  the  shell-fish  had 
been  used  for  food. 

Unio  shell-heaps  exist  likewise  on  the  shores  of  the  inland  lakes  of 
Florida,  and  in  middle  Georgia  and  Alabama ;  and  several  of  them  on 
the  banks  of  the  Savannah  River,  above  Augusta,  are  fully  described 
by  Colonel  Charles  C.  Jones."  He  says:  "In  these  relic-beds  no  two 
parts  of  the  same  shell  are,  as  a  general  rule,  found  in  juxtaposition. 
The  hinge  is  broken,  and  the  valves  of  the  shell,  after  having  been  artifi- 
cially torn  asunder,  seem  to  have  been  carelessly  cast  aside  and  allowed 
to  accumulate." 

Thus,  in  addition  to  the  historical  evidence,  physical  proof  is  abun- 
dant of  the  pearl  fisheries  of  the  aboriginal  tribes  of  the  South.  In 
order  to  ascertain  the  precise  varieties  of  shells  from  which  the  south- 
ern Indians  obtained  their  pearls.  Colonel  Jones  invited  an  expression 
of  opinion  from  a  number  of  scientists  whose  studies  rendered  them 
familiar  with  the  conchology  of  the  United  States.  Their  responses 
throw  considerable  light  upon  this  inquiry,  though  with  some  curious 
variation. 

Prof.  William  S.  Jones,  of  the  University  of  Georgia,- says  that  he 
has  seen  small  pearls  in  many  of  the  Unios  found  in  that  State. 

Prof.  Jeffries  Wyman,  on  the  other  hand,  after  a  careful  and  ex- 
tensive series  of  excavations  in  the  shell-heaps  of  Florida,  failed  to  find 
a  single  pearl.  "It  is  hardly  probable,"  he  remarks,  "that  the  Span- 
iards could  have  been  mistaken  as  to  the  fact  of  the  ornaments  of  the 
Indians  being  pearls,  but  in  view  of  their  frequent  exaggerations,  I  am 
almost  compelled  to  the  belief  that  there  was  some  mistake ;  and  pos- 
sibly they  may  not  have  distinguished  between  the  pearls  and  the  shell 

1  "Moundville   Revisited,"       Reprint  from  '"Antiquities    of    the    Southern    Indians," 

the  Journal  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sci-  New  York,  1873,  p.  483 ;  also,  "Monumental 

ences   of    Philadelphia,    Philadelphia,    1907,  Remains  of  Georgia,"  Savannah,  1861,  p.  14. 
Vol.  XIII,  pp.  398-403. 


494 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


beads,  some  of  which  would  correspond  with  the  size  and  shape  of  the 
pearls  mentioned  by  the  Spaniards." 

Prof.  Joseph  Jones,  whose  investigations  throw  much  valuable  light 
upon  the  contents  of  the  ancient  tumuli  of  Tennessee,  says :  "I  do  not 
remember  finding  a  genuine  pearl  in  the  many  mounds  which  I  have 
opened  in  the  valleys  of  the  Tennessee,  the  Cumberland,  the  Harpeth, 
and  elsewhere.  Many  of  the  pearls  described  by  the  Spaniards  were 
probably  little  else  than  polished  beads  cut  out  of  large  sea-shells  and 
from  the  thicker  portions  of  fresh-water  mussels,  and  prepared  so  as 
to  resemble  pearls.  I  have  examined  thousands  of  these,  and  they  all 
present  a  laminated  structure,  as  if  carved  out  of  thick  shells  and  sea 
conchs."    This  point  will  be  referred  to  again. 

Dr.  Charles  Rau'  writes:  'T  learned  from  Dr.  Samuel  G.  Bristow, 
who  was  a  surgeon  in  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  during  the  Civil 
War,  that  mussels  of  the  Tennessee  River  were  occasionally  eaten  'as 
a  change'  by  the  soldiers  of  that  corps,  and  pronounced  no  bad  article 
of  diet.  Shells  of  the  Unio  are  sometimes  found  in  Indian  graves, 
where  they  had  been  deposited  vvith  the  dead,  to  serve  as  food  during 
the  journey  to  the  land  of  spirits." 

Dr.  Brinton  saw  on  the  Tennessee  River  and  its  tributaries  nu- 
merous shell-heaps  consisting  almost  exclusively  of  the  Unio  virgini- 
anus  (Lamarck).  In  every  instance  he  found  shell-heaps  close  to  the 
water-courses,  on  the  rich  alluvial  bottom-land.  He  says :  "The  mol- 
lusks  had  evidently  been  opened  by  placing  them  on  a  fire.  The  Ten- 
nessee mussel  is  margaritiferous,  and  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  it  was 
from  this  species  that  the  early  tribes  obtained  the  hoards  of  pearls 
which  the  historian  of  De  Soto's  exploration  estimated  by  bushels,  and 
which  were  so  much  prized  as  ornaments."^ 

A  source  has  recently  been  pointed  out  whence  small  pearls,  and 
perhaps  some  fine  specimens,  could  have  been  obtained  by  the  Indians 
of  Florida,  and  in  considerable  quantities.  In  the  Unios  of  some  of  the 
fresh-water  lakes  of  that  State,  there  were  found  not  less  than  3000 
pearls,  most  of  them  small,  but  many  large  enough  to  be  perforated  and 
worn  as  beads.  From  one  Unio  there  were  taken  eighty-four  seed- 
pearls  ;  from  another,  fifty ;  from  a  third,  twenty,  and  from  several,  ten 
or  twelve  each.  The  examinations  were  chiefly  confined  to  Lake 
Griffin  and  its  vicinity.  It  is  said  that  upon  one  of  the  isles  in  Lake 
Okeechobee  are  the  remains  of  an  old  pearl  fishery,  and  it  is  proposed 
to  open  the  shells  of  this  lake,  which  are  large,  in  hopes  of  finding 
pearls  of  superior  size  and  quality. 

'"Ancient     Aboriginal     Trade     in     North  'See    "Artificial     Shell     Deposits    in    the 

America,"  Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti-  United  States,"  in  the  Report  of  the  Smith- 
tution  for  1872,  p.  38  of  the  author's  reprint.       sonian  Institution  for  1866,  p.  357. 


ABORIGINAL  USE  OF  PEARLS  495 

The  use  of  the  pearl  as  an  ornament  by  the  southern  Indians,  and 
the  quantities  of  shells  opened  by  them  in  various  localities,  make  it 
seem  strange  that  it  is  not  more  frequently  met  with  in  the  relic-beds 
and  sepulchral  tumuli  of  that  region ;  but,  after  exploring  many  shell- 
and  earth-mounds,  Colonel  Charles  C.  Jones  failed,  except  in  a  few  in- 
stances, to  find  pearls/  A  few  were  obtained  in  an  extensive  relic-bed 
on  the  Savannah  River,  above  Augusta,  the  largest  being  four  tenths 
of  an  inch  in  diameter,  but  all  of  them  blackened  by  fire.  Many  of 
the  smaller  mounds  on  the  coast  of  Georgia  do  not  contain  pearls,  be- 
cause at  the  period  of  their  construction  the  custom  of  burning  the 
dead  appears  to  have  prevailed  very  generally;  hence,  it  may  be  that 
the  pearls  were  either  immediately  consumed  or  so  seriously  injured 
as  to  crumble  out  of  sight. 

This  absence  of  pearls  tends  somewhat  to  confirm  the  opinion  that 
beads  made  from  the  thicker  portions  of  shells  that  were  carved,  per- 
forated, and  brilliant  with  nacre,  were  regarded  by  the  imaginative 
Spaniards  as  pearls.  More  minute  investigation,  however,  will  doubt- 
less reveal  the  existence  of  pearls  in  localities  where  the  pearl-bearing 
shells  were  collected.  Perforated  pearls  have  been  found  in  an  ancient 
burying-ground  located  near  the  bank  of  the  Ogeechee  River,  in 
Bryan  County,  Georgia;  and  many  years  ago,  after  a  heavy  freshet 
on  the  Oconee  River,  which  laid  bare  many  Indian  graves  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  large  mounds  on  Poullain's  plantation,  fully  a  hundred 
pearls  of  considerable  size  were  gathered. 

It  seems  quite  clear  that  many  of  the  pearls  reported  by  the  early 
Spanish  voyagers  were  really  such,  although  it  is  well  known  also 
that  shell  beads  have  been  found  in  mounds  in  connection  with 
pearls;  but  the  numbers  found  in  Ohio,  by  Professor  Putnam,  Mr. 
Moorehead,  and  others,  leave  no  room  for  doubt  in  this  matter.  That 
the  Indians  of  the  South  also  had  these  pearls,  both  drilled  and  un- 
drilled,  is  beyond  question. 

The  same  fact  comes  to  view,  however,  in  these  various  accounts, 
that  has  been  alluded  to  already,  viz.,  that  the  use  of  pearls  among 
the  aborigines  appears  to  have  been  local,  and  probably  tribal.  All 
the  fresh  waters  of  North  America  contain  Unios,  especially  in  the 
Mississippi  basin  and  in  the  South,  and  all  the  Unios  are  more  or  less 
pearl-bearing;  but  it  is  only  at  certain  points  that  pearls  are  found 
deposited  in  ancient  graves,  sometimes,  however,  in  extraordinary 
quantities. 

Father  Louis  Hennepin  relates  that  the  Indians  along  the  Missis- 
sippi wore  bracelets  and  earrings  of  fine  pearls,  which  they  spoilt, 
having  nothing  to  bore  them  with  but  fire.    He  adds :  "They  gave  us 

'  "Antiquities  of  Southern  Indians,"  p.  490. 


496  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

to  understand  that  they  received  them  in  exchange  for  their  calumets 
from  nations  inhabiting  the  coast  of  the  great  lake  to  the  southward, 
which  I  take  to  be  the  Gulph  of  Florida."^ 

The  statement  here  made,  that  the  Indians  perforated  their  pearls 
only  "with  fire,"  evidently  refers  to  the  use  of  a  heated  copper  wire, 
or  point,  as  mentioned  by  Pickett  and  others  of  the  early  explorers. 
This  point  is  of  importance,  as  apparently  indicating  a  marked  differ- 
ence between  the  Indians  met  with  by  the  first  European  visitors,  and 
the  mound-building  people  of  an  earlier  time,  among  whom  the  per- 
foration was  made  with  small  stone  drills.  On  this  point,  a  recent  letter 
from  Prof.  Wm.  C.  Mills,  who  has  conducted  the  very  full  explora- 
tion of  the  Harness  mound  in  Ohio,  is  of  interest.  He  describes  the 
small  and  carefully-wrought  flint  drills,  which  he  found,  and  believes 
to  have  been  made  and  used  for  this  purpose.  In  size  and  form  they 
answer  all  requirements ;  they  are  delicate  little  implements,  somewhat 
T-shaped  or  gimlet-shaped,  an  inch  and  a  quarter  long;  the  narrow 
boring  part  is  about  an  inch  in  length  and  tapers  from  one  eighth  of  an 
inch  to  quite  a  fine  point;  the  wider  upper  end  is  abruptly  expanded 
into  the  transverse  handle,  which  is  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick, 
i.e.,  lengthwise  of  the  instrument,  and  half  an  inch  in  span,  i.e.,  across, 
so  as  to  give  a  good  hold  for  the  fingers  to  rotate  the  drill,  just  as  in 
an  ordinary  gimlet. 

Passing  now  to  the  actual  discoveries  of  pearls  in  the  mounds  of 
the  Mississippi  Valley,  these  will  be  reviewed  in  the  order  of  the  suc- 
cessive explorations  in  which  they  were  made  known.  As  already 
stated,  the  only  region  where  any  large  amounts  have  been  encoun- 
tered, is  that  of  the  Scioto  and  Miami  valleys  in  Ohio.  Even  here, 
pearls  are  found  only  at  certain  points,  and  though  the  numbers  are 
great,  the  graves  which  contain  them  are  few.  They  were  apparently 
buried  only  with  the  remains  of  individuals  of  especial  distinction, 
probably  either  chiefs  or  eminent  medicine-men.  The  accounts  of 
recent  explorations  in  these  mounds  bring  to  mind  very  forcibly  the 
statement  before  cited  from  Captain  John  Smith,  as  to  Powhatan's 
treasure-house,  where  all  his  most  valued  articles,  including  pearls, 
were  collected  and  kept,  in  preparation  for  his  death  and  burial. 
Pearls  appear  also  to  have  been  used  only  by  the  more  cultured  tribes, 
and  were  kept  in  the  larger  and  more  prosperous  communities  ex- 
clusively. They  are  confined  to  the  great  "mound  groups,"  and  are 
not  found  in  isolated  mounds.  The  tumuli  of  northern  Ohio,  the  hill 
mounds,  and  the  village  sites  along  the  smaller  streams,  have  yielded 
practically  none. 

According  to  the  manner  of  burial,  the  pearls  vary  greatly  in  their 

'  Transactions  of  the  Philosophic  Society  for  1693. 


ABORIGINAL  USE  OF  PEARLS  497 

present  condition.  Where  they  have  been  placed  with  cremated  bodies, 
they  are,  of  course,  much  damaged,  being  blackened  and  largely  de- 
composed. Otherwise,  although  injured  in  color  and  luster,  the  mere 
fact  of  burial  in  the  ground  has  not  entirely  ruined  them.  They  are 
generally  perforated,  so  as  to  be  strung  or  attached  to  garments,  and 
traces  of  both  these  methods  of  use  are  sometimes  clearly  shown. 

The  term  "pearl  beads,"  often  employed  by  writers,  is  uncertain  in 
meaning;  as  it  may  refer  either  to  actual  pearls,  bored  so  as  to  be 
strung,  or  to  imitations  thereof  made  from  pearly  shell.  With  regard 
to  this  point,  although  such  quantities  have  been  obtained,  there  seems 
to  have  been  very  little  close  examination  as  to  their  structure,  which 
would  at  once  indicate  the  facts,  according  as  the  minute  layers  of  the 
pearly  material  are  concentric  or  not.  The  only  distinct  testimony  is 
that  we  have  cited  above  from  Prof.  Joseph  Jones, ^  who  states  that  he 
has  examined  large  numbers,  and  found  them  to  be  apparently  cut 
from  shells.  He  makes  the  suggestion  that  they  may  have  been 
carved  from  the  thicker  portions  of  the  fresh-water  Unios.  This  is 
not  only  probable,  but  would  go  far  to  solve  the  mystery  of  the 
enormous  numbers  found,  as  compared  with  anything  known  of  the 
yield  of  genuine  pearls  by  these  mollusks,  even  with  all  the  pearl  hunt- 
ing of  recent  years.  An  interesting  fact  bearing  directly  on  this  ques- 
tion is  the  discovery  in  the  Taylor  mound,  at  Oregonia,  Warren 
County,  Ohio,  of  several  Unio  shells  in  which  had  been  made  a  circular 
hole,  two  thirds  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  either  for  some  ornamental 
use  of  the  shell  or  to  extract  pieces  to  be  shaped  into  beads.  These 
may  have  been  made  in  either  of  two  ways.  Firstly,  by  breaking 
pieces  of  the  shell  from  one  of  the  valves,  as  a  lapidary  "roughs  out" 
a  piece  of  gem  material  before  he  begins  to  grind  it  into  shape;  or, 
secondly,  by  cutting  out  a  circular  disk  of  shell  by  means  of  a  hollow 
copper  drill  or  a  hollow  reed,  just  as  they  perforated  hard  pieces  of 
quartz  or  granite  for  pipes,  or  as  they  trephined  circular  disks  from 
the  skulls.  Decorated  disks  of  Unio  shell  were  also  found  in  the  same 
mound.  If  the  ancient  people  made  beads  in  this  manner,  there  is 
httle  difficulty  in  accounting  for  the  quantities  described,  especially  in 
connection  with  the  evident  gathering  of  Unios  on  a  large  scale,  as 
shown  by  the  widely  distributed  shell-heaps  already  described.  They 
certainly  did  make  beads  from  various  marine  shells,  and  these  are 
found  with  the  pearl  beads  in  many  of  the  mounds,  as  particularly 
noted  by  Professor  Jones,  cited  above,  and  by  others. 

In  the  recent  exploration  of  the  Harness  mound,  by  Professor  Mills, 
a  very  curious  discovery  was  made  of  imitation  pearls  of  a  kind  never 
before  met  with;  these  were  made  of  clay,  modeled  apparently  after 

'  See  p.  494. 

32 


I'erfiiratinn    in     charred, 

cut  fresh-water  pearl ; 

weight,  5569  grams 


I'trfi 'rated  fresh-walt-T 

pearl ;    weight,  22,955 

grains 


FRKSHAVA'IKR    PEARLS    FROM    HuI'KU'l-.l  ,1 ,    IIKIH.:!'    Oh    M(>l'.\HS.   K(  )SS   LOlXIV.  OHId 


ABORIGINAL  USE  OF  PEARLS  499 

"hinge-pearls,"  that  are  found  in  the  region  of  the  hinge-teeth  of 
Unios.  A  large  and  interesting  exhibit  of  these  is  shown  in  the  Eield 
Museum  of  Natural  History,  Chicago.  But  thousands  of  spherical 
pearls  were  also  obtained,  from  the  "altars"  or  "hearths"  of  mounds 
belonging  to  the  first  division  of  Squier  and  Davis's  classification, 
above  noted.  Erom  the  Turner  group,  in  Clermont  County,  in  the 
Little  Miami  Valley,  Professor  Putnam  obtained  for  the  Peabody 
Museum  as  much  as  half  a  bushel  of  pearls  of  this  character.  As  these 
had  been  exposed  to  fire,  nearly  all  were  blackened,  some  cracked,  and 
all  greatly  impaired.* 

The  next  great  series  of  explorations  were  those  conducted  by  Mr. 
W.  K.  Moorehead  in  the  Scioto  Valley,  in  the  counties  of  Ross,  Erank- 
lin  and  Pickaway,  Ohio.  He  opened  and  examined  a  number  of 
mounds,  and  found  pearls  or  pearl  beads  in  ten  or  twelve  of  them,  but 
the  larger  deposits  were  confined  to  certain  limited  districts,  which 
seem  to  have  been  occupied  by  tribes  more  advanced  in  culture  and  in 
traffic  than  the  rest.  In  these,  the  pearls  and  also  objects  of  other 
kinds  brought  from  a  distance,  are  principally  found.  The  scattered 
mounds,  not  associated  with  any  village  or  community  sites,  have  few 
of  these  valuable  objects. 

But  even  where  they  are  found  freely,  pearls  were  apparently  used 
or  possessed  by  only  a  few  individuals.  Mr.  Moorehead  investigated 
in  all  117  burial  mounds,  containing  about  1400  skeletons.  Pearls 
were  met  with  in  only  seven  of  these  mounds,  and  in  connection  with 
but  twenty-two  skeletons.  These,  however,  yielded  a  total  of  2600 
pearls,  apparently  from  Unios,  the  numbers  found  with  single  skel- 
etons varying  from  18  to  602,  an  average  of  118.  It  thus  appears  that 
in  Mr.  Moorehead's  researches,  pearls  were  found  in  about  one  mound 
out  of  seventeen,  and  in  these,  with  about  one  skeleton  out  of  eight. 

From  "altar  mounds,"  pearls  have  been  in  some  cases  taken  in  vast 
numbers.  Professor  Putnam's  discoveries  are  mentioned  above;  and 
Mr'.  Moorehead  obtained  tens  of  thousands  from  two  altars  or  hearths 
in  the  Hopewell  group,  which  will  be  described  hereafter. 

When  found  in  the  burial  mounds  with  skeletons,  pearls  are  gen- 
erally seen  to  have  been  placed  at  the  wrists  or  ankles,  or  about  the 
neck,  or  in  the  mouth.  Sometimes  they  are  found  on  copper  plates, 
and  occasionally  they  show  evidence  of  having  been  sewn  or  attached 
to  a  garment.  Particulars  on  these  points  will  be  given  further  on. 
Mr.  Moorehead  has  also  found  bears'  teeth,  set  with  pearls,  as  Putnam 
and  Metz  did  in  the  Marriott  mound,  lying  with  or  near  skeletons. 

In  the  case  of  the  altar  mounds,  there  seems  to  have  been  a  different 
procedure,  not  a  burial,  but  a  great  funeral  sacrifice  in  honor  of  some 

'  Collection  of  Peabody  Museum  of  Archaeology,  Cambridge,  Mass. 


500  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

very  distinguished  person,  in  which  treasures  of  every  kind,  including 
great  stores  of  pearls,  were  consumed,  or  meant  to  be.  Of  this,  Mr. 
Moorehead  says,  in  a  letter  to  the  author:  "In  the  case  of  all  altar 
offerings,  a  fire  had  been  kindled  .  .  .  and  all  these  things  were 
heaped  upon  it.  They  were  utterly  ruined,  save  a  few ;  .  .  .  those  at 
the  top  were  not  so  much  affected  as  those  at  the  bottom." 

Mr.  Moorehead's  investigations  already  mentioned  were  in  the 
years  1888  to  1891  inclusive;  he  next  took  up  especially  the  remark- 
able Hopewell  groups  of  mounds,  in  1891-1892,  and  explored  these 
extensively  for  the  archaeological  exhibit  at  the  World's  Columbian 
Exposition  of  1893,  at  Chicago.^  This  was  his  most  important  and 
elaborate  investigation,  and  will  be  described  in  some  detail.  In  1896, 
he  made  a  partial  exploration  of  the  Harness  mound  near  Chillicothe, 
which  has  been  fully  completed  more  recently  by  Prof.  William  C. 
Mills,  and  will  also  be  described  further  on. 

The  investigations  made  in  the  Hopewell  group  of  mounds  were 
recorded  by  Mr.  Moorehead  in  a  series  of  articles  in  the  "Antiqua- 
rian."^ He  gives  a  general  account  of  the  remarkable  region  of  an- 
cient remains  in  Ross  County,  Ohio.  The  State  archaeological  map 
shows  the  "mound  belt,"  as  a  strip  of  country  some  fifteen  miles  wide 
and  one  hundred  miles  long,  extending  through  the  Scioto  Valley,  from 
about  Columbus  to  Portsmouth.  The  ancient  works  noted  on  this 
map,  though  not  all  that  exist  there,  yet  number  over  900  mounds, 
24  village  sites,  36  circles  of  earth  and  stone,  87  other  inclosures  and 
works  of  similar  character,  and  31  sites  of  gravel  or  kame  burials. 
Five  groups  of  mounds  in  particular  exist  in  Ross  County,  all  of  them 
showing  a  "high  culture"  state.  "All  of  the  lower  Scioto  Valley,"  says 
Mr.  Moorehead,  "was  occupied  by  a  mound-building  tribe  ranking 
higher  in  intelligence  and  numerically  stronger  than  that  of  any  other 
section  of  the  whole  Ohio  region."  Among  the  many  remarkable 
ancient  works  in  that  part  of  the  country,  the  five  groups  in  Ross 
County  are  the  most  important,  and  among  these,  the  Hopewell  group 
is  preeminent.  The  first  published  notice  of  them,  which  appeared  in 
1820,  was  by  Mr.  Caleb  Atwater.^  Squier  and  Davis  examined  and 
described  them  in  the  years  1844-1846,  and  obtained  large  and  notable 
collections  from  them  which  are  now  in  England,  in  the  Blackmore 
Museum  at  Salisbury,  as  not  enough  interest  in  such  matters  then  ex- 
isted in  America  to  induce  the  purchase  and  retention  of  these  valuable 
treasures.  From  that  time  until  1891,  when  Mr.  Moorehead  began  his 
explorations  there,  no  one  had  paid  much  attention  to  these  mounds,  all 

'  Now   in   the   Field   Museum   of   Natural  '  "American  Archaeologist,"  May,   1897,  to 

History,  Chicago,  111.  May.  1898. 

'  "Archjeologia  Americana,"  1820,  p.  182. 


ABORIGINAL  USE  OF  PEARLS  501 

published  accounts  being  derived  from  those  of  Squier  and  Davis. 
They  described  them  under  the  name  of  Clark's  works,  from  the 
owner  of  the  farm  within  which  they  lie;  but  the  property  has  since 
passed  into  the  possession  of  Mr.  M.  C.  Hopewell.  From.this  fact,  yet 
more  from  his  kind  and  intelligent  interest  in  the  work  of  exploration, 
his  name  has  been  given  to  the  group. 

The  Hopewell  works  are  situated  on  the  north  fork  of  Paint  Creek, 
about  one  third  of  a  mile  from  the  stream.  The  intervening  space  is 
low  bottom-land,  and  the  works  stand  upon  a  terrace  about  twenty  feet 
high,  from  which  again  there  is  a  rather  steep  rise  of  thirty  or  forty 
feet  more,  to  the  general  level  of  the  country.  They  consist  of  a 
nearly  quadrangular  inclosure,  about  half  a  mile  in  length  (strictly 
2800  feet),  and  half  as  much  in  width,  occupying  the  entire  breadth 
of  the  terrace.  At  its  eastern  end,  this  large  inclosure  opens  into  a 
second  and  smaller  one,  an  exact  square  of  850  feet.  Within  the  main 
inclosure  are  one  or  more  village  sites,  a  number  of  separate  mounds, 
and  especially  a  group  of  several  connected  elevations,  together  known 
as  the  Effigy  mound,  these  being  much  the  highest  and  most  con- 
spicuous, and  themselves  surrounded  by  a  semicircular  inclosure.  The 
whole  suggests  a  defensive  work,  or  "walled  town" ;  but  the  wall,  al- 
though strongly  and  carefully  built,  partly  of  stones  and  partly  of  hard 
clay,  is  so  low— only  from  four  to  six  feet  in  height— that  it  could  not 
have  been  a  very  formidable  obstacle  to  a  vigorous  assault ;  and,  more- 
over, the  whole  is  overlooked  and  "commanded"  from  the  bluff  above 
it.  The  mounds,  as  Squier  and  Davis  examined  them,  were  pro- 
nounced to  be  mainly  of  the  sacrificial  or  "altar"  type.  Since 
their  very  full  and  accurate  account  was  published,  time  and  the 
hand  of  man  have  reduced  and  almost  obliterated  portions  of  the 
wall  and  some  of  the  smaller  mounds,  while  the  creek  has  slightly 
shifted  its  course.  When  they  wrote  their  description,  it  was  a  little 
nearer  than  it  is  now;  and  they  then  expressed  the  belief  that 
it  had  formerly  washed  the  base  of  the  terrace  where  the  works  are 
located. 

Mr.  Moorehead's  exploring  party,  aided  by  Dr.  H.  T.  Cresson, 
began  operations  at  this  notable  group  of  mounds  in  August,  1891, 
and  continued  them  through  about  seven  months,  without  interrup- 
tion, much  of  the  time  in  severe  winter  weather.  The  work  was  car- 
ried on  under  authority  of  the  Anthropological  Department  of  the 
Columbian  Exposition  of  1893,  at  Chicago.  All  the  most  interesting 
and  important  of  the  very  extensive  body  of  relics  obtained  was  dis- 
played there;  and  the  whole  remains  as  a  permanent  exhibit  in  the 
Field  (Columbian)  Museum  of  Natural  History. 

The  Hopewell  group  comprises   in  all  some  twenty  larger   and 


502  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

smaller  mounds  within  the  general  inclosure,  besides  a  few  unim- 
portant ones  outside  of  it,  and  the  main  connected  group  in  the  spe- 
cial inclosure  near  the  center.  These  latter  form  together  what  is 
known  as  the  Effigy  mound,  a  name  based  upon  its  general  resem- 
blance to  a  reclining  human  figure;  but  it  is  not  constructed  on  a 
human  or  animal  design,  as  are  the  effigy  mounds  properly  so  called. 
After  working  for  a  time  upon  some  of  the  others,  and  finding  much 
interesting  material,  Mr.  Moorehead  set  his  men  to  work  upon  the 
Effigy  mound,  and  spent  most  of  his  time  and  effort  upon  that  remark- 
able structure,  of  which  he  made  a  very  thorough  and  systematic 
exploration. 

The  Effigy  mound  is  about  500  feet  long  and  220  feet  wide,  and 
rises  23  feet  above  the  general  surface  at  its  highest  point.  It  proves 
to  belong  to  the  fourth  class  of  Squier  and  Davis,  those  of  mixed  char- 
acter, with  both  altars  and  burials,  as  it  contained  three  large  altars 
and  as  many  as  175  skeletons,  nearly  all  of  adults. 

Reviewing  now  the  entire  exploration  of  the  Hopewell  group,  the 
first  mound  opened,  known  as  No.  17,  was  of  considerable  size,  nearly 
ninety  feet  in  diameter,  and  was  notable  for  a  layer  of  mica — some 
3000  sheets — that  extended  almost  entirely  through  it.  It  contained 
a  rude  altar,  with  ashes  and  bones,  some  copper  implements,  bone 
needles,  sharks'  teeth,  and  nearly  200  pounds  of  bright  galena.  The 
next  examined.  No.  18,  contained  several  decayed  skeletons,  and  a 
good  example  of  an  "altar,"  together  with  ornaments  cut  from 
human  skulls.  The  next.  No.  19,  had  an  altar  of  earth,  partially 
hardened  by  heat,  which  was  taken  out  entire  and  boxed.  It  was 
roughly  cubical,  about  three  feet  each  way.  In  the  "bowl,"  or  con- 
cavity, on  the  top  of  it,  were  various  minor  implements,  with  some 
galena  and  mica,  etc.  The  next  attacked  was  a  large  mound.  No.  2, 
which  had  been  partly  opened  by  Squier  and  Davis,  nearly  fifty 
years  before.  It  is  remarkable  for  its  immense  store  of  roughly 
chipped  flint  disks,  over  8000  in  number,  of  which  600  were  taken  out 
by  Squier  and  Davis,  and  most  of  the  remainder  by  Mr.  Moorehead. 
It  would  seem  to  have  been  a  place  of  storage  for  partly  worked  mate- 
rial of  this  kind,  to  preserve  it  from  the  hardening  effect  of  long 
exposure  to  the  air. 

Several  other  mounds  yielded  little  of  importance,  save  that  from 
the  soil  on  the  site  of  No.  i,  which  had  been  obliterated,  were  taken 
a  number  of  fragments  of  bone,  curiously  ornamented  with  finely 
carved  patterns.  Two  others,  Nos.  4  and  5,  had  peculiarly  con- 
structed altars,  of  which  an  extended  account  is  given. 

The  first  discovery  of  pearls  by  Squier  and  Davis  was  made  in  their 
mound  No.  9,  now  obliterated  by  a  railroad.     With  the  pearls,  they 


ABORIGINAL  USE  OF  PEARLS  503 

report  as  found  on  the  top  of  a  small  altar,  broken  instruments  of 
obsidian,  cut  patterns  of  mica,  vestiges  of  cloth,  etc. 

Mr.  Moorehead's  first  discovery  of  pearls  was  in  a  small  but  inter- 
esting mound,  No.  20,  about  forty  feet  in  diameter.  It  had  been  re- 
duced by  plowing  to  only  some  two  feet  in  height;  and  its  contents 
would  ere  long  have  been  broken  into  and  scattered  by  the  same 
process.  This  was  strictly  a  burial  mound,  and  soon  yielded  five 
skeletons,  one  of  them  being  that  of  a  child,  nine  or  ten  years  of  age. 
With  these  bones  were  numerous  objects:  two  large  shells  made  into 
cups  for  drinking,  several  copper  articles  and  ornaments,  among  them 
a  broad  copper  bracelet  encircling  the  right  wrist,  and  several  hun- 
dred pearl  and  shell  beads  and  small  shells.  The  same  mound 
yielded  later  some  other  children's  remains,  but  with  no  important 
objects.  A  finely  polished  pipe  and  two  bear's  teeth  coated  with 
copper  were  also  found. 

Mr.  Moorehead  points  out  the  evidences  of  a  long  occupation  of 
this  site  by  a  cultured  tribe,  who  had  commerce  with  the  South  and 
West  more  than  with  the  North  or  East. 

Work  was  then  begun,  in  the  latter  part  of  September,  on  a  large 
and  important  mound  known  as  the  Oblong  (No.  23),  155  feet  long 
by  100  feet  wide,  with  an  elevation  at  present  of  14  feet,  and  orig- 
inally of  perhaps  20  feet.  This  mound  yielded  thirty-nine  skeletons, 
lying  at  depths  varying  from  eight  and  three  fourths  to  eleven  feet 
below  the  present  surface,  nearly  on  the  base-line  of  the  mound. 
Some  of  these  were  surrounded  by  boulders,  others  were  much 
charred,  and  a  good  deal  of  variety  exists  in  their  condition,  all  of 
which  Mr.  Moorehead  describes  particularly.  All  manner  of  relics 
and  objects  were  obtained,  including  pearl  beads  and  a  splendid  copper 
ax  of  seventeen  pounds'  weight,  of  course  entirely  too  large  for  any 
practical  use,  and  hence  plainly  a  ceremonial  object  or  badge  of  some 
high  distinction.  Among  the  most  remarkable  of  the  many  interesting 
objects  discovered  here  were  the  large  canine  teeth  of  bears,'  which 
had  not  only  been  drilled  through  near  the  base  of  the  root  for  sus- 
pension, like  many  others,  but  had  also  been  partly  drilled  at  the 
middle  of  one  side,  and  a  large  pearl  inserted  into  the  cavity.  These 
singular  ornaments  were  found  at  the  neck  of  a  skeleton,  and  had 
evidently  been  worn  as  pendants.  It  will  be  remembered  that  almost 
identical  specimens  were  found  by  Professor  Putnam  in  the  Marriott 
mound  in  the  Miami  Valley.'  The  one  here  figured  is  now  in  the  Field 
Museum  of  Natural  History,  Chicago,  with  most  of  the  other  Hope- 
well material. 

Another  somewhat  similar  example  of  the  taste  and  art  of  the  same 

'  See  p.  499.  "  See  p.  498. 


504  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

people,  also  preserved  in  the  Field  Museum,  came  from  the  mound 
known  as  No.  25.  This  consisted  of  a  large  figure  of  a  bird,  in  ham- 
mered copper,  fifteen  and  seven  eighths  inches  long,  with  a  pearl 
inserted  to  form  the  eye.  The  head  is  quite  expressive,  and  the  tail- 
feathers  well  represented,  although  the  wings  and  the  general  propor- 
tions are  rude.    This  is  shown  about  one  third  of  the  actual  length. 

The  Effigy  mound  was  next  examined.  The  first  trial  shafts  proved 
it  to  be  evidently  of  human  construction,  and  not  of  glacial  origin,  as 
some  had  supposed.  One  or  two  open  cuts  were  then  begun,  using 
teams  with  a  large  shovel  until  indications  of  burials  were  found,  when 
the  further  work  would  be  carried  on  by  hand,  with  extreme  care. 

After  about  two  weeks,  in  which  time  several  skeletons  were  un- 
earthed, with  some  shells,  beads,  and  copper  ornaments,  a  burial  of 
extraordinary  character  was  reached  on  November  14.  Here  was 
lying  a  skeleton  which  the  newspapers  soon  reported  as  "The  King  of 
the  Mound-Builders."  It  was  much  decayed,  but  was  covered  and 
surrounded  with  a  wealth  of  relics.  The  skull  was  surmounted  by  a 
tall  cap  or  helmet  of  copper,  from  which  extended  a  wonderful  pair 
of  antlers,  exactly  imitating  those  of  a  deer,  but  made  of  wood  and 
covered  with  copper.  The  whole  skeleton,  to  quote  the  words  of  Mr. 
Moorehead,  "glittered  with  mica,  pearl,  shell,  and  copper."  Plates 
of  the  latter  were  above,  beneath,  and  around  it,  with  bears'  and 
panthers'  teeth,  etc.,  and  over  1000  beads,  many  of  them  of  pearl.  The 
succeeding  month,  during  which  the  last  cut  was  finished  down  to  the 
base-line,  and  a  third  one  much  advanced,  revealed  numerous  skeletons, 
with  abundant  objects  of  the  same  general  kind,  including  a  remarkable 
separate  deposit  of  copper  articles  of  curious  workmanship,  ornaments 
of  cut  mica,  and  one  of  cannel  coal,  fragments  of  meteoric  iron  and 
celts  made  therefrom,  and  "many  thousand  pearl  and  shell  beads."^ 
The  latest  trophy  here  unearthed  was  another  enormous  ax  of  copper, 
nearly  two  feet  in  length,  unparalleled  in  the  world. 

The  first  altar  was  next  reached ;  it  was  about  four  by  five  feet,  and 
some  six  inches  deep,  and  had  an  immense  variety  of  objects  upon  it 
and  around  it,  nearly  all  entirely  ruined  by  the  fire.  Among  them 
were  pearl  beads. 

The  largest  altar  had  been  not  only  heaped  with  all  sorts  of  valua- 
bles, but  they  had  been  piled  around  it  so  as  to  form  a  sloping  mass  of 
twelve  feet  or  more  in  diameter  at  the  base.  Among  these  was  a  layer 
of  mica  plates  of  extraordinary  size,  eighteen  or  twenty  inches  in 
diameter.  It  is  not  easy  even  now  to  obtain  sheets  of  mica  of  such 
dimensions,  in  any  quantity.  Carvings  and  effigies  in  bone  and  slate, 
rock-crystal  arrow-heads,  obsidian  knives,  etc.,  etc.,  damaged  and 
broken  by  heat,  were  cemented  together  by  half-melted  copper.     The 


ABORIGINAL  USE  OF  PEARLS  505 

pearl  and  shell  beads  taken  out  amid  the  ashes  are  estimated  at  not 
less  than  100,000. 

The  Effigy  mound,  "a  place  for  ceremony,  for  sacrifice,  for  burial," 
as  Mr.  Moorehead  calls  it,  thus  combining  the  character  of  the  first 
three  classes  distinguished  by  Squier  and  Davis,  is  seen  not  to  have 
been  constructed  at  one  time,  but  to  have  developed  gradually  through 
perhaps  a  long  period.  The  several  altars,  the  more  important  burials, 
the  store  of  copper  objects,  each  was  surmounted  by  a  small  and  sepa- 
rate mound.  "These  may  have  been  built  on  the  level  dance  or  cere- 
monial floors,  from  time  to  time.  When  the  entire  floor  was  covered, 
the  people  brought  large  quantities  of  earth  and  gravel,  heaped  it  on 
top  of  the  irregular  contour  of  the  small  mounds,  and  this  formed  the 
present  Effigy." 

The  population  that  occupied  the  main  inclosure  was  apparently  not 
very  large,  as  compared  with  some  other  of  the  important  earthworks, 
such  as  Fort  Ancient,  or  Madisonville.  From  the  distribution  of 
village-site  debris,  Mr.  Moorehead  estimates  that  there  could  have  been 
only  from  two  hundred  to  three  hundred  lodges,  even  if  these  were  all 
occupied  at  the  same  time.  But  the  indications  of  traffic  and  of  art 
show  that  it  must  have  been  a  community  advanced  in  culture  beyond 
most  of  its  neighbors.  Mr.  Moorehead  believes  it  to  have  been  a  sort 
of  capital  among  a  body  of  allied  or  affiliated  tribes  who  made  and 
occupied  the  similar  earthwork  towns  of  the  "mound  belt," — a  center 
of  production  and  distribution  of  art  objects,  and  a  place  for  the  hold- 
ing of  great  religious  ceremonials.  It  may  be  noted,  however,  that 
the  art  was  developed  in  certain  directions  and  not  in  others  wherein 
it  might  be  expected.  In  hammered  copper-work  and  in  drilling,  it 
was  most  remarkable,  in  the  latter  extending  even  to  the  perforation 
of  quartz  crystals,  but  of  pottery  there  is  little,  and  that  not  very 
choice — a  striking  contrast  to  the  abundant  and  elaboratelv  ornamental 
potter's  art  of  the  tribes  in  the  Southwest. 

Tonti,  the  historian  of  La  Salle's  expedition,  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, states  that  La  Salle  actually  saw  mound-dwellers  among  south- 
ern tribes  of  Indians,  living  very  much  as  the  Ohio  mound-builders 
must  have  done,  and  quite  untouched  as  yet  by  any  contact  with  the 
whites.  Tonti  describes  the  dwellings,  made  of  sun-dried  mud  and 
with  dome-shaped  roofs  of  cane;  two  of  them  were  larger  and  better 
constructed  than  the  rest,  one  the  chief's  house  and  the  other  a  temple, 
both  about  forty  feet  square.  The  latter  held  the  bones  of  deceased 
chieftains,  and  was  surmounted  by  three  rude,  wooden  eagles.  In 
the  center  was  apparently  "a  kind  of  altar,"  where  was  maintained  a 
perpetual  fire  of  logs,  watched  by  two  aged  men.  A  recess,  to  which 
strangers  were  not  admitted,  contained  the  treasures  of  the  tribe,  espe- 


5o6  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

cially  pearls  from  the  Gulf,  as  he  was  told.  The  chief  returned  the 
visit  of  La  Salle,  coming  in  great  state,  with  attendants,  one  of  whom 
bore  a  disk  of  copper,  supposed  to  represent  the  sun,  the  chief's  great 
ancestor.'  The  wooden  eagles  recall  the  large  copper  bird  taken 
from  mound  No.  25  at  Hopewell;  and  the  copper  disk  carried  before 
the  chief  suggests  a  similar  use  for  some  of  the  large  objects  of  the 
same  metal.  The  whole  account  is  extremely  interesting  in  its  resem- 
blance to  the  Ohio  remains. 

The  most  complete  study  of  these  ancient  structures  is  that  of  the 
Harness  mound,  not  far  distant  from  the  Hopewell,  conducted  under 
the  direction  of  the  Ohio  State  Archaeological  and  Historical  Society, 
in  1905,  by  their  curator  and  librarian,  Prof.  William  C.  Mills." 

The  Harness  group  contains  within  and  about  it  fourteen  mounds ; 
the  works  as  a  whole  were  described  by  Squier  and  Davis,  on  page  56  of 
their  great  report  ("Ancient  Monuments  of  the  Mississippi  Valley," 
1848),  and  have  been  frequently  mentioned  and  pictured  for  their 
striking  form, — a  large  and  perfect  circle,  opening  at  one  side  into  a 
smaller  circle  and  also  into  an  exact  square.  They  are  located,  like 
the  Hopewell,  in  Ross  County,  and  stand  on  a  terrace  of  the  Scioto 
River,  nearly  a  mile  from  its  eastern  bank,  and  about  eight  miles  south 
of  Chillicothe. 

The  square  inclosure  measures  1080  feet  on  each  side,  and  the  diam- 
eters of  the  two  circles  are  about  1600  feet  for  the  larger  and  650  feet 
for  the  smaller.  In  general  character,  this  group  closely  resembles 
the  Hopewell:  there  is  the  same  low  wall  or  embankment,  some  four 
feet  high,  though  without  any  ditch  as  at  Hopewell,  and  the  same 
problem  as  to  its  object.  A  number  of  small  mounds  are  placed  here 
and  there,  and  one  large  and  important  one  recalls  the  Effigy,  though 
it  is  somewhat  less  in  size  and  much  more  regular  in  form.  In  1846, 
when  Squier  and  Davis  examined  it,  unfortunately  most  of  the  ground 
was  covered  with  woods ;  but  these  are  gone,  and  the  works  have  since 
been  much  reduced  by  tillage  and  partly  obliterated  by  railroad  and 
other  constructions. 

The  one  large  mound  is  named  for  the  recent  owner  of  the  property, 
Mr.  Edwin  Harness  ;  the  present  owner,  his  son,  Mr.  John  M.  Harness, 
aided  and  facilitated  the  explorations  in  every  way.  This  fact,  as 
also  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Hopewell,  stands  in  pleasing  and  honorable  con- 
trast to  the  narrow  policy  of  some  land-owners,  who  refuse  permission 
for  any  such  work,  even  when  the  structures  are  upon  unused  and 
valueless  ground. 

"  "La  Salle  and  the  Discovery  of  the  Great  press  of  Fred.  J.  Heer,  1907.    "Ohio  Archse- 

West,"  Parkman,  p.  281.  ological  and  Historical  Quarterly,"  Vol.  XVI, 

''William   C.   Mills,   "Explorations   of   the  No.  2. 
Edwin    Harness     Mound,    Columbus,     O."; 


ABORIGINAL  USE  OF  PEARLS  507 

The  large  mound  is  an  almost  perfect  oval  in  form,  160  feet  long 
and  some  80  feet  across  at  its  widest  point,  which  is  about  one  third 
of  the  way  from  the  northern  end ;  in  height  it  is  nearly  20  feet,  or  was 
before  its  recent  removal.  It  was  partly  explored  by  Squier  and  Davis 
in  1846,  and  quite  extensively  by  Professor  Putnam  in  1885,  and, 
tmlike  the  Effigy  mound,  had  been  repeatedly  opened  and  examined  in 
a  small  way  by  both  official  and  unofficial  explorers.  In  1896,  Mr.  W. 
K.  Moorehead  took  up  the  work  where  Professor  Putnam  had  stopped, 
and  carried  it  considerably  further,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Ohio 
Archaeological  and  Historical  Society;  and  the  same  body,  in  1905, 
commissioned  Mr.  Mills  to  resume  and  complete  the  examination,  re- 
moving the  entire  structure  down  to  its  base. 

The  Harness  mound,  unlike  the  Effigy,  was  for  burial  purposes 
only.  There  must  have  been  nearly  two  hundred.  Squier  and  Davis 
found  one  of  these,  and  possibly  another  which  they  mistook  for  an 
"altar";  and  they  state  their  belief  that  the  mound  probably  con- 
tained other  burials  which  their  two  pits  had  not  revealed.  Pro- 
fessor Putnam  encountered  12  burials,  Mr.  Moorehead  2y,  and 
the  final  exploration  133,  making  a  total  of  174.  Besides  these,  an 
unknown  number  have  been  disturbed  and  removed  by  occasional  ex- 
plorers. Of  the  174  recorded,  only  ten  had  been  buried  witliout  being 
burned;  the  rest  were  all  cremated,  some  where  they  were  laid,  but 
most  of  them  elsewhere,  and  the  ashes  brought  and  placed  in  the  grave. 
This  was  in  all  cases  carefully  prepared,  within  a  small  inclosure  of 
logs,  the  decayed  and  charred  remains  of  which  are  clearly  traceable. 
The  entire  mound  itself  had  been  outlined  with  posts  set  in  the  ground, 
the  holes  and  impressions  remaining  as  evidence  of  the  fact. 

Mr.  Mills  outlines  the  history  of  this  mound,  in  a  way  that  recalls 
Mr.  Moorehead's  views  as  to  the  gradual  growth  of  the  Effigy.  It 
began  as  a  place  for  the  holding  of  funeral  rites  and  the  deposit  of  the 
dead,  marked  out  by  lines  of  posts,  which  show  that  it  was  from  time 
to  time  enlarged.  Finally,  when  the  place  was  substantially  filled, 
earth  and  gravel  were  deposited  over  the  whole,  and  slabs  of  stone 
(particularly  noted  by  Squier  and  Davis)  were  laid  around  it,  upon  the 
lower  part  of  the  slope. 

Much  description  is  given  of  the  separate  graves  or  burial  chambers, 
which  are  of  several  types,  and  of  the  various  details  of  the  cremated 
and  uncremated  interments.  The  mound  is  rich  in  relics,  although 
none  of  the  profuse  sacrificial  accumulations  of  the  "altars"  were  en- 
countered, this  being  a  mound  of  burial  only.  The  relics  are  of  the 
same  kind,  in  general,  as  those  found  in  the  Hopewell  group,  and  to 
specify  them  in  detail  would  be  only  repetition.  From  the  133  graves 
opened  in  Mr.  Mills's  final  investigation,  no  less  than  1200  specimens 


5o8  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

were  obtained  for  the  museum  of  the  Archaeological  Society  at  Colum- 
bus. Among  these  were  artefacts  of  Lake  Superior  copper  (and  some 
pieces  of  native  silver),  large  shells  from  the  Gulf,  galena,  obsidian, 
and  much  mica,  both  in  "blocks"  and  cut  into  ornaments,  all  showing 
the  same  range  of  aboriginal  commerce  as  already  described  at  Hope- 
well. In  reference  to  pearls,  the  following  are  the  principal  observa- 
tions : 

Beads  made  from  Unio  pearls  were  very  abundant  everywhere  in 
the  Harness  mound,  as  also  beads  of  shell.  They  are  found  in  such 
position  as  to  show  that  they  were  strung  and  worn  around  the  neck 
or  wrists.  One  burial  (No.  lOo)  had  some  2100  pearl  beads,  all 
rather  small,  and  some  of  them  perfectly  round.  Several  hundred 
were  obtained,  however,  that  ranged  from  one  quarter  to  one  half  an 
inch  in  diameter.  A  number  of  these  are  shown  of  natural  size. 
The  larger  pearls,  instead  of  being  bored  through  for  beads,  are  fre- 
quently somewhat  flattened  by  grinding,  and  then  pierced  with  two 
holes  so  as  to  attach  them  to  a  fabric.  Very  large  ones  were  some- 
times set  in  copper, — a  style  of  work  never  observed  before.  Mr. 
Mills  says  of  this:  "Large  and  select  pearls  were  flattened  upon 
one  side  by  grinding,  and  then  placed  upon  a  circular  disk  of  copper  a 
little  larger  than  the  pearl.  The  edges  were  then  turned  (up)  around 
the  pearl,  holding  it  in  place.  Not  only  were  pearls  set  in  this  way, 
but  various  pieces  of  shell  cut  in  a  circular  form."  Fine  examples  of 
this  unique  style  of  jewelry,  of  natural  size,  and  another  copper  setting 
of  like  character,  from  which  the  pearl  has  been  lost,  are  shown  in 
plates  facing  pages  499  and  510. 

More  curious  still  is  the  discovery  of  imitation  pearls,  made  of 
clay,  and  apparently  modeled  from  real  ones  as  they  reproduce  all  the 
irregularities  of  form  of  the  true  pearls.  They  could  easily  have 
been  made  more  nearly  spherical,  as  the  beads  cut  from  shell  are  so 
regular  as  to  look  as  though  made  by  machinery.  These  somewhat 
irregular  clay  imitations,  found  with  the  genuine  pearls,  were  first 
coated  with  a  pulverent  mica  and  then  burned  so  as  to  preserve  a 
pearly  appearance. 

Other  forms  of  art  work  were  abundantly  represented  in  the  Har- 
ness mound,  such  as  carvings  and  decorations  in  stone  and  bone;  a 
variety  of  textile  fabrics,  of  which  remnants  are  preserved  when  they 
were  in  contact  with  plates  of  copper,,  the  salts  of  the  metal  having 
penetrated  the  fabric  and  prevented  its  entire  decay ;  very  skilful  work 
in  copper,  and  to  some  extent  in  native  silver  and  meteoric  iron;  and 
numerous  fragments  of  pottery,  more  or  less  ornamental  with  simple 
impressed  patterns.  The  "culture,"  as  a  whole,  appears  to  have  been 
equal,  and  very  similar,  to  that  of  the  Hopewell  community,  and  these 


ABORIGINAL  USE  OF  PEARLS  509 

are  regarded  as  having  been  the  most  advanced  among  the  Ohio 
mound-builders;  while  the  term  "Fort  Ancient  culture"  is  applied  to  a 
somewhat  lower  grade  in  the  matter  of  arts,  which  has  its  chief  illus- 
tration among  the  builders  and  occupants  of  that  celebrated  work.  By 
such  researches,  thus  minutely  and  systematically  conducted,  there  is 
now  beginning  to  be  possible  something  like  a  classification  of  these 
ancient  unknown  tribes,  which  will  doubtless  be  developed  more  fully, 
as  investigation  shall  be  extended  and  its  results  combined  and  com- 
pared. 

As  to  pearls  in  the  mounds  of  Illinois,  we  are  informed  by  the  vet- 
eran archaeologist.  Dr.  J.  F.  Snyder,  that  in  1889  he  found  the  skele- 
tons of  three  adult  Indians  at  the  base  of  a  small  mound  on  the  bluffs 
of  the  Sangomon  River  in  Cass  County.  These  skeletons  were  in  a 
squatting  posture;  artefacts  —  such  as  greenstone  celts,  a  bicave  stone 
and  a  heavy  pipe — had  only  been  deposited  with  one  of  them.  Around 
each  wrist  and  ankle  of  this  skeleton  were  perforated  beads  made 
from  Marginclla  shells,  and  resting  on  the  sternum  was  a  solitary 
pearl  which  had  evidently  formed  the  center  of  a  necklace  of  the  same 
small  marine  shells.  Although  much  decayed,  it  still  retained  some- 
thing of  its  original  luster.  It  was  spherical,  measured  approximately 
seven  eighths  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  was  perforated  through  the 
middle.  Dr.  Snyder  also  states  that  at  the  base  of  one  of  the  large 
mounds  he  opened  in  1895,  in  Brown  County,  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Illinois  River,  he  discovered  a  number  of  the  large  canine  teeth  of  the 
bear,  perforated  at  the  roots,  so  as  to  be  used  for  necklaces.  On  the 
convex  side  of  each  tooth  were  from  two  to  four  pits  about  one  third 
of  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  the  same  in  depth,  in  which  gems  had  been 
inserted.  Two  small  pearls  were  still  in  place.  Near  by  were  the  re- 
mains of  another  necklace  composed  of  alternate  pearls  and  bone 
beads;  the  latter  were  oblong  and  perforated  lengthwise.  Eight  of 
the  pearls  were  recovered,  ranging  in  diameter  from  one  half  to  one 
third  of  an  inch,  and  pierced  through  the  center,  but  all  were  very 
badly  injured  by  the  action  of  fire. 

Mr.  David  I.  Bushnell,  who  has  excavated  the  McEvers  mound  in 
Montezuma,  Pike  County,  Illinois,  for  the  Missouri  Historical  Society, 
found  in  this  mound  a  cyst  containing  a  skeleton  six  feet  in  height  and 
also  a  skull  reposing  on  a  bundle  of  bones  near  which  lay  forty-five 
pearls,  one  of  them  weighing  fifty-two  grains  and  still  showing  a 
beautiful  luster.  Almost  all  the  objects  discovered  in  the  mound  will 
be  presented  to  the  Missouri  Historical  Society.  The  large  pearl 
would  be  worth  from  $12,000  to  $15,000  if  it  were  in  perfect  condi- 
tion. 

We  learn  from  Mr.  Richard  Herrmann,  founder  of  the  Herrmann 


5IO  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

Museum  of  Natural  History,  Dubuque,  Iowa,  that  on  the  top  of  the 
high  cHfif  from  Eagle's  Point  to  its  end  at  McKnight's  Spring,  there 
were  formerly  a  great  many  mounds  which  were  long  ago  examined 
by  government  experts.  Many  ancient  ornaments  were  found  in 
these  mounds,  among  them  a  string  of  pearls,  greatly  damaged  from 
having  been  buried  for  a  long  period.^  Mr.  Herrmann  believes  that 
these  pearls  were  taken  from  the  Mississippi  River  by  the  mound- 
builders. 

Enough  has  been  said,  in  this  general  sketch,  to  give  some  idea  of 
the  extent  to  which  pearls,  largely  those  from  the  fresh-water  Unios, 
were  gathered  and  used  by  the  native  tribes  of  North  America,  from 
the  ancient  mound-builders  of  the  Ohio  Valley  to  the  Indians  encoun- 
tered by  the  explorers  and  colonists  of  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  cen- 
turies. 

The  love  of  pearls  shown  by  the  Indians  was  as  noteworthy  as  was 
their  devotion  to  their  dead  and  the  superstitious  mystery  which  en- 
shrouds their  funeral  rites  ;  for,  when  the  human  sacrifice  was  consum- 
mated, the  act  was  performed  in  as  earnest  a  spirit  of  devotion  as  was 
shown  by  Abraham  in  his  readiness  to  sacrifice  Isaac,  and  the  Indians 
evidenced  an  almost  pathetic  sentiment  either  of  reverence,  duty,  or 
supernatural  dread. 

Dr.  J.  Walter  Fewkes  writes  that  in  none  of  his  excavations  has  he 
ever  noted  pearls.  Haliotis  shells,  conch  shells,  and  fragments  of  the 
same  have  been  found  in  the  great  ruins  at  Casa  Grande,  Arizona. 

Dr.  Charles  Hercules  Read,  director  of  the  Department  of  Archae- 
ology of  the  British  Museum,  states  that  the  Mexican  mosaic  masks 
in  the  Christy  collection,  which  are  pre-Columbian  in  origin,  and  prob- 
ably date  hundreds  of  years  in  advance  of  the  conquest,  prove  of  spe- 
cial interest  from  the  fact  that  five  of  them  contain  an  inlay  of  mother- 
of-pearl  shell.  The  first  of  these  is  a  plain  mask  in  which  the  eyes  are 
of  mother-of-pearl;  the  second  is  a  dagger  having  the  details  of 
feather-work  in  mother-of-pearl;  the  third,  a  circular  shield  center 
having  the  eyes,  teeth,  fingers,  and  toes  of  the  figures  in  mother-of- 
pearl  ;  the  fourth,  a  helmet  with  small  pieces  of  pearl-shell  representing 
collars  around  the  necks  of  rattlesnakes;  and  the  fifth  is  a  jaguar  in 
the  side  of  which  are  similar  inlays.  These  masks  are  described  by 
Dr.  Read  in  "Archseologia,"  Society  of  Antiquaries,  London,  Vol.  LIV, 
p.  383 ;  in  this  volume  the  objects  are  shown  in  color.  Dr.  Read  com- 
municates that  the  pearl  jaguar  seems  to  be  of  more  recent  execution, 
but  he  believes  the  first  four  to  be  original.  He  is  not  entirely  sure 
that  these  objects  contain  the  true  mother-of-pearl,  the  substance  hav- 
ing changed  so  much  as  to  make  a  decision  doubtful  even  if  it  were 

'  Herrmann,   "Mound-builders  of  the   Mississippi  Valley,"  pp.  92,  93- 


FRESH-WATER  PEARLS   FROM    HOPEWELL  GROUP   OF   MOUNDS,  ROSS  COUNTY,  OHIO 


ABORIGINAL  USE  OF  PEARLS  51 1 

extracted.  He  states,  however,  that  it  is  a  pearly,  nacreous  shell,  re- 
sembling that  of  the  ordinary  pearl-oyster.  In  these  masks  are  also 
other  shells,  among  them  a  red  shell,  probably  a  spondylus,  almost  as 
red  as  coral.  The  mother-of-pearl  is  of  special  interest  as  it  is  quite 
possible  that  the  shell  itself  was  known,  and  it  may  be  that  pearls  also 
formed  part  of  a  commerce  that  existed  between  the  coast  and  the  in- 
terior. 

We  are  informed  by  Mr.  E.  P.  Dieseldorf,  of  Coban,  Republic  of 
Guatemala,  that  he  has  never  observed  pearls  in  the  pre-Columbian 
graves  in  Guatemala;  he  had,  however,  frequently  found  marine 
shells,  whole,  and  elaborated  in  connection  with  jadeite  beads. 

In  a  personal  communication,  Mr.  Thomas  Gann,  of  Yucatan,  states 
that,  in  excavating  a  mound  at  San  Antonio,  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Rio  Hondo,  in  Yucatan,  he  uncovered  a  small  stone  cyst  or  chamber, 
containing  two  perforated,  pear-like  ornaments  of  considerable  size, 
together  with  portions  of  a  human  skeleton,  painted  pottery,  etc.  He 
also  states  that  ornaments  such  as  beads,  gorgets,  and  ear-pend- 
ants, made  from  the  pearly  shell  of  both  the  oyster  and  the  conch, 
are  of  common  occurrence  in  many  sepulchral  mounds  in  British  Hon- 
duras and  in  Yucatan,  and  he  notes  the  fact  that  pink  conch  pearls 
are  found  in  considerable  numbers  at  the  present  day  along  the  coast 
of  British  Honduras.  There  is  no  especial  fishing  for  pearls, 
and  they  are  found  only  incidentally  in  conchs  which  have  been 
gathered  for  food.  These  pearls  are  sold  by  fishermen  in  Balize  at 
prices  varying  from  two  or  three  dollars  to  twenty  or  thirty  apiece. 
In  size  they  range  from  that  of  a  large  pin's  head  to  that  of  a  small 
pea. 

Mrs.  Marie  Robinson  Wright  informs  us  that  she  has  never  found 
pearls  in  the  Bolivian  graves,  although  they  are  quite  plentiful  in  Bo- 
livia to-day,  and  hundreds  of  them  are  offered  in  the  markets.  The 
pretty  girls  wear  them  as  earrings  and  in  their  topos. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  pearls  existed  long  before  the  advent  of  man, 
both  in  the  fresh-water  and  in  the  marine  form.  This  is  more  clearly 
evidenced  by  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  who  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  the 
fresh-water  mussel  (Unio  litforalis  Gray),  formerly  found  in  abun- 
dance at  Grays  Thurrock,  Essex,  no  longer  exists  in  England,  but 
occurs  in  France,  showing  that  not  only  had  this  mollusk  been  unseen 
by  any  Englishman,  but  that  the  form  had  become  extinct  in  an  entire 
country.  Thus,  both  the  pearl  shell  of  the  ocean  and  the  pearl-mussel 
of  the  river,  for  many  centuries  produced  pearls,  which  passed  away 
with  the  shell  itself. 

A  great  number  of  fossil  LTnios  were  collected  by  Barnum  Brown 
from  the  Laramie  clays,  130  miles  northwest  of  Miles  City,  ]\Iontana. 


512  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

The  shells  were  found  in  a  bed  situated  about  i8o  feet  above  the 
Fort  Pierre  shales  and,  therefore,  well  above  the  recognized  cretaceous 
strata.  These  shells  were  in  fairly  good  condition  and  retained  the 
nacreous  coloring  to  a  considerable  extent.  As  some  of  them  resemble 
the  modern  species,  it  seems  that  the  same  designations  might  be 
applied  to  them. 

Prof.  R.  P.  Whitfield,  one  of  our  greatest  palaeontologists,  who 
has  carefully  examined  these  fossil  shells,  suggests  that  they  are  prob- 
ably the  progenitors  of  the  species  of  Unios  and  fresh-water  mussels 
that  now  inhabit  the  Mississippi  and  Wisconsin  rivers  and  their  tribu- 
taries, and  he  proposes  the  following  names  for  some  of  them,  in- 
dicating at  the  same  time  the  living  species  with  which  he  compares 
them:  Unio  bicrsopoidcs,  Unto  ccsopoides  and  Unio  ccsopiformis,  all 
resembling  U.  arsopus  Green ;  Unio  letsoni  =  U.  cornutiis  Barnes ;  Unio 
cylindricoides  =  U.  cylindriciis  Say ;  Unio  gibbosoides  =  U.  gibbosus 
Barnes;  Unio  pyramidatoides -  U.  pyramidatus  Lea;  Unio  retnsoides  - 
U.  retusus  Lam. ;  Unio  venicosifonnis  =  U.  verrucosus  Barnes. 

Although  it  is  almost  certain  that  these  ancient  Unios  were  pearl- 
bearing,  Professor  Whitfield  informs  us  that,  in  a  period  of  fifty 
years  of  palaeontological  research,  he  has  never  found  a  fossil  pearl. 

We  are  informed  by  Sophus  Miiller,  Director  of  the  Royal  Danish 
Museum  of  Antiquities  at  Copenhagen,  that  no  Danish  ornaments 
containing  pearls  have  been  found  dating  from  an  earlier  period  than 
looo  B.C. ;  he  also  states  that  no  fresh-water  pearls  have  ever  been  dis- 
covered in  the  Danish  graves. 

Dr.  H.  Ulmann,  director  of  the  great  Swiss  Landesmuseum  at 
Zurich,  and  Dr.  Otto  Leiner,  director  of  the  Rosengarten  Museum  at 
Constance,  personally  communicated  to  us  that  no  pearls  exist  in  either 
of  the  collections  of  these  great  museums,  nor  to  their  knowledge  have 
any  been  discovered  in  the  lake-dwellings  or  the  prehistoric  graves 
of  either  Switzerland  or  Baden.  This  may  either  be  due  to  conditions 
favorable  to  the  dissolution  of  the  pearl  by  the  action  of  the  ooze  on 
the  lake  bottom,  or  else  to  the  entire  absence  of  knowledge  of  them  on 
the  part  of  a  people  who  were  familiar  with  many  materials,  since  the 
museum  collections  even  show  jade  implements  of  a  number  of  types. 

Dr.  Leiner,  whose  father  was  curator  of  the  Rosengarten  Museum 
before  him,  informs  us  that  at  Bodman  on  Lake  Constance  there  were 
found  a  large  number  of  bored  cylinders,  from  one  fourth  of  an  inch 
to  one  inch  in  length,  made  out  of  limestone.  They  were  used  for 
necklaces,  somewhat  in  the  style  of  our  Indian  wampum,  and  were 
either  worn  alone  or  in  connection  with  bored  cylinders  made  of  the 
tufif-rock  and  also  of  encrinite  stems. 

Dr.  Leiner  also  asserts  that  he  has  never  seen  Unio  margaritifera 


ABORIGINAL  USE  OF  PEARLS  513 

in  Lake  Constance;  nor  was  there  any  evidence  of  shells,  broken 
or  otherwise,  observed  by  him  in  the  excavations  in  the  lake-dwellings. 
The  curator  of  the  Rhodesia  Museum,  Bulawayo,  South  Africa, 
states  that  in  Rhodesia,  in  the  vicinity  of  Bulawayo,  beads  made  out  of 
the  shell  of  the  common  Unio  or  fresh-water  mussel  (  Unto  verreauxi) 
have  been  observed  in  the  graves,  although  pearls  themselves  have 
never  been  found  with  them  in  any  burials. 

ADDENDA 

One  of  the  authors  used  every  endeavor  in  1893  and  1894  to  have  a  bill 
passed  by  Congress  for  the  regulation  of  pearl-fishing  in  the  United  States. 
These  efforts  were  frustrated  by  the  influence  of  the  local  pearl-fishers.  An 
attempt  lias  now  been  made  to  preserve  the  industry  in  Illinois,  where  the 
legislature  has  this  spring  passed  a  bill  for  its  regulation. 
The  first  section  of  the  bill  provides : 

It  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  person  or  persons  to  take  or  catch,  by  any  means 
whatever,  in  any  of  the  navigable  waters  within  the  jurisdiction  of  this  State,  any 
mussel,  fresh-water  clam  or  shell-fish  from  the  first  day  of  October  to  the  first 
day  of  April  (both  dates  inclusive)  of  each  succeeding  year. 

The  bill  imposes  upon  any  one  who  violates  these  provisions  a  fine  of  not 
less  than  $25,  nor  more  than  $100,  or  imprisonment  in  the  county  jail  for  a 
term  not  exceeding  one  year,  or  else  both  fine  and  imprisonment  at  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  court. 

Another  section  provides  that  any  one  not  a  resident  of  Illinois,  who  takes 
clams,  shell-fish,  or  mussels,  without  procuring  a  license,  sliall  be  subject  to  a 
fine  of  not  less  than  $50,  nor  more  than  $100,  or  to  imprisonment  for  one 
year,  or  to  both  penalties.  The  licenses  may  be  procured  on  application  and 
payment  of  $50  for  each  vessel  to  be  employed,  and  they  expire  on  the  first 
day  of  October  following  their  issuance.  The  amount  received  for  these  li- 
censes is  to  be  turned  over  to  the  State  Treasurer  at  the  end  of  each  month 
and  placed  to  the  credit  of  the  State  Fish  Protective  Fund.  No  boat  having 
more  than  two  bars,  each  not  exceeding  sixteen  feet  in  length,  shall  be  used 
for  this  fishery,  and  the  space  separating  the  hooks  on  these  bars  is  not  to  be 
less  than  eight  inches. 

Miss  Carl,  the  artist  who  painted  the  portraits  of  the  Empress  and  that  of 
the  Dowager  Empress  of  China,  states  that  she  wears  a  diamond  rmg.  When 
she  shows  this  she  apologizes  for  wearing  it,  stating  that  it  had  been  given  to 
her  by  the  Viceroy,  Li  Hung  Chang,  saying  that  she,  herself,  sees  no  beauty 
in  the  sparkle  of  the  diamond ;  for  her  there  is  more  beauty  in  the  soft,  quiet 
tones  of  the  pearl  than  in  the  brilliancy  of  the  diamond. 

During  the  Boxer  War  in  China,  the  looting  was  carried  on  to  so  great  an 
extent,  that  a  French  hotel-keeper  is  said  to  have  obtained  a  basket  of  pearls, 
which  he  bought  for  a  trifle,  and  which  are  said  to  have  netted  him  very  nearly 
$1,000,000. 


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Church  (Arthur  Herbert) 

Precious  Stones  Considered  in  Their 
Scientific  and  Artistic  Relations. 
South  Kensington  Museum  Hand- 
book.    London,  1883.     8vo. 


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Clave  (£tiennede) 
Paradoxes,  ou  traittez  Philosophiques 
des  pierres  et  pierreries,  contre  I'opin- 
ion  vulgaire.    Paris,  1635.     8vo. 

Clavio  (D.  Servatio) 

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Physicarum  Germanicarum  Acade- 
miae,  pp.  417-419.  Norimberga:, 
1685. 

Cloquet  (J.)  AND  Moquin-Tandon 
(M.) 
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valves  d'eau   douce.     Bulletin  de  la 
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452-461.     Paris,  1858. 

CoATE  (H.  E.  Acraman) 

Pearl  Fishing  [Ceylon].  "Time 
Magazine,"  Vol.  xxi,  pp.  646-653. 
London,  December,  1889. 

CoLLETT  (Oliver) 

Pearl-oysters  and  Pearl  Fisheries. 
Journal  of  the  Ceylon  Branch  of  the 
Royal  Asiatic  Society,  Vol.  xvi,  pp. 
165-197.     Colombo,  1901.     8vo. 

COMBA  (B.) 

La  Madreperla.    Torino,  1898.    8vo. 

Comber  (E.) 

Economic  Uses  of  Shells.  Journal  of 
the  Bombay  Natural  History  Society, 
Vol.  XVI,  pp.  462-472.  Bombay,  1905. 

CoMYN   (Tomasde) 

State  of  the  Philippine  Islands.  Lon- 
don, 1820.    8vo. 

Cordiner  (James) 

A  Description  of  Ceylon,  Containing 
an  Account  of  the  Country,  Inhab- 
itants and  Natural  Productions.  2 
vols.    London,  1807.    4to. 

Cornhill  Magazine 

The  Pearl  Harvest.  "Cornhill  Maga- 
zine," Vol.  xiv,  pp.  161-173.  Lon- 
don, August,  1866. 

Coutance  (A.) 

La  Perle.  Diamant  et  Pierres  Pre- 
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E.  Jannettaz,  ...  A.  Coutance. 
Paris,  1 88 1.     8vo. 

Coxe  (Daniel) 
A  Description  of  the  English  Prov- 


ince of  Carolana,  by  the  Spaniards 
call'd  Florida,  and  by  the  French  La 
Louisiana,  as  also  of  the  great  and 
famous  river  Meschacebe  or  Mis- 
sisipi.  London,  1722.  8vo. 
CuRZON  (George  Nathaniel),  Sarow 
Persia  and  the  Persian  Question.  2 
vols.    London,  1892.    8vo. 

D.  (M.  L.  M.  D.  S.) 

Le  denombrement,  facultez  et  origine 
des  pierres  precieuses.  Paris,  1667. 
8vo. 

Dall  (W.  H.) 

Pearls  and  Pearl  Fisheries.  "Ameri- 
can Naturalist,"  Vol.  xvii,  pp.  579- 
586  and  731-745.  Philadelphia,  June, 
1883,  and  July,  1883. 

Dallas  (W.  S.) 

On  the  Natural  History  of  the  Cinga- 
lese Pearl-oyster -and  on  the  Produc- 
tion of  Pearls.  Annals  and  Maga- 
zine of  Natural  History,  Ser.  3,  Vol. 
I,  pp.  81-90.  London,  February, 
1858. 

Dampier  (William) 

A  New  Voyage  Round  the  World. 
2  vols.    London,  1699-1703.    8vo. 

Darboux  (G.) 

L'Industrie  des  Peches  aux  Colonies. 
Les  Produits  de  la  Peche.  Marseille, 
1906.     4to. 

Dastre  (A.) 

Les  Perles  fines ;  Production  natu- 
relle  et  production  artificielle.  Revue 
des  Deux  Mondes,  Vol.  cli,  pp.  671- 
690.    Paris,  1899. 

Davenport  (Cyril  James) 

The  English  Regalia.  London,  1897. 
4to. 

Delondre  (  August: n) 

Nacroculture  et  ostreiculture  perliere 
aux  lies  Pomotu  (Oceanic).  Bulle- 
tin de  la  Societe  National  d'Acclima- 
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1876. 

Dennys  (N.  B.) 

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Straits  Branch  of  the  Royal  Asiatic 
Society,  Vol.  i,  pp.  31-37.  Singa- 
pore, July,  1878. 


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Doumert  (A.) 

Nos  Parures.  Le  Jais  et  les  Pedes 
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Dubois  (RAPHAiJL) 

Sur  le  mecanisme  de  la  formation  des 
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sur  les  cotes  de  France,  et  sur  la  pro- 
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Application  des  rayons  X  a  la  recher- 
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Des  pierres  precieuses  et  des  perles 
fines,  avec  les  moyens  de  les  con- 
noitre  et  de  les  evaluer.  Londrcs, 
1776.    i2mo. 

Eberhard  (  Johann  Peter) 

Abhandlung  von  dem  Ursprung  der 
Perle,  worin  deren  Zeugung,  Wachs- 
thum  und  Beschaffenheit  erklart,  und 
eine  Nachricht  von  verschiedenen 
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1 75 1.    8vo. 

Edouard-Petit  (Alix) 

Aux  lies  des  perles.  Journal  le  Cor- 
respondent, pp.  977-996.  Paris, 
March  10,  1906. 

Elgin,  Earl  of 

Leasing  of  the  Pearl  Fisheries  of 
Ceylon.  Sessional  Papers,  pp.  650- 
651.    Colombo,  1906. 

Emanuel  (Harry) 

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don, 1865.    Svo. 

Entrecolles  (F.  X.  d') 

Maniere  de  faire  des  perles  artifi- 
cielles.  Lettre  a  Pekin,  4  Nov.  1734. 
Lettres  edifiantes  et  curieuses  ecrites 
des  Missions  fitrangeres,  Vol.  xxii, 
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Esteva  (Jose  Maria) 

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la  Baja  California.  Boletin  de  la 
Sociedad  Mexicana  de  Geografia  y 
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Mexico,  1865. 

Farrington  (Oliver  Cum mings) 
Gems  and  Gem  Minerals.     Chicago, 
1903.    Svo. 

Ferguson    (Alastair  Makenzie  and 
John) 
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Quiros,  1595-1606.  Translated  and 
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8vo. 

Feuchtwanger  (Lewis) 

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erence to  Their  Scientific  Value. 
Nctv  York,  1859.    Svo. 

Fichtner  (Conrad  Heinrich) 

Einige  Nachrichten  von  dem  Rehau- 
ischen  Perlen  Bach.  Frankische 
Sammlungen  von  Anmerkungen  aus 
der  Naturlehre  Arzneigelehrtheit. 
Nurnbcrg,  1768.    Svo. 

Fields  (J.  T.) 

Underbrush.    Boston,  1881.    Svo. 

FiLippi  (Filippode) 

Suir  origine  delle  perle.  II  Cimento 
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Encore  un  mot  sur  la  formation  des 
perles.  Miillers'  Archiv  fiir  Anato- 
mie, Physiologie,  und  wissenschaft- 
liche  Medicin,  1856,  pp.  490-493. 
Berlin,  1S56. 

Troisieme  memoire  pour  servir  a  I'his- 
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Fischer  (Gotthelf) 

Essai  sur  la  Pellegrina,  ou  la  Perle 
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Moscou.  1818.     Svo. 


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cliii,  1637.     i2mo. 

Gemelli-Careri  (Giovanni  Fran- 
cesco) 
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accresciuta,    ricorretta,    e    divisa    in 
nove  volumi.    Venesia,  1719.    8vo. 

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8vo. 

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delle  pietre,  e  di  tutti  i  minerali,  ov- 
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Les  perles  de  la  Vologne,  et  le  Cha- 
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PP-  575-590.    Paris,  May,  1895. 

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On  the  Structure  of  Pearls,  and  on 
the  Chinese  mode  of  producing  them 
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Grill  (Johan  Abraham) 

Bericht  wie  die  Chinesen  achte  Perlen 
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De  Margaritis,  earumque  Virtute 
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pp.  70-79.  London,  January,  1848. 
The  Out-station;  or  Jaunts  in  the 
Jungle.    London,  1848.    i6mo. 

GuiDO  (Joannis) 

De  Mineralibus  tractatus  absolutissi- 
mus.    Franco fiirti,  1627.    8vo. 

Guillemand  (Francis  Henry  Hill) 
Malaysia  and  the  Pacific  Archipelago. 
London,  1894.     8vo. 

GiJNTHER  (Albert) 

A  Small  Fish  of  the  Genus  Ficrasfcr 
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Hague  (W.  F.) 

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Hale  (Sarah  J.) 

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Hall  (Anna  Maria) 

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Vol.  II,  pp.  289-205.  London,  Octo- 
ber, 1861. 

Hall  (Francis) 

Colombia :  its  present  state.  Phila- 
delphia, 1825.     i2mo. 

Hamilton  (Alexander),  Captain 
A  New  Account  of  the  East  Indies. 
2  vols.    Edinburgh,  1727.    8vo. 

Hamonville  (L.  d') 

Les  monies  perlieres  de  Billiers 
{Mytilus  edulis).  Bulletin  de  la  So- 
ciete  Zoologique  de  France,  Vol.  xix, 
pp.  140-142.    Paris,  1894. 

Hardy  ( Robert  William  Hall), Lieut. 
Travels  in  the  Interior  of  Mexico,  in 
1825,  1826,  1827,  and  1828.  London, 
1829.    8vo. 

Harley  (George) 

Microscopic  Examination  of  Pearls. 
"The  Cheltenham  Ladies'  College 
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London,  1888. 

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Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Society  of 
London,  Vol.  xLiii,  pp. 461-465,  1888. 
The  Structural  Arrangement  of  the 
Mineral  Matters  in  Sedimentary  and 
Crystalline  Pearls.  Proceedings  of 
the  Royal  Society  of  London,  Vol. 
XLV,  pp.  612-614,  1889. 

Harper's  Magazine 

Pearls  and  Gems.  "Harper's  New 
Monthly  Magazine,"  Vol.  xxi,  pp. 
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536 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


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Reports  by  the  Superintendent  of  the 
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INDEX 


INDEX 


Abalone  pearls.  53,  78,  148,  280, 

291.  351.  414 
Abbas  the  Great,  455 
Abdul  Aziz,  421 

Aberdeenshire,  Scotland,  164,166 
Aboriginal  use  of  pearls,  485  — 

513 
Abortive  ova  theory,  42 
Abraham  and  Sarah,  7 
Accidents  to  divers,   117,   138, 

144,  197.  203,  208,  247,  249 
Acid  stains,  376 
Acosta,  Jose  de,  232 
Aden,  Arabia,  37,  142 
Aden,  Gulf  of,  80,  140 
Adirondack,  New  York,  266 
Adour  River,  France,  171 
Adrian,  Pope,  313 
Africa,  65,   140.    153-156 
Age  of  mollusks,  74,  108,  171 
Ago  Bay,  Japan,  292 
Aitken,  E.  H.,  133 
Alabama,  492,  493 
Alasmodon  arcuata,  73 

margaritifera,    281 
Albertus  Magnus,  311 
Alexander  the  Great,  319 
Alexander  VI,  24 
Alexander  Severus,  10 
Alexandra,   Queen,    165,  4:8 

(plate),   438 
Alexandria,   320 
Alexandria  shell,  69 
Alfonso  X,  311 
Alfred  the  Great,  414 
Algonquin  Indians,  486 
America,  225-282,   294 
America,    Prehistoric,    23,    485  - 

512 
American  Museum  of  Natural 

History,  266.  467 
Amsterdam,  Diamond  Merchants 

of,  325 
Anania  of  Shiraz,   329 
Ancients,  Pearls  among  the,  3  — 

12 
Anglesey,  Marquis  of,  479 
Angouleme,  Duchess  of,  170 
Anhalt-Dessau,  Duchess  of,  476 
Anjou,  Duke  of,  425 
Annan  River,  Scotland,  164 
Anne  de  Bretagne,  436 
Anne  de  France,  Duchess,  435 
Anodonta  cygnea,  42,  168 
Antwerp,  Chamber  of  Commerce 

of.  327 
Apparatus  of  capture.    166,    181, 

268  —  270.      See    Dredges,    Sca- 
phanders. 
Apple  River,  Wisconsin,  262 
Aqualia  jewels,  479 
Aqua  perlata,  311 
Archangel,  Russia,  181,  184 
Areca-nut,  310 


Arethusa  necklace,  405 

Aristotle,  95 

Arizona,   510 

Arkansas,  259,  263,  264,  270, 

276,  361 
Arkansas  River,  263,  264 
Arlington,  Tenn.,   263 
Arnobio,  Cleandro,  344 
Arnold,  Sir  Edwin,  41,  85 
Arthurian  legends,  304 
Artificial  pearls,  41,  285  —  293 
Aru  Islands,  206.  220 
Ashburnham  missal,    17 
Assyria.   Pearls  in,   6,  404 
Atax  ypsilophorus,  43 
Atharvaveda,  4,  301 
Athens  National  Museum,  405 
Atwater,  Caleb,  500 
Auction  of  oysters,  120 
Auction   of  pearls,  470  —  472, 

477-481 
Augsburg,  Germany,  320 
Australia,  30,  58,  65,  68,  199  — 

212.  291.  294.  466 
Austria,   Fisheries  of,   178—179 
Austrian   Schatzkammer,   472  — 

474 
Awabi.     See  Abalone. 
Aztecs,    Pearls  among  the,   23 

Bacon,  Francis,  313 

Baden,  Germany,  177 

Baegert,  Jacob,  244 

Bagdad,  88,  98,  335,  411 

Eagge.  J.  P.,  287 

Bahama  Islands,  278 

Bahrein  Islands,  85,  88  —  90 

Ealapur,  India,  133 

Baldknob,  Arkansas,  276 

Banda,  221 

Banks,  Edgar  J.,  5 

Eann  River,  Ireland,  165 

Bantam  Lake,  Conn.,  266 

Bapst  pearls,  465 

Barbot,  Charles,  337,  390 

Baroda,  Gaikwar  of,  460 

Baroque  pearls,   30,  31,   59,  265, 

272,   353.   359.  464.   475.   476 
Baroque  pearls.   Values   of,   337, 

340,  343.   355 
Barthema,  Lodovico,  86 
Base  value  for  pearls,  330  —  333 
Basilica  of  St.  Mark,  17,  59 
Bassein  Coast,  India,   139 
Bath,  Marquis  of,  355 
Batthyani,  Count  Louis,  467 

"  Countess  Louis,  434 

Bavaria,  171—173,  294 
Bazaruto  Islands,    153,   156 
Beads,   403,   497,  498,   508 
Beckmann,  Johann,  287 
Bede,    160 

Bell.  Robert  N.,  492 
Benjamin  of  Tudela,  37,  86 
541 


Benzoni,  Girolamo,  231 
Berri,  Due  de,  426 
Beuth-Schinkel  Museum,  Char- 

lottenburg,  421 
Bibliotheque  Nationale,  Paris, 

407,  425.  428,  436 
Biedma,  Louis  Hernandez  de, 

_253»  257 
Bird's-eye  pearls,  56,  353 
Birdwood,   Sir  George,  319 
Birmingham,  Jewelers*  and 

Goldsmiths'  Association  of,  327 
Blackmore,  H.   P.,  490 
Blackmore  Museum,  490,  500 
Black  pearls,  29,  60,  241,  349, 

355.  376,  467,  476 
Black  River,  Arkansas,  264,  273 
Black  Rock,  Arkansas,  264,  276 
Bleaching  pearls,  377,  396 
Blister  pearls.  58,  353 
Blue-point  shell,  72 
Boats,  91,  112.  136,  141,  166, 

205,  218,  234 
Bober  River,  Germany,  175 
Bohemia,  Austria,  178 
Bohemian  pearls,  433,  434 
Bolchow,  H.  W.  F.,  478 
Bolivia,  511 
Bologna  treatise  of   1791,  331, 

338.  342,  343 
Bombay,  88,  89,  98,  156,  347, 

354,  357 
Bombay  Presidency,  132 
Bombay  shell,  69,  143 
Boncza,   Mile.  Wanda  de,  479 
Boot,  Anselmus  de,  40,  311,  331, 

338,  343.  382,  455 
Bordeaux,  Austin  de,  459 
Borneo,  221,   297 
Boston  Museum  of  Fine  Arts, 

II,  12,  307 
Bouchon-Brandely,  G.,   193,   195, 

290 
Bourbon,  Duchess  of,  348 
Bouton,  Louis,  291 
Bouton  pearls,  56,  57,  352.     See 

Button  pearls 
Bracelets,  474 
Brazil,  282 

Breeding  pearls,   296  —  298 
Bremond,  Gabriele,  411 
Brhatsamhita  of  Varahamihira* 

334 
Bridal  presents.  Pearls  as,  170 
Brinton,  D.  G.,  494 
Bristow,  Samuel  G.,  494 
British  Honduras,  511 
British  Isles,    11,   159—168 
British  Museum,  11,  20,  67^  405, 

414.  510 
Brooch,  471 

Broome,  Australia,  205 
Brown,   Barnum,   5 1 1 
Browning,   Robert,  303 


542 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


Bruce,  Robert,  418 
Brunswick,    Duke  of,   349.   399 
Brydges,  Sir  Har£ord  Jones, 

459 
Bubics,  Bishop,  481 
Buckhorn  shell,  73 
Buckingham,  Duke  of,  24 
Buckland,  F.  T.,  165 
Budapest  National  Museum, 

435 
Buddha  images,  288-289 
Buddhabhatta,  310,  335,  378 
Bude,   Guiliaume,   348 
Bulawayo,  South  Africa,  si 3 
Bullhead  shell,  73 
Bunyan,  John,  79 
Burgundy  family,  21,  431 
Burkill,  F.  H.,  136 
Burma.  135 

Bushell,  Stephen  W.,  413 
Bushnell,  David  I.,  509 
Butterfly  shell,  73 
Button  manufacture,  72,  264, 

269,  271 
Button  pearls,  352,  360,  470 
Buttons,  Link,  443 
Buying  pearls,  369 
Byron,  Lord,  403 
Byssus,  66,  76 
Byzantine  coins,  15 
Byzantium,  320 

Cjesar,  Julius,  10,  11,  I59.  329, 

449 
Cjesarea,   Syria,  406 

Calcutta,  357 

California,  280,  281 

California,  Gulf  of,  69,  241- 
251,  294 

Caligula,  9 

Caliph  Al  Mamun,  411 

Cambridge,   Mass.,  490 

Camden,  William,  37.  160 

Canada,  281 

Candarin,  weight,  322 

Caniapuscaw,  Canada,  281 

Carat,  321-329,  331,  333 

Carborel,  Jose,   242 

Care  of  pearls,   394-395 

Caribbean  Sea,  225 

Carl,  Miss,  513 
Carlotta,  Empress  of  Mexico, 
397,  476 

Caroline   Augusta,    Empress,    474 

Caroline,  Queen,  29 

Carpets  embroidered  with  pearls, 

411 
Carthage,  Tenn.,  263,  276 
Carupano,   Venezuela,  234 
Cassis  madagascarensis,  351, 

354 
Castellani,   Alexandro,    185 
Castellani,  Augusto,  468 
Catharine  de'  Medici,  24,  43S. 

453 
Catharine  of  Russia,  184 
Cavvadias,  M.  P.,  405 
Ceram,  221 
Ceylon,  4,  29,  31,  45,  6°.  81,  87, 

99-128,  293,  343-347,   383 
Ceylon   Company   of  Pearl  Fish- 
ers, no,  125,  127 
Chank,  78 
Chardin,  Jean,  94 
Charente  River,  France,  171 
Charlemagne,   16,  472,  475 
Charles  I  of  England,  431.  456 
Charles  II  of  Spain,  452 
Charles  XV,  Crown  of,  416 
Charles  V,  Buckle  of,  24 


Charles  VI  of  France,  313 
Charles  the  Bold,  21 
Charles  the  Bold's  jewel,  4S0 
Charlotte,  Queen,  29 
Chauveton,  Urbain,  38,  232 
Che-kiang,  China,  288 
Chesapeake  Bay,  267 
Chicago,  111.,  275,  499.  500 
Chicot,  58,  353 

Chillicothe,  Ohio,  491,  5oo,  506 
China,  4,  5,   '9,   i45->46,  285, 

288,  302,  413 
Chinese  pearl  ornaments,  413 
Christ,  7,  304 

Christie's  Auction  House,  477-481 
Chung-kwan-o,    China,   290 
Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre, 

468 
Clam  pearl.      See  Venus,   3SI, 

486 
Cleaning   pearls,    37s.    377,    3/8, 

396 
"Cleanness,"  the  poem,  21 
Cleopatra,   10,   55,  314,  3'5,  407, 

**^  ^ 

Clinch  River,  Tenn.,  263 

Clinton,  Tenn.,  263,  276 

Clodius,  315 

Coche  Island,  Venezuela,   231, 

Cockbum,   Lady  Augusta   Anne, 

■'79 
Cocoanut  pearls,  78,   351 
Cofaciqui,  253,  254,  257,  267 
Coins,   ancient,   404,   450 
Collar,   Pearl,  444 
Colombia,  233.  239.  282 
Colombo,  357 

Color  of  pearls,  60,  61,  97,  124, 

166,    184,    221,    241,    261,    267, 

273,    321,    351.    354,    359.    362. 

467 

Colorado  River,  261 

Columbus,   Christopher,    23,   225, 

226,  228,  321 
Columbus,   Diego,  229 
Columbus,  Ohio,  500 
Commerce  in   pearls,   319-321 
Commission    des   Instruments    et 

Travaux,  326 
Comparette,  F.  Louis,  408 
Compiegne,   France,  43 1 
Composition  of  pearls,  52,  314 
Comyn,  Tomas  de,  213 
Conch  pearls,  55,  77,  278,  279, 

351,  361,  464 
Conchiolin,  44,  51,  61 
Cone-shaped  pearls,   352 
Congaree  River,  492 
Connecticut,   266 
Connemara,  Ireland,  165 
Constantinople,  15,  320 
Conway  River,  Wales,  37,  160, 

161,   168 
Copenhagen,  476 
Coque  de  perle,  59,  35i 
Coral,  412 

Cordiner,  James,  104,  116.  382 
Cordoba,   Maria  Fernandez  de, 

433  .  .  o 

Coronation   orb,   English,  418 
Cortes,  Hernando,  241 
Corvinus,  Cross  of,  423 
Cossack,   Australia,   205,   466 
Costa  Rica,  239,  282 
Coxe,  Daniel,  258,  263 
Cracks  in  pearls,   271,  321,  381 
Crawfurd,  John,  213 
Cresson,  H.  T.,  501 
Crosses  of  pearls,  444 


Crowfoot  drag,  269 

Crowns,  15,  24,  414—420,  455, 

472-475 
Crown  jewels  of  France,  56, 

461,  468—472 
Crusades,  19,  320 
Crystalline  pearls,   54,   S5,  33' 
Cubagua  Island,  Venezuela,  228, 

229,  231,  233 
Culin,  Stewart,  414 
Cultching,  294 
Culture-pearls,  41,  75,  148,  288- 

293 
Cumana,  Venezuela,  228,  233, 

234 
Cumberland  River,  263,  494 
Cupid  and  Psyche,  307 
Curtis,  William   E.,  282 
Cuzco,   Cathedral  of,  432 
Cylindrical  pearls,   56,  353 
Czarina    of    Russia,    Frontispiece 
Czarina  of  Russia,  Daughters  of 

the,  442 

Dahlak  Islands,  142 
Danube  River,   18,   171,  177. 

179 
Dark  Ages,  17,  21,  320,  421 
Davenport,  Charles  B.,  292 
Davis,  Edwin  H.,  485,  489.  498 
Death  of  pearls,   397,  399 
Debenham  &  Storr,  481 
Dee  River,  Scotland,   164 
Denmark,   179,   512 
Dennis,  James  T.,  6 
Dennys,  N.  B.,  297 
Denton,  Sherman  F.,  266 
Depletion  of  pearl  beds,  31,  106. 
132,    148,    164,    169,    175,    180, 
206,  233,  261,  277,  294 
Dew-drop  origin  of  pearls,  36  — 

39,  60 
Diamonds,    21,    28,    29,    30,    79. 
259,    321,    330,    334,    369.    371. 
392,  403,  412,  439,  442 
Diane  de  Poitiers,  436 
Diaz,  Carmen  Romero  Rubio  de, 

441 
Diederichsen,  476 
Diemerbroeck,  94 
Dieseldorf,  E.   P.,  511 
Dieulafait,   Louis,   337 
Dinglinger,  J.  M.,  475 
Dipsas  plicatus,  75,  146,  288 
Distomum   duplicatum,  42 
margaritarum,  43 
somateris,  43 
Divers,     Characteristics    of,     91. 
93,    113,    131.    134.    137,    143, 
149,    194,  207,  217,  238,  246 
Diving-bell,  239,  245,  247 
Diving,  Limit  of,  93,  94-96,  195. 

208,  219,  249 
Diving,  Method  of,  92,  ii4,  128, 
132,   138,    142,    146,    194.   20'- 
203,    207,    219,    230,    236,    246, 
249 
Diving-stones,  92 
Dixon  washing  machine,  123,  125 
Dog-tooth  pearls,  352,  360 
Donnan,  James,  93 
Don  River,  Scotland,  163,  164 
Doon  River,  Scotland,  163,  164 
Double  pearls,  57,  353 
Dragon  and  pearl,  302 
Dragsen,  Alfred,  476 
Dredging  for   pearl-oysters,    nS. 

146,  218,  231,  234 
Dreher,  Julius  D.,   196 
Dresden,  Germany,  475 


Drilling  pearls,  378-385.  477» 

492,  496 
Drinking  dissolved  pearls,  314 
Drop-shaped  pearls,  352 
Druggists'  pearls,  75 
Dublin  Museum,  424,  425 
Dubois,    Raphael,   43,   44,   55,  71 
Dubosq,  Augustus,  390 
Dubosq,   Henry,  390 
Dubuque,  Iowa,  510 
Dudley,   Lady,  479 
Durand.   L.   E.,  88 
Dust   pearls,    56,    352,   445 
Durability   of  pearls,   395  —  398 
Dutch  Indies,  202,  220 
Dyeing  pearls,  377 

Earn  River,  Scotland,  164 
Ear-piercing,  407 
Earrings,  403,  404,  407  —  410,  444 
East  Africa,  Fisheries  of,  153  — 

156 
East  African  Pearl  Company,  154 
East  Indian  pearl  jewelry,  412 
Ebert.  Frank  M.,  267 
Ecclesiastical  ornaments,   16,   17, 

160,  421  —  424,  444 
Echternacher  Codex,  421 
Ecuador,  2f^2 

Edgcumbe,    Sir  Robert,   153,  155 
Edibility  of  pearl  moUusks,  66, 

171,  210,  250,  280,  494 
Edward  VI  of  England,  455 
Edward  VII  of  England,  438 
Edward,  the  Black  Prince,  417 
Effigy  mound,  502,  504,  505 
Egbert,  Archbishop  of  Treves, 

421 
Egg-shaped  pearls,   56,  240,   352, 

470 
Egypt,  Pearls  in  ancient,  6,  403  — 

404 
Eldorado  explorers,  252 
Elgin,  Lord,  126 
Eligius  or  St.  Eloi,  16 
Elizabeth  of  England,  24,  453, 

454 
Elizabeth  of  Russia,   182,  183 
El  Katif.  457 
Elster  River,  Saxony,  173 
Emanuel,   Harry,  337,   340 
Embedded  pearls,  57,  353,  376 
Emeralds,   330,   372,  413,  439 
Emerson,  Ralph  Waldo.   145 
Empress   Dowager   of  China, 

431    (plate) 
Enriching  a  drink  with  pearls, 

314 
Entrecolles,  F.  X.  de,  285,  286 
Eo,  Wilhelmus,  348 
EspiritiS  Santo  Island,  Mexico, 

248,  293 
Esterhazy,  Count  Maurice,  434 
Esterhazy,  Prince  Nicholas,  434, 

481 
Esthonia,   Russia,   182,   183 
Etowah  River,  Georgia,  267 
Eugenie,   Empress,   30,   164,  260, 

307,  355.   395.  471 
Europe,    Fisheries   of,    168-185 
European  pearl-bearing  mollusks, 

75,   160,   164,  170,   184 

Fabricius,  Dionysius,   182 

Fake  pearls,  361 

Falco,  Alphonse,  468 

Farsan  Islands,  Red  Sea,   142 

Fashion    for    pearls,    21,    30,    31, 

329.  354.  439.  440 
Ferbecq,  475 


INDEX 

Ferguson,  A.  M.,   117 
Ferranz,   Ivens,    153 
Fertility  of  pearl  mollusks,  67,74 
Feuchtwanger,   Lewis,   336 
F'ever,    Pearl -hunting,    276 
Fewkes,  J.  Walter,  510 
Field  Museum  of  Natural  His- 
tory, 499,  501,  503 
Filippi,  Filippo  de,  42 
Findhorn  River,  Scotland,  164 
Finland,  Russia,  182,  183,  290 
Finot,  Louis,  334 
Fishermen,    Characteristics   of, 

91,  268,  275.     See  Divers. 
Fishermen,  Total  number  of,  80 
Fisliing  boats,  112,  113,  136,  141 
Flavor  of  pearls,  313,  315 
Flint  River,  Georgia,  268 
Florence,  Italy,  24,  407 
Florida,  257,  262,  268,  278,  493 
Foix,  Frangoise  de,  436 
Fontaneda,  Hernando,  256,  257 
Forms  of  pearls,    55  —  60,   351— 

354 
France,   17,   169-171 
Francis  I  of  France,  468 
Frederick,  Coesar,   loi 
Frederick  III  of  Germany,  438 
French  crown  jewels,  56,  461, 

468-472 
Fresh- water    pearls,    16,    18,    30, 
7^-75.  146,  159-185,  252-282, 
351.   359 
Froehner,   12 
Fugger,  J.  J.,  450 
Fukura,  Japan,  293 
Funeral  rites,  use  of  pearls,  133 

Gabrielle  d'Estrees,  436 
Gambier  Islands,  190,  192 
Gann,   Thomas,   5 1 1 
Garde  Meuble,  Paris,  461 
Garner,    Robert,   43 
Garrard  &  Co.,  464 
Gemelli-Careri,  238 
Gemmen-Munzen   Cabinet,   12 
General  Pearl  and  Coral-Fishing 

Association    of   London,    245 
Genoa,  Italy,  24,  320 
Gentleman  of  Elvas,  253 
Georgia,  267,  492,  495 
German  East  Africa,   154 
German   Federation  of  Jewelers, 

German  ornaments.  Antique, 

421  —422 
Germany,    171-178,   294 
Giant  clam,   53,   y6,   144,  296 
Giard,  Alfred,  43 
Gieger,  Malachias,  312 
Gillman,  H.   W.,  346 
Gimma,   Giacinto,  213 
Gironde  River,  171 
Glyptothek,  Munich,  407 
Godron,  D.  A.,   169 
Goethe,  305 

Gogibus  pearl,  350,  461 
Gollancz,  20 
Gomara,  Francisco  Lopez  de,  226, 

^35.  451.  455 
Gonzalez,  President,  247 
Goode,  John  Mason,  94 
Gordon-Lennox,    Lady   Henry, 

481 
Gould,   Mrs.    George  J.,   480 

(plate) 
Grain,   Pearl,  322-327,  33^-334 
Gran,  Cathedral  of,  422 
Grass  River.  N.  Y.,  266 
Graves,  Aboriginal,  253,  485—512 


543 


Great  pearls  of  history,  481,  482 
Greece,  8,   11,  307,  405,  409 
Greene,  Robert,  253 
Greenland,   179 

Gresham,  Sir  Thomas,  314,  454 
Grimsha w,    Beatrice,    1 97 
Griine  Gewolbe,  59,  175,  475 
Guadeloupe,  Church  of,  452 
Guatemala,  511 
Guidius,  Joannes,  28 
Guillaume,  M.,   325 

Hafiz,  47 

Hale,  Edward  E.,  241 
Half-pearl  making,   392,  394 
Half-pearls,  354,   364,  444 
Half-pearls,    values,    340  —  341 
Haliotidce,  78 
Haliotis  gigantea,  148 
Hammer  pearls,  353 
Hampton  Court,   22 
Hanover,   Germany,    176 
Hapsburg  family,  23 
Hardy,  R.  W.  H.,  245 
Hariot,  Thomas,  257,  488 
Harley,  Geo.,   54.  396 
Harness,  John  M.,  506 
Harness    mound,    491,    496,    500, 

506-509 
Harpeth   River,  Tenn.,  494 
Harris,  Israel  H.,  261 
Haupt,   Paul,  6 
Hawkins,  Sir  Richard,  38 
Haystack  pearls,  56.  353,  360 
Healing  qualities  of  pearls,  314 
Hebrew  literature,  6,   7 
Hedenberg,   Frederick,   290 
Heikow,  Lake  of,  Manchuria,  147 
Heirlooms,  434,  477,  479 
Hennepin,    Father   Louis,   495 
Henry  V,   417,   454 
Henry  VIII,  22,  431,  451 
Heraldic  significance,  437 
Herculaneum,   pearls   from,   409 
Herdman,  W.  A.,  45,  46,   155, 

287,  290  , 

Hermitage,  St.  Petersburg,   11, 

410,  415 
Herrick,  Robert,  285 
Herrmann,  Richard,  509 
Hesse,  177 
Hessling,  Theodore  von,  52,  172, 

176,   i8i 
Hiller,  Henry  W.,  462 
Hindus,  4,  301,  307,  309,  347, 

350,  382 
Hinge  pearls,  59,  352 
Hispano-American    Museum,   432 
Holbein,   Hans,   22 
Holberg,   179 
Holland,    Philemon,    314 
Holy  Roman  Empire,  472,  475 
Home,  Sir  Everard,  42 
Homer,  8 

Hope   pearls,    59   463  —  464 
Hope,  Henry  Philip,  463 
Hopewell  mounds,  490,  500  —  505 
Hopewell,  M.  C,  501 
Hornell,  James,  45,   117,  127 
Horsehair  threads,  391 
Hotel  de  Tiraz,  Palermo,  475 
Hotel  Drouot,  477  —  479 
Howe,  Sir  Everliard,  42 
Howell,  David,  259,  260 
Howi«,  W.  Forbes,  425 
Humbert,  Mme.,  478 
Humboldt,  Alexander  von,   23, 

233 
Hungary,    Pearls  in,    179,  422, 

423,  434.  481 


544 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


Hunt  &  Roskell,  46s 
Hunyadi,  Count  Joseph,  434 
Hussock,  Eugene,  282 

Iberville,  Pierre,  258 

Ibn  Batuta,  86,  94 

Ibo  Archipelago,    153,    155 

Iciaha,  255,  259 

Idaho,  492 

Idar,  Germany,  392 

lUe  River,  170 

Illinois,  270,  274,  276,  509 

Illinois  River,  264 

Ilz  River,  Bavaria,  172 

Imam  of  Muscat,  457.  464 

Imitation  pearls,  29,61,279,286, 

361,  376,  382,  403.  445.  490,  497 
India,  3.   18,   128-133.  293.  309. 

343-347.    354.   385 
Indiana,  276 

Indications  of  pearls.  71,  74.  loS 
Ingram,  David,  256 
Inspection   of   reefs,    108,    130, 

155.  >74  . 

International    Committee   ot 

Weights  and  Measures,  326 
Inventories  of  jewels,   425-431. 

469,  470,  472 
Investments  in  pearls,  456 
Iowa,  276,  291 
Ireland,  17,  ^62,  165 
Irregular  pearls.  Value  of,  342 
Isabella,  Clara  Eugenia,  436 
Isabella,  Queen,  453 
Isar  River,  Bavaria,  172 
Isidorus  of  Charace,  85 
Isla  River,  163,  164 

Jackson,  A.  V.  Williams,  3,  5 
Jackson,   Lowis  d'A.,  323.  347 
Jade,  412 
Jahn,  J.  G.,  173 
Jameson,  H.  L.,  43.  44.  67 
Japan,  70,  147.  292,  296.  302.  309 
Japanese  divers.   I37.  207,  208 
Jeffries,   David,   331.   338 
Jesuits,  242,  244,  251,  258 
Jiddah,  Arabia,  140.  '42 
Jolo,  Philippine  Islands,  218 
Jones,   Charles  C.  485.  493.  495 
Jones,  F.  Alfred,  431 
Jones,  Joseph,  493,  497 
Jones,  William  S.,  493 
Jordanus,  Friar,   100 
Joseph,  Archduke,  434 
Josephine,    Empress,    170 
Jouclianan  ibn  Massouiah,  95 
Juan,  Griego,  Venezuela,  234 
Julia,  daughter  of  Titus,  407 
Juppel   River,   Prussia,   176 
Justinian  the  Great,  450 

Kaempfer,  Engelbert,  147.  29* 

Kalidasa,  4 

Karachi,  India,   133 

Karoly,  Countess  Alois,  434 

Kawall,  H.,   182 

Kelaart,  E.  F.,  43.  127 

Kelly,  James  W.  S.,  466 

Kentucky,  262 

Khayat,  Azeez,  40S 

Khusrau  crown,  411,  414 

Kimmerly,  297 

King  of  the  Mound  Builders,  504 

KnoUes,  Richard,  455 

Kohl,  Johann  Georg,   184,  463 

Koran,  7 

Kosseir,  Arabia,   142 

Kremlin,   Moscow,  417.  4^4 

Krishna,  4,  306 


Kiichenmeister,   F.,  43 
Kunstgewerbe  Museum,  Berlin, 

421,  422 
Kunz,   George  F.,  328,   527,   528 


Labrador,  281 
La  Bruyere,  Jean  de,  169 
La  Crosse,  Wisconsin,  29s 
Lamins  of  pearls,  53,  54 
Lamnitz  River,  Bavaria,   171 
Lampsilis,  73 

alatus,  73 
La  Paz,  Mexico,  245,  248,  251 
La  Pellegrina,  461—463 
La   Peregrina,    452,   462 
Laplanders,  184 
La  Regente,  56,  461,  471 
La  Reine  des  Perles,  461,  469 
La  Salle,  Robert,  505 
Lea,  Isaac,  290 
Lead  poisoning,  394 
Learning,  E.  B.,  438 
Lease  of  pearl  beds,   125-127,- 

135,  246,   247 
Leavenworth,  Indiana,  276 
Le  Bee,  Henry,  94,  104 
Lefevre  and  Curtis,  295 
Lehigh  River,  Penn.,  259 
Leiner,  Otto,  512 
Levin  and  Melville,  Earl  of,  453 
Lewis-Hill,   Mrs.,  4S0 
License  to  fishermen,  204,  217, 

233.  240.  282 
Lima,  Cathedral  of,  432 
Lingah  shell,  68,  98,  99,   141 
Linnaeus,  41,   181,  2S6,   288 
Linnean  Society  of  London,  286 
Linschoten,  J.  H.  van,  86,   loi 
Lister  and  Mandel,  Norway,  180 
Lister,  Martin,    170 
Litchfield  County,  Conn.,  266 
Little  Miami  River,  Ohio,  261, 

262 
Livonia,   Russia,  182 
Lobkowitz,  Count  Moritz,  433 
Loch  Dochert,  Scotland,   163 
LoUia  Paulina,  406 
London,  358,  477 
London  Society  of  Arts,  288 
Longevity  of  pearls,  79,  473,  478 
Loreto,  Mexico,  245,  251 
Lorraine,  Dukes  of,  428,  429 
Lorraine,   Germany,    169,    170 
Louvre    Museum,    Paris,    5,    11, 
59,    398,    403-405.    408,    430. 
437,   454.   465 
Love  for  pearls,  7,  9,   184,  304, 

347.    463.    510 
Lovell,  Robert,  312 
Lower   California,   241,  247 
Lower    California    Pearl    Fishing 

Company,  247 
Liineburg,  Germany,    176 
Luster  of  pearls,  51,  52,  78,  293 
Lyell,  Sir  Charles,  511 

Maabar,  King  of,  412 

Macassar,  70,  221 

McEvers  mound,  509 

Macgowan,  D.  T.,  288 

MacGregor,    David,    165 

McGregor,  Iowa,  272,  276 

Madras,    129-130,   354,  357 

Mahavansa,  4 

Maine,  265 

Malabar  fisheries,   132 

Malay   Archipelago,    30,    67,    70, 

201,  212  —  221,  296 
Malcolm,  Sir  John,  89 


Manama,  Persian  Gulf,  90 

Manar,  Gulf  of,  65,  67,  99-131 

Manchuria,  146,  147 

Manila,   70,  221 

Mani-Mala,  310 

Manlius,  9 

Mannheim  Natural  History 

Society,   177 
Manta,   Ecuador,  282 
Maple-leaf  shell,  73 
Marbach,   Austria,   179 
Marbodus,  Bishop  of  Rennes,  160 
Margaret,   305 

Margaret,  Pearl  of  Bohemia,  305 
Margaret  Tudor,   Queen,  308 
Margaret,  wife  of  James  III,  22 
Margarita,  wife  of  Philip  III, 

432.  452 
Margarita  Island,  Venezuela,  229, 

233,  457 
Margaritarii,  320 
Margaritiferse,  67,  351 
Margaritifera,  296 
carcharium,  70,  200 
margaritifera,     68,      155,     164, 
184,  190,  200,  214,  221,  425 
cumingi,  44,  69 
erythr^eensis,    6g,    140 
mazatlanica,    69,    248 
persica,  69 
martensi,  70,   148,  292 
maxima,  70,   133,  200,  214,  221 
panasisce,  148 
radiata,   70,  234 
vinesi,  248 
vulgaris,    44,    67,    68,    98,    134. 

155 
Margherita,  Queen  of  Italy,  438. 

442 
Marguerite  of  Flanders,  426 
Marguerite  of  France,   381 
Maria  Loretto,   Prague,  423 
Maria  Louise,   Empress  of 

France,  461 
Maria  de'  Medici,  24,  308 
Maria   Theresa,   24    (plate),    179, 

395.  473 
Marichchikadde,  Ceylon,   109 
Marketing  pearls,  349-351.  356- 

362 
Marlborough,  Duchess  of,  465 
Marquesas  Islands,   189 
Marriott  mound,  498 
Martial,   10 

Martin,  Daniel  S.,  492 
Martyr,  Peter,  38 
Mary  Stuart,  24,  453 
Maryland,  267,  489 
Massachusetts,  265 
Massey-Mainwaring  collection, 

480 
Massoudi,  86 
Massowah,  Egypt,  142 
Matched  pearls,   349 
Matheson,  Lady,  478 
Maturity  of  Unios,  74 
Maurus,   Rabanus,   304 
Medici,   Lorenzo  de,   313 
Medicinal  use  of  pearls,  18,  133. 

308-314.  351.  360 
Mediterranean  Sea,  67,  185,  293 
Megasthenes,   11,  85 
Melbourne,  Australia,  Chamber 

of  Commerce,   327 
Meleagrina  margaritifera,  204, 

205 
Melville  Island,  190 
Meredith,  Owen,  306 
Mergui  Archipelago,  70,  133- 
139.  221 


INDEX 


545 


Metric  carat,  325—327 
Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art, 

u.  405 
Metz,  Charles  L.,  498 
Mexico,  23,  29,  30,  60,  69,  241- 

252,  433.  476 
Miami  Valley,  489 
Middendorf,  Alexander  von,   184 
Mikimoto,  Kokichi,   292,  293 
Milan,  Cathedral  of,   17 
Miller,  Hugh,   167 
Mills,  William  C,  491,  496,  500, 

506 
Milman,  Hugh,  206,  211 
Milton,  John,  87,  189,  307 
Mingti,  Emperor  of  China,   145 
Missals,  Decoration  of,   16,   17 
Mississippi   clams,   72  —  74 
Mississippi   River,  258,  264,  271, 

272,  273,  359 
Mississippi  Valley,  30,  252,  262 
Missouri  Historical  Society,  509 
Mitsukuri,  K.,  292 
Mobius,  Karl,  43,   176,   178 
Mogeaud,  Gaston,  398 
Mogul,  Great,  457 
Moldau  River,  Austria,   178,   179 
Mongareva,   192 
Monster   pearls,    353 
Montana,  51^ 
Monte  de  Piedad.  476 
Monterey,    Cal.,   280 
Montpensier,   Comte  de,   425 
Montpensier,  Duchesse  de,  437 
Montrose,  Duchess  of,  478 
Moore,  Clarence  B.,  485,  492 
Moore,  Thomas,  37.  241 
Moore,  W.   H.,  Pearl  of,  482 
Moorehead,  Warren  K.,  485,  490f 

499-507 
Moosehead  Lake,  Maine,  265 
Morales,  Caspar  de,  236 
Moravians,  259 
More,  Sir  Thomas,  22 
Morenhout,  192 
Morgan,  J.   de,  403,  405 
Morgan,  J.    Pierpont,   17 
Morgan-Tiffany  Collection,  266, 

467 
Moro  Province,  215 
Moscow,  461,  463 
Moscow  Pearl,  1840,  463 
Mother-of-pearl,  6,  53,  69,  70, 

80,   198,  201,  220,  238,  245 
Moulins,  Cathedral  of,  435 
Mound  pearls,  485-511 
Moundville.  Ala.,  493 
Mulege,   Mexico,  243,  245,  251 
Muller,   Sophus,   512 
Munshi,  Kadir,  51 
Murad  I,  421 
Muscat,  Arabia,  156 
Muscatine,  Iowa,  271,  276 
Musee  de  I'Hotel  de  Cluny,    16, 

415 
Mya  margaritifera,  287 
Mystic  River,  Conn.,  266 
Mystical  properties,  301-308 
Mytilidse,  75 
Mytilus  crasitesta,   148 

edulis,  43,  44,  160,  168 

smaragdinus,   131 

Nacre,  51,  53.  54.  66,  70,  288,  289 

Nadeniis,  Norway,   180 

Naldi,   Pio,  331,   338,  342,   343 

Nao-ratna,  412 

Naples  Museum,  409 

Napoleon  I,  469 

Napoleon  III,  461,  470 


Narahari,  78,  308 

Narvaez,   Panfilo,  de,  256 

Nassau,  Bahamas,  279 

Nautilus,  59,  351 

Nautilus  pompilius,   78,  214,  354 

Nawanagar,  India.  132 

Nearchus,  85 

Necklace,  Accumulating  a,  442 

Necklaces,  Method  of  valuing, 

331-333 
Necklace,    pearl,    273,    362,    365. 

386-388,    404.    439»    443.    47». 

473.  478,  480 
Neisse  River,  Russia,  176 
Nero,  9 

Nesbit,  Alexander,  17 
New  Brunswick,  Canada,  281 
New  Cadiz,  Venezuela,  229 
New  Caledonia,  189,  193,  194 
New  Guinea,  67 
New  Jersey,  259,  261,  290 
Newport,  Arkansas,  276 
New  York  City,  260,  262 
New  York  State,  266 
Niggerhead  shell,  72 
Nigger-hunting,  201 
Nineveh  Obelisk,  6 
Nino,  Pedro  Alonso,  228 
Nishikawa,  T.,  293,  309,  414 
Nith  River,  Scotland,  164 
Nitsche,  Hinrich,  173,  174   175 
Nonesuch  Pond,  Mass.,  265 
Nordica,  Mme.,  468,  476   (plate) 
Nordica  pearl,  468 
North  Carolina,  298 
Norway,  180 
Nose-rings,  443 
Notch   Brook,  N.  J.,  259,   260" 
Notice  of  fishery,   108,   no,   in, 

130 
Nova  Scotia,  Canada,  281 
Nuclei  of  pearls,  41,   52,  55,  58, 

60,  288,  289,  380 
Nuggets,  353 
Nuremberg,   320,   348 
Nuttal.  Mme.  Zelie,  433 

Oberstein,  Germany,  393 
Ocklocknee  River,  Fla.,  268 
Ocmulgee  River,  Ga.,  268 
Oconee  River,  Ga.,  26S,  495 
Oder  River,   Prussia,   175 
Odet  River,  France,   170 
Oelsnitz  River,  Bavaria,  171 
Ogeechee  River,  Ga.,  495 
Ohio,  261,  489 

Ohio  Archxological  and  Histor- 
ical Society,  490,  506  —  508 
Ohio  River,  264 
Okeechobee  Lake,  Fla.,  494 
Olonetz,  Russia,  182,   183 
Oman  Coast,  Arabia,   142 
Omura,  Gulf  of,  147 
Oostanaula  River,  Ga.,  267 
Opening  pearl  moUusks,  122,  139, 

198,  209,  250,  255,  271,  273 
Oppert,  Jules,  85 
Order  of   Christ,  439 
Order  of  Crown  of  India,  439 
Oregonia,  Ohio,  497 
Oriental    collections    of   pearls, 

355-357 
Oriental  pearls,  351,  359 
Orient  or  luster,  cause  of,  53,    54 
Origen   159 

Origin  of  pearls,  35—48 
Ormus,  Island  of,  86,  87,  457 
Ortega,  Iturbide,  242 
Osio,  Manuel,  242 
Ostrea,  53,  66,  351,  467 


edulis,  77 

virginica,   77,  488 
Ottoman  crown  jewels,  421 
Ounce  pearls,  360 
Ourejenaya   Palata,  Moscow,   17 
Oviedo  y  Valdes,  229,  237,  451, 

455 
Oyster,  edible,  77 
Oyster  pearls,  351 

Palermo,  475 

Palgrave,   W.    G.,    90 

Panama,  23,  56,  60,  69,235  —  241, 

451.  452 
Pancake  shell,  73 
Panciroli,  450 
Papeiti.   189,   198 
Papers   of  pearls,   358,   360,   361, 

386 
Paphos  pin,  405 
Paragon   pearls,  56,   352 
Parasitic  formation  of  pearls, 

42-46.  295 
Parasitic  stage  of  Unios,  73^  295 
Paris,    358,  477 

Paris,  Acadeniie  des  Sciences,29i 
Passau,  Bavaria,   172,   179 
Peabody  Museum  of  Archseol- 

ogy,  486,  490 
Peacock  Throne,  458 
Pearl  blisters,  389,  390 
Pearl  caps,   184,  185 
Pearl  carpet  of  Baroda,  460 
Pearl  cloth,  445 
Pearl  coast,  231 
Pearl  collar,  388 
Pearl-culture,   177,  285  —  296 
Pearl,  derivation  of  word,  19,  20 
Pearl  drills,  380,  383,  385,  394 
Pearl  dust,  380 
Pearl  forms,  295 
Pearl-grading,    343-347 
Pearl  Islands,   I'anama,  239 
Pearl  mesh,  445 
Pearl  monstrance,  424 
Pearl  of  Great  Price,  7 
Pearl  River,  N.  Y.,  266 
'*Pearl,"  the  poem,  20,  51 
Pearls,  Annual  product  of,  79,  80 
Pearls   as   investments,    350,    35s 
Pearls  as  tears,  307 
Pearls  as  wedding  gifts,  306  — 307 
Pearls,   Bibliography  of,   517-538 
Pearls,  Qualities  of  pcrtection  in, 

3^1,   33^*    344,    370-372 
Pearly  nautilus,  78 
Pear-shaped  pearls,  56,  349,  352, 

382,  456,  470 
Pecatonica  River,  Wisconsin,  262 
Pecten  yezocusis,  148 
Pedrarias,  236 
Peelers.  353 

Peeling  pearls,  58,  375-377 
Pegging  pearls,  388 
Pelly.  Sir  Lewis,  88 
Penang,  221 

Pendants,  404,  442,  474 
Pennant,  Thomas,  163 
Pennsylvania,   259,  261,  266 
Penrhyn,  189,   193 
PerazoUi,  A.,  143 
Percival,  Robert,  94,  104 
Periplus  of  the   Erythraean,   100 
Perlbach   River,   Bavaria,   171 
Perle  dolce,  343 
Perna,  155 
Peroz  Pearl,  450 
Persia,  5,  31,  85-99,  404 
Persian  Gulf,  65,  67,  85-99 
Perthshire,   Scotland,   165,   166 


546 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 


Peru,  238 

Peruvian   aristocracy,   433 
Petal  pearls,  352,  360 
Petrie,  George,  425 
Petrie,  William  F.,  403 
Phenicians,  319 

Philip  II  of  Spain,  431,  451,  452 
Philip  IV  of  Spain,  350 
Philippine  Commission,  217 
Philippine  Islands,  213,  217 
Philo,  9 

Philostratos,  28  5 
Pickett,  Albert  H.,  492 
Piebald  pearls.  60 
Piercing  pearls,  350.      See  Drill- 
ing pearls. 
Pigeons,  169 
Pigopitta,  213 
Pinna  nobilis,   155 
Pinna  pearls,  55.  75,  35' 

squamosa,  355 
Pirate  coast,  88,  89,  9' 
Pirningerbach,  Austria,   179 
Pisa,  24 
Placuna  pearls,  296,  310,   311. 

351 
Placuna  placenta,  45.   "6,   127. 

132,  148,  221,  355 
Plagiola  securis,  73 
Pleurobema  oesopus,  73 
Pliny,  3,  8,  9,  10,  11,  36,  38,  5S. 

8s,  159,  314.  31S.  4o6>  409.449 
Poland,  355 
Polishing  pearls,   377 
Polo,   Marco,    19,    100,   116,   310, 

357,  411,  414 
Pomare,   Queen,   192.   198 
Pompeiian  pearls,  409 
Pompey,  9 
Pooto,  China,  289 
Port  Darwin,  Australia,  205 
Port  Kennedy,  Australia,  205 
Porter  group  of  mounds,  490, 

498 
Porter,  Sir  Robert  Ker,  459 
Portuguese  East  Africa,   156 
Portuguese  Order  of  Christ,  439 
Pottier,  M.,  407 
Powder  pearls,  344.  345 
Powhatan,  486,  487 
Prague,  416,  423,  434,  455 
Prague,   Association   of  Jewelers 

and  Goldsmiths  of,   327 
Prairie  du  Chien,  Wis.,  262,  272, 

275.  276 
Prince  Edward  Island,  Canada, 

281 
Procopius,  II,  450 
Prussian  regalia,  420 
Ptolemy,  85 

Putnam,  F.  W.,  485.  49°.  498 
Puton,  Ernest,  169 

Quackenbush,  Jacob,  260 
Quadrula  ebena,  72 

heros,  74 

plicata,  72 
•    undulata,  72 

wardi,  73 
Quahog,  77 
Quebec,  Canada,  281 
Queen  Mary  Pearl,  27  s 
Queen  Pearl,  260,  465 
Queensland,  Australia,  199,  206 
Queiss  River,  Prussia,   176 
Quelpaerd   Island,    149 

Ramayana,  4 

Randell  &  Bridge,  417 

Ratnagiri,  India,  132 


Rau,  Charles,  494 

Ran,  Sebaldus,  95 

Rawlinson,  Sir  Henry,  6 

Read,     Charles  Hercules,  405,  510 

Reaumur,  40 

Reccesvinthus,  Crown  of,   16, 

415-416 
Redding,  Sir  Robert,  162 
Red  Sea,  31,  67,  69,  139-144, 

285 
Reed  River,  Florida,  256,  257 
Regalia,  418  —  420,  443,  460,  473 
Regen    River,    Bavaria,    172 
Regulation  of  fishery,  193,   197, 

204,  211,  218,  277 
Renaudot,   18 
Reues,  Francis,   169 
Rhode  Island,  259 
Rhodesia  Museum,  513 
Ribeiro,  Joano,  94 
Richard  II,  22 
Rigveda,  4 

Ring-a-round   pearls,    56,    353 
Rings  with  pearls,  438,  442 
Robinson,  Edward,  12,  405 
Rock  Island,  111.,  271 
Rock  River,  262,  274 
Rogkerus.     See  Rugerus. 
Rome,  Georgia,  267 
Rome,  Pearls  in  ancient,  8,  9, 

12,  320,  406  —  410 
Rondelet,  Gulielm,  40 
Resales,  Manuel  Laudecta,  233 
Rosaries,  413 
Rosenberg  Palace,  Copenhagen, 

59.  476 
Rosengarten  Museum,  Constance, 

512 
Rosnel,   Pierre  de,   306,   338 
Rotschildt,  Don  A.  de,  437 
Round  pearls,  352,  470 
Royal  fifth,  243,  244 
Rubies,   79,   330,  371,  392,  412, 

417.   439 
Riickert,  Friedrich,  35 
Rudolph  II,  24,  455,  473 
Rugerus,  381,  423 
Rundell,  Bridge  &  Rundell,  233 
Rupprecht,  Prince,  302 
Russia,  463 
Russian  Jewesses,  184 
Russian  Treasury  at  Moscow,  414 
Rymsdyck,  J.  &  A.  van,  342,  371 

Saddle  decorations,  360,  444 
Sadi,  Shaikh,  37 
Safe-guarding  pearls,    357,    399, 

400 
Sahayun,  Bernadino  de,  433 
St.  Augustine,  304 
St.  Barbara,  435 
St.  Denis,  Paris,  425,  429,  430 
St.  Domingo,  Lima,  432 
St.  Edward's  crown,  418 
St.  Francis  River,  Ark.,  263,  264 
St.  Francisville,  111.,  276 
St.  Jerome,  10 
St.  Ludmilla,  417 
St.  Margaret  ,T2theling,  305 
St.  Margaret  of  Antioch,  305 
St.  Petersburg,  462 
St.   Stephen's  crown,  416 
Sainte  Chapelle,  Paris,  425.  427 
Sales  of  pearls,  477-481 
Salisbury,  England,  490 
Sand  shells,  73 
Sandius,  Christopher,  39 
San  Jose  Island,  Mexico,  248 
San  Jose  Island,  Panama,  239 
San  Miguel,  Panama,  239 


San  Vitale,  Ravenna,  15 
Sanskrit  literature.   4,  36 
Santa   Barbara,    Cal.,   280,   281 
Santo  Domingo,   Mexico,  434 
Santos,  Joao  dos,  153 
Sapphire,   371,  412,  439 
Satsuma.  Japan,  147 
Saumaise,  Claude  de,  9 
Savannah    River,    253,   452,    493, 

495 
Saville,  H.  M.,  282 
Saxony,   Fisheries  of,    173—175 
Scaphander,   137,    171,    ig6,  203, 

234,  240,  247,  282 
Scarf  pins,  443 
Scharding,  Austria,  179 
Scharff,  R.  P.,  425 
Schleswig-Holstein,    178 
Schmerler  family,    174,    177,    178 
Schulz,  Aurel,  154 
Schuylkill  River,  Penn.,  266,  267 
Schwarzbach  River,   Russia,   183 
Schwarzenberg,  Count,   178,  434 
Schwarzenberg  family,    178 
Schwesnitz  River,  Bavaria,   171 
Scioto  River,  Ohio,  491,  506 
Scioto  Valley,  Ohio,  489 
Scotch  pearls,   17,  160—164,  167, 

319.   343.  427.  464 
Scotland,   17,   160—167 
Scott,  Sir  Walter,  35,  305,  419 
Scriptural  references,  6,  7,  449 
Season,   Fishery,  89,    109,   114, 

141,  206,  240,  24'6.  250,  271,  277 
Seed-pearls,  18,  56,124,221,273, 
■  309.   337.   342,   352.  391 
Seed-pearl  jewelry,  390  —  392 
Selangs,    134,    139 
Selling  pearls,  276,   356,  361 
Seneca,  10 

Sermonata,  Duchess  of,  439 
Servia,  304 

Servilia  pearl,   10,  449 
Setting  pearls,  384,   388,  389,  393 
Seugne  River,  France,  171 
Seurat,  L.  G.,  44 
Seven  Sisters  of  Sleep,  310 
Shabl  Abdullah,   306 
Shah  Jehan,  458 
Shah's  pearls  in  1820,  459 
Shah's  tippet,  459 
Shakspere,  35,  122,  314,  319 
Shark  charmers,   115,   116 
Sharks,  117,  138,  144.  208,  249 
Shark's  Bay,  Australia,  57,  60, 

70,  200,  211,  468 
Shelley,  P.  C.,  212,  278 
Shell-heaps,  492 
Shells,  Commercial  varieties,  69, 

70,  72,  73,  124,   141,  143.  221 
Shells,  Product  of,  80,  99 
Shells,  Sweet-water,  264 
Shepaug  River,  Conn.,  266 
Shrine  of  St.   Patrick's  Gospels, 

424 
Shuangtze,  302 
Shu  King,  5 
Siam,  Gulf  of,  149 
Siamese  decoration,  439 
Sibbald,  Robert,  161 
Siberia,  Fisheries  of,  147 
Sieves  (peddi)  for  pearls,  344 
Silesia,  Germany,  175 
Silk  threads  for  pearls,  387 
Silva-Tierra,  Father,  242 
Simmonds,  Vane,  291 
Simpson,  James  J.,  155 
Sinaloa,   Mexico,  244,  248 
Singapore,   135.   '49.   220 
Size  of  pearls,   328,  344 


INDEX 


547 


Slaney  River,  Ireland,  162 
Slugs,   272,   275,   352,   360 
Smith,  Captain  John,  486 
Smith,  Charles  Roach,  414 
Smith,  Harlan  I.,  492 
Smith,  Sir  J.  E.,  287 
Smithsonian   Institution,  490 
Smitliville,    Tenn.,   263,   276 
Snail  shell,   i39f  148 
Snyder,  J.   F.,  509 
Sofala,  Africa,   106,   153 
Sokotra  Islands,  142 
Solomon,  301 
Solubility  of  pearls,  55 
Sonnapore  mussels,  132 
Sonora,    Mexico,    241,    244,    245, 

248,  251 
Sorting  pearls,  3S5 
Soto,  Hernando  de,  253,  255,  452 
Sources  of  pearls,  65  —  81 
Sourindro   Mohun   Tagore,   309 
South  America,   65,   282 
South  Carolina,  492 
Southern   Cross,   57,  466,  467 
South  Kensington   Museum,  464 
South  Sea  Islands,  29,  30,  189  — 

198 
Spain,  327,  355 
Spanish  crown  jewels,   452 
Spanisli  jewelry,  432 
Specific  gravity  of  pearls,  52 
Spenser,  Edmund,  161 
Spey  River,  Scotland,   164 
Spherical  pearls,  55,  56 
Springs,  Fresh-water,  96 
Squier,  E.  George,  485,  489,  490 
Stang-Alla    River,    France,    170 
Statistics  of  fisheries,  80,  88,  91, 

98,     100,     103,     105,     126,     136, 

143.  246 
Stavanger,  Norway,  180 
Stearns,  Frederick  E.,  279 
Steever,  E.  Z.,  468 
Steinbach  River,  Germany,   177 
Steir  River,  France,  170 
Stilicho  pearls,   12 
Stock-book  for  pearls,  324 
Stoddard,  C.  W..  194 
Strachey,  William,  487,  488 
Strawberry  pearls,  56,  353 
Streeter,    E.    W.,   214,    349.   390» 

465 
Stringing  pearls,  386  — 38S 
Strombus  gigas,  y-j,  278,  351 
Strozzi,   Philip,  436 
Structure  of  pearls,   51—55 
Stupefying  mollusks,  292 
Suakin,  Egypt,  140 
Sudbury   River,   Mass.,   265 
Suetonius,   10,   159 
Sugar  River,  Wisconsin,  262 
Sultan  of  Sulu,  215,  217,  220, 

35o»  468 
Sulu  Archipelago,  70,  213,  214  — 

220,  350,  46S 
Sumptuary  laws,   10,  25  — 28 
Susa  necklace,  386,  404,  405 
Sweden,  180,  286,  290 
Sweetness  of  pearls,  305 
Sydney,  Australia,  201 
Sydney  shell.  70 
Symphynota   complanata,    73 
Syracusan  coins,  409 
Syria,   Pearls  in  ancient,  386, 

406 
Syrian  pearl  merchants,  357 

Tabari,  411,  415 

Tablegrani  Lake,  Ceylon,  127 

Tacitus,    159 


Tahiti,  189,  190,  196,  290 
Talmud,  7  , 

Talomeco,  Temple  of,  254,  452 
Taoists,  302 

Tararequi  pearls,  236,  451 
Tariff  on  pearls,  362  —  369 
Tasso,  Torquato,   153 
Taunton,  Henry,  58,  202,  466 
Tavernier,  J.   B.,   56,  60,  87,  97, 

147,  172,  331,  412,  456 
Tavernier  pearls,  456  —  458 
Taylor  mound,  497 
Tay  River,   Scotland,   163,   164 
Tears,  Pearls  as,  35,  307  —  308 
Teheran,  Persia,  458,  459 
Teifashi,   Ahmad  ibn,   335 
Teith  River,  Scotland,   164 
Teixeira,  Pedro,  40,  103,  242 
Temple  of  Talomeco,  254,  452 
Tennessee,  262,  zd^^  276,  494 
Tennessee  River.  263.  494 
Tennyson,  Alfred,   305 
Terron,  Juan,   255 
Texas,  261,  262 
Theft   of   pearls,    1 18,    123,    210, 

212. 
Theodora,  Mosaic  of,  15 
Theophrastus,  8,  405 
Thiers  necklace,  398.  465 
Three-ridge  shells,  72 
Thursday  Island,  205,  207 
Thurston,  Edgar,  131 
Tiana,  Captain,  216 
Tiaras,  443 
Tiffany  &   Co.,   394 
Tiffany,  Charles  L.,  260,  276,  350 
Tiffany  Queen  Pearl,  260,  465 
Tomaco,  235 
Tonti,  505 

Top-shaped  pearls,   352 
Torres  Straits,  199,  201,  210,  211 
Transylvania,  432 
Treves,  Cathedral  of,  422 
Tridacna  gigas,   53,   76,   144,   296 
Triptych,   433 
Tritigonia  verrucosa,   "jz 
Troiza    Monastery,    Moscow,    424 
Tuamotu    Islands,    29,    i8g,    190. 

196,  198,  294 
Turbinella  rapa,  78 
Turbo  marmoratus,    139 
Turner  group  of  mounds,  490, 

499 
Turtleback  pearls,  56,  353,  360 
Tuticorin,    India,    128,    130 
Twynam,   Sir  William,   117 
Tyszkiewicz  statuette,  12 

Uelzen,  Germany,  176 
Uffizi,  Florence,   12,  407,  436 
Uhler,   P.  R.,  489 
Ulloa,  Antonio  de,   238 
Ulmann,  H.,  512 
Ungava,   Canada,   281 
Unio  complanata,  73,  265 

dahuricus,    75,    146 

littoralis,   51 1 

margaritifera,   513 

mongolicus,   75,    146 

sinuatus,   170 

verreauxi,  513 

virginianus,  494 
Unionidse,  72,  351 
Unios,  59,  72-74,  259,  261,  268 

272,  290,  291,  294 
United  States,  252  —  278,  291 
United  States  National  Museum 

290,  494 
University  of  Moscow,  59 
Unripe  pearls,  61 


Urim  and  Thummim,  412 
Uzaramo,  Africa,   154 

Vaca,  Cabeza  de,  256 

Values  of  pearls,  273,  274,  275, 
279,  281,  282,  329-349,  350. 
361,  470,  474 

method  of  computing,  331  — 
335.   346-348 

Van  Buren  pearls,  464 

Van  Dort,  K.,   149 

V^atican,  407 

Vaughan,   Rice,  338 

\^edas,  3,  4,  301 

Veerapandianpatanam,    130 

Vega,  Garcilasso  de  la,  253,  254, 
452 

Venezuela,  21,  31,  38,  70,  225  — 
235.  354.  457 

Venice,   24,  25-27,   320,   348 

Venus,  306.  467 

Venus  de  Medici,  407 

Venus  de  Milo,  40S 

Venus  Genetrix,  159,  407 

\^enus  mercenaria,   77,  488 

Venus  of  the  Pantheon,  407,  449 

Venus,  Statues  of,  10,  11 

Venus,  Temple  of,  9 

Vermont,  262 

Vernatti,  Sir  Philiberto,  94 

Verrazano,  Juan,  256 

Victor  Emanuel  II,  468 

Victoria,  Association  of  Manu- 
facturing Jewelers  of  the  Col- 
ony of,  Z27 

\'ictoria  crown,  417 

Victoria,    Princess,    438 

Victoria,  Queen,   163,   167,  425 

Vienna,  395,  472 

Vilshofen,  Finland,   290 

Vils  River,  Bavaria,   171 

Vincennes,  Indiana,  276 

Vinegar,  315 

Virgin  pearls,  308 

Virginia,  486,  488,  489 

ViteUius,   10 

Vladimir  crown,  417 

Vogtiand,  Saxony.  173 

Volga  River,  Russia,   181 

Vologne   River,   France,    169,   170 

Von   Middendorf,    184 

Vosges  mountains,   i6g 

Wabash  River,  264,  265 
Waddesden  collection,  59 
Wahibis  of  Pirate  Coast,  89 
Waistcoat  buttons,  443 
Waizkirchen,  179 
Waldheim,  G.   Fischer  de,  461 
Walk,  How  Unios,  74 
Walpole,  Horace,  454 
Walters,  Henry,  394 
Washington,   George,   438 
Washington,  State  of,  262 
Water-telescopes,    141,    194,    268, 

278 
Waynesville,  Ohio,  261 
Webster,  John,  307 
Wedding  gifts  of  pearls,  476 
Weighing   pearls,    321-329,    346 
Weights  of  pearls,   56,  251,   327, 

330,  481,  482 
Welker,  Landreth,  177 
Wellsted,  J.   R.,  88,  93.  142 
Wenkheim,  Countess,  434 
West  Indies,  278 
Westminster  Abbey,  454 
White  Cart  River,  Scotland,   161 
White  Main  River,  Germany,  176 
White  River,  Arkansas,  263,  264 


548  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PEARL 

Whitfield,  R.  P.,  512  World's  Columbian  Exposition,  Yellow  pearls,   97,   98,   212,   351, 

Whittier.'j.   G.,'2S2  490,500.501  354.377,468 

Wijayo,  King,  4  Worms,  Parasitical,  43-45  Youssoupoff,   Princess,  461,  462 

■Willoughby,  Charles  C,  486,488  Wottawa  River,  Austria,  178.  179  Y'than  River,  Scotland,   164 

Window-glass  shell,  76.      See  Wright,   Marie  Robinson,  511  Yucatan,  511 

Placuna.  Wyman,  Jeffries,  493  Yu  Shun   Yang,  290 

Wing  pearls,   352,   359  Wynne,  Sir  Richard,  161 

Wire  threads  for  pearls,  388  Zanzibar,  156 

Wisconsin,  262,  276  Xavier,  St.  Francis,  131  Zonaras,  450 

Wohlberedt,  O.,  173  X-ray  examination,  71  Zozima  pearl,  461,  462 

Women    as   fishermen,    149,    155,  Zwemer,  S.  M.,  35 

189,  264  Yaqui  Indians,  Mexico,  242,  243, 

Wordsworth,  Wm.,  305  246 


Date  Due 

'JHH  1  0  '^l 

^m  lag— mif 

1 

s 

riEr  1  Q 

1997 

UIlL  ■L<' 

Wvi 

Hi^bi 

6 

• 

Library  Bureau  Cat.  No.  1137 


',  n- 


6«»ffi 


...ajSI-— •■ 


Art  NK  7680  .  KS  1908 

Kunz,  George  Frederick. 
1856-1932. 

The  book  of  the  pearl