Chapter I: Front Matter

THE BOOK OF
THE PEARL

THE CZARINA OF RUSSIA
]

THE BOOK OF
THE PEARL
THE HISTORY, ART, SCIENCE, AND INDUSTRY OF THE QUEEN OF GEMS

BY
GEORGE FREDERICK KUNZ, A.M., Ph.D.
AND
CHARLES HUGH STEVENSON, LL.M., D.C.L.

Orient pearls fit for a queen
Will I give thy love to win,
And a shell to keep them in.
—_The Faithful Shepherdess (1611)_

NEW YORK
THE CENTURY CO.
1908

Copyright, 1908, by
THE CENTURY CO.

_Published October, 1908_

THE DE VINNE PRESS

TO

MARGARET, THE PEARL

AS A SLIGHT MARK OF APPRECIATION BY THE AUTHORS OF HER FATHER’S GENEROUS
ENCOURAGEMENT OF SCIENCE, ART, ENGINEERING, TECHNOLOGY, AND LITERATURE

------------------------------------------------------------------------

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 485
MOUNDS AND GRAVES

BIBLIOGRAPHY 517

INDEX 541

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

The Czarina of Russia _Frontispiece_

FACING PAGE

Ancient Chinese crown with pearls. Ancient Chinese pearl
rosary. Chinese priests keeping guard over the tombs
of the kings, in Mukden, where the crowns are
preserved 4

Grecian pearl and gold necklace 8

Front cover of Ashburnham manuscript of the Four Gospels 16

Francis I, King of France, 1494–1547. Isabelle de Valois 19

(From photographs by A. Giraudon)

Maria Theresa (1717–1780), Queen of Hungary 24

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

Lady Abinger. Mrs. Adair. Baroness de Forest. Hon. Mrs.
Renard Gréville. Marchioness of Lansdowne. Lady
Londonderry. Lady Wimborne 30

(From photographs, copyright by Lafayette, Ltd.,
London)

Venezuela shell. Panama shell 36

Shells from Venezuela with attached pearls. Exterior
view of same. X-ray photograph of shell, printed
through exterior of shell and showing encysted pearls 39

Mexican pearl-oyster with adherent pearl. Group of
encysted pearls in shell of Australian pearl-oyster.
Mexican pearl-oyster with encysted fish. Group of
encysted pearls (oriental). Reverse of same group,
showing outline of the individual pearls 42

Cross section of an irregular pearl, magnified 80
diameters. Cross sections of pearls, magnified 30
diameters. Thin section of mother-of-pearl, magnified,
showing sponge borings which traversed the pearl
shell. Structure of conch pearl produced by
fracturing, magnified 80 diameters 53

Pearls from common clam of eastern coast of America.
Pearl “nuggets” from the Mississippi Valley. Wing
pearls from the Mississippi Valley. Dog-tooth pearls
from the Mississippi Valley 55

Actual sizes of pearls from ⅛ grain to 160 grains 57

Brooches made of petal, dog-tooth, and wing pearls 58

Gray pearls in the possession of an American lady and
brooch from Tiffany & Co.’s exhibit, Paris Exposition,
1900 60

Shell of pearl-oyster with attached pearl 68

Pinna or wing shell. Pearl-oyster of Ceylon 72

Shell and pearls of the common conch 76

Cargo boat in pearl fishery of the Persian Gulf. Huts of
mats and palm leaves, the homes of the pearl fishermen
at Menamah, Bahrein Islands, Persian Gulf 87

Agha Mohammed (1666–1725). Shah Sulaiman (1647–1694) 88

Arab pearl-divers at work in the Persian Gulf 90

His Imperial Majesty, Mohammed Ali, Shah of Persia 94

The “Prince of Pearls”; the late Rana of Dholpur in his
pearl regalia 101

The late Maharajah of Patiala 108

Facsimiles of notices of pearl-fishing at
Marichchikadde, in English and Cingalese 110–111

Unloading oysters from the vessels into the kottus at
Marichchikadde, Ceylon. The pearling fleet on the
shore at Marichchikadde, Ceylon. Hindu workmen
preparing to drill pearls, Marichchikadde, Ceylon 115

Indian pearl merchants ready for business. Children of
Persian pearl dealers 120

Street scene in Marichchikadde, the pearling camp of
Ceylon. Return of the fleet from the pearl reefs to
Marichchikadde, Ceylon 126

Pearls presented by the Imam of Muscat to President Van
Buren 131

Necklace and earrings from the treasury of the Emir of
Bohkara 136

Carved “Jerusalem Shell” from the Red Sea 142

Cap of State, from looting of summer palace, Pekin, in
1860 145

Fishing for the awabi (abalone) shells at Wada-no-hara,
Japan 148

(From “The Burlington Art Magazine”)

Old print showing four methods of catching pearl-bearing
mollusks 160

Madame Norischkine née Straudman. Duchesse Elizabeth
(Constantin).
(From a photograph by Ch. Bergamasco, St. Petersburg)
(From a photograph by A. Pasetti, St. Petersburg)
Daughter of General Sobelieff, first Countess
Beauharnais 163

Scotch pearl rivers 167

Great Cameo Pearl 170

Dowager Czarina of Russia. Grand Duchess Vladimir.
(From a photograph by Ch. Bergamasco, St. Petersburg)
Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna 174

Miter of Patriarch Nikon 176

Panagia or ornament worn on the breast of a bishop in
Russia 180

Russian Boyard ladies of the seventeenth century,
showing caps and other ornaments of pearls 184

Pearl-divers of the Tuamotu Archipelago. Settlement of
pearl fishermen at Hiqueru, Tuamotu Archipelago 197

Pearling boats at Hiqueru, Tuamotu Archipelago.
Australian pearl-diver (armored) coming up from the
depths 204

Opening pearl-oysters and searching for pearls, off the
coast of Australia. Grading, weighing, and packing
mother-of-pearl, off the coast of Australia 213

Moro boats, used among the pearl islands of the Malay
Archipelago. Raft used for pearl-fishing in the Malay
Archipelago 216

Pearling village, with youthful fishermen, Sulu Islands.
Japanese diver in Dutch East Indies, come up to “blow”
for a few minutes 220

Gray pearls from Lower California, and diamonds 228

Clara Eugenia, daughter of Philip II 237

The Adams gold vase 248

Negro pearling camp, on bank of an Arkansas river. Group
of Arkansas pearl fishermen 254

Brooch, Renaissance style, set with baroque pearls, from
American streams 259

Brooches and rings of fresh-water pearls from Wisconsin
and Tennessee 262

Pearl-bearing unios 266

Pearling scene on White River, Arkansas. Pearling camp
on upper Mississippi River 270

The evolution of buttons, made from Mississippi shells 275

Necklace of fresh-water pearls 276

Shell of pearl-bearing abalone 280

Shell of _Dipsas plicatus_, with attached metal figures
of Buddha coated with nacre. Shell of _Dipsas
plicatus_, with attached porcelain beads coated with
nacre 286

Artificial rearing-ponds for the development of
pearl-oysters on the Island of Espiritŭ Santo, Gulf of
California. Trays containing small pearl-oysters
prepared for placing at the bottom of artificial
rearing-ponds 291

Japanese legend of the dragon and the pearl, idealized
in Jade 302

Russian eikon of the Madonna 312

Pectoral cross of Constantine IX, Monomachus (1000–1054
A.D.) 321

Great pearl necklace of the French crown jewels 332

The Siamese Prince in full regalia 336

Half-pearls: lots of three different sizes. Brooch of
half-pearls and onyx, United States, 1860 343

Pearl nose rings, Baroda, India. East Indian earring of
strings of pearls and table diamonds. Grape pendants.
Oriental pearls 345

Necklace containing 126,000 seed-pearls, Louis XVI
period 346

Seed-pearls and gold; Chinese ornaments of the
nineteenth century. Complete set of seed-pearl jewelry
in original case 357

Persian princess and ladies in waiting 364

Facsimiles of the title-page and last leaf of an
enactment abolishing duty on pearls, English
Parliament, 1732 368

Pearl drilling 376

Pearl stringing 383

Necklace of seed-pearls, United States, Civil War period 389

Mother-of-pearl shell from Tahiti 390

Ladies’ sewing case and scissors inlaid with
half-pearls; watches incrusted with half-pearls;
snuff-box, ivory inlaid with fresh-water pearls;
miniature surrounded by half-pearls 395

Evolution of a seed-pearl brooch. Seed-pearls, Indian
strings. White horsehair for stringing 396

Facsimile of letter of M. Gaston Mogeaud, Director of
the Louvre 398

Madame Thiers’s pearl necklace, bequeathed to the Louvre
Museum, Paris 398

(From a photograph by A. Giraudon)

Antique ornaments of pearls 404

Tyszkiewizc bronze statuette of Aphrodite 407

Pearl earrings from Herculaneum and Pompeii 408

Antique pearl ornaments 410

East Indian necklace of pearls, table diamonds, glass
beads, gold and enamel 413

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

(From a photograph by A. Giraudon)

Her Majesty, Queen Alexandra of Great Britain and
Ireland, Empress of India 418

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

Crown of St. Edward 424

(From “The English Regalia,” published by Kegan Paul,
Trench, Trübner & Company, Ltd., London)

The Empress Dowager of China 431

Pearl ornaments of the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries 434

Margherita, Dowager Queen of Italy 439

Collection of black pearls belonging to an American lady 440

Señora Carmen Romero Rubio de Diaz, wife of President
Porfirio Diaz of Mexico 442

(From a photograph by Valleto & Co., Mexico)

Jade jar inlaid with pearls set with fine gold. Japanese
decoration set with pearls 444

Gaikwar of Baroda, 1908 450

Mary, Queen of Scots 453

(From “Portraits and Jewels of Mary Stuart,” published
by James MacLehose and Sons, Glasgow)

Queen Elizabeth of England. Elizabeth of France 456

Pearl carpet or shawl of the Gaikwar of Baroda 460

The Hope pearl. Weighs 1800 grains 463

Her Grace, the Duchess of Marlborough 465

(From a photograph by Lafayette, Ltd., London)

The Madame Nordica collection of colored pearls 468

Grand pearl diadem of the French crown jewels 471

The Imperial Austrian crown 472

The Great Sévigné of the French crown jewels 474

Madame Nordica 476

Mrs. George J. Gould 480

Fresh-water pearls from Hopewell group of mounds, Ross
County, Ohio 499

Fresh-water pearls from Hopewell group of mounds, Ross
County, Ohio 510

MAPS

PAGE

The pearling regions in Ceylon and British India 129

Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, the pearling center of the
world 140

The pearling regions in Oceania and Malaysia 191

Venezuela and Panama, the principal pearling regions of
South America 227

Gulf of California and the pearling territory of western
Mexico 243