Chapter XXV: Section 6: of the Tariff Act, providing for a duty of 20 per cent. on (6)

At the time of the official inventory in 1791 the entire collection of pearls was estimated at about 1,000,000 francs ($200,000). The finest specimen in the collection was a splendid round pearl weighing 109¼ grains[522] 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 117¾ 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 separate round pearls which had constituted the necklace of the queen; they ranged in weight from 36 to 165½ 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 175½ and 205¼ grains, each valued at 20,000 francs ($4000), and seven others ranging in weight from 92½ 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 estimated 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 145¼ 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 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 round 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 perfection 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.

RECAPITULATION

Weight in grains Value
No. Average Total Francs U. S. currency
Round Pearls 1 109¼ 200,000 $40,000
3 79 238½ 29,000 5,800
11 77¼ 804½ 37,300 7,460
7 64½ 450½ 19,400 3,880
14 53¾ 753¼ 23,100 4,620
43 34½ 1488½ 16,100 3,220
Pear-shaped 2 115⅜ 230¾ 300,000 60,000
4 99¼ 397½ 64,000 12,800
6 163⅛ 978¾ 92,000 18,400
8 114¼ 914¼ 55,000 11,000
47 42¼ 1989¾ 24,600 4,920
Oval 3 27 290½ 42,000 8,400
9 72½ 654¼ 20,100 4,020
11 43 473¾ 5,000 1,000
Egg-shaped 1 145¼ 10,000 2,000
Irregular 12 39½ 475¼ 7,300 1,460
Button 1 198 15,000 3,000
6 66¼ 398 4,900 980
Baroque 4 37½ 150¾ 1,500 300
Strings 310 21⅞ 6778 29,400 5,880
——- ——— ——————— ——————— ————————
503 35⅜ 17,919¼ 995,700 $199,140

GRAND PEARL DIADEM OF THE FRENCH CROWN JEWELS

Containing 212 pearls weighing 2452 grains, and 1990 diamonds weighing
74 27–32 carats. Worn by the Empress Eugénie
]

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 principal 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 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 alternation. This ornament realized the sum of 30,000 francs ($6000). A large brooch of very elaborate and beautiful design, beside a number 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 Régente,” which was purchased in 1811 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 brilliants, 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 necklace 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 purchased for the sum of 90,200 francs ($18,040). The total amount realized 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 Eugénie.

Pearl parure of the crown jewels of France, worn by the Empress Eugénie, and sold at the Tuileries, May 12, 1887.

A diadem containing 212 pearls, weighing 2452 grains.

A coronet with 274 pearls, weighing 984 grains.

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 Régente.”

Two necklaces each consisting of forty-seven pearls, with an aggregate 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

Designation No. of pearls Aggregate weight Amount rec’d
grains francs

1 necklace 362 5,808 295,800

1 necklace 542 6,752 331,800

1 necklace 47 698 34,600

1 necklace 58 524 22,300

1 necklace 58 400 15,000

1 necklace 47 1,612 74,300

2 bracelets 202 2,000 90,200

1 large diadem 212 2,452 78,000

1 coronet 274 984 30,000

1 brooch 45 1,200 176,000

4 brooches 28 1,496 113,500

———— —————— ———-———-—

Total 1875 23,926 1,261,500

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.[523]

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:

Base
$2.50 $5.00 $7.50
15 pearls, 20.8 grains $16,224 $32,448 $48,672
2 56–grain pearls 15,680 31,360 47,040
——————— ——————— ———————
Total $31,904 $63,808 $95,712

THE IMPERIAL AUSTRIAN CROWN

Made by order of Emperor Rudolph II, in 1604
]

At the back of the crown there are eighteen pearls, weighing 180 grains. One of these has a weight of twenty-six grains; the remaining 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
1 pearl of 26 grains 1,690.00 3,380.00 5,070.00
——————— ——————— ———————
Total $5,177.55 $10,355.10 $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 respectively 960 and 840 grains; between these rows are pearls having a total 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

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 necklace has a diamond clasp of 14–1⁄32 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 averaging 11⅔ grains, have the following values:

Base
$2.50 $81,658.80
5.00 163,317.60
7.50 244,976.40

There is also a pendant of six pearls, weighing 300 grains and averaging fifty grains; these pearls are worth:

Base
$2.50 $37,500
5.00 75,000
7.50 112,500

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 weight 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 GREAT SÉVIGNÉ OF THE FRENCH CROWN JEWELS

Containing “The Regent Pearl,” weighing 337 grains, and four
pear-shaped pearls of 100 grains each; also 100 carats of diamonds
]

The total weight of the pearls in all these ornaments is 35,816 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: “Chuonradus 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 Hohenstaufen.[524] 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 Hôtel de Tirâz, 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 Palermo. The imperial mantle is of a brilliant purple and bears an inscription, embroidered in gold and pearls, stating that the garment was made in the royal manufactory in the year 1133. Two pearl-embroidered 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 Cœur de Lion had this design embroidered on his saddlecloths.[525]

A fine collection of large baroque pearls is preserved in the Grüne Gewölbe (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 (1665–1731), 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, bearing a representation of Hercules fighting with the Nemæan 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. Hercules 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 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 Señor Pepe, the court dwarf of Charles II 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 necklace 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 century 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 appearance 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 came from the Austrian crown jewel collection. None of them possessed 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.

MADAM NORDICA
]

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 coffee house, established in 1880; and in Paris, at the Hôtel 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 frequently do not neglect each other’s interests if private buyers are present. 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-à-brac, etc., but also the jewels. Sales of this kind are naturally calculated to attract not only the dealers, but also many rich collectors and connoisseurs, and as they are frequently widely advertised, and London 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 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 unusual 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 graduated 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 consisting 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 matching and
fineness of color; they are perhaps a century old. As may be
supposed, 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 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 ($11,250).
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 III. 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 pendant, 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 Mlle. Wanda de Boncza, at the Hôtel
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 Christie’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 10s.
($114,942), more than enough to cover all the obligations 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 105½ 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
pearls of fine quality, weighing 563½ 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 18–1⁄32
carats, and a drop-shaped pearl weighing 75¾ grains. The ornament
brought the sum of £2050 ($10,250).

A pearl necklace composed of 285 well-matched and graduated pearls
disposed 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 bringing £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 composed 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 appearance 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 contest the pearls were finally acquired
for the sum of £16,700 ($83,500). A 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.

Copyright, 1907, by Theo. C. Marceau, N. Y.

MRS. GEORGE J. GOULD
]

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 11, 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
Esterhazy. 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, 31 carats 124 grains

Oviedo Pearl, 26 carats

(probably the Morales or Pizarro Pearl) 104 grains

La Peregrina 134 grains

Charles II’s Pearl, (nearly equal to La Peregrina)

Morales and Pizarro Pearl, 26 carats 104 grains

Rudolph II’s Pearl, 30 carats 120 grains

Tavernier’s Pearls:

Shah Sofi’s Pearl (estimated) 500 grains

Imam of Muscat’s Pearl, 12–1⁄16 carats 48¼ grains

Shaista Khan Pearl, 55 carats 220 grains

Great Mogul’s Pearls:

Peacock Throne Pearl 200 grains

Two pear-shaped, one about 70 ratis 186.2 grains

Olive-shaped pearl (estimated) 125 grains

One button-shaped, 55–60 ratis 146.3–159.6 grains

One round pearl, 56 ratis (gift of the Shah
Abbas II) 148.9 grains

Round pearl (estimated)[526] 110 grains

Three yellowish pearls, 25–28 ratis 66.5–74.5 grains

One perfectly round pearl, 35½ ratis 94½ grains

Two perfectly shaped and equal, each 25¼ ratis 67.1 grains

La Reine des Perles 109¼ grains

Pearls of Maria Theresa’s Necklace (three) 92–100 grains

La Régente (now owned by Princess Yousoupoff) 337 grains

La Pellegrina 111½ grains

The Ynaffit, pear-shaped 143⅛ grains

Hope Pearl, drop-shaped baroque 1800 grains

Also in the Hope Collection:

Conical pearl 151 grains

Bouton pearl 124 grains

Oval pearl 94 grains

Roughly spherical pearl 89 grains

Acorn-shaped pearl 85 grains

Oval conch pearl 82¼ grains

Button-shaped conch pearl 77½ grains

Drop-shaped pearl 76½ grains

Pear-shaped Scotch pearl 34¾ grains

Van Buren Pearls:

Two, each about 30 grains

Also necklace 148 pearls 700 grains

Tiffany Queen Pearl, American 93 grains

Black bouton earring-pearl 88 grains

White bouton earring-pearl 93 grains

Bapst Pearls, two 113¼ and 113¾ grains

Round pearl of Paris Exposition of 1889 70 grains

Mme. Nordica’s Pearl (abalone) 175 grains

Great Bahama Conch Pearl 138¼ grains

The Queen Conch Pearl 90 grains

W. H. Moore’s Pearl (Arkansas pearl, brown) 122½ grains

Shark’s Bay Pearl, golden yellow 30½ grains

Rudolph II Crown Pearl, 26 carats 104 grains

Carlotta’s Pearl, pear-shaped 84 grains

Marquis of Anglesey’s Pearl, drop-shaped 105½ grains

Black pear-shaped pearl (Lower California) 49 grains

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 comprised 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 employment 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 ascertaining 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 archæologists have investigated the finding and history of the pearls of the mound-builders of Ohio and Alabama, especially Squier 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 pamphlets (one of them, “Gems and Precious Stones of North America”).

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 except 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 decrepitated.

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. Captain 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 principally to topics relating to the Virginia Indians.[527] Among these articles 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 history 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 Virginia proper. To the greater chiefs, John Smith states that tribute was paid, consisting of “skinnes, beads, copper, pearle, deere, turkies, wild beasts and corne.”[528] Many other references in this article confirm 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 described, made usually of deerskin with the hair removed, and bordered with a fringe. These were often “couloured with some pretty work, ... beasts, fowle, tortayses, or such like imagery,”[529] or adorned with shells, white beads, copper ornaments, pearls, or the teeth of animals.[530] 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.[531]

With regard to such ornaments, Mr. Willoughby says (p. 71) that “the ears of both sexes were pierced with great holes, the women commonly having three in each ear, in which were hung strings of bones, shell, and copper beads, copper pendants, and other ornaments. Captain 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.[532] 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 common. 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.[533] 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.”[534]

“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 Hariot’s companions obtained from the Indians about five thousand pearls, from which a sufficient number of good quality and of uniform size were obtained to make a ‘fayre chaine, which for their likenesse and uniformitie in roundnesse, orientness and pidenesse of many excellent colours, with equalitie in greatnesse, were verie fayre and rare.’[535]

“Those who have examined the thousands of pearls from the Ohio mounds, to be mentioned later, can readily understand these conditions. 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 religious rites, curious and quite full accounts are given by Strachey, Smith, Hariot, and Beverley.[536] 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.[537] 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, copper, beads, and such trash sowed in a skynne.”[538] 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 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 workmanship.”[539]

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 circumstance, 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 appreciation 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. Outside 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 attracted much attention, and have been more or less explored at different times, with increasing care and thoroughness as archæological 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 structures 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 Valley,” issued by the Smithsonian Institution in 1848. This book and the “Correspondence” in regard to the mounds by the same writers, published in 1847, were the first works issued by the Smithsonian Institution.

According to Squier and Davis,[540] two quarts of pearls were originally 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 communication 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 examination, 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 archæology, 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 Archæology at Cambridge, and their results were exhibited at the Columbian Exposition 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. Moorehead and others, and particularly under the auspices of the Ohio State Archæological and Historical Society. The latest and most complete investigation was made for this society in 1903, by its curator, Prof. William C. Mills, in the Harness mound, seven miles north of Chillicothe, 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 now systematically examined down to the original surface at every point.

Squier and Davis divided these ancient monuments into four classes: (1) 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 significance; and (4) Anomalous mounds, including “mounds of observation” 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 development 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 points; and doubtless there are multitudes of such heaps that have never been observed. They are known as far north as Idaho, as communicated by Dr. Robert N. Bell, State mineralogist, and they extend still farther north, as noted by Dr. Harlan I. Smith, in his “Preliminary Notes on the Archæology of the Yakima Valley.”[541] 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.”