Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-07-09
A Peep Into Royal Treasures.

The Hasne, or imperial treasury of
Constantinople, contains costly col
lection of ancient armor and coats Of
mail worn by the su tans. The most,
remar kable " that of Sultan !Murad II. ;,
the c0pquerpr of Bagdad. The head
piece Of this suit is of gold and silver, ]
almost covered with precious stones |;
the diadem surrounding the turban is
composed of emeralds of the purest
water and large size, while the collar
is formed OF % large and magnificent
diamonds.
In the same collection is q curious
ornament in the shape of au elephant,
Of massive gold, standing on pedestal
formed of enormous pearls placed side
by side. There is also table thickly
inlaid by Oriental topazes, presented
by the Empress Catherine of Russia to
the Vizier Baltadji Mustapha, together
with very remarkable collection of
ancient costume, trimmed with rare
furs, and literally covered with pre-
cieus stones. The divans and cushions,
formerly in the throne-room of the
sultans, are gorgeous; the stuff of
which the cushions are made is pure
tissue of gold, without any mixture of
silk whatever, and is embroidered with
pearls, weighing about thirty six hun
dred drachmas. ChilIren's cradles of
solid gold, inlaid with precious stones;
vases of immense value in rock cry tal,
gold and silver, incrusted with rubies,
en1eralds and diamonds; daggers,
swords and shields, beautifully wrought
and richly jeweled-all tell story of
ancient grandeur and wealth, when the
Ottoman power was reality. and when
Western Europe tremblei before the
descendant of the son OF Amurath.
Notwithstanding these jeweled riches
OF Turkey, however, they are surpassed
by the splendor OF the Shah of Persia 8
treasury, the contents of which have
accumulated in successive periods.
Nadir Shah of Persia, in the first
half of the eighteenth century, amassed
enormous riches by the spoils Of war.
be is said to have had tent made 80
magnificent and costly as to appear al
most fabulous. The outside was COW
cred with fine scarlet broadcloth, the
lining was of violet-colored satin, on
which were representations of all the
birds and beasts in creation, with trees
and flowers, the whole made of pearls,
diamonds, rubies, emeralds, amethys SITS,
and other precious stones, and the tent
poles were covered in like manner. On
both sides of the peacock-throne was a
screen, on which were the figures of
two angels in precious stones.
This splendid tent was displayed on
all festivals in the public hall of Herat
during the remainder of Nadir Shah
reign.
It would be impossible to describe in
a short article the splendor of the Per-
sian treasury. One extraordinary OBJ
ject may be mentioned-a two-foot
globe covered with jewels, from the
north pole to the extremeties OF the
tripod on which the gemmed sphere
was placed. His majesty had coats en-.
broiC ere with diamonds and emeralds,
rubi. 8, pearls and garnets; he had jew
eled swords and daggers without num-
Der; so, because he did not know what
else to do with the rest of his jewels,
he ordered the globe to be constructed
and covered with gems, the overspread-
ing sea to be of emeralds, and the king
doms Of the world to be distinguished
by jewels of different color.-Ha,psr's
Young People.