Ashtabula weekly telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886, 1880-03-26
A Peep Into Royal Treasures.


The Hasne, or Imperial Treasury, of
Constantinople, contains a costly col
lection of ancient armor and coats of
mail worn by the Sultans. The most
remarkable is that of Sultan Murad H.,
the conqueror 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 three emeralds of the
purest water and large size, while the
collar is formed of twenty-five large and
magnificent diamonds.
In the same collection is a curious
ornament, in the shape of an elephant,
of massive gold, standing on pedestal
formed of enormous pearls placed side
by side. There is also table, thickly
inlaid with Oriental topazes, presented
by the Empress Catherine of Russia to
the Vizier Bsltadji Mustapha, together
with a very remarkable collection of
ancient costumes, trimmed with rare
furs, and literally covered with
precious 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 hum
dred drachmas. Children's cradles Of
solid gold, inlaid with precious stones;
vases of immense value in rock-crystal,
gold anu silver, incrusted with Tubies,
emeralds and diamonds; daggers,
swords and shields, beautifully wrought
and richly jeweled all tell a story of
ancient grandeur and wealth, when the
Ottoman power was reality, and
Western Europe trembled before the
descendant of the son of Amurath.
Notwithstanding these ieweled
riches of Turkey, however, they are
surpassed by the splendor of the Shah
of Persia's 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.
He is said to have had a tent made so
magnificent and costly as to appear al
most fabulous. The outside was COW
cred with fine scarlet broadcloth, the
| lining was of vsolet-colOred satin, on
which were presentations of all the
birds and beasts in the creation, with
trees and flowers; the whole made OF
pearls, diamonds. rubies, emeralds,
amethysts and other precious stones
and the tent-poles were decorated in
like manner. On both sides of the pea
cock throne was screen, ON which
were the figures of two angels in pre-
cious stones. ... ..
This splendid tent was displayed on
all festivals in the public hall at 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
iect may be mentioned; a two-fOOt
globe covered with jewels from the
north pole to the extremities of the
tripod on which the gemmed sphere il
placed. His Majesty had coats en-
broidered with diamonds and emeralds
rubies, pearls and garnets; he had jew
eled swords and daggers without mum
ber; 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 over
spreading sea to be of emeralds, anC
the kingdoms of the world to be distin
guished by jewels OF different color. :
Harper's Young People, j...I....U Ii .