St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1888-10-06
PRECIOUS STONES
0el1tlAats worth Millions OwaeA hy Amori
eo0 C00nolaoO0fo.

PRECIOUS ST0NE4
| 0sulfaAts worth Millions OWoed By AMoei
eoa Coaaolse0are.
A regrettAble dispersion Of jewels
and precious stones took place ON May
IL and IA, 1886. when the famous col
lection formed BY the late Henry Phil
lip Hope, and exhibited at the South
kensingtOn Museum for many years,
was sold Mt auction The Hope collec.
tion included the sapphire merveilleaux
Of Nine. de Genlis' Tales Of the Cas-
tle;" the king Of candy's cats eye. the
largest known. having q diameter Of
an inch and . half; the Mexican sun
opal. carved with the head Of q Mexi.
can sur god. and historically known
since the sixteenth century; an enor.
nous pearl. tho largest known. weigh.
ing three ounces and two inches In
Length; :Ac sSaamarine sword hilt
made by Murat, King Of Naples. and
also many curious diamonds sap
phires, emeralds and several hum
dred unique and magnificent gema
Such q collection should be preserved
intact - . National possession. In
1885 it was decided by the French Al.
sembly that the crown jewels. with the
exception Of the famous Regent dia.
mond. two Of the mazarines. and q few
historic pieces reserved for the ma
ti0nal museums. should be sold at pub
lie auction. These exceptions were
made because It was feared that they
would fall into the hands Of the Amer.
leans. The sale Of this great historic
collection took place In May. 1887.
The 70 parcels were subdivided into
LAG lots. and there were 6 buyers. Il
Of whom bought over 1000. 900 francs
worth each. The largest lot. the great
corsage. which sold for 81. 900 francs.
was purchased by single American
firm. the largest buyer in tho sale
The purchase Of the firm amounted ts
$3.50. 900 francs, or about 81 per cent
Of the entire sum realized. while rs to
quality. the same firm obtained more
than two-thirds OF the finest gems.
Among them were the three mazar
ines; q pear-shaped rose brilliant.
weighing "a 27-S2 carats. for.
l28.OOO francs; pear-shaped
white brilliant. weighing 224 carats.
for $1,000 francs; . white brilliant.
weighing % ZIG carats. for l55.OOc
francs. and an oval brilliant. weigh
ing Is 1-S2 carats. for n. 200 francs. or
As. 900 francs for tho four. All but
one Of their purchases were secured
by private American customers. The
great interest attached to this sale was
due not only to the fact that many Of
the gems were Of very fine quality.
but also to their historic associations.
The history Of many OF them could be
traced back several hundred years. In
its way this sale did moro than any
thing that had before occurred to es-
tablish . reputation abroad for Ameri.
can taste. wealth and enterprise. The
collection of antique gems. numbering
SSl pieces, formed by Rev. C. W.
King, Of Trinity College. England. the |
greatest Of al writer's on engraved |
gems. was sent to tho United States |
for sale In 1881. This collection |
represents the key stone and tho sum-
ming up Of Mr.. Kings vast knowledge.
and none has ever been moro thorough
ly studied. His numerous writings !
mark an epoch in the study Of this
branch Of archaeology. and only the
loss of his sight led him to part with
his treasures. The growing interest
and taste in archaeological matters in
the United States induced him to send
It here to be sold intact In October.
1881. through the friendly mediation Of
Mr.. Feuardent, it was purchased and
presented to the Metropolitan Museum
Of Art by Mr.. John Taylor johnson.
then president Of the museum. where
It has since reposed. Near it will be
placed the Somerville collection. Mr..
Virginian by birth, and
. gentleman Of fortune and artistic
tastes. while spending tho past thirty
two years Of his life in Europe, Asia
and Africa, has collected canoes, in
taglios. seals and other historical
gems; and, as q result OF his liberal
of time and money. he is
Today the owner of one Of the most
unique and valuable collections of en-
craven gems in the world. num-
bering over fifteen hundred spec
linens. including Egyptian. Per-
,ian. Babylonian, Etruscan. Greek.
Roman. Aztec and Mexican
glyptic or jewel-carving art AL Of
these are represented by specimens Of
singular excellence. afYording us q pam
oramic view Of the achievements Of
civilized men in this direction. OF
greater antiquity and archRologic
value, because representing a period
before gems were cut In the form Of
il the collection Of Rev. w.
Hayes Ward, consisting Of three hun
lred Babylonian. Persian and other
cylinders. Two hundred OF these no
himself collected in Babylon and its
and sold to the museum ut a
normal figure. Since that time he has
collected one hundred more cylinders.
Many Of them date from $500 h. c. to
700 B. c.. and are cut in lapis lazuli.
agate, carnelian. hematite, chalcedony,
Jasper, sard. etc.-N r. Press.
The Victim Of Conscience.
Il am in terror" sighed poor Nra
soodmother. ''every time I hear the
bell ring: I knOv I'll hear somoHhim0