Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1889-10-11
MILLIONS IN DIAMONDS
WONDERFUL JEWELS THAT DCA
LIGHT THE PERSIAN MONARCH.
Throne Blazing With Gcms-Tho
par-c-Noor Diamond the Rival
Of tho Koliinour.

| - W. W. DcHJuulll WTltet us 1OftOWE
to the New York Herald describing a
visit made by him to the store house con-
tanning the vast accumulation of jewels
possessed by Nnsr-cd-Dccn, the Shah of
Persia:
When after months Of patient effort tho
writer finally succeeded in receiving an
Invitation to inspect the royal treasury
he was Immediately bcsicgcd by requests
of Europeans to permit them to accom-
pany himself and family, II request which
could only be granted sparingly. Twelvc
royal icranchcs or attendants in scarlet
livery, preceded us as wo went to tho
palace anil one of the high ministers of
tho realm was present To- receive W. and
exhibit the wealth of Persia.
| The Hall Of Audience or Treasury is n
superb apartment some $50 feet long and
sixty broad, paved with tho tiles for
which Persian art is famous, arranged I'M
elegant designs. The ceiling is vaultcdi
nnd decorated very deliberately in stucco,
IN art in which the Pcrsnns excel. The
treasures were arranged in cases about
the sides of the npnrtmcnt-liko bookcases
and in glass covered rcccptaclcs re-
scmbling showcases. The first objects to-
attract our attention were the chairs and
tables covered with beaten gold. There
were about forty Of the former, shaped
like an arm chnr, but differing from tho.
us'nl household furniture in being en-
tircy ovcrlnid with sheets Of gold nniled
on with gold fastcnings. These chairs,
we are told, are worth $1,000 each; thoy,
certainly are of great value, and 1850 ,000
does not seem IN exaggerated estimate
FOR the entire number. The tables wcro
about six feet long and were completely
covered with tho same precious material.
These snmptnous articles nro truly
Oriental i'll character, for from the earliest
times beaten gold Inns been IL favoritc
method of decoration in the Enst, and in
often mentioned in their poems and
tales.
IL was MI easy transition to pass from
examining these objects to M inspcction
of the famous Peacock Throne. This is
one of the most celebrated treasures of,
the East. Ages before Il wns acquired
by Persia il hnd world wide celebrity
IL stood i'll the audience hall Of the great
pnlacc or the Moguls nj Delhi, and was n
Invorito object for cliciting tho cnthusi.
asm and descriptive talents of Europcanl
travellers in lndin. 1nvcricr, himself a.
jcwclcr, well known both in Europe and,
Asn MS such, estimated its value Mt some,
twenty millions of dollars. Other experts
have valued this astonishing treasure AS
high ny S35, 900, 900, while some place
its worth under $l3, 900 900 It's namo
is derived from the form of the back,
which rndintcs like the tnil of II peacock,
each separate feather glittcring with tho
mntchlcss iridcsccncc of countless iewcls
| ,G r 1.
gold and the surface is II blaze Of gcE,s
arranged in intricate patterns, COM
bining to II common effect mosaic
whose splcndor hns never been mp
pronchcd, much less surpassed since the
dnys of Solomon or the stOricd mngnin-
ccncc of Bagdad when nj The zenith of
her glory and power. This bcwildcring;;
combination of tho wealth of Oriental,
mines and the skill of Oriental artists
was seized by Nndir Shah when he con
| qucrcd India at the head Of The armies of
Pcrsia carly in the seventeenth century.
After distributing spoil to the valuo of
$1,000 to each Of his soldiers he brought
home with him il is said treasures to the
value Of upward of one hundred millions.
of which tho Pencock Throne was tho
chief. Wherein the walls Of the Enst
differs from that Of Europe is its less
even distribution. II is concentrated in
the hands Of the monarch and few Of
the mobiles, and hence, while the country
may give m impression of poverty tho
court is always able to dnzzlc by pagcnntry,
and genuine treasures. =
On the seat of the Peacock Throne wns
II small box, covered with cloth of gold,
The key To this box, which is metal, is
retained by the Shah about his person,
except on the rare occasions when tho.
case is to be opened, when il is given to
the Lord Keeper of the Treasury, whose
head must answer for the result. Inside
of tho case is n silver caskct, of which tho
key is hidden in the royal library in q
box resembling book. Within the sill
vcr casket is one of gold, whose key is
kept by the Lord Keeper himself.
On this Occpsion the three KEYS wcro
Forthcoming and the Lord Keeper placing
the precious packet on his lap opened ono
case after another. When the golden lid
OF the inner was raised u splcndor like
the radiance of the sun burst forth and
we looked on the famous Dhr-i-Noor, or
Sea of Light. This is the great diamond
of Persia, one of the largest, most mag
niiiccnt and most costly gems in existence.
It's exact weight am unable to state,
but il approaches the size of the Kohl
moor diamond before that was cut down
to its present dimensions.
We were next shown Il case covered
foot deep with pearls, lying together in
heap like sand on the seashore. The
pearl fisheries of Persia have long boon
famous; the divers of Orymus and BAH
rein have rivalcd those of Ceylon in tho
treasures they have erected from tho
deep, and for ages pearls were more ac-
counted for Mt Ispahan than silver at Jcr-
usalem in Solomon's time. The supply
seems at present to be somewhat less ow1
ing to the fact that the divers each year
are forced to plunge farther down to find
the pearl system. But to judge from
tI,at Of ,aaa=ls 49,