The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-05-31
THE JEWELS OF ROYALTY.
RARE sPEcIMENs COLLECTED NJ
THE WORLDS MONARCHs.

Fabulous Treasures OF the Or,e-tpi Cou-t-
-The Peacock Thron. Set with siiO. oOO-
600 worth Of Ge~m.-Famous Go,i~ctous
Made by ReiRninR Houses In Europe.
Large gems have always had a great charm
70 the Orientals. who have always paid moro
for them than the Europeans. The Orient
hides within her balously guarded palaces
many fine collections Of Jewels. The Nizam OF
Hyderabad owns the Victoria diamond. for
which he paid So. 600. 900. The Mnhaiajah OF
Tanjore is likewise possessed Of q rich store OF
gems. many OF them rare and curious. The
Maharajeh of Baroda paid 500. 900 for the l25-
carat Star OF the South. and also bought tho
225-carat pale yellow Do Beers diamond exhib-
tied at the 1889 EXPOSITION.
According to the testimony Of s. q. w Benja-
min. at one time United States Minister TO Per-
sia the late Shah had n very remarkable collec.
ton Of gems. estimated to be worth between
$40. 900, 900 and $4,000, 900, but 1t is almost
impossible to get reliable information about
them. so closely are they guarded. The same
may be said OF tho Sultanot TURKEYS collection.
valued at over 500 900.
when the English took possession Of tho
palace OF King Theebaw Mt Mandalay. Burmah,
they searched eagerly for the fabulous treas
ures which It was supposed this Oriental mon
arch possessed. They were doomed to disap-
pointment. Nothing of any special value was
lOuhusb III Jo"OiS hoAo1i "a ~ NUS
celianeous lot Of poor cmeralds and ruhios.
Many Of them were OF large size. but so inferior
in quality that the English rcgalia could not be
enriched BY adding any of them. so little are
they valued that they are now exhibited In
glass cases in the Indian Museum in London.
Many OF these Oriental collections. according
to Sir Edwin Arnold and other Oriental travel
lers, are kept in isolated rooms. Sometimes the
gems are wrapped III rags, or concealed In gin
{aHa ola hnxaa ap1 AutnS tlo. yrn a. pIo,ng
30 that even an intimate visitor may be IA guest
for weeks and only occasionally see a jewel. and
only when he has the entire confidence of his
host are the treasures shown one at n time.
or all tho costly wonders that the palace of
the Mogul Emperors at Delhi contained. the
most wonderful and the most costly was the
peacock throne. This was constructed during
the reign of Shah Jehan, and was the work OF
a Frenchman. Austin. of Bordeaux, who had
sought refuge at the Mogul's court 1t was
estimated that the value Of the throne was
G6,O O0.O 900 sterling. 1t stood in the centre of
the beautiful Hall OF Private Audience, and
was named after the figures of two peacocks
standing behind 1t, their tails being expanded.
and the whole so inlaid with sapphires. rubies.
emeralds, pearls. and other precious stones
of appropriate colors as to represent life.
The throne itself was six feet long by
four feet wide; 1t stood on six massive feet.
WhtNh WIN WIG oou q "a - ootiA va ih'htA
with rubies, emeralds. and diamonds. 1t was
surmounted by q canopy of gold supported by
twelve pillars. all richly emblazoned with costly
gems. and a fringe of pearls ornamented the
border OF the canopy. Between the two pea
cocks stood the figure of a parrot of ordinary
size, said to have been carved out of a single
emerald. On each side of the throne stood an
umbrella one of the Oriental emblems of
royalty. They were formed OF crimson velvet
thtrkIy apnhrotdarai and frfpDai uith p.orls
the handles. eight feet high, being of gold
studded with diamonds. 1t has been held that
the famous Kohinoor was one of the jewels
that ornamented the throne. and as this dia-
mond. now In possession OF Victoria. was owned
by Shah Jehan. the story may be true. When
Delhi was sack ed by the Persians under Nadir
Shah in 1879 the throne was plundered OF its
jewels. broken up and carried away, with $780,
900. 900 of loot. A block of white marble now
marks the spot whore IL once stood.
Catherine III. and Peter the Great of Russia
were lovers of precious stones, and collected
fine examples OF the jewellers art, which are
preserved. together with other precious relics In
the Kremlin In the Ouregens Palsts. at Moscow.
Here are thrones studded with. diamonds.
rubies. turquoises. pearls. emeralds, and sap
phires;. an orb containing q ruby weighing
thickly studded with gems. The jewels proper.
which are enclosed In cases. include workman
1 hand Ut Ken All sy master sszG hands. an" The r wesiab
OF gems used is amazing. Stones cut and uncut.
some OF the largest size, shine in these @resalia;
Catherine l.. made especiallyiio rher by order OF
Peter the Great. There are 2,aas DIAMONDS in
this crown, and over the brow is a magnificent
jewels worn BY the Empress, and Grand Ouch
Which SH belonged to Peter the nete Great s,UN I" state
passed. and her monarchs have been purchasing
continuously for three centuries, and never
's In France lnsse p Iouis XIV. and Louis XIV. took
particular interest in this subject. 1t was at the
great traveller. made his search. for gems in 50
MANY countries OF the world. and unearthed the
In 1857 the French crown jewels were sold at
public auction by order of the Government,
F IasIadcS ' all III a,'0 s%% Of iFa sSs M TasSf 1eG ia.
monds and many gems worn by the I'M;
Regent aS%s'e diamond Hs InS wa. Hm mot sold. This St and
hibi,ion in a case n tho Galerie d'Apollon, in
the Louvre. Probably the more luxurious and
nsliy possessed By Queen Mario de N diei..' it
is Of rock crystal. and the frame was OF polished
was but the inner frame, The outer one was
composed entirely OF precious stones, consisting
monds. Wien the inventory Of the crown dis-
monds was taken In 1901 by order OF the Ma.
at $50, 900 francs. ii is now in the Louvre.
The English royal collection has been a grad
ual growth. The present repository Of the Eng
lish regalia is the Tower of London. After the
execution Of Charles !. some Of the older Oh
restoration il was necessary to Reconstruct
many of them for the Kings coronation, Near
ttHSssn' the lns tims Of Y hsTie. d ii. re- FL ,u ahetrn S@ re-.
gala comprises two crowns. an orb, a sueptre
with a cross, a sceptre with a dove. n long
sceptre OF gold, a ring with a ruby, and several
minor articles.
The most conspicuous and valuable object In
tha CoIlarHinn iS fha mum nf nuaan NIstnria
made for her coronation in 1888. many of the
Jewels being OF great antiquity. In one Of the
crosses In front OF the crown Ia set the famous
ruby which belonged 10 the Black Prince. The
crown contains In all 2,7s3 diamonds. 257
pearls. 8 rubies, II sapphires. and IL emeralds,
In tho treasury OF tho imperial and royal
house OF Austria, at Vienna, are some remarka-
BILE specimens Of work In rock crystal, ewers,
~iagons. and tankards, nrnAmented and en-
gravnd with elaborate scenes and landscapes,
and set with enamel, gold. and precious stones.
These pieces were used at the coronation Of the
Austrian kinRs, or for their domestic SER