gems, ancient gemology, early gemology, ancient mineralogy, early trade, Africa, Ophir, South Africa, gold, ivory

In publishing this detailed account of the explorations and researches that occupied me from 1896 to 1902, my aim is to demonstrate that the most ancient civilizations sourced their gold, ivory, and other precious goods from South Africa. My discoveries suggest that the biblical “Ophir” of Solomon’s time corresponds to the region between the Lower Zambesi and the Limpopo River, and they also support the view that the Egyptian “Punt” expeditions for gold, copper, frankincense, and other commodities were directed to the same area. To understand the evidence I present, the reader must accompany me from the Lower Zambesi to the Upper Pungwe, through Macombe’s country—likely the empire of the legendary Monomotapa of the sixteenth century—and then south to the Sabi River. Throughout this region, we encounter the ruins of an ancient gold-mining civilization and vestiges of Punic Baal-Ashera worship that survive to this day. I am confident that three to four thousand years ago, South Africa maintained regular contact with the Erythrean and Mediterranean worlds, forming part of a vast Punic trade network stretching from the Baltic and the Scilly Isles to the Canaries, from Malacca to Bulawayo, from Madagascar to Corsica, encompassing the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean, and the Atlantic. In presenting this theory, I acknowledge the many explorers and scholars whose work has laid the foundation for my conclusions—Karl Mauch, Theodore Bent and Mr. Swan, Dr. Eduard Glaser, Professor A. H. Keane, Messrs. Hall and Neal, among others mentioned herein—who have all helped to substantiate the South African Ophir theory. Finally, I feel it necessary to explain to a British readership why my focus shifted from German colonial activity in Central East Africa, which engaged me from 1884 to 1896, to this new quest in South Africa. It was not a voluntary departure from my previous work, nor one made lightly, but a path I was ultimately compelled to take. LT: Unreliable reference. Some interesting maps.

corundum, USA.12, North Carolina.12, Montana.12, gems

A comprehensive review of the precious-stone industry and important gemological developments during 1901, which Kunz describes as the most successful year yet in the history of the American trade. U.S. production was valued at $289,060, led by Montana sapphires, turquoise, rhodolite garnet, tourmaline, quartz, and other ornamental stones, while imports of diamonds and other precious stones reached about $22.8 million. Notable developments included a diamond from Lee County, Georgia; expanding sapphire mining at Yogo, Montana; an output of about 200,000 carats of rhodolite from Cowee Valley, North Carolina; colored tourmalines at Mesa Grande, California; chrysoprase near Visalia; new turquoise deposits in Colorado and Nevada and continued major production in New Mexico; large epidote crystals from Alaska; and a jade-like compact idocrase from California. Kunz gives detailed accounts of South African, Guianan, and Bornean diamond mining, Montana sapphire geology and recovery, American corundum deposits, the improving fortunes of the Burma Ruby Mines Company, emerald and beryl occurrences, garnet, quartz varieties, opal, turquoise, apatite, and other gem materials. He also discusses contemporary gem cutting and jewelry fashions and comments extensively on Chinese jade objects reaching Western markets following the looting associated with recent conflicts in China. The report concludes with statistical tables of U.S. precious-stone production from 1896–1901 and imports from 1867–1901.

corundum, sapphire, history.1, quality.10, gems

De Fornaro presents a short literary legend centered on Amrita and a sapphire, using the gemstone as a central element in a romantic and exotic tale. Rather than a scientific or gemological work, the story reflects contemporary cultural and symbolic associations of sapphire and is of interest to gemological bibliography as an example of the treatment of precious stones in popular literature at the beginning of the twentieth century.

corundum, ruby, legend and lore, gems

De Fornaro presents a short literary legend centered on Prince Tissa and a ruby, using the gemstone as a central element in a tale of royalty, desire, and fate. Rather than a scientific or gemological study, the work reflects the cultural and symbolic associations attached to ruby at the beginning of the twentieth century and is of interest chiefly as an example of the gemstone’s treatment in popular literature.

gems, jade, pyroxene jade, fei cui, Guatemala, Mesoamerica, Nicaragua, Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, archaeogemology

Sinkankas: One of the most valuable papers published in North America on jade and little known because of being embodied in a relatively obscure journal. Thomas Wilson commences with a review of all that was known of jade, its nomenclature, its sources, etc., from the earliest mentions that he could find in the literature, citing such authors as Pliny the Elder, Georgius Agricola, John Mandeville, Ulisse Aldrovandi and others, especially those who wrote of the jade of Mexico and the confusing terminology which was applied to green stones and therefore embracing nephrite, turquoise, and even emerald. The use of jades in Mexico is especially treated, and then, passing on to the jade of the Pacific Northwest & Alaska, we find a true bibliographical rarity indeed when Wilson states “No official report has been published [on Alaskan jade], but the following statement of the expedition, including the discovery of Jade Mountain, has been furnished me by Lieutenant-Commander George M. Stoney: … [p. 157–162].” In his account, Stoney tells of his travels in Alaska, his excursions up the Kobuk River, and his discovery of the deposits and collections of specimens, over a time span of three expeditions in 1881, 1883, and 1885–1886. For another account by Stoney, see elsewhere under his own name. Wilson then passes on to a discussion of nephrite and jadeite, then other places where nephrite occurs in Canada, citing George Mercer Dawson in this regard. From p. 171, Wilson now compares the two jades, their occurrences in Europe, the findings of Auguste Damour and Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, mineralogical composition, with a plate of thin-section photographs, and the great Jade Question or “Migration” as Wilson captions this section. An invaluable work which must be consulted by anyone researching the jades of the Western Hemisphere.

gems, jade, amphibole jade, nephrite, pyroxene jade, jadeite, fei cui

Daly presents an experimental comparative study of etch figures produced on amphiboles and pyroxenes, using the forms developed by chemical attack on crystal surfaces to investigate the internal symmetry and structural relationships of these closely related mineral groups. He examines etched surfaces on a range of amphibole and pyroxene species, recording the orientation, shape, symmetry, and distribution of the resulting microscopic figures on different crystallographic faces. By comparing these features with the crystallographic properties of the minerals, Daly explores similarities and differences within and between the two groups and considers the significance of etch figures for determining crystal symmetry, orientation, twinning, and structural relationships. The study demonstrates the usefulness of controlled chemical etching as a supplementary method of crystallographic investigation and contributes to the contemporary discussion of the close morphological and chemical relationships between amphiboles and pyroxenes. The paper is relevant to gemology through its treatment of mineral groups that include jade constituents such as tremolite and jadeite.

travel, India, Asia, gems

Foster’s edition of The Embassy of Sir Thomas Roe to the Court of the Great Mogul, 1615–1619 presents Roe’s journal and correspondence from his mission as ambassador of James I to the Mughal emperor Jahangir. The narrative records Roe’s travels in India, his experiences at the imperial court, negotiations concerning English commercial privileges, and his observations of Mughal government, ceremonies, society, and trade. Of particular gemological interest are his descriptions of Jahangir’s court and treasury, where precious stones, pearls, jeweled weapons, ornaments, and lavish imperial gifts figured prominently in displays of wealth and authority. Roe records exchanges of jewels and other valuables, comments on their appraisal and desirability, and provides firsthand evidence for the importance of gems within Mughal diplomatic and court culture. Foster supplements the seventeenth-century documents with an introduction and extensive notes identifying people, places, events, and historical circumstances, making the two-volume edition an important primary source for the study of Mughal India and its commerce in precious objects.

corundum, Burma.12, India.12, Thailand.12, England, Persia, gems

Ryley reconstructs the life and travels of Ralph Fitch, one of the earliest English merchants to journey extensively through India and Burma, placing Fitch’s own sixteenth-century narrative within a biographical and historical account of his companions and contemporaries. Fitch left England in 1583 and travelled through the eastern Mediterranean and Persian Gulf to India, visiting Portuguese Goa, the Mughal territories, Bengal, Pegu in Burma, and other commercial centers before returning to England in 1591. His observations provide early English evidence for Asian trade, commodities, cities, courts, religious practices, and commercial routes shortly before the foundation of the English East India Company. Of particular gemological interest, [172–173] describe Pegu and its commerce, including the trade in rubies, sapphires, and spinels and the importance of precious stones among the valuable commodities associated with Burma. Ryley supplements Fitch’s narrative with explanatory notes and historical material, making the volume a useful source for the early European history of the Burmese gemstone trade.

jade, nephrite, China, Xinjiang, Khotan, gems

Hedin’s Through Asia recounts his extensive travels of 1893–1897 through Russian Turkestan, the Pamirs, the Tarim Basin, the Taklamakan Desert, and adjoining regions of Chinese Central Asia. Combining travel narrative with geographical and scientific observation, he describes journeys through Kashgar, Yarkand, Khotan, and other Central Asian centers, hazardous desert crossings, exploration of rivers and lakes, mountain routes, settlements, peoples, trade, and political conditions. His observations provide detailed information on the geography and ethnography of regions then imperfectly known to Europeans. Of particular gemological interest are his visits to the Khotan region and references to its celebrated jade industry, including the recovery of nephrite from rivers and mountain deposits and its importance in local commerce and trade with China. The two volumes, extensively illustrated and supplied with maps, established Hedin as one of the foremost European explorers of Central Asia and provide valuable contemporary observations on the traditional jade-producing districts of Chinese Turkestan.

corundum, Laos.12, Vietnam.12, gems

Bel provides a firsthand survey of the mineral resources known in central Indochina in 1897, based largely on his scientific and industrial missions of 1893, 1895, and 1897. Of particular gemological interest is his account of the ruby and sapphire deposits of eastern Siam. In the Chantaboun massif, an English company had for several years worked the region’s precious stones, principally rubies with some sapphires; Bel states that the gems of Chantaboun were reported to be of mediocre quality, although he had not personally visited the deposits. [391–392] Near Luang Prabang, he reports additional precious-stone deposits, particularly sapphires, noting that Auguste Pavie had shown him fine specimens obtained following his mission in Upper Laos. [392] Bel concludes that the mountainous divide between the Menam and Mekong offered considerable scope for further exploration and might contain precious stones of good value. [392–393] Elsewhere he notes the possibility of gems in Cambodia, although the region remained unexplored. [394] The paper also gives extensive firsthand information on gold deposits and mining in Siam, Lower Laos, the Khas country, and Annam, together with occurrences of silver-bearing galena, copper, iron, coal, and tin, providing a valuable contemporary overview of mineral exploration in mainland Southeast Asia at the end of the nineteenth century. [384–407]