As for Hungary, it has a mine whence opals 1 are obtained ; they are not found in any other place in the world.
Turquoise
occurs only in Persia, and it is obtained in two mines. One of them
which is called ' the old rock ' is three days' journey from Meshed
towards the north-west and close to a large town called Nichabourg ; 2
the other, which is called ' the new', is five days' journey from it.
These stones from the new are of an inferior blue, tending to white,
and are little esteemed, and one may purchase as many of them as he
likes at small cost. But for many years the King of Persia has
prohibited mining in ' the old rock ' for anyone but himself, because
there are no gold workers in the country except those who work in
thread, who are ignorant of the art of enamelling on gold, and without
knowledge of design and engraving, and he uses for the decoration of
swords, daggers, and other work, instead of enamel, these turquoises of
' the old rock' which are cut and arranged in patterns like flowers and
other figures which the jewellers make. This catches the eye and passes
as a laborious work, but it is wanting in design.
As for the emerald, it is an ancient error of many people to suppose that it was originally found in the East 3 [because
1 There are early references to the occurrence of opal in India, at Poona, Bijapur, and SItabaldi (Watt, Economic Diet., ii.
175), but Ball had never been able to identify any local source there.
Hungary still retains pre-eminence in this respect, but very beautiful
opals are now found in Australia.
1 Nishapur
in Meshed is the classic locality for the true turquoise. Its mode of
occurrence there will be found described in a paper by Mr. A. H.
Schindler published in the Records of the Geol. Survey of India, vol. xvii, 1884, p. 132. Vambery, Life, 290,
also describes these mines. Turquoise has been found in some other
places in Asia, as for instance in the province of Ferghana at Mount
Karumagar, 24 miles NE. of Khojend. It occurs there in veins in a
decomposed felspar porphyry. It is also found in South America. The
best account of the Nishapur mines is that of Lord Curzon (Persia, i.
264 ff.). He could find only inferior stones at Meshed, near Nishapur,
all the best being exported ; the poor stones are kept in damp
earthenware pots, until they are sold, when they turn to a sickly green
colour {ibid., i. 167, 267; Russian Central-Asia, H. Lansdell, 515).
*
Tavernier appears to have been wholly unaware of the true source of the
emerald in early times. Although common beryl is abundant in
n
G
