Moses,
under whose rule we know them to have been used, whatever may be the
controversy as to their form and nomenclature, as priestly adornments.
The
breastplate of Aaron may be considered as a species of regalia,
illustrating, as Crown jewels do, priceless possessions, beyond the
purchase of individuals.
For
identical reasons, the greatest interest must attach to the accession
of Constantine, whose crown is accepted as the earliest instance of the
jewelling of the chief symbol of empire.
From
that time forward, we note the everdeveloping luxury in the regalia of
all civilised and indeed many half-civilised nations, and we may
thereby admit the fact that so far, throughout successive centuries,
the Crown jewels of European nations have furnished the chief outlet
for gems of abnormal size and value. By the same token, barbaric
nations have absorbed into their regalia gems of corresponding
importance in their more primitive forms.
Again,
archaeologically speaking, nothing should surpass our interest in the
engraved signets of Greece, at the remote period of 600 years before
Christ, as well as, even at that early age, the production in rude form
of some of the nobler gems, such as rubies and sapphires, besides those
others which, from their inferior hardness, are classed to-day under
the semi-precious category, as for example amethyst, chrysolite, coral,
amber, and opal.
Before
abandoning the subject of early engraved gems, my own experience impels
me to deny, in common with Lessing and other authorities, the existence
of any admitted engraved gem of the early Greek period cut in a .true
ruby, for the simple reason that this finest quality of corundum cannot
be satisfactorily incised by means of the punctual lapidis of
the ancient engravers, which was nothing more than a lower formation of
sapphire, of white or pale blue colour, said to have been found in the
Island of Cyprus and imported into Greece under the name of adamas, for
the primary purpose of gem engraving.
The punctual lapidis efficiently
engraved the many gems of inferior hardness to itself, such as banded
agates, sards, jasper, and the like, as well as the softer pellucid
gems, as, for example, garnets, chrysolites, and formations of quartz.
It
will easily be conceded that the diamond, if known at all in Pliny's
time, was neither susceptible of manipulation by any art of cutting
then existing, nor was it, in its crystallised form, applicable to the
extensive intaglio engraving which the Greeks are known to have
conducted. Without absolutely denj'ing the treatment of the commoner
qualities of sapphire by such a process in the earlier period, I
should, with Mr. King, regard with extreme suspicion an incised work in
fine sapphire ascribed to that age.
In
support of my view, the ancient Greeks are known to have employed for
ornament the true sapphire (Hyacinthus) in most cases, not only uncut,
but barely shaped and crudely polished on the upper side only.
The
two renowned gems, cut in sapphire, which once graced the Marlborough
collection, belong to a later period, when the diamond was known as an
incisor, the one being a portrait of Caracalla, a.d. 211,
executed during the six years of his reign, and the other a head of
Medusa, which conveys to me the impression of having been cut with the
diamond. Both these gems possess the brilliant finish which only the
diamond can impart.
Extravagant
use was made of the gems and precious metals in Solomon's time, both in
the secular cause and that of the magnificence of the temples acid the
priests. The gems, which had been more of mysteries than merchandise,
were, in advance of the times, gradually becoming objects of commerce.
Large
application was made of precious stones during the reign of Alexander,
especially those of Indian origin, the r,;e of which was no doubt
prompted by the more educated craftsmen who followed in his wake
through Eastern dominions.
The
anxious student, desirous of tracing back to early sources the
application of precious gems, fmds himself continually checked by the
utter ignorance of their technology which prevailed frum the time of Moses to far beyond the time
