of
the Romans possessing themselves of Asia and Africa. Then it was, as we
all know, that the lavish use of precious stones, under Imperial rule,
grew to be such an abuse that it was needful to frame laws curtailing
that luxury, which was fatally contributing to the decline of a great
empire.
Even
under Constantino and his successors the technical acquaintance with
the gems had scarcely improved, but they were better manipulated and
more extensively applied.
A
more reliable supply of gems bad created increased familiarity with
their general characteristics, and led onwards, by successive steps, to
the assiduous attempts which were made during the Christian era to
satisfactorily deal with the diamond as a finished gem.
At
last, in the early part of the 15th century, this desideratum was
accomÂplished. Diamond cutting may then be said to have inaugurated a
great industry, while the real foundation had been thereby established
for the application of finished gems, manufactured, if you approve of
that term, out of the rough material, in something approaching the
perfect development of today.
Before
approaching the subject of the modern applications of the gems, it
seems proper that some reference should be made to the general history
of the ruling varieties which, in all ages, have constituted the staple
commerce in precious stones. I refer, naturally, to the diamond, the
ruby, the emerald, and the sapphire.
The
so-called diamond of the Septuagint was no doubt the jasper. This may
be the more readily conceded, practice having taught us that the
diamond of Aaron's breastplate could not have been the diamond of our
time, inasmuch as it was engraved. The engraving of the diamond, then
absolutely unknown, is even in these days a necessarily imperfect
process, savouring more of the abrasion of a gem than of its legitimate
manipulation. Diamond engraving should be stigmatised as the
unprofitable accomplishment of the ruin of a gem, which, unlike its
fellows, depends jolely upon its unrivalled lustre, and should be
condemned with all other misapplications of skill.
The
diamond is deservedly the foremost of the gems. My subject being that
of application, I cannot too soon remind you of the commencement of its
general employment as a finished gem in France during the first quarter
of the 15th century. The use of the diamond continued with unabated
extravagance throughout the succeeding reigns of the French kings,
especially that of Francis T., who not only encouraged its production,
but the art of applying it to personal ornament.
All
of us can feel how powerful an impetus was given to the art of the
goldsmith when men like. Cellini were welcomed to the courts of great
monarchs, and there treated with friendship and liberality; neither is
it difficult to ascribe a reason for the rapid spread of the jeweller's
arts of Italy and France to the other countries of Europe, once the
great example of their protection had been set by monarchs.
I
pause for one moment to reflect upon the relative luxury which heralded
the employment of diamonds in the 15th century. When we consider that
in 1421 the revenue of England was under ^56,000 of our money, and that
of France apparently not in excess of that amount; when, in 1428, such
a reverse as that we experienced at Orleans was sufficient to cripple
our finances, striking the first blow at our power in that country, we
need not ask ourselves why the sumptuary laws were soon after
established.
We
need not wonder that the luxury of an Agnes Sorel, or a Duchesse
d'Etampes, could menace the resources of an entire dynasty,
inestimable, for all that, as we have found the art traditions of those
days.
Diamond
cutting was practised in Paris, to a small extent, in the early part of
the 15th century, but it is easy to perceive, from the specimens handed
down to us, how primitive was the result, as compared to the magnincen
manipulation of today.
