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II
MEDIEVAL AND MODERN HISTORY OF PEARLS
I 'll set thee in a shower of gold, and hail Rich pearls upon thee.
Antony and Cleopatra, Act II, sc. 5.
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T
HE popularity of
pearls in Rome has its counterpart in the Empire of the East at
Byzantium or Constantinople on its development in wealth and luxury
after becoming the capital of that empire in 330 A.D. Owing to its
control of the trade between Asia and Europe, and the influence of
oriental taste and fashion, enormous collections were made; and for
centuries after Rome had been pillaged, this capital was the focus of
all the arts, and pearls were the favorite ornaments. The famous mosaic
in the sanctuary of San Vitale at Ravenna, shows Justinian (483-565)
with his head covered with a jeweled cap, and the Empress Theodora
wearing a tiara encircled by three rows of pearls, and strings of
pearls depend therefrom almost to the waist. In many instances the
decorations of the emperors excelled even those of the most profligate
of Roman rulers. An examination of the coins, from those of Arcadius in
395 to the last dribble of a long line of obscure rulers when the city
was captured and pillaged by Venetian and Latin adventurers in 1204,
shows in the form of diadems, collars, necklaces, etc., the great
quantity of pearls worn by them. The oldest existing crown in use at
the present time, the Hungarian crown of St. Stephen, which is radiant
with pearls, is of Byzantine workmanship.
Outside
of Constantinople, the demand and fashion for pearls did not cease with
the downfall of the Roman Empire and the spoliation of Rome in the
fifth century. The treasures accumulated there, and the gems and
jewels, were carried away by the conquering Goths and scattered among
the great territorial lords of western and northern Europe.
In
the ancient cities of Gaul, in Toulouse and Narbonne, the Ostrogoth
and the Visigoth kings collected enormous treasures. The citadel
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