teen
diamonds and thirteen pearls, with a clasp of three small rubies, and
three large pearls with one large diamond in the center. The worth of
this necklace is given as 1923 florins ($5000).
The
jewels and ornamental objects rn this inventory are appraised at the
sum of 56,129 florins,—about $145,000,—equivalent to a much larger sum
to-day in consideration of the greater p'urchasing power of money in
the fifteenth century.
In
1480, during the reign of Louis XI, an inventory was made of the
objects preserved in the treasury of the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris.1 We select the following items from this inventory :
A
very beautiful cross, covered with gold, bearing on one side a crystal
reliquary which contained a piece of the True Cross. On supports
attached to the cross were images of the Virgin Mary and of St. John,
each holding a reliquary. The cross itself rested on a square
silver-gilt base bearing the images of the four evangelists. The
ornamentation consisted of fifty large Scotch pearls and 142 small
ones, intermixed with garnets and emeralds; there were also many
balas-rubies and sapphires of different sizes. The inventory says :
"The goldsmith Nicholas Roet declares that the stones are genuine and
that the pearls are from Scotland."
Another
gold cross, resting on a silver-gilt base which bore the arms of France
and Burgundy, was decorated with fourteen sapphires, twenty
balas-rubies, and twenty-four Scotch pearls. On the base were the
figures of St. Louis and of the queen, kneeling in prayer.
Still
another cross, covered with gold and of Venetian workmanship, bore
thirty-nine pearls, twenty-seven balas-rubies, and four sapphires. A
clasp attached to this cross was set with four large perforated pearls
surrounded by small emeralds and sapphires.
A
silver-gilt ornament, consisting of a golden image of St. Louis seated
on a silver throne and holding in his hand a reliquary decorated with
twelve pearls, six emeralds, and six Alexandrian rubies. The crown of
the image was set with four large oriental pearls, three balas-rubies,
etc.
An
ivory image of the Virgin Mary, supported by a silver-gilt base with
the arms of France. This base was borne by four lions. On the head of
the Virgin was a crown of gold adorned with eight large, round,
oriental pearls and four small ones, as well as four emeralds and four
balas-rubies. On the breast of the image was a very large, square
emerald.
A
splendid miter studded with good-sized pearls and decorated with
emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and balas-rubies. The pendants were
covered with seed-pearls and precious stones.
A
fine chasuble of Indian satin lined with crimson taffeta and covered
with lilies, .birds, unicorns, etc., embroidered in gold and pearls. It
was also adorned with small clusters of pearls and with two shields
bearing the arms of France and Navarre, quartered.
"Bibl. Nat. MS. Latin. 9941 (suppt. 1656), folio, parchment, 40 leaves.
