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462 THE BOOK OF THE PEARL
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La Pellegrina. For
nearly a century there has been in Russia one of the most lovely pearls
in the world ; this is La Pellegrina, formerly owned by the Zozima
brothers of Moscow, who were antiquarians of note in St. Petersburg. In
1818 a small book of forty-eight pages was written about this beautiful
gem by G. Fischer de Waldheim, vice-president of the Imperial
Medico-Chirurgical Academy, probably the only book ever devoted to a
single pearl. According to this writer, La Pellegrina was purchased at
Leghorn by one of the Zozima brothers from an English admiral who had
just returned from India. It combines all the requisites of perfection
: it is absolutely spherical and has never been pierced ; its luster,
its silvery sheen, make it appear almost 'transparent, and for a pearl
of this high grade, it is of remarkable size, weighing 1113^2 grains.
The
Zozima brothers retained it in a sea-urchin shell mounted in gold and
with a convex lens as cover; this was contained in a silver box, and
this in turn in another box studded with gems. Although the lens
enlarged the appearance of the pearl, it detracted from its beautiful
form, giving it an oval shape. But when removed from the triple
inclosure, it rolled about like a globule of quicksilver, and
surpassed that metal in whiteness and brilliancy.
Everything
that is beautiful and perfect takes such possession of the beholder
that words become insufficient to express his feelings ; and that is
what happened to me in the case of La Pellegrina of Zozima. One must
have seen an object of this kind in order to appreciate the impression
it makes. As an evidence of this, I shall note the last visit which I
made to the owner in company with several distinguished persons.
After
having examined many curious medals and coins, and also some pearls
which exceeded in size the one of which I treat, and after they had
received their due meed of admiration, La Pellegrina appeared, rolled
upon a sheet of paper by the owner's little finger. Attention and
admiration was depicted on every face ; a perfect silence reigned. It
was only when the pearl had been removed very carefully lest it should
slip away, and was again triply enclosed, that we recovered the power
of speech and could unanimously express our admiration.1
As
it had been stated that this pearl was in the possession of the
Princess Youssoupoff, Mr. Henry W. Hiller of New York, who was in St.
Petersburg, courteously made inquiries and was successful in obtaining
a view of the two splendid pear-shaped pearls. These are almost exactly
alike, but neither of them can well be La Pellegrina, since this is a
round pearl ; possibly the one on the right may be La Peregrina.2
1 De Waldheim, "Essai sur la Pellegrina," p. 48· ! See p. 452.
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