two
remarkable carved jadeites, offered some exceedingly interesting
suggestions. The Humboldt celt was presented to Humboldt by Del Rio in
1803, and the Leyden plate was given to that museum by A. S. Von Bramm,
who found it near St. Felipe, close to the borders of Guatemala, in
Honduras. They are both 9 inches in length and 3-1/4 inches wide; the
former If inches in thickness, and the latter only one-fifth inch. This
similarity of dimensions suggests to me that the two objects were
originally part of one and the same celt. Before the same society, in
April, 1886, Professor Putnam exhibited his remarkable series of
Nicaragua and Costa Rica jadeites, which were all ornaments made by
cutting into halves, thirds, or quarters one large celt perforated by
one or two drilled holes, in one instance two of them fitting together.
The 16-pound adze exhibited by myself at the American Association for
the Advancement of Science meeting of 1887, from which fully two pounds
had been cut: the breastplate recently found measuringonly one-half
inch thickness; and the fact that even Burmese jadeite, when burned or
exposed to a high temperature, will assume the grayish-green color of
the Mexican, all tend to support Professor Fisher's theory that this
jadeite originally came from there. Additional evidence is the
striking resemblance between the Maya and ancient Burmese styles of
carving, although Dr. Meyer, of Dresden, firmly believes that this
material will yet be found in situ in Mexico. The imperial jade
quarries of Burmah, in the Mogiing district, 90 miles from Bhamo are
leased by two companies, who pay a royalty of $30,000 annually. The
trade is entirely in the hands of the Chinese. At the Colonial
Exhibition in Loudon in 1886 there were exhibited large rounded and
waterworn blocks of jade weighing hundreds of pounds called panaum by
the Maories. Much of it is of the finest green color and was worked
into charms, knife-handles, etc. Dr. W. Buller exhibited a fine
collection of Maori ornaments and clubs,or neeris, heitikas, and other
native ornaments made of this stone.
Collections of gems.—A
regrettable dispersion of jewels and precious stones took place in May,
1886, when the famous collection formed by the late Henry Philip Hope,
and exhibited at the South Kensington Museum for many years, was sold
at auction. The Hope collection included the "Saphir Merveilleux" of
Madame de Genlis's "Tales of the Castle;" the King of Kandy's
cat's-eye, the largest known, having a diameter of 1-1/2 inches; the
Mexican Sun opal, carved with the head of the Mexican Sun God, and
known since the sixteenth century; an enormous pearl, the largest
known, weighing 3 ounces and measuring 2 inches in length ; the
aquamarine sword-hilt, made for Murat, King of Naples; and also many
curious diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, and several hundred unique and
magnificent gems. Such a collection should have beeu preserved intact
as a national possession.
In
1886 it was decided by the French Assembly that the Crown jewels, with
the exception of the famous " Regent" diamond, two of the Maz-arins,
and a few historic pieces reserved for the national museums, 9194 min------37
