Leisure hours among the gems

by Augustus C. Hamlin

In 1840 the Sultan granted a firman to the Duke of Devonshire and a party of friends, permitting them to examine the court-jewels. One of this party, my illustrious kinsman Dr. Cyrus Hamlin, has recently described to me the impression they made upon his memory, more than thirty years ago. The number of articles was too great, and their effect too dazzling, for the memory to be able to particularize them after so long an interval of time. He remembers that in two strongly built rooms, and displayed on mats, or cushions of velvet, were a vast number of decorations and insignia, crescents, tiaras, clasps, and necklaces, etc. Among the latter was one of wondrous beauty and perfection, which the Sultan wished to present to the Princess of Wales on her visit to Stamboul. The beautiful Princess wore it at the reception she gave the Sultan and his cabinet, but for various reasons was obliged to return the magnificent gift.

Among the arms of former Sultans were the swords of Al-u-deen, and Solyman the Magnificent. Besides their historical renown, they were interesting on account of their superb workmanship, and their decorations with gems of wonderful beauty.

In 1880 an American traveller was admitted to a view of some of the rooms in the Treasury of the Seraglio, and from memory of what he saw there wrote the following description:—

“In the centre of the first room is a throne. It is a platform about two and one half feet square, with a cushion of cloth-of-gold embroidered with pearls, rubies, and diamonds. Around three sides of the cushion is a low rail supported by miniature columns, and standing about eight inches high. The whole body of the throne is overlaid with plates of gold, and the rail is studded with clusters of rubies symmetrically arranged. The first thought that strikes one on seeing this throne is the surpassing value of its jewels, and the second is the superlative discomfort of the concern viewed as a resting-place. The rail, which answers for arms and back, is perpendicular and rectangular, and could rest neither the arms nor the back of the enthroned Sultan. Uneasy the man that sits the throne, must be the Turkish equivalent of the proverb concerning the wearer of the crown. In one corner of the room is another throne, said to be the throne of Nadir Shah, of Persia. It is of some dark wood, delicately inlaid with ivory and pearl, and has a canopy of the same materials, from the centre of which hangs a great gold ball decorated with precious stones.

“In one of the cabinets is the cradle of the imperial babies. It stands low on its rockers, like the cradles now in use in Turkey. The two ends rise a foot above the mattress, and are connected at the top by a bar which runs lengthwise of the cradle. The whole is of solid gold, and the outside of the cradle is crusted with pearls, diamonds, rubies, and turquoises.

“In one of the galleries are the effigies of all the Sultans of Turkey down to Mahmoud the Reformer. The figures are dressed in what professes to be the state robes actually worn by the Sultans whom they represent. The costumes are all different, and differ very much in cut, indicating the changes of fashion during the last five hundred years. But all these dresses agree in the feature of richness. Cloth-of-gold and silk brocade are the materials, and many of the figures are weighed down with jewels. The swords or daggers which all of the figures wear are especially magnificent in their display of precious stones. The dagger of Sultan Mahomet II., the conqueror of Constantinople, has in its handle an emerald full two inches long and an inch thick. I use the adjective ‘thick’ advisedly, for solidity of splendor is the impression left on the mind by that emerald. All of these gentlemen wore large turbans, and bedecked their turbans with diamonds. The only exceptions are seen in the case of the boy Sultan, Osman II., who was killed by his janissaries before he had attained man’s estate, and in the case of Sultan Mahmoud, the Reformer, who alone of all his kinsmen appears in European broadcloth. His head-dress is the fez cap, with a plume of bird-of-paradise feathers fastened in place by a great spray of diamonds.

“But there is no such thing as describing in detail the splendors of these rooms. There are antique arms and armor heavy with gold and jewels; there are innumerable horse-trappings and saddles, covered with plates of gold and studded with emeralds, rubies, topazes, diamonds, and pearls; there are saddle-cloths embroidered with precious stones. Several sofa-covers hang in the cabinets as background to the smaller articles. They are worth $150,000 apiece, and are heavy cloth-of-gold embroidered with seed pearls. In one of the cabinets are three uncut emeralds, the largest being the size of a man’s fist, and the smallest larger than a hen’s egg. The birds of the palace realized the experience of dwelling in cages of gold, for here they hang,—these ancient cages of gold wire. Some of the cages have a clock in the bottom, face downward, so that the royal household might see the time of day as they lolled on the divans beneath. The Imperial Princes appear to have gone to school in childhood, for here are the satchels in which they carried their books,—bags of velvet embroidered with gold and pearls and diamonds. In another place you see many mottoes from the Koran, embroidered in diamonds on red velvet. There are amber mouthpieces for pipes, studded with diamonds and rubies. There are coffee-sets and tea-sets of all degrees of magnificence; and vases of crystal and agate and onyx,—some of these profusely bejewelled. There are inkstands and snuff-boxes innumerable, all glittering with priceless gems. There are royal knives and forks and spoons of solid gold, with jewels on their handles. There is an immense array of clocks. One would suppose that every Sultan had his private clock, which ceased to tick when his heart stopped beating.

“Among the articles in this imperial treasure-house are many which must be regarded simply as toys. Of such is a tea-set of tortoise-shell as thin as paper. Another toy is a lady’s parasol of white silk exquisitely embroidered with gold, the staff of which is a single branch of coral so long and true and well adapted to its purpose that one might search years and fail to find its like. There are also very many fans of varying degrees of splendor. Another one of the toys is a figure of a sultan seated on his throne under a golden canopy ribbed with alternate rubies and emeralds. The whole structure is, perhaps, six inches high. The body of the figure is a single huge pearl, the lower extremities are carved from a blue turquoise, and the turban is a solid mass of diamonds. There is literally no end to the marvels of this place. After every conceivable use has been made of jewels, the surplus unmounted stones are gathered by handfuls into crystal bowls at one end of the cabinets in the second room. The spoils of all the empires which preceded the Ottoman Empire are heaped up in these two dingy stone rooms in the old Seraglio at Constantinople.

“It requires some time fully to realize the enormous wealth of this treasure-house. But slowly one becomes convinced that these treasures can only be the accumulation of centuries, and represent the heritage of the Ottomans from all their predecessors. Once assured of this, the traveller will find a peculiar fitness in the aspect and attitude of the guards of the place. They stand, dressed in spotless black broadcloth, four or five feet apart, in line along the cabinets, perfectly motionless. And they are solemn of countenance, as if standing by the catafalque of some deceased monarch lying in state for the homage of his subjects.

“I first visited this place shortly after the late war with Russia. The Turkish Government was in sore straits for the means of daily existence. The Sultan had just sent his gold and silver plate to the mint to be coined in order to buy up the depreciated paper currency. The people of whole districts were at the verge of starvation because the $80,000,000 of paper money in circulation had lost its purchasing power. I was naturally incredulous as to the reality of what I had seen. If these jewels were real, their value must be sufficient to pay off the dishonored bonds of Turkey. It did not seem reasonable that the Turkish Government could have passed through such straits as those to which it had been reduced by the war without having recourse to their treasure-house. Multitudes of articles in those rooms have an immense antique and artistic value entirely aside from their intrinsic value.