Leisure hours among the gems

by Augustus C. Hamlin

Many of the cathedrals, convents, and monasteries of Russia are richly endowed with gems and jewels of great beauty and value. In the Kazan Cathedral at St. Petersburg may be seen the miraculous image of the Virgin brought from Kazan in 1579. It is covered with gold, and incrusted with diamonds and other gems. The sacristy of the Monastery of Solovetsk is one of the richest in the realm, and is filled with jewels and gems which have been presented in times past by kings, princes, and nobles.

In the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael, in Moscow, there are some ancient reliquaries adorned with gems of remarkable beauty. The diamonds, however, are surpassed by the magnificent emeralds.

In the sacristy of the Holy Synod in Moscow are preserved some wonderful sacerdotal robes and ornaments. One of the sakkos of crimson velvet is so heavily laden with diamonds, rubies, pearls, emeralds, etc., that its weight amounts to fifty-four pounds. The great mitre is also so studded with gems, such as the finest diamonds, rubies, emeralds, pearls, and sapphires, that it weighs five and a half pounds. The decoration of these sacred objects has been made by lavish hands and from an abundance of the most costly materials.

The famous Convent of Troitza possesses rare and beautiful gems and jewels among its gifts and reliquaries, which are well worthy of examination by dilettanti. From a great variety of sources these riches have accumulated. The shrine has been famous for many centuries past; and czars, princes, boyars, and peasants have deposited their offerings both in ostentation as well as with the hope of divine dispensation.

Its treasury is indeed a colossal jewel-box, whose wealth must amount to many millions in value, and which rivals, if it does not surpass in richness, the famous shrine of Loretto in Italy. The variety of articles decorated with gems exhibited here is marvellous. Art has made use of the precious stones in her decorations with lavish hand. Some of the frames in which are set sacred pictures are literally composed of gems of the largest size and also costly in price. Even the robes of the Madonnas are spangled with diamonds, rubies, sapphires, topazes, and emeralds, forming the richest mosaics.

It is impossible, from the imperfect information we have received from travellers concerning this wonderful museum of ancient and mediæval art, to give an accurate account of its treasures; but we hope some of the learned antiquaries of Western Europe may be induced to examine them, and make known their history. Among the great numbers of engraved gems, skilled search may reveal some of the most beautiful forms of ancient art, and supply some of the missing links in glyptic history.

According to these vague accounts a volume might be written on the description of the armoires, among which are comprised Bibles, Gospels, liturgical books, bound with covers of silver gilt and incrusted with precious stones, such as the onyx, sardonyx, agate, chrysoprase, aqua-marinas, lapis lazuli, malachite, turquoise. The clasps of these volumes are made of gold or silver, in which antique cameos are set. Among the sacred utensils and relics are described chalices of gold belted with rows of diamonds, and a great variety of vessels richly ornamented; also crosses studded with beautiful emeralds and rubies; sapphire rings; vases and chandeliers of silver; dalmatics of brocade embroidered with flowers composed of gems, and with legends in old Sclavonic, written in pearls; enamelled censers; triptychs storied with countless figures. Besides these articles we have enumerated, the museum contains a great number of others, including images of saints and Madonnas richly decorated, masses of precious metals, and heaps of precious stones in their natural state. What a glorious field of study for the amateur and the historian is presented here!

Among the paragons possessed by the Crown is the diamond known as the Orloff, which derives its name from one of the counts of that celebrated family, who purchased it for the Empress Catherine. It is one of the finest gems in the world, and is the largest in Europe. It rivals in beauty the famous Regent of the French regalia, which it surpasses in size. The weight of this diamond is 194³⁄₄ karats, and it is exactly of the form of the famous diamond described by Tavernier as the Great Mogul. In shape it is ovoid, or rather, in gem nomenclature, of a high-crowned rose-pattern. It is possible that this gem is the long-lost Mogul. Were it not for the remarkable accuracy of the distinguished French traveller, we should at once pronounce the Orloff to be the missing Mogul. Hence the question arises, may not Tavernier have made an error in his calculation of weight? It is certainly very remarkable that two rare stones of such great weight, and such unusual form, should possess so great and so many degrees of resemblance. And it may be possible that the Mogul diamond is concealed in some of the obscure fastnesses of Persia, and may appear again to the world, like the crown of Chosroes, after a thousand years of concealment.

The Orloff disputes with the Regent the claim of being the finest known gem in the universe. Both have their ardent admirers. The Regent owes much of its fancied superiority to the regularity and perfection of its form, which is that of a perfect brilliant, and may therefore be regarded as the type of the style. The Orloff, likewise, may be selected as the perfected model of the form known as the rose-cut. Therefore, either gem may be considered as the perfection of the brilliant or the rose-style of cutting. The brilliant is certainly the most symmetrical of all the forms; but does it enable the gem to exhibit to a full degree its powers of refraction? It may exhibit the prismatic play of color in greater perfection; but does not the rose-cut project brighter beams of light in a more extensive proportion than the brilliant? Let the opticians decide.

The Orloff now adorns the Russian sceptre, being placed in the top, just under the golden eagle.