In the Roman excavations, and in those of other early remains, many objects are found in which there may be a sapphire, an emerald, or several other stones, pierced, and pendant on a gold wire, with a blank space between, showing that something was there originally. This object has apparently decomposed and fallen away. We may reasonably suppose that it was either a pearl or a glass bead, and it is unlikely that glass would be used in connection with the more precious materials. This pearl or glass may have been affected by the organic acids or the acids resulting from the decomposition of the body with which the ornament was buried for a score of centuries.

Among the ancient jewels containing pearls which are preserved in the Hermitage at St. Petersburg, we may mention a broken gold ring with a roughly cut turquoise and two pendants, each set with two pearls separated by a garnet. This object was found in southern Siberia during the reign of Peter the Great, and may belong to the second century before Christ. Also may be noted a pair of gold earrings, with an engraved six-rayed star, in the center of which a pearl is set, while below hang three pendant sticks, two of which have a pearl at the extremity. These earrings were found in 1892 in a tomb situated close to the site of the ancient town of Chersonesus, in the Crimea. As a coin of the Emperor Gordianus III (224–244 A.D.) was discovered in the same tomb, we may assign the earrings to the first half of the third century A.D.

Beside another pair of earrings, one of which is set with a pearl, and two pearl-headed pins, all from the neighborhood of Tiflis, in the Crimea, we may especially refer to an earring made of a plain, thick, golden wire, on which seven pearls are threaded; one of these occupies the center and the others are grouped around it. This earring was purchased in 1903 by the Russian Imperial Archæological Commission from a collector residing at Odessa; it is said to have been found on the site of the ancient Greek colony of Olbia, but we have no definite external or internal evidence to sustain this view.

We may also note the gold necklace and earrings[[433]] containing pearls found near the site of Olbia during the reign of Napoleon III, and now in the collection of the Roman, Campana. These objects are especially interesting owing to the fact that the pearls are drilled and a gold cap is set on each side.

A pair of pearl earrings were found in a tomb on Mount Mithridates, near Kertch, in the Crimea. These earrings probably belong to the third or fourth century of our era. Of the four pearls which originally adorned the cross-bars, only one has been preserved. Another pair of earrings was discovered in the same place. It is probable that they were ornamented with pearls in a similar way, but the latter have entirely disappeared.

ANTIQUE PEARL ORNAMENTS
No. 1. Gold earring with turquoise top. Two pearls, two garnets, and two pearls. Found in southern Siberia in 1726; believed to be of the second century, A.D.
No. 2. Brass earring with one pearl and glass beads. Fourth century, A.D.
No. 3. Brass dress pin. Sphere of amber, surmounted by a pearl. Found near village of Mzchet Caucasus. Fourth century, A.D.
No. 4. Carnelian dress pins with pearl tops. Early Christian.
No. 5. Gold earring, hook and eye type. From Olbia, the site of an ancient Greek colony. Fourth century, A.D.
Nos. 1 to 5 are from the collection of the Imperial Hermitage in St. Petersburg.
Nos. 6–8–9. Pearl and gold earrings, Greek, from the Island of Cyprus. Second century, A.D.
No. 7. Roman brooch (pearls and gold), found in the river Thames, England. Ninth century, A.D.

Gabriele Bremond states in his “Viaggi di Egitto,” Lib. I, c. 30, that it was a Mohammedan custom to embroider baldachins and carpets of precious metals with pearls. This use is especially typified in a baldachin of gold embroidered with pearls which is over the sepulcher of Mohammed at Mecca.[[434]]

When the Mohammedans captured the Persian city Ctesiphon, in 637, they collected an immense booty. Each of the 60,000 soldiers received the value of 12,000 dirhems ($1560), a total of $93,600,000. Among the treasures sent to Caliph Omar (581–644), in Medina, was a crown, perhaps that of Khusrau I (499–579), which Tabari says was studded with 1000 pearls each as large as a bird’s egg.[[435]] There was also a wonderful carpet 450 feet long and 90 broad, with a border of emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and pearls, representing luxuriant foliage and beautiful flowers. Tabari states that it was called the “Winter Carpet,” because “the Persian kings used it in winter when there was no longer verdure or flowers, for whoever was seated on this carpet thought he looked out upon a garden or a green field.”[[436]]

On the occasion of the marriage of the Caliph Al-Mamun (786–833) with the daughter of Hassan Sahal, all the grandees of Al-Mamun received slaves of both sexes as presents from the bride’s father. The preliminary negotiations were held at Fomal Saleh, and the road traversed by the bride and bridegroom to reach Bagdad, a distance of one hundred miles, was covered with mats of cloth of gold and silver. We are told that the bride wore on her head-dress a thousand pearls, each of which is said to have been of enormous value.[[437]]