Origin of name
The Mogul Emerald Necklace that was bequeathed to the National Museum of
Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution in the year 2007 from the
estate of Madeleine H. Murdock, is a historic and remarkable piece of
jewelry that has enriched the National Gem Collection. The necklace gets its
name from the carved flat emerald which is set as a pendant to the diamond
necklace. The features in the emerald that point to its possible Mogul
origin are :- 1) The rosette like floral motif carving, which is a
characteristic Indian style of the Mogul period 2) The similarities in the
carving style when compared to other carved emeralds of this period, eg. the
217.80-carat rectangular flat Mogul Emerald, engraved in the year
1695-96 A.D. 3) The emerald being cut into a flat almost hexagonal shape,
equivalent to the natural shape of the stone, before the actual carving was
carried out. 4) The presence of small drill holes on the sides of the
emerald enabling it to be used as an attachment to a cloak or turban.
The Mogul period in India has gone down as a golden period in the history of
India, renowned for its cultural, literary and artistic achievements. The
greatest legacy of this period is undoubtedly the world renowned Taj Mahal,
the architectural marvel built by Emperor Shah Jahaan, in memory of his
beloved Queen Mumtaz Mahal, that still ranks among the seven wonders of the
world. During this period the Mogul Emperors also supported and patronized
all aspects of the jewelry industry, such as jewel crafting, cutting and
polishing of gemstones and diamonds, and also carving and engraving of
gemstones like emeralds. The carving of emeralds had achieved a high degree
of precision as revealed by some of the carved emeralds of this period, but what is more surprising and puzzling to
the modern day gem and diamond cutters, was how these Mogul craftsmen were
able to engrave Arabic inscriptions on diamonds, which today can only be
done using a fullerite pen or laser technology. Some of the famous diamonds
of this period with Arabic inscriptions are the Taj Mahal diamond, the Akbar
Shah/Jehangir Shah diamond and the Shah diamond.
©Smithsonian,
Photography by Ken Larsen
Description of the emerald and the necklace
The emerald which has dark grass-green color characteristic of emeralds of
the Muzo mines of Colombia has a weight of approximately 100
carats. The shape of the emerald is approximately hexagonal, which is the
natural shape of the crystal, but the emerald appears to have been cut
deliberately as a flat gemstone with two parallel flat faces, similar to
table-cut gemstones. Such a cut would have been the preliminary step before
the master Mogul gem carvers took over and transformed the gemstone into a
masterpiece in gem-carving with a rosette like floral motif with concentric
circles of petals around the center of the motif. Small drill holes on the
edge of the gemstone enabled it to be attached to a cloak or turban, in
keeping with the royal fashions of the time. The emerald is heavily included
and almost opaque, two characteristics that would have led to the gemstone
being selected for carving in the first place, and not for faceting and
polishing, had the stone been less included and more transparent.
©Smithsonian,
Photography by Ken Larsen
The emerald has been set in a gold framework as the centerpiece of a pendant
surrounded by a row of 58 small, round and cushion shaped diamonds.
The color contrast between the green emerald and the white diamonds is very
striking. The pendant is attached to the two-row diamond necklace by a
triangular attachment encrusted with 14 round-shaped diamonds. The
double-row diamond necklace consists of hundreds of small rounded diamonds
set on a platinum framework. The total weight of the diamonds is
approximately 50 carats.
Position of the Madeleine H. Murdock Emerald
in the list of inscribed/engraved emeralds of the Mogul period
In the List of inscribed/engraved emeralds of the Mogul period given below,
the Madeleine H. Murdock Emerald, presently owned by the NMNH of the
Smithsonian Institution, occupies the 4th place. According to this list the
350-carat Agra Emerald belonging to the Programa Royal Collections, in
Madrid, Spain, is the largest engraved emerald in the world, followed by the
217.80-carat Alan Caplan's Mogul Emerald bearing the Shia invocation in
Arabic, which is at present exhibited in the Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar.
The 3rd largest engraved emerald is the 142.20-carat Agha Khan III emerald,
that is engraved with text from the Holy Qur'an, but whose present
whereabouts are unknown.
A list of inscribed/engraved emeralds of the
Mogul period
|
S/N |
Name of Emerald |
Previous Owner |
Weight of the Emerald |
Type of Inscription/Carving |
Present Owner |
|
1 |
Agra Emerald |
Unknown |
350 carats |
Floral Motif |
Programa Royal Collections, Madrid, Spain |
|
2 |
Mogul Emerald |
Alan Caplan |
217.80 carats |
Shia invocation in Arabic and floral motif |
Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar |
|
3 |
Agha Khan III Emerald |
Agha Khan III |
142.20 carats |
Text from the Holy Qur'an |
Unknown |
|
4 |
Madeleine H Murdock Emerald |
Madeleine H. Murdock |
100.00 carats |
Floral motif |
NMNH. Smithsonian Institution |
|
5 |
Al-Sabah Emerald |
Al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait |
85.60 carats |
Text from the Holy Qur'an |
Al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait |
|
6 |
Agha Khan III Emerald |
Agha Khan III |
76.00 carats |
Text from the Holy Qur'an |
Unknown |
|
7 |
Al-Sabah Emerald |
Al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait |
73.20 carats |
Text from the Holy Qur'an |
Al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait |
|
8 |
Kite-shaped Mogul Emerald |
Unknown |
64.99 carat |
Floral Motif |
Unknown |
|
9 |
Al-Sabah Emerald |
Al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait |
59.60 carats |
Name of Nadir Shah, and the year 1153 A.H. in Arabic |
Al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait |
The chemical composition and structure of
emeralds
Emeralds are beryls, that belong to the sub-class cyclosilicates, under the
main class of minerals silicates, the most abundant class of minerals on the
surface of the earth. In cyclosilicates six tetrahedral silicate ions (SiO4)‾
are linked together forming a hexagonal ring [(SiO3)6]²¯,
the basic unit that is repeated, eventually forming hexagonal shaped
crystals. The negative charges on the rings are balanced by the positive
charges on 2 aluminum ions (Al3+) and 3 beryllium ions (Be2+), giving the
formula Be3Al2(SiO3)6,
known as Beryllium Aluminum Silicate. The presence of trace
quantities of chromium and/or vanadium, whose atoms replace some of the
aluminum atoms in the crystal structure, imparts the green color to the
emeralds. When chromium atoms predominate the color is dark herbal green (eg.
most of the Colombian emeralds), but when vanadium atoms predominate the
color is bluish-green (eg. Zambian emeralds).
The 4 Cs of Emeralds
Like diamonds the quality of the emeralds is also based
on the 4Cs, Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat weight. The top colors in emeralds
are the deep vivid-green, the slightly bluish-green and slightly
yellowish-green colors, all favorable colors coming out of the mines of
Colombia. But, recently the vanadium-based, deep bluish-green colors of
emeralds produced in Zambia, have also gained international acceptability,
mainly due to their almost inclusion-free status. Clarity of emeralds are
tied to the presence of inclusions. The presence of inclusions, known as "Jardin"
is a characteristic feature of most emeralds, and include cracks and
fissures besides actual three-phase inclusions of solids, liquids and gases.
Thus their presence in acceptable quantities and treatment to hide their
presence is generally accepted in the international gem trade, as finding an
emerald without any inclusions is indeed a very rare occurrence. But, this
conventional position regarding inclusions in emeralds is being challenged,
by the production of increasing quantities of vanadium-based emeralds
in some African countries like Zambia, of exceptional bluish-green color and
almost free of any inclusions. Traditional emeralds which are hard and
somewhat brittle, can be cut only as rectangular or square shaped step-cut
stones with beveled corners, a cut developed specially for emeralds in order
to reduce the mechanical strain on the gemstone during the cutting process.
However, vanadium-based emeralds from certain African countries are hard and
tough and could be cut in a variety of shapes besides the emerald-cut, such
as cushion, pear, round, heart etc.
Characteristics of emeralds
used for carving and engraving
Emeralds that are heavily included and opaque may not
have gem-value, but still have good color, and might be suitable for carving
and engraving such as the Madeleine H. Murdock's Mogul emerald, and all
other engraved emeralds in the above list. These emeralds in spite of their
low quality have an enormous value due mainly to their antiquity and
historical provenance. The 217.80-carat Alan Caplan's Mogul emerald fetched
a record price of 2.2 million dollars at a Christie's auction held in New
York in the year 2001.
History of the Madeleine H.
Murdock's Mogul Emerald
The emerald was engraved possibly during the
classic period of the Mogul Empire, between 1556 and 1707
As pointed out earlier the Mogul provenance of the emerald are fairly well
established, but there is no evidence to pinpoint exactly to which Mogul
emperor's period the emerald belonged to. The Mogul period in India extends
from 1526, the year Delhi and Agra was captured by the first Mogul Emperor
Zahir-ud-deen Muhammad who was also known as Babur, to the year 1857,
when the last Emperor Bahadur Shah II, was imprisoned and exiled by the
British, after the Indian rebellion of 1857. However, the most significant
period of the empire, known as the classic period, extends from the year
1556, the year of accession of Emperor Jalal-ud-deen Muhammad Akbar, also
known as Akbar the Great, to the year 1707, the year of death of the last
great Mogul Emperor Aurangzeb. Four great Mogul emperors ruled during the
classic period, and their domain included the entire Indian subcontinent and
also parts of Afghanistan, with a population estimated to be around 110 to
130 million, around that time. These emperors were Akbar the Great
(1556-1605), Nur-ud-deen Salim Jahangir (1605-1627), Shihab-ud-deen Muhammad
Shah Jahan (1628-1658), Muhi-ud-deen Muhammed Aurangzeb (1658-1707).
Most of
the significant monuments of the Mogul empire, the most visible legacies of
the empire, such as the Taj Mahal, date back to this great period. The
cultural, literary, artistic, and architectural achievements of this
period are unparalleled in the history of the subcontinent, and the empire
perhaps was the richest kingdom in the world, during this period. The courts
of the Mogul emperors of the classic period reached extravagant levels of
pomp and pageantry, with the mighty emperors wearing fabulous clothing,
bedecked with the most exquisitely crafted gem-studded jewelry, and
presiding over from splendorous jewel studded thrones. The emperor Shah Jahan is
reputed to have carried this extravagance to the extreme when he ordered
that all precious stones in his treasury such as diamonds, emeralds, pearls,
rubies and sapphires be used for the design and construction of the most
splendorous jewel-studded throne ever made in any kingdom in the history of
mankind. Shah Jahan's line of thinking seemed to be that jewels stacked in
the treasury for safe keeping would not serve any purpose, and would be
better utilized if studded on the throne of the monarch so that he would shine
with increased brilliance in the presence of his subjects.
Emperor Shah Jahan
The turban worn by the Mogul emperors was also bedecked with jewelry, such
as gem-studded aigrettes, sarpechs, and other ornaments. The Shah Jahan
table-cut diamond for example was believed to be one of the valuable pink
diamonds that was once worn by Shah Jahan as a turban ornament as indicated
by the drill holes on the sides. Likewise, the Madeleine H. Murdock's Mogul
emerald with its drill holes on the sides could possibly have been
used as turban ornament either by an emperor or a dignitary of his
court during this period.
The source of the emerald was Colombia ?
The extravagance displayed at the Mogul courts was no doubt an indicator of
the vast amount of wealth concentrated in the empire, and the Spanish
colonialists who controlled the emeralds mines of Colombia during this
period were well aware of this. Thus it might not be surprising why the
Spanish preferred to send a significant quantity of the annual production of
emeralds from the mines of Colombia to the courts of the Mogul empire rather
than the courts of European monarchies, as this was where the wealth of the
world seem to be concentrated at that time. The Spanish received gold and
silver bullion in exchange for the emeralds from the Mogul empire, which was
indeed "hard currency" for the Spanish government. Enormous quantities of
emeralds from Colombia, thus ended up in the Mogul empire, where they were
cut and polished or engraved and set in jewelry by Indian craftsmen, for the
Emperor and members of the royal household, the noble classes and other rich
families. The emperors extended their patronage to the jewelry crafting
industry, and several townships sprung up in the empire, such as the city of
Jaipur, where the craftsmen settled and engaged in their trade.
Modern oxygen isotope analysis techniques are available for verifying the
country and mine of origin of emeralds. It would have been very interesting
if the Smithsonian Institution carried out such an analysis on the Madeleine
H. Murdock emerald to verify the actual country of origin and perhaps the
mine of origin of the emerald. Researches have prepared a table of O18/O16
ratios of 62 emerald deposits from 19 countries around the world. After
finding the O18/O16 ratio of the Madeleine H. Murdock emerald using Gaston
Giuliani's technique, the value obtained is compared with the reference
table, which would pinpoint the exact mine and country of origin of the
emerald. Such a study would confirm the country of origin of the emerald as
Colombia. But, studies carried out on four emeralds from the treasury of the
Nizam's of Hyderabad (1724-1948) using this technique had shown that three
of these emeralds actually originated from Colombia, but the 4th emerald
originated from a deposit in Afghanistan. Thus, it was quite possible that
some of the emeralds in the Mogul treasury could possibly have originated
from Afghanistan.
Possible routes by which the Colombian
emeralds reached India
Emeralds mined from the historic Muzo, Somondoco and Cosquez mines of
Colombia were eventually loaded on to the Galleons of the Spanish Atlantic
fleet from the port city of Cartagena. The fleet then called at the port
city of Portebello on the Atlantic coast of Panama, where gold and silver
from Peru - that had reached the city from Panama City on the west coast by
mule train, after off loading from the Spanish Pacific fleet that operated
on the west coast between Peru and Panama City - were loaded. Galleons of the
Atlantic fleet then sailed to Havana in Cuba, where they joined ships coming
from the Port City of Vera Cruz, in the Gulf coast of Mexico, carrying gold
and silver from Mexico, and silk and porcelain from China, that was brought
to Mexico by the Pacific fleet from China, via the Philippines. The combined
Atlantic fleet then sailed through the straits of Florida, and across the
Atlantic to Spain, before the onset of the hurricane season in the
Caribbean.
After the emeralds reached Spain, and the Royal family of Spain had taken
their share of the emeralds, the remainder was exported to countries in
Europe, and the three Islamic monarchies of the Middle East and India,
the Ottoman Empire, the Persian Empire and the Mogul Empire. Emeralds bound
for the Mogul Empire in India, would have been carried by vessels around the
Cape and across the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea to ports on the west coast
of the Indian sub-continent. Another possible route for the emeralds would
have been across the Pacific from the port city of Acapulco in Mexico, by
the Pacific Fleet which reached China and later the east coast India via the
Philippines.
The journey of the Mogul emerald from India
to the west
After the decline and fall of the Mogul empire in the mid 19th century and
the British Raj gaining ascendancy, jewels and jewelry of the Mogul period
found their way in large quantities from India to London and other capitals
of European nations. The Mogul emerald appears to have reached Paris, the
capital of France, one of the international centers of the gem and jewelry
trade. According to a hallmark on the Mogul emerald necklace, it appears
that the engraved emerald was set into the pendant and necklace by a jewelry
firm in France, either during the end of the 19th century or beginning of
the 20th century.
It is not known exactly when Mrs. Madeleine H. Murdock of New Jersey came
into the possession of the emerald necklace. It appears that the necklace
had remained in her family for a considerable period of time. Madeleine H.
Murdock died on March 3, 2006, and the emerald necklace was bequeathed from
her estate to the NMNH of the Smithsonian Institution in the year 2007,
according to her last will.
Related :-
1)
Moghul
Emerald
2)
Emeralds of the Programa Royal Collections
Please submit
your contributions ,comments and questions (See below)
-When you submit a question/comment we will build a
page exclusively for you. You can add more contributions, or let visitors
add comments and ratings
-The idea is Ask one or Answer one!
This way, you save yourself and others the trouble of asking the same
questions I'd appreciate a
little help here! Absolutely!!!
References
1.New Acquisitions - Mogul Emerald Necklace - Department
of Mineral Sciences, Website of the Smithsonian Institution
2.The
Mughal Empire - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
