James Clarke Inc Stones

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The 4 "C's"

Stones were revered as scared objects from the beginning of history.

In ancient Oriental representations of the gods precious stones are seen as divine attributes. Gems have been found as votive offerings in the tombs of the Pharaohs. Gem inlays created the colors in royal amulets from all cultures. Ancient Egyptian jewels reveal that personal ornaments often had a symbolic significance. The scarab, vulture, falcon, the eye of Horus, the sacred asp, the lotus flower, and the sun disk were very popular motifs.

Among examples of Egyptian jewelry is the pectoral that the ancient priests placed on the breast of Tutankhamen. The chalcedony scarab in the middle of the breastplate was to help the king as he stood at the gates of the other world. The scarab is Amon, whose outstretched wings bear the soul on its journey. Protected by the cobra of divinity and the eye of Horus, he is ensured health, fecundity and perspicacity in the other world. Three lotus flowers scent darkness. A counterpart to this pectoral is a magnificent ship holding the rising sun; a beetle pushing a vermilion carnelian (the symbol of resurrection) with its claws. Other scarabs, maneuvering other gems, decorate the necklace from which the jewels hang. Thanks to the magic of this amulet, all the forces of the other world would recognize Tutankhamen, and he would be able to walk with confidence down the paths of darkness.

They sparkle in the Pope’s tiara, adorn the crowns of kings and emperors, and the rings of bishops and cardinals. During the Middle Ages, craftsmen lavished valuable gems on images of the saints, reliquaries, and altar vessels. These were sacred objects that preserved the relics of the Christian saints, not so much in memory of them as personalities but more for the belief and precious testimony to which they dedicated their lives. No object, precious or otherwise, is sacred in itself. It becomes so by the faith and love with which men surround it and by which it acts as a bridge between the divine and the human.

To preserve and honor the saintly remains, Christians developed the custom of enshrining and glorifying them with a reliquary. This reliquary had the dual function of exalting the glory of God through the saints, and of inciting the living to serve God. The reliquary is sacred because it is intimately involved with the dialogue of man with God. These reliquaries are innumerable and the faithful were content with their proliferation. It can only be imagined that reliquaries that were constructed to hold pieces of the Cross, or the thorns of Christ’s crown, or the bones of saints, were made with great piety.

To have faith in an object is to wear an amulet for protection and live within a magic circle of the object. Sacred jewels provide not only an interesting example of jeweler’s metal craft, but also the underlying importance of the realization of their historical significance and, as images of the soul, of their departure from the concrete level of craftsmanship into the abstract realm of symbolism.

Amulets have long been thought to produce results, from improved health to attracting a mate and were worn by emperors and commoners alike. Talismans thought to offer protection from evil, enemies and ill health. Precious stones were considered particularly apt to satisfy a need for protection and innumerable tales of their magical and miraculous action have been told throughout the centuries. Each gem possessed its peculiar miraculous powers and embodied its peculiar forms of protection.

The mystic interpretations of gems, pearls and certain forms of jewelry point to the very heart of superstition. They represent one of the last links with the shamanism and animism that lived on in primitive cultures well into the present century. We all have a special relationship with a piece of jewelry we inherited, or hold a particular piece of jewelry as dear.

More Info

Crowns & Collectors, From the vaults of wealthy donors to the spot lit cases of two intriguing museums, by Tracy Kendrick. WHERE Washington, July 2003. (pdf)

Rocks of Ages, The Smithsonian's National Gem Collection, by Alison Oneacre. W Jewelry Holiday 2003. (pdf)

The Splendor of Diamonds, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. (pdf)

Diamond: a journey to the heart of an obsession, by Matthew Hart, Plume, 2002.

The Encyclopedia of Gemstones and Minerals, Mark Holden, Michael Friedman Publishing Group, Inc. 1999.

Egyptian pectoral (below) is one of the most famous amulet jewels. It was buried with the emperor in 814 in Aachen, exhumed by Frederik Barbarossa in 1166, and conserved in the cathedral treasury until 1804. The cannons presented it to Empress Josephine in order to thank Napoleon for bringing back the imperial treasure from Paderborn. The Talisman consists of two large oval sapphires set back to back, through which is visible a relic of the true cross.

Louis IX of France was renowned for his great piety. He brought back several relics from his Crusades in the Holy Land. These relics include Christ´s crown of thorns, fragments of the True Cross and the sacred spear. He gave pieces of the relics to members of his family. One of the thorns was preserved in a pendant reliquary which as a sacred jewel is comparable in importance to the Talisman of Charlemagne.