Gemstones History

Al-Kindi is quoted on numerous occasions by al-Biruni and others. His books on gems including ruby diamond are listed in The Index, an annotated bibliography of the 10th century compiled by the bookdealer Ibn al-Nadim.(4) Finally, no survey of this literature is complete without mentioning the Stone Book of Aristotle, sometimes translated as the Laidary of Aristotle. Appearing in Arabic in the 9th century, this text was often cited by later Arab authors. It is somewhat of an enigma, as modern scholars are not sure who wrote it. Title notwithstanding, it is generally agreed that Aristotle was not the author. The Stone Book of Aristotle bears marks of Greek and Arab influence. Fortunately, it is preserved today; a German orientalist, Julius Ruska, published the Arabic text along with a German translation in 1912.

- Availability of Source Materials

Little research has been done by modern scholars into the medieval Arabic gem, ruby diamond  and other precious stones related literature. The bulk of this material is not translated; much of it has not even been edited in Arabic from the original manuscript sources. Since the nineteenth century, several (primarily) French and German orientalists have translated select passages and texts.(5) Unfortunately, these translations have appeared in specialized periodicals which only orientalists and Middle East historians tend to read. As a result, modern gemologists, mineralogists and others are generally unaware of this fascinating corpus of early Arab literature. Most of the secondary-source publications consulted for this articles on precious stones, ruby diamond etc. and otherwise listed in the bibliography are available at major university libraries in the United States, England and West Germany. Arabic primary sources or photocopies thereof are more difficult to come by; people wishing to access such materials are best directed to the British Library facilities at the British Museum, London, or the library of the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University.

- Conclusions

This paper was written in order to fill a gap. By "gap" I mean the general lack of awareness of Arab contributions to the gem and mineral sciences. It was presented as a literary survey, with the specific intention of whetting the reader's appetite to explore the subject further.

As we have seen, Arabic writings often described gems, precious stones, ruby diamond in terms of sources, occurrences, mining techniques, physical properties, treatments and imitations. Though there can be little question that Greek literature influenced some of these writings, it is equally clear that the Arabs contributed much of their own: i.e., al-Biruni's specific gravity experiments, Teifaschi's narrative on Sri Lankan heat-treatment of corundum, the distinction some Arabs made between red spinel and ruby, and numerous reports by different writers on gem sources and occurrences. This article is by no means an exhaustive study of the Arabic "precious stone books." The literature goes on to describe other gem species such as ruby and more. For example, the Arabs devoted many pages to diamond, quartz, turquoise and malachite. Lapidary methods were mentioned, with regard to polishing techniques, equipment and abrasives. There were more references to physical properties, gem treatments, imitations, sources and occurrences. Gemstone marketing centers, particularly the one that existed in Baghdad, were also addressed. A tremendous amount of material was written just on the medicinal properties of stones and the use of gems in quasi-magical applications, notably as amulets and talismans. A bibliography follows which lists the more important English, German and French translations and studies of this literature. Arabic-language works are included. Though most of what the Arabs wrote on stones still remains untranslated, the reader can explore the subject further by way of the translations and monographs cited below.

- Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the following people for their assistance: Professor Charles F. Beckingham, formerly of the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University, for his many useful suggestions on accessing Arabic source materials; Professor Owen Wright of the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University, for granting access to S.O.A.S. library facilities; the head librarians of the British Library Reading Room and the India Office Library, London, for granting access to library facilities; and Mr. R. Scott Montgomery and Mrs. Bridgette McDonald of the Asian Institute of Gemological Sciences, Bangkok, for their comments. Special thanks are due Mr. Laurence Lee of London and Miss Phoonsri Suwanphan of Bangkok. These, my gracious hosts, managed to put up with my frequent mutterings in several languages while I researched this paper, by Sersen, William John

1 Patronage of scholarship was not uncommon in those days; the patrons themselves saw it as a way to glean prestige. The amount of prestige so obtained was perhaps limited, however, since the masses of people were generally illiterate!

2 Several geographical encyclopedias were compiled by the Arabs, though Yaqut's is the most famous. These encyclopedias had their roots in an earlier literary genre, the so-called "books of roads and highways," which described towns, cities and the distances between them. The books of roads and highways were of use to postal authorities and the military, while the latter-day geographical encyclopedias probably captured more of a general audience.

3 Even if the Muqattam hills did produce emerald in the past, this does not mean there is any to be found today, at least in commercial quantities. The reason some "lost" mines tend to get lost and forgotten in the first place, is because they were mined out! Nevertheless, it would be interesting to explore the region for evidence of former mining activity.

4 The Index (al-fihrist in Arabic) is invaluable, in that it gives us an idea of the types of books that were popular at that time. To call it an annotated bibliography is somewhat an understatement, as Ibn al-Nadim frequently embarks on lengthy commentaries on these books.

His inventory included manuscripts on gems, medicine, poetry, grammar, magic, law, religion, botany, astrology, astronomy and so forth. Several scholars have edited this book in Arabic. In 1970 a complete English translation appeared in two volumes (see bibliography: Dodge, 1970).

5 French and German orientalists--in particular the Germans--researched and published numerous articles on medieval Arabic natural sciences. One German scholar who deserves special mention is Eilhard Wiedemann. Wiedemann is well-known in Germany, but not elsewhere. An intrepid scholar, a linguist and physicist, he was fascinated by medieval Arabic literature. Wiedemann's interests were not limited to Arabic gem-related materials; he also wrote articles on medieval Arabic treatises pertaining to optics, the oceans' ebb and flow, etc.