8 Field Museum of Natural History — Anth., Vol. XIII. 



intended to indicate a ''clouded" stone/ while the first is decorated with 

 horizontal rows of small black rings presumably expressing veins in the 

 stone. The Indian turquoises, again six in number, are, in distinction 

 from all the preceding ones, light-green in color with fine black veins, 

 and pointed or triangular in shape. It certainly remains an open 

 question as to how far these drawings are faithfully preserved, but 

 despite their imperfection we may learn from them that the appreciation 

 of turquoises by the ancient Tibetans was graduated as follows : Deep- 

 blue, lustrous stones without flaw took the foremost rank;^ white and red 

 strips or layers were not considered a blemish, but rather a special 

 beauty; the lighter the blue, and the more approaching a gray and 

 green, the more it sank in estimation; stones with black veins and streaks 

 and with cloudy strata were looked upon as common, also those of 

 greenish hues. It is interesting to note that this scale of valuation 

 doubtless going back to ancient times holds good also for the present age. 



The small turquoises not larger than a lentil and used for the setting 

 in rings, are designated pra. 



As famous swords, daggers, saddles and coats-of-mail received in 

 Tibet individual names, so also celebrated turquoises were given special 

 designations. Thus, we read in the History of the Kings of Ladakh 

 that among fifteen turquoises brought from Gu-ge in West Tibet, the 

 best were two, namely, the Lha gyu od-ldan, "the resplendent turquois 

 of the gods," and the Lha gyu dkar-po, "the white turquois of the gods." ' 

 Thus, there are also celebrated historical turquoises, as it is recorded 

 in regard to King Du-srong mang-po (beginning of the eighth century) 

 that he found the largest turquois then known in the world, on the top 

 of Mount Tag-tse, a few miles north of Lhasa.* 



The name of an ancient well-known family of Tibet is gYu-Vog (that 

 is, Turquois-Roof). The most celebrated member of it was a physician 

 and author of medical works, who flourished in the eighth century and 

 three times visited India to study medicine at the University of Nalanda. 

 His biography, a very interesting work, is still in existence where it is 

 narrated that he was once visited by gods and demons, who presented 



1 A term used also in India (R. Garbe, Die indischen Mineralien, p. 72, note 2) 

 and in our mineralogy (with respect to veins or spots of lighter or darker color than 

 the area surrounding them). 



* This was the case likewise among the Arabs. The best sort of turquois was 

 considered the one "of a complete purity of color, of a perfect polish, and of a hue 

 entirely uniform" (L. Leclerc, Traits des simples par Ibn El-Beithar [i 197-1248], 

 Vol. Ill, p. 51, Notices et extraits des manuscrits de la Bibliotheque Nalionale, Vol. 

 XXVI, Paris, 1883). In a similar manner, al-BeranI expresses his opinion (Wiede- 

 mann, Der Islam, Vol. II, 191 1, p. 352). 



^ Journal Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. LX, pt. i, 1891, p. 123. 



* Journal Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. L, pt. i, 1881, p. 223. 



