The 217. 8-ct Mogul Emerald (front and back) is a fine example of early Colombian stones treasured by the Mogul nobility in India. Alan Caplan 

 collection. New York. Photography by Harold and Erica Van Pelt. 



14 



rituals such as the famous El Dorado ceremony at 

 Lake Guatavita, just northeast of Bogota. 



According to historical accounts, Francisco Pizar- 

 ro, who conquered Peru, sent four chests of emeralds 

 from that country to the king of Spain in 1533. 

 Father Joseph de Acosta wrote that two chests of 

 emeralds were on his ship when he sailed from Peru 

 to Europe in 1587. Today, many of the older museum 

 collections in Europe contain emeralds labeled as Per- 

 uvian in origin, though these are all undoubtedly 

 from Colombia. 



As a matter of course, the Spanish began search- 

 ing for the source of these fine emeralds, which were 

 vastly superior to those they knew from Egypt and 

 Austria. Unable to locate a source in Peru, the Span- 

 ish under Gonzalo Jimanez de Quesada began look- 

 ing in Colombia. There, Quesada first came upon 

 emeralds at Turqmeque, in what is now Colombia's 

 department of Boyaca, in 1537, prompting him to 

 send a Captain Valenzuala to locate the exact source. 

 Valenzuala succeeded in finding what is now the Chi- 

 vor mine, 75 km northeast of Bogota. Already well 

 developed by the Chibcha Indians, the mine came to 

 be named Chivor after a nearby valley. The Spanish 

 took over the deposit and began extracting emeralds, 

 using slave labor. 



The huge output of fine gemstones from Chivor 

 that soon resulted was followed, not surprisingly, by 



a drop in emerald prices on the European market; so 

 new markets were sought. The Mogul nobility of In- 

 dia were especially eager for the large, fine, Col- 

 ombian crystals, and Spain began exporting large 

 quantities of rough Colombian crystals to India, 

 where many were beautifully carved. These were 

 worn by the Mogul nobility, usually as clothing 

 adornments. 



In 1739, when the Persians sacked Delhi, a large 

 percentage of the carved Mogul emeralds were lost to 

 the conquerors and subsequently taken to Persia. Some 

 idea of the vast wealth that was lost to the Persians 

 could be gained (until recent years) by viewing the 

 crown jewels of Iran, which included many of these 

 Mogul emeralds. Experts who examined more than 

 1,000 of them reported that most were larger than 10 ct 

 and some exceeded 100 ct. 



One of the finest examples of these stones to be 

 found in private hands today is known simply as the 

 Mogul Emerald. This roughly rectangular carved slab is 

 approximately 2" x IVi" x Vs" in size and weighs 217.8 

 ct. One side is carved with the floral motif that was 

 popular with Mogul craftsmen; the other side contains 

 an Islamic prayer inscribed in beautiful Arabic callig- 

 raphy. The inscription includes the date ad. 1695, 

 placing the stone in the reign of the Mogul emperor 

 Aurangzeb. 



Many of the best Colombian emeralds of the late 



