I] THE HISTORY OF PEARLS 3 



way as at present. The fishing of Ceylon was referred 

 to by Pliny, who stated that the island of Ceylon was 

 the most productive of pearls of all parts of the world. 

 According to Herdman the Singhalese records go 

 back still further, and quoting from his valuable 

 report — a mine of information about the fishing of 

 Ceylon — we read that "According to the 'Mahawanso,' 

 pearls figure in the list of native products sent as a 

 present from King Vigdya of Ceylon to his Indian 

 father-in-law, in about 540 — 550 B.C." ; and again 

 when in B.c. 306 King Devanampiyabissa sent an 

 embassy to India the presents are said to have 

 included eight kinds of Ceylon pearls. 



Pearls were almost certainly known to the Persians 

 seven centuries before Christ; they are not men- 

 tioned, but pearl ornaments of very great antiquity 

 have been found in Persian remains. 



The ancient Egyptians used mother of pearl, 

 according to Kunz and Stevenson, as early as the 

 6th dynasty — 3200 B.C., but they do not seem to have 

 regarded the pearl as being valuable until very much 

 later times. 



As for the Greeks, they too knew the pearl and 

 recognised its value. The gems are mentioned in 

 the writings of Theophrastus and they are described 

 as being the products of shellfish. Pliny also refers 

 to the writings of the Greeks. Three centuries before 

 Christ a great change in the story seems to have 



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