34 Pearls. 



merchants were in the habit of visiting India and 

 purchasing Pearls and other commodities. Pearls are 

 represented on old Egyptian monuments, and from 

 time to time, diadems of Pearls have been found in 

 ancient sarcophagi. 



It would seem that Egyptian women, from the 

 earliest times, wore ear-rings ; generally simple hoops 

 of gold, from which hung pendants of precious 

 stones or Pearls. They wore, likewise, necklaces 

 made of alternate rows of shells, coral, scarabei, 

 precious stones and Pearls. One ornament worn 

 by both sexes was the goj'get, upon which Pearls 

 were embroidered in every conceivable pattern. 



Alexandria, a city which, under the Ptolemies, 

 became the central point of the commerce of the 

 old World, was the scene of the greatest luxury in 

 Pearls. We have only to re-call Cleopatra's won- 

 derful Pearls, to understand to what an extent this 

 luxury was carried in Egypt in her day. The 

 history of these remarkable Pearls will be duly 

 narrated in the chapter on " Historical Pearls." 



Greece. 



The splendid victory which the Greeks gained 

 over the Persians about 490 B.C., made them ac- 

 quainted with the treasures of Asia. During the 

 following time of peace, they gave themselves up 



