46 
THE MUSEUM. 
brella, and, even as late as 1881, the title was 
held in higher estimation than Rajah or 
Maharajah. 
The King of Burmah is proud to call him¬ 
self “ the Lord of the twenty umbrellas; ” 
the Emperor of China takes that number of 
parasols with him to the hunting field, and 
on a Siamese coin of the present dynasty 
the royal crown is represented between the 
parasols of state. 
In the Mahdbharata, mention is frequently 
made of the umbrella as a mark of royal 
dignity. The gift of white umbrellas having 
one hundred ribs is enjoined as a religious 
action especially calculated to ensure to the 
donor a long residence in the heaven of 
Indra. 
Naturally, therefore, umbrellas were of two 
kinds, royal and ordinary. For kings, the 
color was red; for princes, blue. The Shah 
of Persia is entitled to a red umbrella. In 
Corea a red umbrella and a violet fan are the 
appendages of royalty,* 
Upon the coins of Herod Agrippa the 
younger appears something very like an 
umbrella, with the 
inscription “ Ba- 
sileos Agripf and 
on the reverse 
three ears of corn. 
Spanheim believes 
this to represent 
the tabernacle or 
tent of the Israel¬ 
ites, alluding to 
their feast of Pentecost. The ears of corn 
may refer also to the same feast, in which first 
fruits were offered. 
It seems strange to think how many out- 
of-the-way corners there are in numismatics 
that can be profitably explored. Mr. Charles 
Von Ernst, of Vienna, has just published a 
well-arranged and valuable work on coins , 
medals and tokens relating to mines and 
mining , illustrated with 62 handsome repro¬ 
ductions of pieces referred to in the text, of 
* An Italian heraldic writer states that “ a verrnilion um¬ 
brella in a field argent symbolizes dominion.” 
which there are described in all one hundred 
and fifteen. 
Another interesting work has just appeared 
from the pen of Leo F. Kuncze, O. S. B., Pro¬ 
fessor in Martinsberg, near Raab, in Ungarn, 
on the subject of Consecration Money. 
Mr. Isaac Myer (Chairman of the Hall 
Committee of the Numismatic and Antiqua¬ 
rian Society of Philadelphia) has just pub¬ 
lished, for private circulation, one hundred 
copies of an essay on the Waterloo medal 
of Pistrucci, which he read before the society 
some years since. The volume, which is 
printed in the highest style of art, contains a 
number of beautiful illustrations, and will be 
a welcome contribution both to the literature 
of Numismatics and the history of Art. 
Mr. T. Whitcombe Greene contributes a 
pleasant article to the Numismatic Chronicle 
(1885, Part I), on the medals of the Renais¬ 
sance, in relation to antique gems and coins. 
(ftoUcrtot# and tfotleeturaA 
Prof. D. B. Brunner, of Reading, Pa., has a 
collection of upward of 3000 specimens of 
Indian antiquities, for the greater part from 
Berks county. 
The conchological collection of Dr. W. D. 
Hartman, of West Chester, Pa., is one of the 
most extensive private collections in the 
United States. It embraces nearly 6000 
species and probably 25,000 specimens. It 
includes many rare shells from all parts of the 
world, the result of thirty years’ collecting. 
His series of Partulas, which includes 190 
different species and varieties, excels the 
collection in the British Museum. 
The Rev. Henry C. Reichardt, of Tunis, 
Africa, owns a most valuable collection of the 
earliest coins of Palestine and Syria, up to 
200 A. D., which includes many rare pieces, 
such as a unique coin of Agrippa II, with his 
portrait, and several Turkish silver paras, 
which are now exceedingly scarce. These 
