Emeralds of the Mogul Empire

I have an amazing treasure for you today! Are you familiar with The Mogul emerald?  I've got the goods on it.

Breathtaking Mogul emerald

 Now remember, India in the 1700's was called the Mogul Empire (there's a map coming up) so naturally, there are many Mogul emeralds, but this gorgeous one in particular because of it's carving is widely regarded as a symbol of the greatest cultural, literary and artistic achievements attained by India during the golden period of Mughal, which also gave us the Taj Mahal, and other architectural master pieces. 

 This emerald, called "The Mogul" emerald is a magnificent carved emerald, with a rich history, belonging to the period of the last of the four great Mughal Emperors of India. This piece is associated with Aurangzeb who reigned between 1658 and 1707, but is not named after him because his name is not found in the inscription.  Note, although this emerald did end up in India, the emerald material itself is Colombian in origin. 

Emperor Aurangzeb holding court seated on a golden throne.Shaista Khan stands behind prince Muhammad Azam. The Emperor is holding a hawk with his right hand.

 Why and how did India end up with emeralds from Columbia?

Most of the emeralds of the Mogul  Empire did come from Columbia, but there is some research  that indicates a small quantity may also have been from Afghanistan as well. In spite of the opulence of European monarchies, the real concentration of wealth of the world at that time was found in the courts of Mogul in India. For this reason, it is speculated that Spanish colonialists who controlled the emeralds mines of Colombia preferred to send a significant quantity of the annual production of emeralds to the courts of the Mogul empire rather than the courts of Europe.  Spain though had first dibs on the goods and here's how it went.

Emeralds mined in Columbia in the historic mines of Muzo, Somondoco and Cosquez were loaded on to the Spanish Galleons that continued on to Panama for gold and silver, then Havana Cuba for other exported goodies like silks and perfumes from China, before sailing through the straits of Florida back to Spain to arrive home just before hurricane season.  The Royal family of Spain took what they wanted of the emeralds, and while the remainder was exported to other countries in Europe, much of the loot was imported to the three Islamic monarchies of the Middle East and India: the Ottoman, Persian, and Mogul Empires. Emeralds bound for the Mogul Empire (India) would have been carried by vessels around the Cape and across the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea to ports on the west coast of the Indian sub-continent,although there were other routes as well.

 Street Scene in India (about 1884–1888, Edwin Lord Weeks) depicts traders purchasing copper in a bazaar. Painting housed in the Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C.

How did these jewels get to the West?

 War of course! War in two phases. The first of it happened when the Iranian conqueror Nadir Shah and his forces sacked Delhi and Agra in 1739.  They carried away an enormous booty that included most of the crown jewels of the Mughal empire.

Nader Shah's portrait from the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. He was born in 1688  or 1698 and reigned from 1736–1747.

Nader Shah's portrait from the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. He was born in 1688  or 1698 and reigned from 1736–1747.

Back home about ten years later, poor Nadir Shah was assassinated by his own bodyguards and most of the jewels in the Iranian treasury were stolen by his commanders and close associates. The Mughal emerald and other treasures fell into the hands of ordinary soldiers and were never recovered.  Eventually and somehow, they did appeared in the capital of western nations, possibly through Istanbul, in Turkey. 

Next, with the decline of the Mughal empire in the mid 1800's and the subsequent rise of British Raj, the entire Mughal treasury was looted again- with most of the valuable jewels and jewelry falling again into the hands of rampaging British soldiers. Thus, most of the stolen jewelry eventually ended up in London and other capital cities of Europe. Many sources indicate that this is how Mughal emerald somehow it reached Paris.

Bahadur Zafar Shah II - Last Mughal Emperor of India

There is a mysterious time lapse here in the records where we don't know exactly what happened, or how it got back to India, so sorry for this fuzzy area here, but I read that Allan Caplan, (1913-1998) supposedly acquired the renowned gemstone during one of his many trips to India where it was again, offered for sale.

Mogul Emerald remained with Allan Caplan until his death in 1998, and was sold by his heir in the year 2001, when the stone was entrusted to Christie's for the sale. The gemstone fetched a record price of 2.2 million dollars at this auction. It is reported that the gemstone is now in the Museum of Islamic Art of the Independent Emirate of Qatar.

Carving Emerald is tricky!

During the Mogul period in India, the art of engraving on emeralds and other precious stones  including diamond (much more difficult than emerald) achieved a high level of craftsmanship and precision. The hardness of emeralds is 7.5 to 8.0 on the Mohs scale, which is quite high, but in spite of its hardness, emerald is a delicate stone because the characteristic presence of many inclusions--even the best stones are known for them. This is why  cutting emeralds is so incredibly difficult even for the most skilled gem-cutter.  Raw crystals are very expensive so the stakes are very high. The Mogul emerald is one of the largest of all inscribed emeralds and the only known carved and dated emerald of the classic Mogul period, so it has become a sort of standard for dating all other Indian carved emeralds.  By the way, the emerald-cut which is a rectangular or square shaped step-cut with beveled corners was specially developed by gem cutters not only to bring out the intrinsic beauty of the gemstone, but also to protect it from mechanical strain.

 Today, engraving like this is done with a fullerite pen or by laser technology. The Mughal craftsman had used a material harder than diamond to achieve this rare feat, but modern-day researches have not been able to uncover the precise material used for this purpose. Some examples of diamonds engraved with Arabic inscriptions are the Shah Diamond, the Akbar-shah/Jehangir Shah diamond, and the Taj Mahal Diamond.

What exactly are the specs for The Mogul Emerald?

COLOR
 Mogul Emerald is of Colombian origin with a dark green color weighing 217.80 carats. Emerald falls under the category of silicates and belongs to the beryl family. Pure beryl is actually colorless and called Goshenite, and so, the color of beryls (including rubies, sapphires, aquamarines)  result from the presence of minerals. This deep-green color of emerald is actually caused by chromium and the paler green colors caused by vanadium.

SHAPE and INSCRIPTION
The emerald has been deliberately cut by the Indian cutters and polishers of the period, as a table-cut, rectangular shaped gemstone, with two parallel flat rectangular faces, with intricate floral designs on one side and beautiful Arabic calligraphy in the Naksh script on the other. The dimensions of the emerald are 52 x 40 x 12 mm, and the mid-point of each of the four sides of the rectangle has been drilled for attachments, so that the gemstone could be mounted and worn as a talisman, with the Arabic inscriptions facing outwards.The inscription represents an invocation of the Shia sect of Islam invoking the blessings of God,  the Holy Prophet Muhammad and the twelve Imams that followed after him.

*all photos of Mogul emerald courtesy of Christie's

TRANSLATION
According to Internet Stones,  the translation of the Arabic invocation into English reads as follows :-

•  Line 1 - Yah Rahman - Oh merciful one!  Yah Raheem - Oh compassionate one! Yah Allah - Oh God!Allah-humma salli ala Muhammad wa  Ali - God bless Muhammad and Ali
• Line 2 - Wa Fathima wa al-Hassan wa Hussain wa Ali -  and Fatimah and al-Hassan and al-Hussain and Ali
• Line 3 - Wa Muhammad wa Ja'far wa Musa -  and Muhammad and Ja'far and Musa
• Line 4 - 11.V - 1107, Wa Ali wa Muhammad wa Ali - and Ali and Muhammad and Ali
• Line 5 - Wal Hussain wal Mahdi al ka'hirah - and al-Hussain and the steadfast Mahdi

The 12 Imams (Leaders of the faith) of Shia Islam after the death of Prophet Muhammad are :-

1) Imam Ali Ibn Abu Ta'lib (4th Caliph of Islam) 2) Imam Hassan (son of Ali)  3) Imam Hussein (son of Ali) 4) Imam Ali Zain-al-abdeen  5) Imam Muhammad al-Baqir  6) Imam Ja'far as-Sādiq 7) Imam Mūsa al-Kazim 8) Imam Ali al-Ridā 9) Imam Muhammad al-Jawād 10) Imam Ali al-Hādi 11) Imam Hassan al-Askari 12) Muhammad al-Mahdi al-Hujjah.

The names given are the names appearing on the invocation carved on the emerald and are names of 12 Imams in the chronological order in which they succeeded one another. The invocation bears only the first name of each Imam, except for the 12th Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi al-Hujjah, whose name appears as Mahdi, which in Arabic means the "divinely guided one." Muhammad al-Mahdi al-Hujjah is also known as Muhammad al-Muntazar, the hidden Imam, as the Shia Muslims believe that in the year 878 A.D. the Imam disappeared without any trace. His material body is believed to have transformed into the spiritual world and shall remain hidden until a few years before the day of judgment, when it is said he will re-appear as a messianic deliverer known as the Mahdi, who is hoped will fill the earth with justice and equity, restore true religion, and usher in a short golden age lasting about seven years before the end of the world.

Floral pattern on the reverse side of the Mogul emerald

 The reverse side of the emerald-tablet is carved with floral and foliate decorations, typical of the naturalistic decoration of the period, reflecting the Mughal love of nature. The decoration consists of a central rosette, with a single large poppy flower with basal foliage leaves on either side, situated above and below, with a line of three smaller poppy flowers with basal foliage leaves,  on either side. The edges of the rectangular faces are carved right round with cross pattern incisions.
 
  Allan Caplan, acquired the renowned gemstone during one of his many trips to India where it was offered for sale.

Allan Caplan married Miss Brazil while over there, but they were later divorced with no children.

Mogul Emerald remained with Allan Caplan until his death in 1998, and was sold by his heir in the year 2001, when the stone was entrusted to Christie's for the sale. The gemstone fetched a record price of 2.2 million dollars at this auction. It is reported that the gemstone is now in the Museum of Islamic Art of the Independent Emirate of Qatar.

Here are some other examples of Mogul carved emeralds....

Moghul emerald and diamond necklace and pendant

©Smithsonian, Photography by Ken Larsen

Agra Emerald - Programa Royal Collection

© Programa Royal Collections. Agrupación Europea de Interés Económico 2006

  *Mogul, Moghul, Mughal, all terms for the same thing, are used throughout interchangeably. My apologies if that's bad form, it's just the differences from the Persian translation and typical English usage spelling.