The lost wax casting technique is almost impossible to use if the finished object must be of a sp... more The lost wax casting technique is almost impossible to use if the finished object must be of a specified weight or must utilize all of a given batch of metal. This basic fact helps to explain why Old World ancient gold jewelry, particularly of Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine origin, is almost always-hand wrought rather than cast. Similar considerations relate to the manufacture of copper-alloy weights or other objects which appear to be of predetermined weight. The study of the manufacture of archaeological and ancient art objects should attempt to explain why they were made by a particular method. Frequently the answer is obvious, but sometimes the ancient choice of technique can reflect practicalities or features of economics that are less readily apparent today. Consideration of ancient craft practices along these lines can shed light on problems concerning many manufacturing processes. For the purposes of this paper, metal casting is taken as a case in point.
A brief study of two medieval gold ornaments from Java set with zircons. The gems were identified... more A brief study of two medieval gold ornaments from Java set with zircons. The gems were identified by portable XRF and visible light sepectrometry.
Are there diamonds in Brazil? There was no straightforward answer to this question in the eightee... more Are there diamonds in Brazil? There was no straightforward answer to this question in the eighteenth century, despite the fact that, as we now know, diamonds were discovered in the mountainous region of Serro do Frio in the 1720s. The discovery is usually associated with a man named Bernardo Fonseca Lobo, who claimed credit for the discovery in a petition to the Portuguese crown. 1 But Lobo claimed to have made the discovery in 1723, five years before he showed the diamonds to the Portuguese Governor of Brazil. A plausible explanation for the delay is that Lobo had taken five years to identify the stones as diamonds. At any rate, that was the view of Sylvestre Garcia do Amaral, a lapidary from Lisbon who claimed to have made this identification before anyone else, in 1727. Amaral may have identified the stones by sight or, more reliably, by attempting to cut them on a rotating iron wheel sprinkled with powdered M. Bycroft
... The Mycenaean motifs range from spirals to figures of sphinxes. Gold wire and granulation Of ... more ... The Mycenaean motifs range from spirals to figures of sphinxes. Gold wire and granulation Of the other components, wire and granulation have ... 9 Pair of Etruscan gold 'basket' earrings with intricate granulation and filigree decoration. Sixth century BC. Private collection Page 7. ...
The memoirs of the French gem merchant and traveller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1605–1689) are well... more The memoirs of the French gem merchant and traveller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1605–1689) are well known and shed much light on the European gem trade with India during the 17th century. A surviving factum (a submitted summary of a legal case) provides some supplementary information, as it details a claim made by Tavernier against the children and heirs of Parisian jeweller Daniel Chardin following his sixth trip to the East. We learn something of Tavernier’s practical problems regarding extortionate Ottoman customs-duty demands and how he financed his trade. The diamonds he purchased in India were bought and sold by him on behalf of a syndicate of French merchants and investors, all of whom received a share of the profits. The royal goldsmith Jean Pitan (or Pitau), who received a brokerage fee for their sale, was a close relative by marriage to Tavernier. One of the stones brought back to France by Tavernier on this sixth and final voyage was a large blue diamond of slightly over 115 metric carats, which he sold to King Louis XIV in 1669. It was recut in 1673 as ‘the blue diamond of the crown’ or French Blue, and ultimately became what we know as the Hope Diamond in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington DC, USA. A letter dated early 1668 between British diplomats in the region provides a tantalizing hint that Tavernier might have purchased this large blue diamond in Isfahan, Persia, for the equivalent then of £7,000, and also sheds some light on Tavernier’s competitor, David Bazu.
Our knowledge of the history of the French Blue/Hope diamond between the time of its theft from t... more Our knowledge of the history of the French Blue/Hope diamond between the time of its theft from the French Crown Jewels in 1792 and its publication as part of the collection of Henry Philip Hope in 1839 has many tantalising gaps. Based on new research, this article covers what we now know of this diamond after its reappearance in London in 1812. A painting of the diamond by the mineralogist James Sowerby has been located, along with Sowerby's notes. These formed the basis for an advertising pamphlet for the gem produced by London jeweller Daniel Eliason, published in English and French versions, which can now be dated to 1813. We also learn that Eliason and Sowerby exhibited, or at least planned to exhibit, a blue glass model of the diamond at the Linnean Society in London. Several sources point to 1821 as being the year Henry Philip Hope purchased the diamond in London. The testimonies in the 1840s court cases surrounding the ownership of Hope's gem collection following his death in 1839 provide useful background information and, remarkably, suggest that in 1838 there was an attempt to sell the diamond back to the French Crown.
A gold ring (pi. Lxxxia, b) said to have been found near Grantham, Lincolnshire, was recently mad... more A gold ring (pi. Lxxxia, b) said to have been found near Grantham, Lincolnshire, was recently made available for examination by the authors. It is of distinctive late Hellenistic type, with prominent bezel and slender hoop, which is hollow and so creates a splendid visual impression for a relatively modest quantity of precious metal. A moulded intaglio in amber-coloured glass occupies the setting.3 Apart from the intrinsic value of the find, it provides a good opportunity to outline the techniques employed in the manufacture of jewellery of this kind.
Medieval documents can provide information about the types of gems in use at that time and their ... more Medieval documents can provide information about the types of gems in use at that time and their terminology. Some such texts show a level of sophistication regarding what we might consider to be early gemmology, prompting questions as to how such knowledge was passed on. This article considers the range of gems used in thirteenth-century England and the level of gemmological knowledge at the time, based on an inventory of the treasures owned by St Albans Abbey that was drawn up in 1257 (British Library, Cotton MS Nero D I). The compiler was the monk and polymath Matthew Paris (ca. 1200–1259), and the inventory is noteworthy for its detailed descriptions and colour paintings of each object. From these we can learn about the range of gems familiar during that period, as well as the way in which different qualities and origins were described, and even some terminology used for jewellery settings.
This book series addresses people in humanities (mainly archaeologists, arthistorians, conservati... more This book series addresses people in humanities (mainly archaeologists, arthistorians, conservation scientists, anthropologists, historians, etc.) who are interested in the technical aspects of materials and/or objects. As this series aims to fill the gap in knowledge on technical aspects of different materials, readers should have a better understanding after studying the 'introductions' included in the series, which will refer to more advanced texts on the topic at hand. The series is didactic and provides sufficient background information to understand the different aspects of the materials studied. This gives readers the opportunity to reach a level that allows them to interact with specialists or to understand scientific papers in the specific research domain.
The Hornby diamond has received scant attention in the literature on gems, with writers noting me... more The Hornby diamond has received scant attention in the literature on gems, with writers noting merely that it was supposedly sold to a shah in Persia in the early 1800s. Detailed information about this diamond is available, however, in a book written by the British diplomat Sir Harford Jones Brydges in the 1830s. From this and other documentation it is possible to pick up the trail of this ~60 ct pink diamond, proceeding from the Iranian Shah Karim Khan to India and then to Britain, where it was put up for auction, and finally back to the Iranian court where, as a diplomatic gift, it helped thwart Napoleon’s plans to invade British India. If this diamond still resides within the Iranian Crown jewels, it seems possible that it is the pink Nur al-‘Ayn (‘Light of the Eye’), which is estimated to weigh approximately 60 ct.
... JM OGDEN Faience from Sinai and Cyprus ... It was found in a Late-Cypriot IIC context of the ... more ... JM OGDEN Faience from Sinai and Cyprus ... It was found in a Late-Cypriot IIC context of the middle of the thirteenth century, but it may have been made earlier, quite probably in Cyprus (or possibly on the Syrian mainland) where a meeting of the three traditions would be natural. ...
... Author: Untracht, Oppi Title of Source: Jewelry concepts and technology Publisher/Distributor... more ... Author: Untracht, Oppi Title of Source: Jewelry concepts and technology Publisher/Distributor: Doubleday Publisher/Distributor City: Garden City AATA Number: 20-2208 Date of Publication: 1982 Page Numbers: 864 Collation: Xxiv + 840 p. : ill., fig., 12 pl., 28, 5 cm ISBN ...
The lost wax casting technique is almost impossible to use if the finished object must be of a sp... more The lost wax casting technique is almost impossible to use if the finished object must be of a specified weight or must utilize all of a given batch of metal. This basic fact helps to explain why Old World ancient gold jewelry, particularly of Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine origin, is almost always-hand wrought rather than cast. Similar considerations relate to the manufacture of copper-alloy weights or other objects which appear to be of predetermined weight. The study of the manufacture of archaeological and ancient art objects should attempt to explain why they were made by a particular method. Frequently the answer is obvious, but sometimes the ancient choice of technique can reflect practicalities or features of economics that are less readily apparent today. Consideration of ancient craft practices along these lines can shed light on problems concerning many manufacturing processes. For the purposes of this paper, metal casting is taken as a case in point.
A brief study of two medieval gold ornaments from Java set with zircons. The gems were identified... more A brief study of two medieval gold ornaments from Java set with zircons. The gems were identified by portable XRF and visible light sepectrometry.
Are there diamonds in Brazil? There was no straightforward answer to this question in the eightee... more Are there diamonds in Brazil? There was no straightforward answer to this question in the eighteenth century, despite the fact that, as we now know, diamonds were discovered in the mountainous region of Serro do Frio in the 1720s. The discovery is usually associated with a man named Bernardo Fonseca Lobo, who claimed credit for the discovery in a petition to the Portuguese crown. 1 But Lobo claimed to have made the discovery in 1723, five years before he showed the diamonds to the Portuguese Governor of Brazil. A plausible explanation for the delay is that Lobo had taken five years to identify the stones as diamonds. At any rate, that was the view of Sylvestre Garcia do Amaral, a lapidary from Lisbon who claimed to have made this identification before anyone else, in 1727. Amaral may have identified the stones by sight or, more reliably, by attempting to cut them on a rotating iron wheel sprinkled with powdered M. Bycroft
... The Mycenaean motifs range from spirals to figures of sphinxes. Gold wire and granulation Of ... more ... The Mycenaean motifs range from spirals to figures of sphinxes. Gold wire and granulation Of the other components, wire and granulation have ... 9 Pair of Etruscan gold 'basket' earrings with intricate granulation and filigree decoration. Sixth century BC. Private collection Page 7. ...
The memoirs of the French gem merchant and traveller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1605–1689) are well... more The memoirs of the French gem merchant and traveller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1605–1689) are well known and shed much light on the European gem trade with India during the 17th century. A surviving factum (a submitted summary of a legal case) provides some supplementary information, as it details a claim made by Tavernier against the children and heirs of Parisian jeweller Daniel Chardin following his sixth trip to the East. We learn something of Tavernier’s practical problems regarding extortionate Ottoman customs-duty demands and how he financed his trade. The diamonds he purchased in India were bought and sold by him on behalf of a syndicate of French merchants and investors, all of whom received a share of the profits. The royal goldsmith Jean Pitan (or Pitau), who received a brokerage fee for their sale, was a close relative by marriage to Tavernier. One of the stones brought back to France by Tavernier on this sixth and final voyage was a large blue diamond of slightly over 115 metric carats, which he sold to King Louis XIV in 1669. It was recut in 1673 as ‘the blue diamond of the crown’ or French Blue, and ultimately became what we know as the Hope Diamond in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington DC, USA. A letter dated early 1668 between British diplomats in the region provides a tantalizing hint that Tavernier might have purchased this large blue diamond in Isfahan, Persia, for the equivalent then of £7,000, and also sheds some light on Tavernier’s competitor, David Bazu.
Our knowledge of the history of the French Blue/Hope diamond between the time of its theft from t... more Our knowledge of the history of the French Blue/Hope diamond between the time of its theft from the French Crown Jewels in 1792 and its publication as part of the collection of Henry Philip Hope in 1839 has many tantalising gaps. Based on new research, this article covers what we now know of this diamond after its reappearance in London in 1812. A painting of the diamond by the mineralogist James Sowerby has been located, along with Sowerby's notes. These formed the basis for an advertising pamphlet for the gem produced by London jeweller Daniel Eliason, published in English and French versions, which can now be dated to 1813. We also learn that Eliason and Sowerby exhibited, or at least planned to exhibit, a blue glass model of the diamond at the Linnean Society in London. Several sources point to 1821 as being the year Henry Philip Hope purchased the diamond in London. The testimonies in the 1840s court cases surrounding the ownership of Hope's gem collection following his death in 1839 provide useful background information and, remarkably, suggest that in 1838 there was an attempt to sell the diamond back to the French Crown.
A gold ring (pi. Lxxxia, b) said to have been found near Grantham, Lincolnshire, was recently mad... more A gold ring (pi. Lxxxia, b) said to have been found near Grantham, Lincolnshire, was recently made available for examination by the authors. It is of distinctive late Hellenistic type, with prominent bezel and slender hoop, which is hollow and so creates a splendid visual impression for a relatively modest quantity of precious metal. A moulded intaglio in amber-coloured glass occupies the setting.3 Apart from the intrinsic value of the find, it provides a good opportunity to outline the techniques employed in the manufacture of jewellery of this kind.
Medieval documents can provide information about the types of gems in use at that time and their ... more Medieval documents can provide information about the types of gems in use at that time and their terminology. Some such texts show a level of sophistication regarding what we might consider to be early gemmology, prompting questions as to how such knowledge was passed on. This article considers the range of gems used in thirteenth-century England and the level of gemmological knowledge at the time, based on an inventory of the treasures owned by St Albans Abbey that was drawn up in 1257 (British Library, Cotton MS Nero D I). The compiler was the monk and polymath Matthew Paris (ca. 1200–1259), and the inventory is noteworthy for its detailed descriptions and colour paintings of each object. From these we can learn about the range of gems familiar during that period, as well as the way in which different qualities and origins were described, and even some terminology used for jewellery settings.
This book series addresses people in humanities (mainly archaeologists, arthistorians, conservati... more This book series addresses people in humanities (mainly archaeologists, arthistorians, conservation scientists, anthropologists, historians, etc.) who are interested in the technical aspects of materials and/or objects. As this series aims to fill the gap in knowledge on technical aspects of different materials, readers should have a better understanding after studying the 'introductions' included in the series, which will refer to more advanced texts on the topic at hand. The series is didactic and provides sufficient background information to understand the different aspects of the materials studied. This gives readers the opportunity to reach a level that allows them to interact with specialists or to understand scientific papers in the specific research domain.
The Hornby diamond has received scant attention in the literature on gems, with writers noting me... more The Hornby diamond has received scant attention in the literature on gems, with writers noting merely that it was supposedly sold to a shah in Persia in the early 1800s. Detailed information about this diamond is available, however, in a book written by the British diplomat Sir Harford Jones Brydges in the 1830s. From this and other documentation it is possible to pick up the trail of this ~60 ct pink diamond, proceeding from the Iranian Shah Karim Khan to India and then to Britain, where it was put up for auction, and finally back to the Iranian court where, as a diplomatic gift, it helped thwart Napoleon’s plans to invade British India. If this diamond still resides within the Iranian Crown jewels, it seems possible that it is the pink Nur al-‘Ayn (‘Light of the Eye’), which is estimated to weigh approximately 60 ct.
... JM OGDEN Faience from Sinai and Cyprus ... It was found in a Late-Cypriot IIC context of the ... more ... JM OGDEN Faience from Sinai and Cyprus ... It was found in a Late-Cypriot IIC context of the middle of the thirteenth century, but it may have been made earlier, quite probably in Cyprus (or possibly on the Syrian mainland) where a meeting of the three traditions would be natural. ...
... Author: Untracht, Oppi Title of Source: Jewelry concepts and technology Publisher/Distributor... more ... Author: Untracht, Oppi Title of Source: Jewelry concepts and technology Publisher/Distributor: Doubleday Publisher/Distributor City: Garden City AATA Number: 20-2208 Date of Publication: 1982 Page Numbers: 864 Collation: Xxiv + 840 p. : ill., fig., 12 pl., 28, 5 cm ISBN ...
Research on the Idol's Eye Diamond.
UNCORRECTED PROOF from Ogden, Jack M. 2019. ‘Gems and the Gem... more Research on the Idol's Eye Diamond. UNCORRECTED PROOF from Ogden, Jack M. 2019. ‘Gems and the Gem Trade in India’ in Beyond Extravagance: a Royal Collection of Gems and Jewels, ed. Amin Jaffer. 2nd edition 2 vols. Assouline: New York.
Chapter from Castellani and Italian Archaeological Jewelery (Bard Graduate Center and Yale University Press}, 2004
A study of the techniques used for Castellani's replication of classical jewellery and how it var... more A study of the techniques used for Castellani's replication of classical jewellery and how it varied from the ancient, with a particular focus on granulation.
A study of gem working in Mughal India with parallel and Europe, based on research forte author's... more A study of gem working in Mughal India with parallel and Europe, based on research forte author's chapter gems in the catalogue of a Qatari royal collection of Mughal goldwork and gems.
A review of "The Mineral and the Visual: Precious Stones in Medieval Secular Culture" by Brigitte... more A review of "The Mineral and the Visual: Precious Stones in Medieval Secular Culture" by Brigitte Buettner (Penn Uni Press 2022)
A review of the book by Stefanos Karampelas, Lore Kiefert, Danilo Bersani, and Peter Vandenabeele... more A review of the book by Stefanos Karampelas, Lore Kiefert, Danilo Bersani, and Peter Vandenabeele. Published by Springer 2020.
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Papers by Jack Ogden
UNCORRECTED PROOF from Ogden, Jack M. 2019. ‘Gems and the Gem Trade in India’ in Beyond Extravagance: a Royal Collection of Gems and Jewels, ed. Amin Jaffer. 2nd edition 2 vols. Assouline:
New York.