ABDUL'S LOST JEWELS

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1018, 6 January 1911, Page 7

ABDUL'S LOST JEWELS

A STOLEN THRONE OF GOLD. GALLON" BOWLS FULL OF GEMS. There have been many theories regardin? (he mysterious disappearance of the deposed Sultan Abdul Ilamid's jewels, says the "Jewellers' Circular- Weekly." It has been said that they were confiscated by the Young Turks at the time of tha Sultan's abdication and sold for the benefit dt' the public funds. Other theories have been advanced, but where the jewels actually are remains a mystery. The jewels which Abdul Hamid possessed are said to bo of raro beauty ami value, aud to be welt worthy of the interest evinced in them and their present whereabouts. They were Abdul Hamid's personal 1 property, ond were never in the Turkish treasury. The vsist amount contained thero is described by William E. Curtis in a recent letter from rbo Orient. In describing the jewels in the treasury, Mr. Curtis writes: "There are perhaps several thousand ot pn?cious stones. Many of them are uncut and all of them uusct, kept in a most careless way in porcelain salad bowls that will bold a gallon each. "Five such bowls are filled with loose diamonds, lubies, emeralds, sapphire*, turquoises, and other gems—perhaps naif a . bushel altogether. On© emerald weighs .twp kilogrammes, and another is almcst of the'same size. They are said to be the largest in tho world. . "Most of these jewels are gifts, heirlooms, and trophies of war. Some of them have'been Landed down through twentyeight generations of Sultans, having been biousnt to Constantinople by Mohammed the Conqueror when lie captuied this city in the middle of the fifteenth century. ; "No matter how hard pressed the Sultans have been for money at dinerenc times, they have refused to S2ll any of these treasures, although from time to time they have selected some jewel or ornament—something that -would uot be misted —for a gift. There is no such mass of useless wealth in all the world, except perhaps in tho treasury of the Kremlin of Moscow, although it is a question which is the raoro valuable.

Gem-Studded Weapons. "Hanging, oil the wall are several suits of armour of silver and sold set with jewels, weapons with seaboards of solid gold and. handles blazing with diamonds. There are collections of imperial robes of the most exquisite silks, velvets, and brocades. . 1 • "There is'a toilet table covered wnn diamonds, and a wash bowl, pitcher, and other toilet articles encrusted with jewels. There aro'cupa of onyx, crystal, and jado, stirrups, and bits atuV briule bits of gold. In the corner of a little caso is a twoquart bowl filled with buttons, caeh set will] a solitaire diamond—hundreds of thorn—which some time or another fastened the garments of an extravagant Sultan.

"But the most gorgeous and overpowering object in the collection is a throne of gold, that looks like an ordinary divan with gilded arms and legs. It is upholstered with rich brocade, in which the designs are worked out with gold threads, and the legs and arms and seat aro veneered ih places with rubies, emeralds, and pearls. This throne was brought as loot of war. from tho palace of of Persia, Teheran, in 1502, by the Sultan Selim I, but is not nearly so beautiful or so costly as the Peacock throne, which is still in tho Persian palace.' "That was the throne of tho Moguls of India, and stood in the hall of . private audience, ill tho palace of Delhi. It was brought, to' Teheran by Nadir,' Shah of Porsia. This throng is telipved to have been the most extravagant and costly picco of furniture ever made, and was so callcd from having tho iigures 'of two peacocks standing behind it, thoir tails expanded to form a background for tho figure of the raognl when he occupied tho seat. of. sovereignty. Theso .iigures of the birds were enamelled with sapphires, rubies, emeralds, pearls, and other precious stones of. appropriate colours to represent life.

• Throne of Solid Gold, "The throne itself was six feet long by four bi'oadj it stood on six massive feet, which,, with the body, were-of. solid gold, inlaid with rubies, emeralds, and diamonds. It was • surmounted by a canopy of cloth of gold, supported by twelve golden pillars, all richlj emblazoned with costly gems, and a fnngo or pearls ornamented tho borders of tho canopy.

"Between tho two peacocks stood the figure of a parrot of the ordinary size, said to have been carved out. of a singlo emerald. Oil each sido of the throne stood ail umbrella, one of tho Oriental emblems ot" royalty. "They were made of crimson velvet, richly ' embroidered ' and fringed with pearls! The handles were eight feet high, of solid gold, and studded with diamonds. The cost of this superb work of art bas •beon variously stated at suras varying from ,£1,000,00 to £6,000,000. It was planned and executed under the supervision of Austin de Bordeaux.

"Travernier, a French jeweller who visited India in 1065, valued this whim of estravaganco at <£'5,000,000. Jonas Ilanwav estimates it as worth <£11,250,000. It stoo'd on a white marble plinth, on which is still to be decipliei'ed tho boast of tho moguls in flowing Persian characters. " . "'lf there be a paradise 1 on earth, it is even. this, eveu this, even this.' "The new Government- of Turkey has never even discussed the sale, of tho mass of jewels in tho seraglio. Such a thing has never been suggested, although the .Administration is in the greatest need of money. It is difficult to understand the awo and veneration with which the baubles aro regarded." •