Turquoise in historyBy:Ashutosh Roy
Summary: Started off its journey from Maghara Wadi mines of Sinai Peninsula in Egypt and Alimersai Mountain region of Persia (presently Iran). It came into Europe via Turkey at the time of the Crusades.
Turquoise - A snippet of its past
Are you planning of gifting the Zuni bracelet, Navajo conch belt or squash
blossom necklace in your coming anniversary? Then its better to delve into
the background of the key component of the above - the turquoise, the
ancient, yet the most modern December birthstone.
Turquoise, one of the most valuable non-transparent minerals used in the
jewelry trade, started off its journey from Maghara Wadi mines of Sinai
Peninsula in Egypt and Alimersai Mountain region of Persia (presently Iran).
It came into Europe via Turkey at the time of the Crusades. Victorian and
Art Nouveau jewelry had Turquoise as a major component. At present it is the
most widely used stone all over the world. Archeological sites show that it
was a very popular trade item. The proof lies in tracing Cerillos Turquoise
with the Aztecs, Persian Turquoise with Europeans. It is said that the son
of Abraham used to supply Turquoise from the mines of Nishapur of Persia to
Europe, Asian Countries and United States for years.
The name has come from the word Turquie, the French description "Pierre
turquin", which means dark blue stone. There is a slight misconception
Turkey has never produced Turquoise. Turquoise used to be traded to Europe
via Turkey.
Glittering effect of the turquoise blue has enhanced the beautification of
the ornaments for years. The main usage of Turquoise is an ornamental stone
for inlays, carving and Jewelry. But this gemstone has been treated as a
sacred stone since its inception.
Approximately in 6000 BC, Turquoise was found in the bracelets of mummified
Queen Zer. In around 3000 BC, there were traces of Turquoise based ornaments
in tombs and burial grounds. Sumerians and Egyptians used to produce highly
sophisticated gold ornaments, by inlaying Turquoise. There are clear
evidences of Pharaohs and Aztec King wearing Turquoise. Some used to
decorate their teeth with Turquoise. The history also speaks of the usage of
turquoise in ornaments by Native Americans and by many Indian tribes in
Mexico. Indians has been using Turquoise in beads since the pre-Columbian
days. In around 1880, the famous Indian style silver jewelry with Turquoise
gained popularity.
In the ancient civilization of Persia, the people used to wear it around the
neck or on the hand with the belief of protecting from unnatural death. The
conviction of treating Turquoise as a holy stone was up to the extent, where
the wearer used to seal it by pearl and other covers to hide it from the
jealous eyes. Al Kazwini, the Persian philosopher wrote that the hand
wearing a Turquoise could never become poor. So, don't get surprised, if you
find a Turquoise in the middle finger of a Chief Executive of a corporate
house.
Turquoise has been also treated as a holy stone in various parts of America.
The ancient Aztecs in Peru used Turquoise in their ceremonies. The Indians
residing in America used to believe that the sky blue colour of the stone
has got a direct connection with the sky and saves the warriors and hunters.
Turquoise used to be mounted upon the arrowhead for accuracy, one of the
most ancient weapons for hunting. The Navaho used to believe that Turquoise
is a piece of Sky, so casting a piece of turquoise in the sea will cause
rainfall. According to the Apache, it combines the spirit of sea and sky to
protect one from all natural calamities. The Zuni used Turquoise to protect
them from demons. Aztec and Egyptian used to consider Turquoise as a symbol
of prosperity. There are evidences where the pre-historic people like
Anasazi and Hohokam used to mine Turquoise for future.
Some ancient sites have revealed the usage of Turquoise in various stages of
lapidary treatment. Turquoise was believed to use in other treatments in the
past also like eye diseases, stomach disorders, injury and bleeding etc.
There are many such instances in the history, where the Turquoise has been
treated as a holy stone for bringing wealth and happiness by fighting
against the dark days and the evil power. The myth of Turquoise started with
the horse riders (to stop accidents) in the earlier days and still
continuing to be the treated as the most powerful stone for the
accident-prone professions like Flight staff, aviators. In the Astrological
schools, Turquoise is described as the confidence earning and relationship
building stone. Crystal Healers and New Age believers treat Turquoise as the
master healing stone with special strengths for recovering from respiratory,
skeletal system, immune diseases. In the mental healing part it works best
for communication. So, if you are getting frustrated because the audience
never holds patience, when you deliver lectures, you may try out Turquoise
as well.
Turquoise is supposed to be the gift of the nature. It is heard that the
Egyptians used to send salve convoys deep into the Arabian Dessert to
extract Turquoise. In the earlier days Turquoise used to be collected by the
rock hounds. History has been able to trace the extensive use of Turquoise
by Native Americans and many Indian tribes since 200 B.C. in the form of
beads and pendants.
As the popularity goes up, the price goes high. Now, you may even think
Turquoise as an investment option like King Tut, whose treasures include a
significant quantity of Turquoise. As success has many fathers, Joseph
Harriss claims Turquoise to be an integral part of the new world culture of
America. The fact is that the usage started with the Native Americans and
Indian tribes of Mexico. When the Spanish reached the new world, since then
Turquoise had been seen as a common ingredient of royal and ceremonial
jewelry. At times, Turquoise used to be priced even more than gold.
Aristotle, Pliny and others have also referred to the stone, Turquoise. In
Tibet, Turquoise had been even used for currency for years.
Pricing of Turquoise is one of the biggest and controversial factors. There
are several varieties arising from several geographical locations. To make
matters further worse, the synthetic Turquoise has been spread out in the
market. The best quality Turquoise may price even at $2,200 per KG.
Today the popularity has gone to such an extent that contemporary designers
like Ray Tracery and Brothers, Alvin and Brian Yellow horse have started
designing new bracelets with Turquoise based on this old tradition.
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