The Spinel of the Great Imperial Crown
A.E. Fersman (ed.), 1925
reproductionpre1931-platerights: pending
A phototype plate isolating the vast red spinel that crowns the Russian imperial diadem, photographed for the young Soviet state's inventory of the jewels it had seized.
Why it matters
It comes from the catalogue made when a revolution counted the crown it had overthrown - turning regalia into evidence.
Notice
The stone is drilled and irregular - a caravan gem chosen for size and colour rather than a jeweller's symmetry.
Meaning
Every treasury is also a ledger.
Source
A.E. Fersman (ed.), Russia's Treasure of Diamonds and Precious Stones / Almaznyi fond SSSR, Moscow: People's Commissariat of Finances, 1925 view source ↗
Material
colored-stone, diamond
Rights: PENDING. A named source is not the same as registry clearance. Basis on file: PD-pre1931. Shown for this preview only; not offered for sale.
The Famous Stones · The Regalia