Tavernier's Great Diamonds of India
Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, Les Six Voyages (Utrecht ed.), 1712
reproductionpre1931-platerights: pending
An engraved plate laying out, at true weight and in outline, the great Indian diamonds a 17th-century gem merchant weighed in his own hand.
Why it matters
An early Western field record of the Golconda stones that seeded Europe's treasuries, drawn by the man who sold a blue diamond to a king.
Notice
Each stone is shown from several faces at once - a merchant's habit of judging a diamond by turning it to the light.
Meaning
A stone outlives every hand that holds it.
Source
Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, Les Six Voyages de Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, Utrecht: Guillaume vande Water, 1712 (diamonds plate) view source ↗
Material
diamond, colored-stone
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.
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