“Nga Mauk & Kallahpyan Rubies.”
Origin of name
The two rubies “Nga Mauk” and “Kallahpyan” are believed to have originated from the same enormous 560-carat Mogok ruby, which happened to be subsequently split into two. The larger part which was given to the king, was cut and polished into a 98-carat finished stone and came to be known as the “Nga Mauk Ruby” after the name of the original owner of the rough stone. The smaller half of the stone that was secretly smuggled out of the country but subsequently traced and brought back, was processed into a 74-carat finished ruby, and came to be known as the “Kallahpyan Ruby” which means literally “returned from India.” The two exceptional quality rubies remained in the royal treasury of the Burmese King Mindon Min (1853-78), but disappeared without any trace after the defeat and annexation of Upper Burma by the British in 1885.
Characteristics of the gemstone
One of the finest Mogok rubies ever found
The enormous 560-carat rough ruby was said to be one of the finest Mogok rubies ever found according to Edwin Streeter. The rough stone undoubtedly would have been a “ko-twe”, meaning “pigeon’s blood” which in the ancient Burmese system of classifying rubies is the color of the highest grade of rubies. Thus the color of the two rubies would have been a glowing red color similar to a red traffic light. The red glow is caused by the strong red fluorescence of the rubies in light rich in ultra-violet light. The clarity of the stones would have been flawless, or at least “eye clean,” which is usually the highest clarity you can get in rubies, because all natural rubies contain flaws and inclusions to some extent. In fact, the presence of at least some inclusions in a ruby, assures a buyer as to the genuineness of his purchase. The cut of the two rubies are not known, but the carat weights of the “Nga Mauk” and “Kallahpyan” are 98 carats and 74 carats respectively.
Ancient Burmese system of classifying rubies
Burmese rubies are classified into five types according to the ancient Burmese system of classification. The five types in descending order of quality are as follows:-
1) Ko-twe – pigeon’s blood – the highest quality
2) Yeong-twe – rabbit blood
3) Bho-kyaik – preference of the British
4) Leh-kow-seet – bracelet quality
5) Ka-la-ngoh – crying Indian quality – the lowest quality
1) Ko-twe
This is the finest hue of ruby, compared with the color of pigeon’s-blood or the fresh seeds of pomegranate. But, according to Richard Hughes this prime color ruby is best compared with the glowing red color of a red traffic signal or stop light.
2) Yeong-twe
This is the second best color of rubies compared with the color of rabbit blood. The color is a little darker than ko-twe and more bluish-red.
3) Bho-kyaik
Bho-kyaik means preference of the British and the color is a deep hot pink.
4) Leh-kow-seet
The expression literally means bracelet quality, but the actual color is a light pink color.
5) Ka-la-ngoh -
This is the lowest grade in the Burmese ruby scale. The expression ka-la-ngoh means “crying Indian quality” or “even an Indian would cry.” This is a very dark-red color, said to be darker than an Indian’s skin, to the extent that even Indians would cry out in despair when confronted with this quality. This low quality stones were sold mostly in Bombay or Madras.
Characteristics of good quality rubies
Some of the characteristics of good quality Burmese rubies are listed below.
1) The size of the stone should be at least one carat. Larger the size of the ruby greater is the value of the stone.
2) The stone should have at least a bho-kyaik color. Higher color grades than this have greater value.
3) The table facet should be perpendicular to the c-axis.
4) The clarity should be “eye clean.”
5) The stone should have good luster. Most Burmese rubies do have good luster because of the strong red fluorescence.
6) The stone should be well cut, with a minimum of extinction. Extinction is caused by too deep or too shallow facets that allow light to escape through it causing dark patches on the stone when viewed from above.
7) The stone should have the minimum quantity of “silk” -tiny rutile fibers- that scatter light onto facets that otherwise would be extinct, and help spread the color across the greater part of the gems face.
History of the “Nga Mauk” and “Kallahpyan” rubies
Discovery of the 560-carat rough stone
King Mindon Min who reigned between 1853 and 1878 was one of the last kings of Burma, whose kingdom was based in Mandalay in Upper Burma. During his reign it was reported that a man found an enormous rough ruby weighing 7 Burmese ticals, equivalent to 560 carats. The ruby was said to be one of the finest Mogok rubies ever found. According to some authorities, the man’s wife who apparently was ignorant about the true value of the stone, traded it for a rupees worth of fish condiments, to a man named Nga Mauk. But, other authorities do not mention anything about this transaction. What we know for certain is that the enormous rough ruby came into the possession of Nga Mauk.
The rough stone is broken into two unequal halves
Nga Mauk was well aware of the royal decree that was in force at that time in the kingdom of Mandalay, that all rubies beyond a certain size and value discovered in the kings domain, automatically became the property of the king. He was also no doubt aware of the consequences that would follow if a subject of the domain breached this stringent decree. Thus Nga Mauk, instead of hiding the stone or smuggling it across to India, and selling it at a profit, decided to break the stone into two. The bigger half he surrendered to the king in keeping with the provisions of the law, and apparently the king seemed to be very pleased by the action of his loyal subject. He sent the smaller half secretly across to India, hoping to dispose the stone at a profit, in the commercial city of Calcutta. Thus Nga Mauk’s real intentions were not only to please his king in keeping with the law, but also to make a slight profit for the betterment of the lives of himself and his family.
Cruel punishment given to the villagers for cheating the king
Unfortunately a jealous informant briefed the king of what actually transpired, and the king became furious when he learnt that he had been cheated. Mindon Min ordered that the second half of the stone that was taken to Calcutta, be brought back to his domain immediately, and imposed the most harshest punishment traditionally available to the monarchy under such situations, in order to deter the repetition of such offences in the future. He ordered that the entire village and its inhabitants be burnt alive as a deterrent punishment, and the order was duly carried out. In the meantime the king’s agents who were dispatched to Calcutta, made a frantic search for the missing half of the gem, and were successful in tracing it. They eventually purchased the missing half for an enormous sum of money and brought it back to Burma, where to everybody’s relief it was found that the missing half made a perfect fit with the other half of the enormous gemstone. The cruel king was satisfied with the recovery exercise, and ordered that both halves of the rough stone be cut and polished in Mandalay. Accordingly, the larger half of the stone was processed into a 98-carat ruby, that came to be known as the “Nga Mauk,” and the smaller half became a 74-carat ruby, that was called the “Kallahpyan,” meaning, returned from India.
Disappearance of the Burmese crown jewels including the “Nga Mauk” and “Kallahpyan”
The two exceptional quality gemstones remained in the treasury of King Mindon Min and finally in the treasury of the last king of Burma, King Thebaw until the year 1885, when upper Burma was annexed by the British, when the two stones disappeared without any trace. In fact the “Nga Mauk” and the “Kallahpyan” disappeared together with the entire crown jewels of the king, the same night the British captured Mandalay and sealed the palace of the king. King Thebaw’s ministers obtained permission for Queen Supayalat’s ladies to come and go as they wished, as they were attending to the needs of the Queen. This appeared to be actually a ruse, as throughout the night the ladies who went in and out of the palace, carried most of the crown jewels of the royal family out of the palace and to a secret hide out from where they were dispersed later. Thus Burma turned out to be one country where the British Colonialists were not able to lay their hands on the crown jewels, as it was done in other countries such as India and Sri Lanka
“J. N. Forster Rubies.”
Origin of name
Two large rubies belonging to the Burmese royal family weighing 37 carats and 47 carats were brought into England in 1875 for sale in the British market. J. N. Forster decided to re-cut the two stones as they did not conform to British standards. The smaller stone was re-cut to 32.31 carats and the larger stone to 39.56 carats, and subsequently put up for sale. The two re-cut rubies then came to be known as the “J. N. Forster Rubies.”
Characteristics of the gemstones
The two rubies must have been the finest pigeon’s blood color rubies ?
The smaller stone which weighed 37 carats was said to be a cushion-cut rich-red stone. The larger stone was a drop-shaped stone of 47 carats, probably of the same rich-red tone. The two rubies belonged to King Mindon Min (1853-78) whose kingdom was based in Mandalay in central Burma. Thus the rubies undoubtedly originated in Mogok, Burma, renowned for its high quality rubies. According to Streeter, gem experts of the time had pronounced the rubies to be of exceptional quality, unrivaled for rubies of such large size. This is further confirmed by the fact, that extra security precautions were taken, by providing a military escort to the persons who carried the two stones to the London-bound ship. Thus going by all these evidences, and the fact that the stones were a rich-red color, we can conclude that the two rubies must have belonged to the ko-twe variety of rubies in the Burmese system of classification, which is the highest quality of rubies having the finest hue known as pigeon’s blood color. The clarity of the stones must also have been quite good, at least “eye clean,” given that inclusions in rubies are generally the rule rather than the exception.
The rubies are re-cut in London by J. N. Forster
The rubies were re-cut in London to conform to European standards and after re-cutting the smaller ruby weighed 32.31 carats and the larger ruby 39.56 carats. In all probability the original cushion and drop shapes of the two stones must have been maintained during the re-cutting.
The significance of fluorescence in Burma rubies
Burmese rubies are noted for their strong red fluorescence in ultra-violet light and in sunlight rich in u-v light. This property of Burmese rubies impart a warm red glow to the gemstones, which otherwise would be dull red, like the Thai and Cambodian rubies, which show only a weak fluorescence. The dispersion of rubies is only 0.018 as compared to diamonds which have a dispersion of 0.044. The high dispersion of diamonds impart “fire” to the stones, which is so characteristic of diamonds. The low dispersion of rubies on the other hand should result in a lack of “fire” in these stones, making them dull in appearance. However, the tendency of Burmese rubies to show a strong red fluorescence, more than compensates for the lack of fire due to low dispersion.
The glowing red color of Burmese rubies which has been compared to a red traffic light or stop light by Richard Hughes is therefore a combination of intense-red body color and strong-red fluorescent emission. The red fluorescence tends to cover the dark areas in the stone that are caused by “extinction”, a phenomenon caused when light escapes through a deep or shallow facet from the pavilion of the stone, instead of being totally and internally reflected.
Another significance of fluorescence in Burma rubies is that the combination of the intense-red body color and strong-red fluorescence might possibly indicate the country of origin of the gemstone. However, countries like Afghanistan and Kenya also produce rubies with the same combination of color and fluorescence, even though they are quite rare. Recently, Vietnam has also been producing Burma quality rubies, with the same combination of properties.
Other characteristic properties of Rubies
Ruby is the red variety of the mineral called corundum (crystalline aluminum oxide) in which the red color is caused by some atoms of aluminum in the crystal lattice being displaced by chromium. All other varieties of the mineral corundum such as violet, blue, green, yellow, orange and white are called sapphires.
Rubies crystallize in the trigonal (hexagonal) system and form short hexagonal prisms. The hardness of ruby is 9 on the Mohs scale. The excellent hardness and toughness of ruby make them ideal for setting in durable jewelry either alone or in combination with diamonds. The specific gravity of ruby, varies from 3.99 to 4.02. They have a double refractive index, 1.761 and 1.769, and birefringence which is the difference between the two is 0.008. The dispersion of rubies is 0.018, which is low compared to diamonds, which is 0.044.
Rubies are strongly dichroic, with the deepest color perpendicular to the c-axis. The two colors that appear in the dichroscope are intense purple-red and light orange-red. Dichroism can be used to distinguish between rubies and other look-alikes such as red spinels and red garnets, which do not show this property, being crystals of the cubic system, and are singly refractive.
The fluorescence shown by rubies vary with the country of origin. The Burmese rubies show a strong red fluorescence in u-v light or in strong sunlight, due to the presence of only chromium as the coloring agent. The Thai and Cambodian rubies show a weaker fluorescence due to the presence of iron (Fe) together with chromium (Cr) in the crystal structure. The Sri Lankan rubies show a strong orange-red fluorescence in long wave length u-v light (4000A?-3000A?) and a less strong fluorescence in short wave length u-v light (3000A?-2000A?), attributed only to the presence of chromium.
All natural rubies have mineral or fluid inclusions. Common inclusions found in Burma rubies are rutile, calcite, apatite, olivine, sphene and spinel. In Thai rubies the common inclusion found is iron sulphide known as pyrrhotite. In Sri Lankan rubies the inclusions found are rutile, zircon, and radiation haloes.
History of the J. N. Forster Rubies
King Mindon Min’s period of rule
The rough Forster rubies after their discovery in Mogok during the reign of King Mindon Min (1853-78), entered the treasury of the king, in conformity with the stringent decree issued by the king that all rubies beyond a certain value and size should be surrendered to the king’s treasury. Any breach of the rule was dealt with severely ending up in capital punishment. But, Mindon Min has gone down in the history of Burma, as one of the most cruel kings, the country had ever seen, for the decimation of an entire village by burning its people alive, for the fault of one of the villagers who surrendered only the larger half of an enormous rough ruby to the king, the lesser half being smuggled across to India, to be sold in Calcutta at a profit. The villagers were so terrorized that most of its inhabitants fled en masse from the ruby mining areas, and when the British captured upper Burma in 1885, the mining region in Mogok was totally deserted.
In spite of the harshness of his rule Mindon Min’s period of rule is considered as a golden age of Myanmar culture and religious life. After losing southern Burma to the British in 1852, following the second Anglo-Burmese war, Mindon Min built a new capital in Mandalay. The palaces and monasteries built by him during this period have earned a distinction as masterpieces of traditional Burmese architecture. He also converted Mandalay to a center of Buddhist learning, and convened the Fifth Buddhist Council in 1871 in an effort to revise and purify the Buddhist Pali scriptures.
Mindon Min decides to dispose of the Forster rubies
The Foster rubies were cut and polished in Mandalay by Burmese cutters and polishers, that resulted in the 37-carat cushion-cut ruby and the 47-carat drop-shaped ruby. In the year 1875, just three years before his death, Mindon Min had to face severe financial constraints and was advised by his ministers to sell some of his valuable rubies, in order to overcome his financial problems. In keeping with this advice he decided to send two of his most exceptional rubies to the London market for sale. The rubies selected were the Forster rubies, which were dispatched to London by steamer under tight security. According to the London jeweler and writer Edwin Streeter, the two Foster rubies that were brought into England in 1875, were the two most important rubies ever known in Europe at that time.
Before the rubies were put out on sale James N. Forster of London, got the stones slightly re-cut, possibly to eliminate some flaws or inclusions and improve the appearance of the stone in keeping with western standards of cutting, and the smaller stone was cut into a cushion-shape of 32.31 carats, and the larger stone to a drop-shape of 39.56 carats. The two rubies came to be known as the Forster rubies. The smaller stone was eventually sold for £ 10,000 and the larger stone for £ 20,000. The prices fetched were indeed record-breaking considering the period of the sale.
The present whereabouts of the J. N. Forster rubies are unknown. Mindon Min died in 1878 and was succeeded by his younger son Theebaw, who ruled until 1885, the year upper Burma was annexed by the British.
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