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The gem
specialists of Safavid court brought fine and precious stones to the
country from the markets of India, the Ottoman Empire and European
countries like France and Italy. Later, many of them were looted,
presented, bought and recollected as decades and centuries went by.
Eventually, in
1937, a major portion of the items available was transferred to Bank
Melli Iran and formed part of the reserves for note issues and later
became collateral for government liabilities to the Bank.
The building of
the present collection was constructed in 1955. In 1960, by the
establishment of Bank Markazi Iran, the treasury was transferred there
and deposited with the Central Bank. Now it is also safeguarded by the
Central bank of the Islamic republic of Iran. Because of all
mentioned, this unparallel collection is so unique that certainly
forms an unforgettable memory in any visitor?s mind. Even the most
qualified experts of the world have not able to evaluate and estimate
any total price for this breathtaking collection. It is really an
incredibly fascinating collection worth visiting.
A Quick Look at the Objects
There are 37
showcases with hundreds of items in them. Here is only a general
introduction of them and some worldly famous pieces:
v
There
are gold and jeweled objects like water pipes, dish-covers, flower
vases, boxes, ewer and basins, knives, bowls, etc;
v
There is
displayed a gold decanter with outstanding enamel work containing
pictures of flowers and birds. In the upper half, there are pictures
of women. This decanter is considered one of the best examples of
Iranian enamel work;
v
There is
also a pair of gold candlesticks decorated with spinals, diamonds,
emeralds, rubies, tassels of pearls and emeralds are displayed;
v
The
coconut shaped jar of a water pipe made of a beautifully carved
ostrich eggshell;
v
Various
objects decorated with Iranian turquoises like water pipe, aigrettes,
swords, etc;
v
Swords,
daggers, quivers, rifles and laces beautifully jeweled and decorated;
v
Various
aigrettes encrusted with jewels;
v
There
are also numerous ornaments such as brooches, watch chains, aigrettes,
buckles, necklaces, purses, armlets, and bracelets;
v
The
?Samarian spinal? weighing 500 carats, the largest known spinal of the
world, which is said to be used to adorn the neck of the Golden calf,
according to legends;
v
There
are tassels of pearls, totally weighing 16 Kg used as curtain
decorations;
v
There
are lots of gold coins and commemorative medals that could be found on
various occasions;
v
There
are also hand-woven robes decorated with precious stones;
v
?Nader
throne? is another breathtaking item composed of 12 separate and
portable parts. The total number of precious stones set on the throne
amounts to 26,733;
v
?Abbas
Mirza?s head piece? made of red satin and velvet cloth sown with
pearls and gold sequins is another object used on official occasions;
v
There
are 62 different cuts of the diamonds, from the most simple to very
rare cuts like the jubilee and briolette;
v
There
can also be visited several high quality blue sapphires the largest of
which is the one weighing 141.91 carats;
v
?Iranian
Yellows?, which are enormous diamonds purchased by Nasser-ed-din Shah
on his third trip to
Europe from Cape
mines of South Africa, are also displayed;
v
There
are jewels assigned for the use of the Pahlavi family, Farah Pahlavi,
the queen mother, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and other members of Pahlavi
dynasty;
v
There
have been displayed crowns like the ones used by Mohammad Reza
Pahlavi, Qajar kings (Kiany Crown), Farah Pahlavi?s crown;
v
There is
a unique piece called ?Darya-ye-Nur? or sea of light, the largest pink
diamond of the world. It is approximately 182 carats with a rare color
among diamonds, pale pink;
v
Another
piece that is consider to be ?Kooh-e-Nur? or mountain of light
together with the previous one, were both in the possession of Nader
Shah. Later, the latter one was taken to
Afghanistan and
after being passed into other people?s possession, it was presented
Queen Victoria. Now it is in the queen mother?s crown in England;
and,
v
?Nader?s
Aigrette?, set with diamonds and emeralds, weighing 781 carats.
Written By: Rahman
Mehraby
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