For what's worth, here's the article about Timur Ruby from the Library of Congress newspaper collection's "The Colfax Chronicle" (Colfax, Louisiana) dated June 22, 1912.
ENGLAND HAS TIMUR RUBY
It has just become known that the famous Timur ruby, known in the days of the Mogul empire as the "Tribute of the World," is now among the British crown jewels. Some experts had supposed it was lost. The gem is a royal match to the Kohinoor diamond, the "Mountain of Light," which has been in the British regalia since 1850.
The Timur ruby is the largest in existence, weighing in its present shape a trifle over 352 carats. It is uncut, but polished. The first account of this ruby is in 1398, when the Ameer Timur, known in Europe as Tamerlane, plundered the Indian city of Delhi, and seized a great stock of princely gems. Tamerlane bequeathed the Timur ruby to his son and successor, Mir Shah Rukh, who passed it down in turn to his son, Mirza Ulugh Beg.
The ruby fell into the hands of a Persian king at the downfall of the Tartar empire. In 1612, the stone was presented by Shah Abbas I, greatest of the Sofavi kings of Persia, to the Mogul Emperor Jehangir. At that time it had engraved on it the names of Tamerlane and his son and Shah Abbas. The Emperor Jehangir obliterated them and engraved on the ruby the names of himself and his father, Akbar the Great.
Nur Jehan, favorite wife of Jehangir, told him he ought not to have scraped off Tamerlane's name, to which the Persian monarch replied: 'This jewel will more certainly hand down my name to posterity than any written history. The House of Timur may fall, but as long as there is a king, this gem will be his.'
Shah Jehan later put his name on the ruby and set the stone in the famous Peacock Throne. There it remained until Nadir Shah invaded India and sacked Delhi in 1739. He carried off the Timur ruby and 25,000 other gems. When the Nadir was assassinated in 1747, the ruby descended to Ahmad Shah, who founded the kingdom of Afghanistan. His son surrendered it as well as the Kohinoor diamond to Maharaja Ranjit Singh, and the English got the two jewels when they annexed the Punjab in 1840.
The Kohinoor was sent direct to Queen Victoria. The Timur ruby, after having been for some time in possession of the East India company, is said also to have been sent to the queen, but it got into the private royal collection and has been lost to public notice ever since. Its history was collected by King George on his Indian coronation tour.
End of quote.
--Previous Message-- : I wonder if the "large uncut ruby : necklace" is The Timur Ruby Necklace. : : Laurence : : : --Previous Message-- : : I have just started to browse through the : book Treasures from the Royal Archives : which arrived in the post today. : : From Queen Mary's dress book, 1911-13 it : states, for Dinner on June 22nd - : : "Pink & silver brocade gown Diamond : comb ruby & diamond collar, large uncut : ruby necklace arranged on bodice with : diamond drop added." : : This might surprise some who believe that : Queen Mary did not like rubies. : : I wonder what that large uncut ruby was. : : For Dinner on the 23rd at the Foreign Office : - : : "Sapphire blue & gold gown Young : ladies pearl & diamond tiara, pearl : collar with Ladies pearl & diamond : necklace under, pearl & diamond : stomacher large round pearl brooch 3 family : orders" : : I think "Young ladies" must mean : Girls, and we now know Queen Mary herself : used the term "stomacher. : : I feel a bit disappointed with the book : because it is such a teaser, providing the : tiniest snippets, as above. Perhaps no more : than that was ever likely, but one wonders : how and why the selections were made. : : : : : : : : : : :
on June 17, 2014, 8:08 pm, in reply to "