THE TALISMAN of CHARLEMAGNE: NEW HISTORICAL and GEMOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES Gerard Panczer, Geoffray Riondet, Lauriane Forest, Michael S
FEATURE ARTICLES THE TALISMAN OF CHARLEMAGNE: NEW HISTORICAL AND GEMOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES Gerard Panczer, Geoffray Riondet, Lauriane Forest, Michael S. Krzemnicki, Davy Carole, and Florian Faure The gem-bearing reliquary known as the Talisman of Charlemagne is closely associated with the history of Europe. Its legend follows such figures as Charlemagne, Napoleon I, Empress Josephine, Hortense de Beauharnais, Napoleon III, and Empress Eugénie. This study provides new historical information collected in France, Germany, and Switzer- land about the provenance of this exceptional jewel, which contains a large glass cabochon on the front, a large blue-gray sapphire on the back, and an assortment of colored stones and pearls. The first scientific gemological analysis of this historical piece, carried out on-site at the Palace of Tau Museum in Reims, France, has made it possible to identify the colored stones and offer insight into their possible geographic origins. Based on our data and com- parison with similar objects of the Carolingian period, we propose that the blue-gray sapphire is of Ceylonese (Sri Lankan) origin, that the garnets originate from India or Ceylon, and that most of the emeralds are from Egypt except for one from the Habachtal deposit of Austria. The estimated weight of the center sapphire is approximately 190 ct, making it one of the largest known sapphires as of the early seventeenth century. he Talisman of Charlemagne is a sumptuous Chapelle in French) on February 28, 814 CE. Since jewel that has passed through the centuries. At the emperor did not leave specific instructions, his Tvarious times it has been said to contain frag- entourage decided to bury him in Aachen Cathedral ments of the hair of the Virgin Mary and a remnant (Minois, 2010).
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