Course:EOSC311/2023/The Hope Diamond Informing Art History
Add Summary Here
Statement of connection and why you chose it
This paper argues that more so than any painting or sculpture that has passed through multiple owners, the Hope Diamond as an object of visual art history can provide valuable context in understanding different periods and cultural practices. I have become keenly attached to the lore, art history and cultural context of the now-called Hope Diamond depending on who owned it and what country it was in. I have discovered that diamonds change meaning and value depending on sociological context. Though the gem in question has taken on several names over the centuries from the Tavernier Blue to the French Blue to its current Hope Diamond (assuming the speculations are correct and these are all, in fact, the same stone), the diamond will hereby be referred to in this essay as the Hope Diamond.
Main text
A diamond perhaps more than any other entity, precious metal, or work of art captures the imaginations of humans and unlocks a certain childlike fascination.The story of the Hope Diamond deals particularly with a time when globalisation was rapidly expanding and a worldwide currency was to be developed. I hope to write this piece from an art historical perspective; that is, that a diamond is a tangible object of the human eye’s attraction in the same way a beautiful painting or sculpture is. These objects are longed for, highly priced, and often fought over but especially once cut, an artwork resulting from skilled human production. To a further extent, the Hope Diamond’s rich history has led to a mysterious lore in which a sort of mythical legend or "curse" has been frequently attached to the stone.
From the first time it was placed in the hands of diamond trader Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, the Hope Diamond’s story is reminiscent of European exploration and attempted colonisation of Asia during the period. According to author Kurin, Pierre Cartier is quoted as affirming that the best stones of this time were found in the Orient.(Kurin 13) At this point in history, Europe was trying to catch up to Asia in riches. Veloso Salgado’s popular 1898 work Vasco da Gama before the Samorim of Calicut depicts de Gama attempting with no success to trade with a much wealthier Indian Samorin (king) during the 16th century.
Precious metals and diamonds would play a key role in equaling out the global share of riches as for the first time Europeans had something they could trade Indian silk and spices. (Kurin 40) Hearing there were rich deposits of gold in the so-called "New World", Europeans sailed great lengths with new seafaring technology to attempt to bolster their trading ability. It would be silver discovered in the mines of Potosi of South America that would ultimately put Spain and subsequently the Holy Roman Empire on even keel with these rich Asian nations and establish Europe as a major global trader. This discovery of American silver enabled Spain and other European nations to travel across oceans and fund diamond explorations. These explorations led to the most globalised form of trading the world had seen by that point, and with that was an implementation of a new globalised currency. The Hope Diamond and its “discovery” were at the centre of this new globalised currency.
By the time Tavernier got his hands on the uncut Hope Diamond in 1666, there was not a clearly defined pricing system for diamonds. For instance, a diamond in India might be valued differently in France for a multitude of reasons, namely cultural and spiritual value. This led Tavernier among others to create a weighting system for measuring diamond value that is still in existence today albeit in modified form, the carat system. This system held that a diamond increases geometrically in proportion to its size. That the rating system of the Indian carob seeds, relatively constant in size, is strong evidence to support this claim. (Kurin 42) Tavernier helped develop and standardise global trade in diamonds. He became a carrier and translator of Indian and European cultures enabling interaction and interpretation.
During and after the time Tavernier left India with the Hope Diamond, Indians ritualistically valued uncut diamonds for their purity even if they did not produce the brilliant “fire” of American cut diamonds. (Kurin 53) In India, many leaders attached perceived magical abilities of luck and fortune to specifically uncut gems. (Ward 27) Diamonds are praised by Indians for their luck as emperors kept large ones for luck in victory, as by the time Candragupta conquered the Nanda dynasty in 321 B.C. diamonds had already been used not only as trading items and for weapon blades but for their supernatural powers. (Fowler 8) These were all symptoms of the diamond being subject to local customs, traditions and values. In Tavernier’s hands, the diamond, rumoured to have been stripped from the forehead of an effigy, entered the global market.
That it would soon fall into the hands of Louis XIV aka the Sun King is almost as if it was written in a story. The Sun King was known for his elaborate displays of wealth, for instance his palace of Versailles, personally commissioned by his majesty, featured decadently ornate designs, meant to display the French Bourbon Monarchs wealth. It only makes sense for such a brilliant diamond as the Hope diamond to be owned by a wealthy monarch with a penchant for flashiness. When Louis XIV took the throne in 1643 the value of the French Crown Jewels were 938,000 livres but by the time he had left the throne in 1691 the collection had grown to be worth 11,442,000 livres. (Kurin 72) For a King to be able to increase the size of the collection of crown jewels shows the great surplus and power of the European domain that King Louis’s Bourbon Monarchy possessed. Most of the time diamonds, particularly European crown jewels, had to be pawned off by popes or kings alike to fund armies. (Kurin 73) The diamonds reflected light, and with it the prestige of the Sun King. One can only imagine that owning this stone helped perpetuate the notorious king’s gaudy image. The Bourbon monarchy under Louis XIV became a huge patron for the Arts as he believed in the power of visual art to evoke an emotional reaction. Part of this lore is his recutting of the diamond into a neck ribbon, and his wearing it around during festivities.
It was then passed into the hands of Louis XIV’s five-year old grandson Louis XV, who would eventually re-cut the stone into his own Order of the Golden Fleece. This re-cut was emblematic of the European market that it had switched hands into. Whereas the Indian market stated that precious gems were the best carriers of luck in their un-altered state, European standard of beauty emphasised that the American ideal cut or now called the round brilliant was the standard of beauty due to its ability to effect light and bring out the diamond’s brilliance. (Ward 28) Here it would find itself once again at the centre of a major socio-political movement, Europe’s Enlightenment and subsequent French Revolution.
To pin exactly where and when the Enlightenment began or started to gain momentum is tricky; there are several ideas. Perhaps it logically followed the Protestant Revolution which began in 1572 and established a firm separation of Church and State in several European countries - perhaps it was the New World’s lack of overbearing governance that allowed for mutinous conditions. Whatever the case, the French Revolution was predated only by the American Revolution. These were both significant events during the time as they signified a new way of looking at politics, arts, and religion. At the centre was the beautiful Hope Diamond, as it was stolen in 1792, not to reappear in the public eye until forty years later. (Kurin 90) This transferring of wealth, that is, from crown jewel collection to looters, would become familiar imagery in the decades to come.
Of course, to explain the transfer of riches from royalty to modern day ambassadors is to explain the process of power exchange that resulted from first the American Revolution, then the French Revolution, then all the other revolutions. The gem went from royalty, that is, King Louis and his wife Marie Antoinette, whom had the stone and their power and their heads stolen from them by robbers, for the stone to eventually reappear in the hands of a wealthy British aristocrat Thomas Hope. This aligns perfectly with the timeline of fashion stating that diamonds were strictly to be worn by royalty which began to switch to aristocratic fashion around the times of the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, as well as the Industrial Revolution. (Ward 11) Royalty began to dwindle and diamonds needed new markets and they were found in rich oil barons and the like. The stone then switched from royalty to entrepreneur just as the political power of the world switched.
Another manner of looking into the parallels of sociology and the hope diamond is the nature of its pricing. This diamond is worth about $200 million on the market today. Hypothetically, if the hope diamond was found in India in 2023, somehow with the exact cut it currently features, it would be worth somewhere between $25-$40 million. (Kurin Intro) What, then, gives it such value? This diamond has a rich and mysterious history, long associated with a certain curse or bad luck associated with it, and these beliefs were largely perpetuated by Pierre Cartier in his attempts to sell the diamond for a hefty price to Evelyn Walsh McLean, heir to the Washington Post fortune. But the diamond industry itself has been subject to fluctuations in their ability to sell at high prices, this sometimes coming at the behest of depressed economies with patrons simply too broke to afford diamonds, or perhaps a new discovery of an overseas mine which hampers the De Beers monopoly over world diamond distribution until they are able to buy back enough of the diamonds to regulate the price again. (Ward 37) This plays into the arbitrary valuation of diamonds and is oddly reminiscent of the pricing of high art and historical art which seems to pass from owner to owner under arbitrary pricing patterns.
In its current state, seemingly more stable than many of its previous owners, many of whom have found themselves befit to dark fates (ie. Evelyn Walsh McLean who lost her husband, daughter and son tragically), the diamond rests in the Smithsonian institute in Washington. It rests here and is host to a multitude of visitors per year. For its part, the Smithsonian museum denies any rumour of a curse.
Conclusion / Your Evaluation of the Connections
In conclusion, the Hope Diamond offers a glimpse into the crazed spirits that can be ensured simply from the brilliance of a diamond. As Marian Fowler reveals in her overwhelming experience viewing the stone, the diamond evoked a sort of obsession, energy and blue hue that is simply irresistible and propagates an indescribable envy for the owners, both past and present. Some say the diamond itself has the energy of a human, or even multiple beings through reincarnation. These sensational effects, combined with the historical lore of the Hope Diamond, continue to tell an enthralling story about the history of our globe. Though simply a stone found in the ground, its beauty has, through culture, context, continent, owner, over the centuries since Tavernier first held it, evoked the same marvellous response from humans. This marvel of nature then, by beauty alone, has placed it amongst the world’s wealthiest, and afforded for some amazing stories and put it at the centre of the world’s constantly churning socio political and economic system.
References
Fowler, Marian. Hope: Adventures of a Diamond. USA: Random House Canada, 2002.
Kurin, Richard. Hope Diamond: The Legendary History of a Cursed Gem. New York: Smithsonian Books, 2006.
Ward, Fred. Diamonds. Bethesda: Gem Book Publishers, 1998.
 |
This Earth Science resource was created by Course:EOSC311. |