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Lot 8586
Rare Melo Pearl
3 December 2006, 11:00 PST
Los AngelesUS$35,000 - US$45,000
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Find your local specialistRare Melo Pearl
Vietnam
Saltwaters near Vietnam
Relatively unknown in the West, even George Kunz’s compendium of 1908, The Book of The Pearl, had no references to the rare orange pearl offered here. So few have been found, it is no wonder.
A relative of the conch, the Melo melo volutidae is also a gastropod-a marine snail that produces orange pearls the color of a ripe papaya. The snail generates a pearl-like substance to enclose foreign bodies entering its shell. Orange and pink pearls are “non-nacreous”, which means they do not have a layer of calcium carbonate on their outer surface as white pearls do. When examined closely under a light, the orange and pink pearls display a fiery texture, giving them a unique beauty lacking in other varieties of pearls.
Several thousand Melo volutes would have to be harvested for a single pearl to be found, particularly a fine quality pearl of any significant size. They are found in the waters of picturesque Halong Bay (meaning Bay of Dragons), along the northern coast of Vietnam in deep waters almost 15 hours from the shoreline. Although edible, they are not typically fished for food because of the difficulties of retrieval. The pearls are normally found in the flesh of the mollusks and the yield is extremely small. Several thousand shells would have to be opened to obtain one reasonable pearl, particularly one of the size of the present example.
The pearl was one of the eight precious emblems of the Buddha. As a sacred object, these pearls were never drilled or strung as beads. Instead they were used as objects of devotion. The “fiery pearl”- a pearl with a flaming tail and the Dragon are both ubiquitous in Vietnamese decorative arts, found in ceramics, textiles and painting. The Dragon, symbolizing the Emperor, is seen pursuing the pearl. The Emperors surrounded themselves with dragon and “flaming pearl” motifs in their art and even on their Imperial robes. One can now surmise that this was not just a metaphor but an illustration of the wonderful flame-like structure within the porcelain surface of the Melo pearl.
The present, large Melo pearl has a very good porcelain surface and excellent overall flame pattern and and attractive creamy orange body color. Weighing approximately 57.27 carats. Diameter 19.5mm
Saltwaters near Vietnam
Relatively unknown in the West, even George Kunz’s compendium of 1908, The Book of The Pearl, had no references to the rare orange pearl offered here. So few have been found, it is no wonder.
A relative of the conch, the Melo melo volutidae is also a gastropod-a marine snail that produces orange pearls the color of a ripe papaya. The snail generates a pearl-like substance to enclose foreign bodies entering its shell. Orange and pink pearls are “non-nacreous”, which means they do not have a layer of calcium carbonate on their outer surface as white pearls do. When examined closely under a light, the orange and pink pearls display a fiery texture, giving them a unique beauty lacking in other varieties of pearls.
Several thousand Melo volutes would have to be harvested for a single pearl to be found, particularly a fine quality pearl of any significant size. They are found in the waters of picturesque Halong Bay (meaning Bay of Dragons), along the northern coast of Vietnam in deep waters almost 15 hours from the shoreline. Although edible, they are not typically fished for food because of the difficulties of retrieval. The pearls are normally found in the flesh of the mollusks and the yield is extremely small. Several thousand shells would have to be opened to obtain one reasonable pearl, particularly one of the size of the present example.
The pearl was one of the eight precious emblems of the Buddha. As a sacred object, these pearls were never drilled or strung as beads. Instead they were used as objects of devotion. The “fiery pearl”- a pearl with a flaming tail and the Dragon are both ubiquitous in Vietnamese decorative arts, found in ceramics, textiles and painting. The Dragon, symbolizing the Emperor, is seen pursuing the pearl. The Emperors surrounded themselves with dragon and “flaming pearl” motifs in their art and even on their Imperial robes. One can now surmise that this was not just a metaphor but an illustration of the wonderful flame-like structure within the porcelain surface of the Melo pearl.
The present, large Melo pearl has a very good porcelain surface and excellent overall flame pattern and and attractive creamy orange body color. Weighing approximately 57.27 carats. Diameter 19.5mm