Fallen Glory: The Lives and Deaths of History's Greatest Buildings by Crawford James

Author:Crawford, James [Crawford, James]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Picador
Published: 2017-03-07T05:00:00+00:00

Diamonds are survivors. They are the hardest naturally occurring materials, built to last at a molecular level. Time is different for them. Diamonds can be anywhere from one billion to three billion years old.143 Or, to put it another way, a diamond can have existed for up to three-quarters of the earth’s entire lifespan. In comparison, a human life – or indeed the life of a building – is so fleeting as to be invisible. Perhaps that is why we are irresistibly drawn to diamonds. They are held to represent the greatest gift one person can give to another: a symbol of eternity, of eternal love.

When Delhi was sacked in 1739, the tremendous spoils carried back to Persia included a diamond so entrancing to the Persian King Nadir Shah that, when he first saw it, he exclaimed ‘Koh-i-Noor!’ – Arabic for ‘Mountain of Light’. The history of the Koh-i-Noor is a matter of considerable debate. A product of the Golconda mines, some believe the stone was embedded in the Peacock Throne, and later removed by Nadir Shah. Others say it is the stone formerly known as the ‘Great Mogul’ diamond, viewed by Tavernier in 1665.144

Nadir Shah was murdered in 1747. For a century the Koh-i-Noor passed from one ruler to the next. Deposed kings were tortured to reveal its whereabouts; imprisoned princes hid it in the cracks in the walls of their bare cells. It moved from Persia to Kabul, then made its way back to India. In 1849, as the region of the Punjab was annexed by the British Empire, it was ceded by treaty to Queen Victoria. By this point the diamond, which may once have weighed 756 carats, was reduced to 186. In 1851, it was put on display as one of the main attractions of the Great Exhibition, and then, in 1852 it was re-cut by a Dutchman named Voorsanger, of the famous Costar company of Amsterdam.145 Now 105 carats, it was set in a brooch worn by Queen Victoria. Over the years, it was remounted in the crowns of Queen Alexandra, Queen Mary, and, most recently, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.

The Koh-i-Noor is currently on display in the Jewel House of the Tower of London. Every day thousands of tourists roll sedately past on a special conveyor belt, staring. The Koh-i-Noor stares right back. It doesn’t see the people, or the building in which it is kept, or the city that surrounds them all. It looks straight through them, to a distant horizon. If diamonds are cursed, as the legends say, then it is the curse of longevity. They live to see everything else die: people, buildings, nations, civilisations, species. They are fated to outlast the world.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.