R. Doug Wicker — Author

This week and the next two we will continue our look at Topkapi Palace and its treasures. Today I present more of the fine artifacts contained in the Imperial Treasury, but this time with an emphasis on jade over gemstones. In last Wednesday’s article I stated that Ottoman sultans appeared to have an affinity for emeralds because green is associated in Islam with the Prophet Muhammad. Well, emerald isn’t the only precious gem in that color. So, too, is jade (see what I just did there?). But before we get to that, let me explain what you’re seeing in the image above. That is a throne and step presented to the Ottoman Emperors by the ruler of Persia (Iran) Nader Shah. It is in the Mughal style of India, as Nader Shar reestablished Persian dominance over the Mughal Empire in the 1730s. This throne was probably sacked dring the Persian conquest of Delhi in 1739.

But today I said we were going to concentrate on jade. So, let’s take a look at some of the jade treasures here at the Topkapi Palace Treasury. Jade comes in two flavors — the commonly green (can be other colors) nephrite and the rarer, broader spectrum jadeite. For a primer on the differences, see: Jadeite vs. Nephrite in Jewelry – What’s the Difference? And for my article on a government-owned jade factory in Beijing, see: Like a Bull in a Jade Shop.

Most of the jade we saw in the Imperial Treasury was of the more common nephrite variety.

Although, to my untrained eye, the mottled, almost glassy rather than waxy appearance of this next piece appears to me to be a piece of deep green jadeite. If there are any experts out there, please verify or correct me on that.

On Wednesday we’ll sneak into the Topkapi Harem. Until then I’ll leave you with these Topkapi treasure images:

And to my Ukraine friends: keep kicking indicted war criminal Vladimir Putin’s butt in Kursk Oblast!

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

The Conqueror’s Pavillion inside Topkapi’s third courtyard houses treasures from the Imperial Treasury. Here you will find some magnificent examples of Ottoman Empire jewelry and outright opulence. Getting inside may take a wait, as the crowds are metered in and, once inside, you are ushered through the narrow spaces at the beginning of the exhibit. But if you’re into gold and precious stones, particularly emeralds, it’s definitely worth the short wait.

Even more commonplace items, such as a simple spyglass, are made decorated with gold:

And how about this gold-and-jewel encrusted assortment of knickknacks?

As Ursula and I wandered the rooms, I noticed that the Ottoman sultans appeared to have an affinity for emeralds because green is associated in Islam with the Prophet Muhammad, but rubies and diamonds were also in evidence:

Now for a slight detour. Bear with me for a moment. Did you ever wonder where Bruce Geller got the idea for the television series Mission: Impossible? Do you know what inspired that iconic scene in Tom Cruise’s first Mission: Impossible film (1996) in which he is suspended from an air duct to swipe valuable information from CIA HQ Langley? You can thank the 1964 comedy-heist film Topkapi. Only the object of desire in that film was not state secrets. It was a dagger. Just not this dagger, which looks as if it is worth fortune:

Rather, Melina Mercouri‘s target was the famous emerald encrusted Topkapi Dagger. Embedded in the pommel is a small timepiece, but that’s not show here:

I’ll finish up today with two final images taken in the treasury:

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)