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Crystal Balls and Crystal Gazing: Japanese

In Japan the smaller rock-crystals were believed to be the congealed breath of the White Dragon, while the larger and more brilliant ones were said to be the saliva of the Violet Dragon. As the dragon was emblematic of the highest powers of creation, this indicates the esteem in which the substance was held by the Japanese, who probably derived their appreciation of it from the Chinese. The name suisho, used both in China and Japan to designate rock-crystal, reflects the idea current in ancient times, and repeated even by seventeenth century writers, that rock-crystal was ice which had been so long congealed that it could not be liquefied.

For the Japanese, rock-crystal is the "perfect jewel," tama; it is at once a symbol of purity and of the infinity of space, and also of patience and perseverance. This latter significance probably originating from an observation of the patience and skill shown by the accurate and painstaking Japanese cutters and polishers of rock-crystal.

A crystal ball, one of the largest perfect spheres ever produced, has been made from rock-crystal of Madagascar. It is a very perfect sphere and of faultless material. The diameter is 6 1/8 inches and the ball was held at about $20,000.

Many fine crystal balls are made in Japan, the materials being found in large, clear masses in the mountains on the islands of Nippon and Fusiyama and also in the granitic rocks of Central Japan. It is stated, however, that much of the Japanese material really comes from China. The Japanese methods of working rock-crystals are extremely simple and depend more upon the skill and patience of the workers than upon the tools at their command. Our illustration, taken from a sketch made by an Oriental traveller, shows the process of manufacturing crystal balls. The rough mass of crystal is gradually rounded by careful chipping with a small steel hammer. With the aid of this tool alone a perfect sphere is formed. The Japanese workmen thoroughly understand the fracture of the mineral, and know just when to apply chipping and when hammering. The crystal, having been reduced to a spherical form, is handed to a grinder, whose tools consist of cylindrical pieces of cast iron, about a foot in length, and full of perforations. These cylinders are of different curvatures, according to the size of the crystal to be ground. Powdered emery and garnet are used for the first polishing. Plenty of water is supplied during the process, and the balls are kept constantly turning, in order to secure a true spherical surface. Sometimes they are fixed on the end of a hollow tube and kept dexterously turning in the hand until smooth. The final polishing is effected with crocus or rouge (finely divided hematite), giving a splendid lustrous surface. As hand labor is exclusively used, the manufacture of crystal objects according to the Japanese methods is extremely laborious and slow. (Kunz, "The Occurrence and Manipulation of Rock Crystal," Scientific American, vol. lv, pp. 103, 104 (Aug. 14, 1886). Trans. N. Y. Acad. Sciences, May 30, 1886.) In Germany and France and in the United States, the fabrication of rock-crystal is accomplished almost entirely by machinery. The crystal to be shaped into a ball is placed against a semicircular groove worn in huge grindstones. The accompanying illustration shows the method practised in Oberstein, Germany. The workman has his feet firmly braced against a support, and, resting upon his chest, presses the crystal against the revolving grindstone. It is unnecessary to add that the practice is extremely unwholesome and develops early consumption among the workers. A constant stream of water is kept flowing over the stone so that the crystal shall always be moist, as the friction would otherwise hurt it, and the subsequent addition of water would be liable to cause a fracture. The final polishing is done on a wooden wheel with tripoli, or by means of a leather buffer with tripoli or rouge. (Kunz, "The Occurrence and Manipulation of Rock Crystal.") There are three fine crystal balls in the collection of the American Museum of Natural History. One, apparently perfect, measures 5 1/2 inches in diameter and was cut from a crystal found in Mokolumne, Calaveras Co., California; the second is 6 1/2 inches in diameter and is from the same locality, but not entirely perfect. These were shown in the department of the Tiffany Collection prepared by the author, and were exhibited at the Paris Exposition of 1900 as part of the J. Pierpont Morgan gift to the American Museum of Natural History. Another fine crystal ball is now to be seen in the American Museum of Natural History, New York; this was donated to the institution. It measures 4 11/16 inches in diameter, is of wonderful purity, and the cutting has been executed with such a high degree of precision that an ideally perfect sphere has been produced. (Gratacap, "The Mystic Crystal Sphere," in the American Museum Journal, January, 1913, p, 24; plate on p. 22.) Crystal balls have been found occasionally in tombs or in funerary urns, and their presence in sepulchres may perhaps be considered to have been due to a belief that they possessed certain magic properties. In the tomb of Childeric (ca 436-481 A.D.), the father of Clovis, a rock-crystal sphere was found which was for a time preserved in the Bibliotheque Royale, Paris, and later in the Louvre Museum; it measures 1 1/2 inches in diameter. (Montfaucon, Les monumens de la monarchie Francaise, Paris, 1729, p. 15.) The chance discovery of a number of crystal balls is related by Montfaucon. Towards the end of the sixteenth century, the canons of San Giovanni in Laterano, Rome, wished to have some repairs made to a house they owned, just outside of the city walls, and sent thither some workmen with the order to break up or remove two large, superimposed stones, which were much in the way. The workmen proceeded to break the upper stone, but were much astonished to find embedded within it an alabaster funerary urn with its cover. This had been hidden between the two stones, a space for its reception having been hollowed out in the upper and lower stones, so that it fitted within them. Opening the urn there were found inside, mingled with the ashes, twenty crystal balls, a gold ring with a stone setting, a needle, an ivory comb, and some bits of gold wire. The presence of the needle was taken to indicate conclusively that the ashes were those of a woman. (Montfaucon, l. c.) The discovery of the tomb of Childeric was made, May 27, 1653, by a deaf-mute mason, named Adrien Quinquin, while he was excavating for the restoration of one of the dependencies of the church of Saint Brice de Tournai. One of the most interesting objects found in the tomb was the golden signet of Childeric bearing his head and the legend Childerici regis. The earliest description is given in a work by Chiflet entitled "Anastasis Childerici," "Resurrection of Childeric," published by Plantin of Antwerp in 1655. The various ornanments were sent by the Spanish Governor-General of the Netherlands to the Austrian treasury in Vienna, and were not long afterward, in 1664, graciously donated by Emperor Leopold I to King Louis XIV, at the instance of Johann Philip of Schonborn, Archbishop of Mainz, who was under great obligation to the French sovereign.