Pearl of Lao Tzu

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The pearl

The Pearl of Lao Tzu (also referred to as Pearl of Lao Tze and Pearl of Allah^[1]) is the largest known "pearl" in the world. It is not a gem quality pearl, but is instead what is known as a clam "pearl" or Tridacna "pearl" from a giant clam. It measures 9.45 inches in diameter and weighs 6.4 kilograms (14.1 lb).

This object is an interesting piece of natural history, but the extraordinary stories surrounding it and the romantic names that have been given it should be considered as legends and grand stories, rather than facts.

Biologists would regard this object as one kind of pearl, as it is indeed the natural product of a shelled mollusk, in this case Tridacna gigas, the giant clam.

Gemologists however would not consider this to be a pearl, as it is not pearly, i.e. it does not have the iridescence that true pearls (which come from pearl oysters and pearl mussels) possess. The interior of a giant clam has no mother of pearl or nacre, instead it is porcellaneous. Because of its great size, a giant clam can spontaneously create a very large "pearl", but it cannot create an iridescent or pearly one, i.e. it cannot create a true pearl. Thus a clam pearl has no intrinsic value as a "gemstone", but only as a curiosity.

The Pearl is not on display to the public and is currently held in a Wells Fargo safety deposit box in Denver, CO.

The Service mark on the phrase "Pearl of Allah" has been registered July 18, 2006 by Gina Diane Barbish and Victor M. Barbish for charitable fundraising.^[2]

1 The legend of the discovery, and the current history
2 Chinese legend of the pearl
3 The legends examined
4 References

[edit] The legend of the discovery, and the current history

The legend of the origin is recounted by a previous owner, Wilburn Dowell Cobb.^[3]According to his story, the pearl was found in a giant clam off the coast of Palawan, on 7 May 1934 by a Muslim Filipino diver. Wilburn Cobb, the son of an American mining engineer, spent his boyhood in the Philippines. In 1934, while he was hunting in the Philippines near a fishing village, the local Muslim tribal chief, who had the pearl, told him that a native diver had been seized by the jaws of a giant clam, which contained this enormous pearl. Because it resembled a turbaned head, the chief had named it, "The Pearl of Allah". Cobb offered to buy the pearl from the tribal chief, who rejected the offer saying that nothing paid for by the sacrifice of a human life could be bought with money. Cobb returned to the village two years later to find the chief's son dying of malaria. Cobb saved his life and as a token of gratitude the chief gave the pearl to Mr. Cobb.^[4]

In 1939, Cobb returned to America. In New York City the pearl was authenticated as a Tridacna pearl or clam pearl by Dr. Roy Waldo Miner of the American Museum of Natural History. Cobb published an account of the story in Natural History Magazine in 1939 ^[5].

Victor Barbish learned of the pearl in the 1970's and had offered to purchase it from Mr. Cobb for $5 million dollars, but was refused. A year later Mr. Barbish and his partners Henry Kyle, Robert Pease, Johnny Weissmuller, and Rudy Vallee, offered Mr. Cobb $10 million dollars, and again he rejected the offer; Mr. Cobb told Mr. Barbish that no amount of money could buy something whose value is priceless.

After Cobb's death in 1980, Victor M. Barbish purchased The Pearl of Allah aka The Pearl of Lao Tse(Tzu).

In 1983 a descendant of the Lee family contacted Mr. Barbish's partner, a former CIA agent by the name of Lewis Maxwell, to meet with Mr. Barbish. Mr. Barbish was introduced to Mr. Lee in Pasadena, California. They talked over dinner for hours about the legendary Pearl of Lao-Tse, and whether this could perhaps be the same pearl. The following day Mr. Lee viewed the pearl at Security Pacific Bank.^{[citation needed]} When he saw it he felt strongly that this was indeed the legendary pearl and offered to purchase it. Mr. Barbish initially rejected the offer. Mr. Lee expressed his sincere gratitude for the opportunity to view the pearl and returned to China. Mr. Barbish never heard from him again.

The Pearl was appraised on January 17, 2007 for $61,850,000, however it is important to note that the appraisal itself is suspect, and contradicts previous appraisals. ^[6]

[edit] Chinese legend of the pearl

The Pearl of Lao Tzu

Underside of The Pearl of Lao Tzu

According to Chinese legend, and stated from China's highly respected Li (Lee) family,^[7] the pearl has great spiritual meaning and a fathomless origin.

In 1939, while The Pearl was on display in Robert Ripley's Museum in New York, an elderly Hong Kong merchant named Mr. Lee, requested permission to come to the museum to examine The Pearl. Both Wilburn Cobb, the owner of the pearl at that time, and Ripley agreed to Mr. Lee's visit. Mr. Lee, a direct descendant of Lao-Tse, held the pearl in his hands. He examined the pearl with intense scrutiny, and then tears began flowing from the man's eyes. When he regained his composure he acknowledged that the jewel was the long-lost Pearl of Lao Tzu that disappeared in a typhoon. Mr. Lee told the factual history of The Pearl, heard many times from his elders. He told Mr. Cobb that when his ancient ancestor, Lao Tzu, became very old he was weary of the unceasing evils of mankind, and he resolved to spend his final years far from civilization. As he prepared to depart, he handed to a nephew a small amulet upon which the philosopher had carved representations of the faces of Buddha, Confucius and himself - the historical Three Friends. It was Lao Tzu's original mission of creation to find a path and way for peace. He told his nephew to place the amulet securely in a clam and wait four years. Doing as he was told would bring great wealth and fortune to his family, and so it did. The Li family amassed great fortunes as successful merchants. Lao Tzu, also a naturalist, provided his nephew with a method to prevent the clam's rejection of such an intrusion. Lao Tzu's instructions were to start the legendary pearl that would symbolize Lao Tzu's "WAY" of life. Thus the pearl, containing its sacred amulet, was handed down from generation to generation growing larger and larger as it was transplanted into Tridacna clams of ever increasing size until the pearl reached its present size.

Legend tells how a bowl of vinegar was given to Confucius, Buddha and Lao Tzu. Confucius tasted the vinegar and said it tasted sour. Buddha said it was bitter, and Lao Tzu said it tasted sweet. There will always be opposites of taste and opinion in all human beings. The pearl has engravings and symbols of all three men, opposites in taste but whose purpose united in one symbol to be an example of how to learn to live respectfully and united harmoniously for peace.

The Pearl of Lao Tzu is said to have influenced China's history. During the waning years of the Sui Dynasty, a direct descendant of Lao Tzu, named Lee, the proprietor of the pearl at the time, was awakened one night by a tapping on his front gate. Opening it he was greeted by a young boy about ten years of age that was in need of shelter and food. He stayed at Lee's home, and on the third day, Lee had a dream in which the pearl spoke to him. The message: "He whom you are protecting is one who will make his father the first Emperor of a new Dynasty and will himself become the real power behind the throne. In time he himself will become the second Emperor. It will be a reign distinguished by a more humane attitude than has prevailed heretofore. But the boy must proceed with caution." The message came from the three sages in the Pearl. Lee swore the boy to secrecy, showed him the pearl, telling him of its beginning, and recounting the dream and the message that had come to him as he slept. The boy's name was Li Shih-Min, the son of Li Yuan, Duke of Tang. The boy listened and believed, and modeled his life so that in 618 A.D. Li Shih-Min's father, Li Yuan, became Emperor T'ang Kao Tsu, the first Li Emperor. Li Shih-Min in 627 A.D. became Emperor T'ang T'ai Tsung, and the world's recognized founder of the great Tang Dynasty

The Emperor T'ang T'ai Tsung returned one more time to visit Lee to not only thank the man who took him in and communicated the Pearl's message - words which conveyed his family into royalty - but to have Lee's blessing for the selection of an artist to paint the great pearl. The aging Lee gave his permission and recommended a young artist. The resulting work was of such character that paper rubbings of the pearl became popular as New Year's greetings between friends and loved ones. One such rubbing, although of reduced quality due to age, has been preserved in the Li family archives.

As wars were fought over possession of this pearl the Lee family decided to hide it by shipping the pearl to Palawan, Philippines and keeping it inside a giant clam which was held close to the shore by a net. A typhoon during the Ming dynasty tore the pearl and the clam away from the netting and it was lost.

[edit] The legends examined

While the legends are romantic, it is important to note that they are simply legends.

The Pearl of Allah (or the Pearl of Lao Tzu) is a calcareous concretion from Tridacna gigas, the giant clam. The giant clam is sessile, it must remain attached to a single surface its entire life. The giant clam has never been successfully grafted. In order for the legend to be true, the amulet would have to have been grafted into the mollusk. This is not physically possible with this particular species. Furthermore, although the Chinese invented perliculture in the 12th century AD, only mabe pearl production was understood and conducted until the 20th century, when the Mise/Nishikawa method was invented and adopted by Kokichi Mikimoto. The Pearl of Allah is a whole pearl, not a mabe.

One problem with these legends is the way they salt "facts" into the fictions, such as the unproven visits from the Lee family. The purpose appears to be to convince people that the legends are factual, which it is not the case.