Saturday, February 20, 2021

Turquoise—Turkish Stone

                                          red rose on white textile

One pretty legend relating to turquoise is that is generated by rainbow touching the earth. Turquoise seems to have always had a mythic link to horses, beginning with the medieval belief that anyone wearing this stone would be protected from falling off the animal. Sir John Mandeville’s Lapidaire further claimed that this blue-green stone prevented horses from the harm of drinking cold water when they were sweaty and hot. Turkish equestrians went so far as to attach this crystal to the bridles of their horses as a talisman for the animals.

An unusual story about turquoise comes from the court of Emperor Rudolph II, whose physician was given a specimen that had faded completely. The doctor’s father had given it to him with these words of wisdom, “Son, as the virtues of the turquoise are said to exist only when the stone has been given, I will try its efficacy by bestowing it upon thee.” The young man set it in a ring and in one month’s time, the splendid color was completely restored.

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