Turquoise: from the mines of Sinai to the horseman's amulet

The name turquoise comes from medieval French and simply means Turkish: the stone reached Europe through the markets of the Levant and the Turkish lands, even though it came largely from Persia. Its opaque blue, ranging from pale sky to green, made it one of the most widespread protective materials in Asia, the Middle East and the Americas, where independent civilisations chose it for amulets, masks and ornaments.

The lady of turquoise

The Egyptians mined turquoise in Sinai from the earliest dynasties. Near the mines of Serabit el-Khadim, worked above all in the Middle Kingdom, stood a sanctuary dedicated to Hathor, worshipped under the title of lady of turquoise. The stone, together with the blue faience that imitated its colour, was used for jewellery and amulets linked to rebirth and joy. The inscriptions left by mining expeditions, together with the offerings placed in the temple, show how far the enterprise was considered to be under the goddess's protection.

In Persia the mines of Nishapur, in Khorasan, supplied the finest quality for centuries. The scholar al-Biruni discusses them in the eleventh century in his treatise on precious stones, and turquoise became a characteristic feature of Islamic art: it was set in jewellery, sword hilts and harness, while its colour inspired the blue tiles of many domes.

The amulet against falls

In Europe and the Middle East the belief spread that turquoise protected riders from falling. The Flemish physician Anselmus Boetius de Boodt, in his Gemmarum et lapidum historia published in 1609, reports this opinion, still widespread in his time. Another belief held that the stone changed colour according to the health or fortune of its wearer, and that it would crack to absorb a danger meant for its owner.

These beliefs also arise from real characteristics: turquoise is porous and can alter on contact with oils, sweat and light, losing its original colour. What tradition read as a sign that the stone shared its owner's fate was in fact a chemical phenomenon, well known today to anyone who looks after antique jewellery.

Aztec masks and the American Southwest

In the Americas turquoise, called xihuitl by the Aztecs, was associated with fire, the year and kingship; the god of fire was called Xiuhtecuhtli, lord of turquoise. The British Museum in London holds famous Aztec turquoise mosaics, among them a mask and a double-headed serpent. In the Southwest of today's United States, the Pueblo peoples and later the Navajo made turquoise a central element of their jewellery and symbolism.

Few materials have ever spread so widely without contact between the cultures that revered them. From Egypt to Persia, from Mexico to the American desert, turquoise joined the blue of sky and water to the idea of protection. Its supposed virtues belong to tradition alone, but its long history shows very clearly how trade, colour and the fragility of a stone helped to build its myth.