Since ancient times the most luxurious and beauteous decorative arts and adornments have been attributed to the Persian Empire. To this day the most magnificent royal jewels in the world are the Iranian Crown Jewels housed in the Museum of the Treasury of National Iranian Jewels in Tehran. The profusion of gemstones is without match as a collection in number, size and quality. As testament to her rare yet undeniable beauty, Opal is represented in the collection by a small spray at the top of a jiqa or plume (Case 10, No.36). The piece is signed “Gebruder Wiser Wein”, and probably dates from the reign of Muhammad Shah (1834-1848), there can be little doubt that the Opals originated in the centuries-old mines of Cervenica (Hungary), now in Czechoslovakia.