around the end of the first century B.C.
and the beginning of the first century A.D.,
when the trade route with the East
through Egypt was established. Trade
brought pearls of varying qualities,
sizes, and colors to Rome: small reddish
pearls from the Black Sea, large marble-
shaded pearls from Greece, and golden
ones from Britain. But the most high-
ly prized pearls, which were a brilliant,
shiny white, came from the Red Sea and
the Persian Gulf.
The Romans referred to pearls by the
Greek name margarita, and differentiated
between various kinds. The largest and
most beautiful were called unios; pear-
shaped pearls were called elenchi; and
Cleopatra’s
Expensive Tastes
TO CONVINCE Roman leader Mark Antony that Egypt possessed
an affluence that placed it above conquest, Cleopatra
wagered that she could give the most expensive banquet ever
known. As Pliny the Elder detailed in his first-centurya.d.work
Natural History, Cleopatra removed
one of her pearl earrings, dropped it
in a goblet of vinegar placed before
her, and drank it. The astonished
Antony declined his dinner—the
matching pearl—and admitted
defeat. Pliny’s anecdote was
considered credible in antiquity
but is deemed legendary by manymodern scholars. Whether
the fate of Cleopatra’s pearl
is fact or fable, Antony’s
“meal” was reportedly given
to Rome where it was
cut in half and made
into earrings for a
statue of Venus in
the Pantheon.CLEOPATRA AND THE PEARL, DETAIL FROM A
17TH-CENTURY PAINTING BY CARLO MARATTI
BRIDGEMAN/ACI