MOTHER-OF-PEARL, Nacre.
Perlemoor, . . . DAN. Madre perla, . IT., SP. Parelmoer, . . . DUT. Indung mutigara, MALAY. Perlen-mutter, . . GER. Madre-perola, . . PoRT. Chip, Gus. Perlo-mutr, . . . Rus.
Sipi chip, . . HIND. Perlemor, . . . Sw.
Mother-of-pearl, or nacre, is the hard, silvery, internal layer of several kinds of shells; and the large varieties in the Indian seas secrete this coat of sufficient thickness to render the shell an object of commerce. Pearls are found in the shells round the coasts of Ceylon, near Ormus, in the Persian Gulf, at Cape Comorin, and in some of the Archi pelagic and Australian seas. Fine large shells of a dead white are supplied by Singapore ; varieties cone from Valparaiso with jet-black edges. South Sea pearl-shells are common with white edges. The beautiful dark-green pearl-shells, called ear-shells or sea-ears, are more concave than the others, and have small holes round the margin ; they are the coverings of the haliotis, which occurs in the Californian, South African, and East Indian seas. In the Indian collection of the Great Exhibition, specimens of the finest mother-of-pearl shells were shown, such as the Meleagrina margaritifera, Haliotis gigas, H. iris, and a large species of Turbo, which shells are known in commerce as flat-shells, ear-shells, green snail shells, buffalo-shells. The beautiful tints of mother-of-pearl depend upon its structure, the surface being covered with a multitude of minute grooves which decompose the reflected light. It is in consequence of this lamellar structure that mother-of-pearl shells admit of being split into lamina; for the handles of knives, for counters, and for inlaying. Splitting, however, is liable to spoil the shell, and different parts are selected as nearly as possible to suit the required purposes, the excess of thickness being got rid of at the grindstone. Mother-of-pearl shell is obtained on
the Australian bank. The mother-of-pearl shells of the Aru Islands and Sulu sell at £3, 2s. 6d. per 133i lbs. avoirdupois. The mother-of-pearl from the Red Sea is taken to Jerusalem, and there made into chaplets, saints' figures, and crucifixes for Christian pilgrims. At Mecca it is worked into rosaries for the pilgrims. In Europe and China it is made into buttons, in ornamenta tion of the papier-mache work, cabinet and ornamental work, which cause a considerable demand for it. Mother-of-pearl shells and tortoise shell are brought to China from the Archipelago and the islands of the Pacific, but a large part is re-exported in the shape of buttons, combs, and other productions of Chinese skill. The shells of the pearl-oyster are of almost as much value as the pearls, the nacre of these shells being extensively employed in manufactures for useful and orna mental purposes. Other shells, however, have a large nacreous surface. One kind, called silver lipped, is imported to Liverpool ; another kind, called black-lipped, is brought from Manilla, and a smaller shell from Panama. Coral and mother of-pearl in India, and all the quartzose gems, are held in but little esteem by the people, who value a stone for its intrinsic price, not for the workman's skill expended in shaping it in which the chief value of all the_ inferior gems consists. —Ouseley's Tr., 1868 r Tainlrnson's Cat. Ex. 1862 ; Burton's Mecca; Williams. See Mollusca.