|
Van Buren PearlsA presidential gift, the Van Buren Pearls, now among the nation's collection. Among the collections of the United States National Museum are two pendant pearls each weighing about thirty grains, and a necklace containing 148 pearls with an aggregate weight of 700 grains. These were presented in 1840 to President Van Buren by the Imam of Muscat. They were deposited in the vaults of the Treasury Department, where they remained until a few years ago, when, by the order of the Secretary of the Treasury, they were transferred to the custody of the National Museum where they now are. I'm interested in where these pearls are today. Please contact me if you've ever seen these. Are they still in the National Museum? My husband and I met a friendly young man at the Manila, Philippine airport from Muscat. We joked about the similarities of the names of our cities, Muscat and Muscatine. I have been briefly in Oman and would love to return someday.  |
