Venus in Pearls(5)

He smiled. "We refer to this quality as luster. Yes, there are wide differences. There is great art in matching the pearls in even an ordinary necklace because they must be matched not only in color and luster but also in size. All must be of the same size or very evenly graded." He opened a standing case to reveal at least a hundred neck-laces, from a tiny choker suitable for the neck of a girlchild to a massive rope that would have gone several times around the neck of a giantess. I made a mental note to keep Julia away from this place.

"That being the case," I said, "it must be a Herculean task to match a huge number of pearls as in the breastplate of Venus Genetrix, which I understand you undertook."

"Not truly," he said. "You see, in a very large piece such precision is not really necessary. Each pearl should be as close a match as possible to the adjacent pearls, but a small divergence from those farther away is scarcely noticeable. With a truly huge item like the pearl aegis Caesar commissioned, it is hardly necessary at all. The human eye cannot take in so many pearls at once. We graded them by size, with the largest at the collar, diminishing toward the hem. Differences in shade and luster were only roughly considered. With thirty thousand pearls, greater precision than that is not possible. Besides, these were freshwater pearls he brought back from Britannia."

"Is there a difference?" I wanted to know.

"Yes. Freshwater pearls are rarer than sea pearls, and Britannia is a faraway, exotic land, so people expect them to be extraordinary. Sadly, they are rather inferior to sea pearls, usually smaller, indifferent in color and luster."

"I see. And thirty thousand seems to me a rather great number for the pearl fisheries of Britannia."

He lowered his voice as if that were necessary. "Actually, and I tell you this in strictest confidence, Caesar returned with fewer than five thousand Britannic pearls. He did not actually conquer the island, you know."

"Then I take it you were forced to make up the difference."

"I was," he said with some satisfaction. "It was the largest single order I've ever had. If Caesar wants a thing, Caesar must have it. I had to assemble the pearls, and my craftsmen had to work day and night to pierce them all and string them on the golden chains."

"I take it you did not perform that task here."

"No, here I have only finished pieces on display. The actual work is performed in my establishment in the Trans-Tiber. I have twenty slaves under a freedman supervisor, all of them marvelously trained and skilled."

"And you do your own goldwork?"

"Oh no. That would be frowned upon by the guilds. Gemstones, precious metals, and pearls are separate trades. My chains and other goldwork are made by Demaratus. He's an Alexandrian Greek, and his craftsmen are the best gold-workers in the world. These are his." He threw open another case, this one containing samples of golden chain, some so fine they could scarcely be seen. They were graded by thickness, but none was too thick to go through a pearl.

"These also are his work," Considius raised a lid, revealing perhaps a hundred rings, all designed to have pearls set in them. There were also pierced golden beads of many shapes. "These beads are meant to be strung together with the pearls on necklaces and earrings. The customer may choose to match up pearls and settings and beads, but I provide what guidance I can. Some of my customers have the most ghastly taste."

"Did Caesar take a personal hand in designing the breastplate for Venus?"

"He let me know precisely what he needed, but he left the details of construction to me. Even a man like Caesar can't be expert at everything." He closed the cases. "Might I know why you are inquiring about these matters?'

"Just curious," I said, taking my leave. One of the best things about my position was that I didn't have to explain myself to anybody.

The goldsmiths' quarter lay in a block of houses and shops on the Via Nova, opposite the ancient Mugonia Gate, near the eastern end of the Forum. A bit of asking took me to a shop considerably larger than that of Considius. This one featured armed guards, for which the goldsmiths' and jewelers' guilds had special licenses. These men, who looked like retired Greek mercenaries, let me through without questioning. Apparently they thought a senator must be too dignified to steal. A fat lot they knew about it.

The doorway in the low wall opened onto a spacious courtyard where twenty or more craftsmen worked quietly. The ticking of their tiny hammers was like the noise of insects, and the bellows' feeding auto the furnaces was like the breathing of somnolent beasts. The heat from the latter was intense. From somewhere inside the sprawling building came a continuous, muffled thumping as of padded mallets, and someone was playing a pipe in time with the thumping.