Travels in India (Tavernier) 105.7

105.7

As I have made a remark about coral in reference to Japan, I shall make another about amber in reference to China. It is a custom among the Chinese that when any great noble gives a feast, his reputation for grandeur and magnificence depends upon his having brought in, at the close of the repast, three or four perfume-pans and his having thrown into each of them a large quantity of amber, sometimes to the value of 1000 écns upwards, in consideration of the fact that the more he burns, and the larger the pieces, the more magnificent is the entertainment regarded, for a piece weighing one livre is worth 200 to 300 écns. They use amber for this purpose because they adore fire, and because amber, thrown in the fire, yields a certain odour which is not unpleasing to the Chinese; as it contains a kind of oil it gives out a flame exceeding most other flames. This profusion and waste explain the reason why amber is one of the best articles of merchandise that one could carry to China if trade had been open to foreigners, but the Dutch Company strictly reserve to themselves the trade in it — the Chinese coming to buy it from them at Batavia. I am unwilling to finish this chapter without making some remarks on ambergris also. We do not very well know either how it is formed or where it is found; but it would appear as though it can only be in the seas of the East, although it has sometimes been found on the English and other European coasts.