If you think the Kohinoor is the only gem stolen by the Brits, think again. Here is an article I wrote somewhere else.
Again I am sorry I cannot attach pictures on BRF that went with the article.
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THE CAWNPORE(KANPUR) SAPPHIRE
The Kanpur Sapphire is really a misnomer. It is actually a purple Amethyst gem also called the Gem of Sorrow. It usually goes by the name of the Delhi Sapphire.
The story of this remarkable gem begins during the tumultuous times of the 1857 revolution when Kanpur was first fortified by a force lead by Nana Rao Peshwa and then later the British sent a column to besiege the city and also recapture neighboring Lucknow. The fallout from these events was a terrible retribution on the local population by the subjugating British force where justice was swift, imperfect and summarily performed. Looting, pillaging and marauding by the occupying army of AHS Neill was commonplace. Sadly a road in Kanpur still is named after this despicable marauder.
During these turbulent times a British Colonel of the Bengal Cavalry, Col. W. Ferris, entered a temple in Kanpur and stole this gem from the jewel encrusted murti/idol of the resident deity of the temple. The gem does not necessarily bring death but untold misery and sorrow to whoever has possessed it.
As soon as he returned to England, Ferris began to suffer a series of financial misfortunes which brought the family to the brink of collapse. At first Ferris blamed his own poor judgement, but when every member of the family also suffered a series of debilitating illnesses, his thoughts turned to the gem. His fears were confirmed when he lent the stone to a friend of the family who inexplicably committed suicide.
The stone was next given to Edward Heron-Allen a scientist and a rationalist in 1890. Soon after, Heron-Allen abandoned all reason and a number of unfortunate accidents and misfortunes occurred to him and his family. In 1902, Heron-Allen lent the stone to his friend who started to encounter failures in his life and returned the stone to Heron-Allen. The misfortunes for Heron-Allen started again. In desperation, Heron-Allen threw the stone into the Regent's canal. Soon after the canal was dredged and the stone was found and taken to a local jeweler.
The jeweler immediately recognized the stone as the one he had mounted on a ring for Heron-Allen. Believing that he was performing a kindness, he returned the ring. When much later, a friend asked to borrow the jewel, Heron-Allen once again lent it out. This time the unfortunate recipient was a professional singer who never sang again after wearing the cursed gem. Exasperated, Heron-Allen packed the Delhi Sapphire into seven boxes filled with charms. He then deposited it in the safe of his bank with instructions for it not to be opened until after his death.
Heron-Allen warned that the Delhi Purple sapphire is "accursed and is stained with the blood, and the dishonor of everyone who has ever owned it." Wary of its alleged powers, he kept it locked away in seven boxes and surrounded by good luck charms. In 1944, Heron-Allen died. Despite insisting that the box containing the Delhi Sapphire should not be opened for 33 years after his death, Heron- Allen’s daughter wisely disposed of it as quickly as she could and sent it to the Natural History Museum. There it stayed until 1972, languishing in a drawer until curator Peter Tandy uncovered the sapphire and the strange letter enclosed detailing the particular tales of woe attached to the stone. It ends…” Whoever opens this box, do whatever you want with it. My advice however is to throw it into the sea.”
There are many such looted antiquities in British museums. The Elgin marbles from the Parthenon in Greece, which the Greek government is trying to get back for years and numerous Indian antiquities. Eventually Karma is a bitch. The once British Empire is now overtaken by India in economic prowess and in about 50 years it will be a quaint shell of what it is today.
Here is a picture of the Kanpur gem in the British Natural History museum where the birds killed by Allan Octavian Hume founder of the Indian National Congress Party also reposes.