The Sleeping Lion is one of the largest-known nacreous pearls and has an interesting history. Newly discovered early references indicate that soon after the pearl was sold in Amsterdam in 1778, it was offered for sale in St. Petersburg in 1779. The pearl was recently removed from its setting, allowing its weight to finally be determined at 2,373 grains (593 ct or 118.65 grams). High-resolution X-ray micro-CT scanning revealed the inner structure of the pearl in much greater detail than could be seen during a previous study, and together with Raman spectroscopy, confirmed that the Sleeping Lion is a natural blister pearl. As properties presented in a previous study indicate that this pearl has a freshwater origin, it can be reaffirmed that this is the largest natural freshwater blister pearl documented to date.
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