Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1605–1689) was a French traveller and a merchant in gems who made six voyages to India between 1630 and 1668 during the reign of Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb. Being a dealer of diamonds made him well equipped to elaborately discuss about diamonds and diamond mines of India.
His travel account, entitled Travel in India, first appeared in 1676. His another book Le Six Voyages de J. B. Tavernier- The Six Voyages of J. B. Tavernier was also published in 1676, and translated into English by Dr. C. V. Ball in 1889.
The gem-studded Peacock Throne (Takht-i-Taoos), commissioned by Shah Jahan and housed in the Diwan-i-Khas in the Red Fort of Delhi, was described by Tavernier as “the richest and most superb throne which has ever been seen in the world.” The Peacock Throne was taken to Persia by Nadir Shah who invaded India during the reign of Raushan Akhtar who ascended the Mughal throne under the title of Muhammad Shah in 1719.
Tavernier died in Moscow in 1689, at the age of eighty-four.
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