LOT 0388

Bezoar with Silver-Gilt Suspension Mount

CIRCA 17TH-18TH CENTURY A.D.

3 1/8 in. (74 grams, 80 mm).

Dark brown, rounded bezoar with a granular surface, fitted with a domed silver-gilt cap and circular suspension loop, the cap decorated with pointed leaves, their outlines and central veins defined against textured grounds.

Acquired on the European art market.
UK, private collection.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13478-263372.

Cf. similar items in Do Sameiro Barroso, M., ‘Bezoar stones, magic, science and art’ in Geological Society, London, Special publications, 2013, February 26, pp.1-16 figs.8,15,16-17.

Bezoars were valued in European and Asian medicinal traditions for their supposed ability to counteract poison. Natural examples are concretions formed around indigestible material within the digestive systems of animals. Their historical reputation is reflected in the name, derived from the Persian p ādzahr, meaning “antidote”. During the early modern period, bezoars were furnished with precious-metal caps, cages and containers. Mounted examples could be worn as protective pendants, suspended for medicinal use, or preserved among the natural specimens and costly objects assembled in cabinets of curiosities. The present leaf-decorated cap belongs to this tradition of combining a valued specimen with ornamental metalwork. Surviving comparisons include a 17th-century brown bezoar pendant in a silver mount at the London Museum and an 18th-century silver-mounted example in the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid. These documents the continued use of silver mounts for bezoars across both centuries and provide the historical setting for the present example.