Elephant Bezoar Stone
Reader Kelly Searsmith? calls our attention to a curious photograph (object #42 in her online wunderkammer) of? an elephant bezoar stone, along with a short explanation of its significance by Corey Malcom, Director of Archaeology at the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society:
“Because wine and other drinks were often laced with arsenic, the most popular poison of the period [seventeenth-century European society], many magical devices were employed to negate its deleterious effects before it was consumed. Amethyst, crushed emerald and “unicorn horn” (often narwhal tusk) were all immersed in suspect beverages in the belief that they would render them safe. The most common and effective of these amulets was the bezoar stone. Bezoars are the gall stones of calcium and hair found in the alimentary tracts of ruminants such as deer, sheep, llamas and antelope. The original bezoars came from goats found in the mountains of Western Persia. They were introduced to Europe from the Middle East sometime in the 11th century, and they remained popular there until the 18th century…
Modern examinations of the properties of bezoars by Gustaf Arrhenius and Andrew A. Benson of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography have shown that they could, when immersed in an arsenic-laced solution, remove the poison. The toxic compounds in arsenic are arsenate and arsenite. Each is acted upon differently, but effectively, by bezoar stones. Arsenate is removed by being exchanged for phosphate in the mineral brushite, a crystalline structure found in the stones. Arsenite is found to bond to sulfur compounds in the protein of degraded hair, which is a key component in bezoars.”
August 17th, 2006 at 10:31 am
Not only that, but it saved Ron’s keister in Harry Potter 6.
And, well, this knowledge that it’s a real item? My son thinks that’s cool. And so do I.
August 17th, 2006 at 10:58 am
OH MY! I was going to say the exact same thing as that last guy! wow.
August 17th, 2006 at 4:16 pm
As for being a real item, my belief that it is comes from where I harvested the image — a very upscale antiquities dealer: quite respectable (member of top professional association) and careful, too, in its item descriptions.
Bezoar stones themselves aren’t that rare, btw. This one probably being from an elephant makes it special.
There are many antiquities dealers on the web. Some sell questionable or hacked up merchandise for bargain prices. I’d be skeptical if I’d found this at one of those dealers’ sites.
August 17th, 2006 at 4:17 pm
BTW, Thanks to the Society for the reference and link!
August 28th, 2006 at 9:49 pm
It really mamkes you wonder how they discovered these things, and who decided to put one in a drink.
November 17th, 2006 at 1:08 pm
I am an archivist at the Waring Historical Library in Charleston, SC. and recently came across a series of correspondence in the papers of Dr. Charles Aimar, Jr. (a local surgeon, 1873-1927) discussing a bezoar found in the stomach of a calf. It was believed by some that the “Mad Stone” could be applied topically to treat the bite of a rabid dog, and could also be made into a tea to treat various afflictions. Dr. aimar was quite interested in bezoars, and urged his hunter friends to save any they found in deer for his inspection.
December 28th, 2006 at 5:05 am
if any one interest in a bezor stone frm an elephant(asian) ..leave a reply here.
March 20th, 2007 at 5:50 am
[...] I was aware of the bezoar as a sort of magical stone which provides an antidote to poison (it comes up in Harry Potter, and I had thought Umberto Eco mentioned it, but I can’t find the reference), but I hadn’t realised it was also real-world medical phenomenon. It’s a sort of concretion which forms around indigestible foreign bodies eaten by an animal (or person), and there are various types, according to the nature of the material ingested: trichobezoar (hair), phytobezoar (undigested plant material), etc. Most gruesome is the sfendonibezoar: …a sling-shaped bezoar, this is with a body and a tail, like a ball with a string and can cause a lifethreatening internal strangulation of the intestines that push the ball forwards which will tighten the string behind it like a snare. [...]
March 26th, 2007 at 11:22 am
I am wondering who owns the image of this elephant Bezoar. The magazine I Photo Edit for is doing an article on Talismans thorugh the ages and this would be wonderful for an image to illustrate the section on Bezoars. Do any of you have a contact for the source of this image? Any other suggestions for images of talismans (either examples such as this, or references in film, or art) would be greatly appreciated!
Best,
CHris.
April 12th, 2007 at 3:26 am
This particular bezoar is being sold by a reputable Lonon dealer, and you can find the entry in the online gallery for the British Antique Dealers Association.
http://www.bada.org/provenart/dealer_stock_details.cgi?d_id=109&a_id=21607
It’s an interesting find, although I’m a wee bit dubious as to it coming from an elephant’s stomach. It looks like a cow bezoar to me.
April 18th, 2007 at 2:41 am
Thank You
May 9th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
You can find bezoars on my website from all different animals. im sure you will find them interesting. http://www.manizone.co.uk
May 31st, 2007 at 5:14 pm
MSN I NIIPET
MSN
July 27th, 2007 at 4:09 pm
*satisfied smile* Well, it would appear that Professor Snape’s preferred poison antidote has some basis in Muggle science.
This made my day.
July 29th, 2007 at 6:01 pm
Hello! Good Site! Thanks you! trhaavpoaa
August 3rd, 2007 at 10:18 pm
dear one
i have heared somebody say that if you cover a real elephant bezoar with betel leaf,it’s leaf is eaten by the bezoar and only veins remain,have you tried it
is it available for sale ?value?
krsn