From Sharon in Aug. Bezoar stone

Thank you USPS for putting the waves at the bottom. Nice addition to Sharon's design. And her crab makes me hungry for crab. It is available here - but I have been ruined by the experience of having it fresh at one of those places where you are literally gazing out at the ocean while you eat. 

The add-on today was buried in my folders. 

I saw this in an auction catalogue - the sale is Oct 4-5-6. I stumbled across a video about Robert Kime - a legendary British interior designer - who passed away about a year ago. He was a next level collector - and it was fun to flip through the virtual pages. This caught my eye. It's always fun to learn about these unusual items that some people value. My primitive math skills indicate that it might be around the size of a tennis ball - maybe a little larger or smaller. 

Ancient tchotchkes.

A LARGE AND RARE BEZOAR STONE

16TH/17TH CENTURY

With rope twist handle

the stone 13.5cm wide, 10cm high

Provenance:

Originally from South America and entered a private collection between the 16th and the 17th century

Christie's Paris, Mobilier et Objets d'Art,

Orfèvrerie et un ensemble d'Obiets de Curiosité, 16 April 2007, lot 62, where purchased by Robert Kime

Bezoar stones are calcified concretions of stone or hair, covered by layers of calcium phosphate and found in the stomachs or intestine of animals including horses and camels. They were introduced into the West from Arabia in the 11 century. and derive their name from the Persian wlajo, (padzahr) "preserver from poison". It was believed that scrapings from the stones were an effective antidote to poisons-specifically arsenic and were also used to treat fevers and prevent miscarriages. This example has traces of grating indicating it was used for just such a purpose. In the 16th & 17th centuries they were thought to have magical properties and were an important part of a princely or noble kunstkammer Rare to obtain, especially of this unusually large size, they were highly prized by Royal courts and nobility, and their cost could be ten times more than their weight in gold.

£6,000 - 10,000