Lot 1624 Dα

Already in the classical era, bezoars, the gallstones of animals, were considered to have medicinal properties. Owing to the strong demand for these stones among the European nobility, Jesuit priests in Goa, West India, specialized in their production. They created synthetic bezoars from gallstones and hair, which they exported to Europe in elaborate settings. The capsule stand in which this stone is housed is of cast silver and consists of two rounded halves with pierced stylized leaf designs, decorated at the top and bottom with embossed and gilded rosettes.