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have
been many. From the earliest times it has been used as an amulet, being
supposed to bring good luck and to protect the wearer against the evil
eye of an enemy. Necklaces of amber beads are used to this day as
preventive, or curative, of sore throat, and the Shah of Persia wears
around his neck a cube of amber reported to have fallen from heaven in
the time of Mohammed, which is supposed to have the power of rendering
its wearer invulnerable. Amber was also taken internally in former
times as a cure for asthma, dropsy, toothache, and other diseases, and
to this day is prescribed by physicians in France, Germany, and Italy
for different ailments.
The
use of amber for artistic and decorative purposes has declined
considerably since the Middle Ages; but magnificent illustrations of
its employment for these purposes are to be seen in many European
museums, notably the Green Vaults of Dresden.
In this country a beautiful collection of objects made of amber is to be seen in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
Though
so soft and easily destructible a substance amber endures with ordinary
care as well as the hardest stone, and many works of art formed from it
are well preserved.
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