ON THE VIRTUES OF FABULOUS STONES 185
series
of concretions ; this was usually found in the animal's head, and was
considered to be even superior to the bezoar as an antidote against
poison. If steeped in water for a quarter of an hour, the water became
so bitter that "there was nothing in the world more bitter." Another
stone supposed to be found in the animal's entrails possessed like
properties, but was said to lose none of its weight when placed in
water, while the first-mentioned stone became lighter. Tavernier bought
three of these stones, paying as much as five hundred crowns for one of
them.59
A
jewel made of ambergris, in the J. Pierpont Morgan collection, is said
to be the only specimen of its kind that has been preserved for us from
medieval times. The perfumed material has been skilfully carved into
the symbolic figures of a woman and three children. At one time
believed to symbolize Charity, the later theory is that these figures
have a less pure significance and rather denote the reproductive
energies, for ornaments of this material were credited with aphrodisiac
powers; however, they were also believed to cure stomachic disorders.
The delicate perfume they exhaled was one of their chief titles to
admiration, and after the lapse of more than three centuries, this
particular jewel still emits a fragrant aromatic odor when it has been
held for some time in a warm hand. The style of the workmanship
indicates that this is a piece of cinquecento Italian work. It was at
one time in the Wencke Collection, in Hamburg, and later formed part
of the Spitzer Collection, until the sale of the latter in 1893.60
While
many of the reports of the finding of immense masses of ambergris (in
one the weight of the mass is given as three thousand pounds) may be
classed as at least highly
" " Les six voyages de Jean Baptiste Tavernier," Pt. II, Paris, 1678, p. 470; liv. ii, chap. 24.
"
Williamson, " Catalogue of the Collection of Jewels and Precious Works
of Art, the Property of J. Pierpont Morgan," London, 1910, pp. 12-14.
