Of
the mineral bezoar, which was also regarded as an antidote against
poisons, Mohammed ben Mançur relates that various ornamental figures
were formed from it, such as small images of the Shah or little female
figures ; these were perhaps regarded as talismans. Knife-handles were
also made of this material,16 and here the use may have been
connected with the belief in the curative power of the bezoar, if
brought into direct contact with the skin, as would be the case when
the knife-handle was grasped in the hand.
A
mineral bezoar bearing a close likeness to the animal concretion was
found in Sicily. This stone was usually round, sometimes oblong like an
egg, and sometimes compressed; its usual size was about that of
a pigeon's egg, the largest stone not surpassing the size of a hen's egg. It
was commonly white, occasionally of a somewhat ashy hue, and the
surface was generally smooth, though now and then it was rough with
small protuberances. Its taste resembled that of the white bolus armenus. The
composition of this stone was similar to that of the Oriental bezoar of
animal origin, having the same layers, and in the centre a small mass
of sand over which nature had imposed from eight to ten layers, just as
in the animal bezoar.17
A
peculiar bezoar is reported from Indrapura, India. This was said to
have been found in the skull of a rhinoceros, and was of light weight
and of a black hue, varying to pale red when held against the light ;
it was hard enough to cut glass. The owner believed it to be a panacea
for all ills. For blood-spitting it was held in the mouth; for
rheumatism, bruises, or burns, it was rubbed over the affected part ;
and for the bites of venomous creatures it was simply laid
M Von
Hammer, "Auszüge aus dem persischen Werke, Buch der Edelsteine, von
Mohammed ben Manssur," in Fundgruben des Orients, vol. vi, p. 134;
Wien, 1818.
* Boccone, " Recherches et observations naturelles," Amsterdam, 1674, pp. 238, 239.
