Goa stone

Goa Stone and container, probably from Goa, India, late 17th–early 18th century.

A Goa stone is a man-made bezoar that is considered to have medicinal and talismanic properties.[1] Goa stones were manufactured by Jesuits in the late seventeenth century in Goa, India, because naturally occurring bezoars were scarce.[2] Their inventor was the Florentine lay brother Gaspar Antonio, and a Jesuit monopoly was confirmed by the Portuguese on March 6, 1691.[3] They were created by combining organic and inorganic materials including hair, shells, tusks, resin, and crushed gems, then shaping the materials into a ball and gilting it. Like bezoar stones, Goa stones were thought to prevent disease and cure poisoning.[4] They could be administered by shaving off small pieces into a drinkable beverage like water, tea, or wine.

Goa stones were kept in ornate, solid gold or gilded cases that were believed to enhance the medicinal properties of the stones.[5] The cases usually featured a busy network of filigree, occasionally adorned with ornaments of animals, including monkeys, unicorns, dogs, and parrots.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Goa Stone with Gold Case". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  2. ↑ Bailly, Muriel. "Foolish Remedies: Goa Stone". Wellcome Collection. Wellcome Collection. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  3. ↑ Fonseca, José Nicolau da (1878). An Historical and Archæological Sketch of the City of Goa: Preceded by a Short Statistical Account of the Territory of Goa. Thacker & Company, limited. p. 317.
  4. ↑ "Bezoar Stone with Case and Stand". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  5. ↑ Grundhauser, Eric. "The Man-Made Gut Stones Once Used to Thwart Assassination Attempts". Atlas Obscura. Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  6. ↑ Ekhtiar, Maryam. "Paradox". YouTube. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
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