Antique jewelry glossary

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Bezoar stone

A stone of calculous formation existing in the gall-bladder of certain ruminant animals, notably the bezoar goat, believed to have curative properties, especially against poisons. The stone was used as an amulet, sometimes set in precious metals, as a safety-guard against poisons, first in Persia and later in the 13th to 17th centuries in the Iberian Peninsula and other European countries, until its efficacy was disproved.