1985.52.2351.1

Collection type

Object

Description

Amulet, black iron oval ball with a textile loop for suspension, inside an oval two-part wooden box [1985.52.2351 .2-.3] that opens. [RB 30/07/2012]

Long description

Amulet, black iron oval ball [.1] with a textile loop for suspension, inside an oval two-part wooden box [.2-.3] that opens. The oval ball is magnetic, and according the related French document it is comprised of a mixture of iron, gummy substances, and balsamic, but that it was more commonly known as a 'steel ball'. [RB 30/07/2012]

Geographical reference

France

Europe > Western Europe > France

Rhône-Alpes Isère Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse

Person

Field collector Unknown Collector

PRM source Wellcome Institute

PRM source Wellcome Historical Medical Museum

Date / Period

Date made: Before 1931

Date collected

By 1931

Acquisition information

Transferred: 1985

Materials and processes

Material Iron Metal, Material Plant Sap, Material Wood Plant, Material Textile, Material Resin Plant, Material Mineral, Process Carved

Dimensions

Width: max 39 mm, Length: max 63 mm

Object numbers

Accession number: 1985.52.2351.1 Other numbers: 4683

Research and responses

1985.52.2351 .1- .3 was accompanied by French document which provides detailed information about what the object was used for and how it was used. It also states that it consists of a mixture of iron, gummy substances, and balsamic ['nous pouvons dire qu'il se compose d'un melange de fer et de substances gommeuses et balsamiques'], and that it was more commonly known as a steel ball ['Boule d'acier']. [RB 30/07/2012]

According to Martin (1995, p.199), balls weighed 100g at the beginning of production in 1826, 85g around 1880, and 60g during Spanish production. This ball (1985.52.2351) weighs 85g, and therefore dates to around 1880. Jean Martin (1995) Les formules des boules d'acier vulnéraires. Revue d'histoire de la pharmacie, 83e année, N.305, pp.196-200. French language, hard copy held in RDF. [CB 29/08/2012]

Associated publications

This amulet was selected for the Small Blessings project website [http://web.prm.ox.ac.uk/amulets], online text as follows: The Carthusian Order was founded by Saint Bruno in AD 1084 at La Grande Chartreuse, a monastery in a remote area of the French Alps. In 1737 the Carthusian monks began making a herbal liqueur which they sold as a medicinal ʻelixir of long lifeʼ. Chartreuse liqueur is still made today following the ancient recipe, and is known around the world. Between 1826 and 1920 the Carthusian monks also made steel balls like this one (known as a boule dʼacier or boule minérale in French), which they sold as medicinal treatments for a wide range of problems. According to the printed instructions that accompanied the steel balls, flakes could be soaked in lʼeau-de-vie (a clear, colourless fruit brandy) and applied to compresses to treat cuts, bruises, sprains and fractures, or dissolved in water to make an eyewash to treat eye infections. Added to herbal tea or chicken broth, the remedy could be drunk as a treatment for almost any ailment, from headaches and stomach complaints to hysteria and hypochondria. The monksʼ recipe for the steel balls included 50 pounds of iron or steel filings, 30 pounds of tartar, and 2 oz of pulverised amber (these quantities made approximately 25 steel balls). These ingredients were heated on a stove, stirred, and moistened with wine spirits. Once the mixture was black and dry it was pulverised and passed through a sieve. Aromatic and balsamic resins were then added, and the mixture was again put on a hot stove, moistened with lʼeau-de-vie, and stirred well. It was then worked a little in the hands and put in moulds. Using a small instrument, the monks made a hole at the top of each ball, and inserted a small ribbon. Once set, the balls were removed from the moulds, cleaned, polished, and left to dry for two or three days before being stored in a cabinet. This recipe was kept a guarded secret until 1993, when Brother Marie-Bernard, an archivist at La Grande Chartreuse, was authorised to make it public. [CB 29/08/2012]

Search terms: Religion, Medicine, Box, Amulet, Religious Object, Lid