Small flint nodule used as an amulet against teething pains, England, 1913
The growing influence of biomedicine in the 1800s did not necessarily replace established forms of treatment based on belief and superstition. What could be referred to as folk medicine – customs that often went back generations – continued to be practised. For example, some believed that tooth shaped pieces of flint such as those in the background of this image could act as protective amulets against teething pains. It was hoped that the child’s pain would be transferred to the flint. This amulet was a gift to the Wellcome collections in 1916 from Edward Lovett (1852-1933), a collector of British amulets and charms. It is pictured here with other teething amulets: a piece of turf (A132465), a necklace of woody nightshade (A132471), and a calf’s tooth (A665423).
Object number:
A132464
Related Themes and Topics
Glossary:
Glossary: teething
No description.
Glossary: amulet
Small object or piece of jewellery worn as a protecting charm to ward off ill health and bad luck.
Glossary: biomedicine
The name given to the medical practice that is based on the sciences of the body, such as physiology (the functioning of the body).