Issue 27 Autumn 2016

ISSN 2042-8529

Jewellery History Today Autumn 2016

The Jewel in the Fishs Head

By Christopher J. Duffin

Otoliths, chalky granules embedded in the inner ear, might seem an unusual choice for a gemstone.
Examples have been mounted in amuletic necklaces and pendants since pre-Roman times,
supposedly giving the added benefits of protection from maritime disaster and staving off headaches.
Many of the more unusual and archaic
gemstones toadstones, glossopetrae
(or tongue stones), and unicorns horn
have their literary roots based in classical
writings. Otoliths are no exception,
as the title of this piece, a parody of
Shakespeares reference to the toadstone
in As You Like It, implies. Usually quite
small, otoliths are growths of calcium
carbonate produced in the head of
most fishes. Three are found on each
side of the head where they are closely
associated with the semi-circular canals
of the membranous labyrinth of the inner
ear. Their function is to assist in giving
the parent fish an effective sense of
balance. Coastal settlements since preRoman times have depended heavily on
the sea for their protein, and fish provided
not only food but oil, handicraft materials,
medical
therapies,
magico-religious
substances, fertiliser, and items of trade.
With the entirety of the fish being utilised
in some way or other, perhaps it should
not surprise us that the inner recesses of
the skull should be plundered for items of
personal adornment.
Arguably the most impressive specimens
of otolith are the large, sub-rectangular
forms belonging to Argyrosomus regius,
known colloquially as the Meagre, Corvina,
or Stone Basse. The otoliths of this fish
often measure 2 cm or more in length and
are distinctive in possessing a slightly offcentre boss, which is usually presented
on the exterior face of the object; the
inner surface is flatter and ornamented
with a shallow sinuous groove (see figs
1 and 2a and b). The parent fish is a
relatively common inhabitant of the
Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean.
As a large predator measuring up to
2 m in length and weighing up to 55
kg, it feeds in shelf and inshore waters,
coming into the shallows to breed, and

Jewellery History Today Autumn 2016

Fig 1. Spanish otolith amulet in the Pitt-Rivers Museum, Oxford, inventory no. 1985.52.78.
Pitt-Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, used with permission.

sometimes swimming into estuaries and

coastal lagoons. Fig 3 shows a delightful
woodcut from the Hortus Sanitatis
(Garden of Health), a volume dedicated
to the description and enumeration of the
contemporary medicinal uses of herbal,
animal, and mineral materials, first
published in Germany in 1491. A young
man scavenging for therapeutic materials
in the shallows has come across both
shellfish yielding pearls and a beached
fish whose otoliths are indicated by a
grossly exaggerated cranial swelling; the
fish looks none too happy at being a
prospective donor of the stones!
Otolith jewels in museum collections
most commonly date from the 18th or
19th centuries. When fresh, the stone is
alabaster-like in its whiteness but it may
yellow and darken with age. The otolith
is generally held firmly in a gold or, more
commonly, silver band encircling it,
sometimes reinforced with triangular tabs.
Dr Walter Hildburgh (1876-1955),

a great patron and supporter of the

Victoria and Albert Museum in his later
years, came across otolith amulets of this
sort during his Mediterranean travels,
particularly to Spain and Italy, in the early
decades of the 20th century. Keeping
careful notes about the folklore of such
objects, he recorded how they were worn
by children to offer protection against
having accidents and the effects of the
Evil Eye. When acquired in pairs they
were believed either to be effective in
the treatment of problems of the ears
or to ensure that the bearer was doubly
lucky. Hildburgh also notes that, in Cairo,
such otoliths were attached to the caps
of young boys in order to preserve them
in good health. In more recent times they
have lost something of this specificity and
are esteemed in general as lucky stones.
Mounted otoliths are still sold today
in the coastal towns of the Bay of Cadiz,
Andalucia, in the south-west corner of
Spain. Strongly influenced by the regions

Fig 2a & b. Obverse and reverse of 19th-century otolith amulet from Toledo, Spain. VAM M.35-1917, Hildburgh Collection. Victoria and Albert Museum.

maritime history, there is supposedly an unbroken tradition of

wearing otolith amulets that can be traced back to the influence
of the Phoenician traders, who were said to have founded the
city of Cadiz itself in around 800 BC. Argyrosomus otoliths have
been found in the remains of a wardrobe from the 8th-century
Las Cumbres archaeological site, as grave goods in the La Joya
necropolis (6th century BC), and at numerous other localities in
the region. There, the otolith is still believed to possess psychic
powers, to improve fertility, and to both protect against and cure
headaches, lumbago, fevers, and rheumatism, when worn in rings,
earrings, and pendants, or even if carried loose in the pocket.
Similar beliefs are reported from the coastal communities of
north-east Brazil, where fishermen carry or wear them at sea in
order to ensure good luck and successful fishing.
One large specimen from the excavations of the Roman Baths at
Barzan, Charente-Maritime in France appears to have been worked
with the intention of placing in a suitable setting, perhaps to be
worn as a pendant. Pliny the Elder (AD 23-79) reported the Roman
medicinal folklore associated with a variety of otoliths in his Historia
Naturalis (Natural History), written around AD 73. He described
them as being used in the treatment of various renal and bladder
stones, as well as to ease recurrent fevers. He also indicated that
they were somehow used by sailors to predict conditions at sea; this
may be the origin of their historical function of protecting mariners
and assisting in planning their various journeys.
In addition, the elevated boss on the outer surface of the otolith
has often been said to evoke the shape of a human face; some
even claim to have seen the face of the Virgin Mary represented
on them, affording an additional level of protection.
Dr Chris Duffin is a geologist who works mostly on fossil fishes.
Since retiring from school teaching, he has been a Scientific
Associate at the Natural History Museum.

Fig 3.'LVFRYHU\RIDEHDFKHGRWROLWKEHDULQJVKIURPD
hand-coloured edition of the Hortus Sanitatis, 1491.

Jewellery History Today Autumn 2016