Europe
Tooth pendant
United Kingdom
Collected by Miss E. Begg
Given to the Museum by Kenneth Page Oakley in 1974
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Since Ancient Egyptian times, fossil sharks’ teeth have been used
in many cultures to protect, especially against poisoning and the ‘evil
eye’ (jealousy or envy). During the nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries, fossil sharks’ teeth were mounted on brooches, tie pins,
and pendants. This fossil shark’s tooth is thought to date from
the Miocene in Malta. It is then believed to have been mounted in silver
during the seventeenth century, and used as an antidote to poison in wine.
The collector bought it in a London market in the twentieth century.
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record 1974.4.2
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