Agate and Silver-Gilt Crabs’ Eye Pendant of an Acorn. German, 17th century.

Agate and Silver-Gilt Crabs’ Eye Pendant in the Form of an Acorn

German, late 17th century

Measurements
• 4.4 × 2.4 × 1.9 cm (excluding loose bail)
• Weight: 20 grams

A rare talismanic pendant carved from two matching pieces of translucent agate, displaying warm hues of red and amber, with natural veining and internal inclusions. The internal gilded silver creates rich honey tones that play through the stone, shifting with the light. The exterior is shaped as a stylised acorn, the convex faces worked with soft lobed contours, while the interior surfaces are hollowed with two hemispheres intended to contain crabs’ eyes—calcified concretions once believed to possess potent protective and medicinal properties.

The agate halves are mounted within silver-gilt settings of dog’s-tooth profile, the hinge line defined by twisted rope mouldings. The pendant retains its original internal lid, a central silver-gilt partition, which closes over the contents when the case is closed. The suspension loop is integral to the upper terminal. Such pendants were worn as amulets across early modern Europe, the combination of agate and crabs’ eyes uniting two substances long prized in natural magic and apothecary tradition for their perceived efficacy in countering poison, averting disease, and warding off malign influence.