<div class="description">
<p>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 &amp;#150; customs that often went back generations &amp;#150; continued to be practised. For example, carrying around this piece of bone was believed to be a cure for rheumatism (aches and pains in the joints), transferring the pain from person to stone.
</p><p>Edward Lovett (1852-1933), a collector of British amulets and charms, acquired this piece of animal or human bone in Brandon, Suffolk, England in 1909. Part of Lovett&amp;#146;s collection was purchased by Henry Wellcome in 1930. It is pictured here with two other bones used as a &amp;#145;cure&amp;#146; for aching joints (A79960 and A665266).
</p><p>maker: Unknown maker
</p><p>Place made: England, United Kingdom
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<p>Medical Photographic Library<br>
Keywords: amulet; biomedicine; Bone and Bones; bone; rheumatism</p></div>
CC BY 4.0
<p><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/obf_images/8b/90/f88515aeee6b9a596107de58442f.jpg">https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/obf_images/8b/90/f88515aeee6b9a596107de58442f.jpg</a>
</p>
<ul><li>Gallery: <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/image/L0057379.html">https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/image/L0057379.html</a></li>
<li>Wellcome Collection gallery (2018-03-24): <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://wellcomecollection.org/works/gt2rhgma">https://wellcomecollection.org/works/gt2rhgma</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC-BY-4.0</a></li></ul>