M0019989: John Dee's crystal used for clairvoyance and healing, 17th century

Previous title, replaced July 2022: John Dee's crystal, used for clairvoyance & healing, 17th C

Photograph of John Dee's crystal, supposedly given to him in November 1582 by the angel Uriel. Dee, who was Queen Elizabeth I's astrologer, used the crystal for clairvoyance. In 1640, it was given to the physician, Nicholas Culpeper (1616-1664) by Dee's son, Arthur, as a reward for curing his liver complaint. Culpeper used it to cure diseases but noted that its use rendered him weak and tempted (by a demon) to acts of lewdness with women and girls. Photograph from an unknown source

January 1965

1 photograph glass plate negative; 10.2 x 12.7 cm

Catalogue data comes from a combination of entries in the original glass plate registers, metadata created when the glass plates were digitised in the early 2000s and enhancements made by the cataloguer in 2022.

Please consult the digitised version as this item is fragile. Email library@wellcomecollection.org to request access to the physical item.