Obj. ID: 53917
Sacred and Ritual Objects  Mazal Tov Siman Tov, Amsterdam, circa 1700

The following description was prepared by William Gross:

This elaborately etched amulet was created by Avraham bar Yaakov, the convert to Judaism who also did the copper engravings for the famous 1695 edition of the Amsterdam haggadah, shown elsewhere in this exhibition, and other title-pages for hebrew books. It is a birth amulet and is one of the very few such amulets known today produced by copper engraving. It is also the earliest recorded printed Hebrew amulet. The engraving contains illustrations copied from the Swiss artist Mattheus Merian's etchings for the bible, first published in 1625-1630. There are scenes of Adam and Eve, Abraham and the three angels, Isaac blessing Jacob, a circumcision ceremony, David playing the harp and Joseph with the sun, moon, and nine stars. There are but a handful of copies of this amulet still extant, as it fits all the characteristics of ephemera, short-lived objects that were most often discarded. Most of the Hebrew inscriptions are either amuletic or descriptive in nature and include the "shir le-ma'alot" prayer and the names of the three angels, Sanoi, Sansanoi and Samgelaf, who are called upon to protect the mother and child from lilith. It is also rare to have the signature of the artist on an amulet as on this one. This example is not specific to only a male or female child, but intended for children of both sexes. While there is a circumcision scene there is also a representation of Eve in the Garden of eden.