Obj. ID: 36460
Sacred and Ritual Amulet, Iraq, circa 1900
The following description was prepared by William Gross:
From earliest times, man has tried to protect himself from misfortune by the use of objects which he considered holy or otherwise (e.g., magically) potent. Amulets and talismans are items generally worn around the neck or wrist, carried in a pocket or purse or hung on a wall. They are meant to protect or aid those who carried or wore them. The Hebrew word for amulet, kame‘a, has the root meaning "to bind". Jewish amulets are usually comprised of texts (either letters or graphic symbols) that are inscribed on some sort of material; some may also contain plant matter or precious stones. The texts of amulets usually include holy names that are believed to have the ability to affect reality, along with incantations summoning angels or other magical powers. For the most part, an amulet has a specific purpose: to ease childbirth, facilitate recovery from illness, improve one’s livelihood, and so on, but in the modern world many are also made for general protection.
This amulet shape of an almost square form with clipped corners is among the most common for Kurdistani talismans. They were made for numerous contexts, including the protection of birthing mothers and their children, as is documented in a famous picture of a child from Sandor, in Iraqi Kurdistan, wearing such an amulet on a chain over her shoulder. This shape also is found in smaller sizes, and all the sorts are often found, not only with inscriptions, but with designs of magic squares of amuletic abbreviations, the Magen David and the hamsa. This is a unique example displaying the 3 angels directly copied from the book "Raziel Hamalach".
While the form is typical of Iraqi amulets, the inscriptions include a depiction of the three angels Sanoi, Sansanoi and Samangalaf as pictured in the book Raziel Hamalach from Amsterdam, 1701. This is the only recorded Kurdish amulet with such a decoration. On the reverse side is a very long list of angel names, as is common on Iraqi Kurdistan amulets. On the side with the depictions of the angels is a group of magic squares and images for the protection of a birthing mother and her child, as portrayed in the Ashkenazi manuscript "Kabbalah Ma'asit". This type of amulet was called "Shaddai" or "Yahadonai". They often accompanied individuals from childhood. It includes a protection against night fears as well.
Inscription: Sanoi Sansanoi Samangalaf.........
