Obj. ID: 41925
Sacred and Ritual Objects  Paper amulet, Ioannina, 1897

The following description was prepared by William Gross:

From earliest times, man has tried to protect himself from misfortune by the use of objects that 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.

The Romaniote Jews of Ioannina prepared a special amulet for the birth of a male child, called an "Aleph".  This was prepared before the circumcision and the name of the child was filled in at the bottom at the ceremony.  The amulet hung in the house until the end of the 40-day period during which the mother did not leave the child or the home, in the local custom.  This amulet is unique to these Romaniote Jews. This boy's name was Avraham. At the bottom is the representation of the menorah with the 67th psalm, as so frequently used in the Shiviti plaque. Much of the rest is filled with amuletic names and texts. This decorative pattern continued, apparently from the same scribe/artist, for more than 20 years in Ioannina. There is a Ketubah in the same style in the Jewish Museum in Athens, probably from the same hand. In the Gross Family Collection is another amulet of this type, but some 30 years earlier, 027.011.380.