Obj. ID: 37554
Sacred and Ritual Objects Amulet, Ukraine, circa 1900
The following description was prepared by William Gross:
This is an example of a type of inexpensive, easily cast lead amulet that has only recently come to light. The disovery came because of extensive use of metal detectors by amateur explorers in the FSU, primarily in the Ukraine, where such amulets have been uncovered in both quantity and variety. In the Gross Family Collection there are more than 60 different variations. It is clear that they were a very popular protective talisman, worn by numberous Jewish children.
This is an example of a oval "Heh' type amulet created for a male child to be hung around his neck on a string or chain. It has been postulated that this amulet was connected with the protection of a child for whom the Pidyon Haben ceremony could not be performed on time. In the center of the obverse is the single letter "Heh" of the monogrammaton. Around this is the blessing for the child to grow "to the Torah, to the Chupah and to good deeds". On the reverse are additional prayers for the wellbeing of the child and against the evil eye. This is another slight variation of the normal large round amulets in an oval form, of which there are only two in The Gross Family Collection.
In this example the loop for hanging has broken off. The owner made slit in the upper part so that the amulet could still hang from a chain around the child's neck