Obj. ID: 36480 Amulet, Iraq, circa 1910
sub-set tree:
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.
While of the group mentioned above, this amulet with its hollow letters would seem to be from Iran, but the clipped-corner shape and the soldered edging would indicate Iraq. It is likely that it was made in the Kurdistan area next to the border between the two countries and is similar to another amulet in the Gross Family Collection, 027.011. that has some of the same charachteristics. This talisman was made for a specific woman whose name is at the bottom of the amulet.
Inscription: Esther bat Memi; (42 letter name).......