H | Heraldic composition | Supporters | Two birds
A | Abstract | Abstract geometric
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The following description was prepared by William Gross:
Birth amulets come in a wide variety of shapes, content and materials. One custom revolves around the placing of four amulets on each of the walls of the room of mother and child after birth. There are examples in the Gross Family Collection from Kurdistan, Jerusalem, Morocco and in the present case, Ukraine. Such sets were made for the general protection of the home as well.
This set is an extremely rare example from East Europe, from Ukraine. Not only is the origin unusual, but the use of colored papercuts to form the set makes this perhaps unique. It is certainly the only recorded example. The inscriptions are the typical ones used for birth amulets, utilizing the "Shir le-Ma'alot....", the Biblical injunction against witches, and the names of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs