Obj. ID: 53849  Amulet Le-Zachar Le-Nekevah, Fürth, circa 1775

The following description was prepared by William Gross:

The popularity of printed birth amulets in southern Germany was great.  Many varieties were printed in the 18th and 19th centuries in several cities, including Fuerth.  This example is most interesting because the amulets for a male and female child were printed together.  The client was to cut off the appropriate amulet after the birth for hanging in the room of the mother and child. The images of males and females are particularly attractive.  The image of the female may be taken from a Zodiac series and appears as well in a woman's prayer book from 1776 published in Fuerth, Gross B.366. Such amulets often invoke the patriarchs and their wives, as in this example, and the citing of the names of the angels Sanoi, Sansanoi and Samgalaf are specifically for protection against Lilith. There are other specific inscriptions against Lilith as well as the "shir le-ma'alot."