Religious Pendant thumbnail 1
Religious Pendant thumbnail 2
Not currently on display at the V&A

Religious Pendant

18th century (made)

Oval vertical pendant consisting of two pieces of stamped sheet silver attached round the edges to form a single object. Each consists of a central medallion with a Hebrew inscription surounded by a frame formed of imitation filigree bosses.


Object details

Categories
Metalwork
Jewellery
Judaism
Object type
Religious pendant
Materials and techniques
Silver
Brief description
Pendant, silver, stamped, imitation filigree, probably Italian, 18th century
Physical description
Oval vertical pendant consisting of two pieces of stamped sheet silver attached round the edges to form a single object. Each consists of a central medallion with a Hebrew inscription surounded by a frame formed of imitation filigree bosses.
Dimensions
  • Height: 6cm (Note: Not including suspension loops.)
  • Width: 6cm (Note: Maximum, across centre)
  • Depth: 1.5cm (Note: Maximum.)
Marks and inscriptions
  • Inscribed on the front, on a rayed background: a family name, probably 'Chakahi' ( חכהי ). Inscribed on the back, on a plain background, 'Shaddai' ('Almighty'). (We are grateful to our colleagues at the Jewish Museum London for their assistance in interpreting these inscriptions.)
  • There is a mark on the suspension loop.
Object history
Bought from Dr Marco Guastalla for £1/15/0 on 16th April 1890
Production

Bibliographic references
  • Meininghaus, Alisha, 'Magic everywhere? On the Conceptualisation of Jewish Amulets in Museums.' In Handling Religious Things. The Material and the Social in Museums. Philipps-Universität Marburg, 2022.
  • Sabar, Shalom, "Jewish Amulets from the Beginning of the Modern Age until the Twentieth Century". In Filip Vukosavovic, ed., Angels and Demons: Jewish Magic through the Ages – Exhibition Catalog, P. 24-27. Jerusalem: Bible Lands Museum, 2010.
  • Spoer, Hans H, 'Notes on Jewish Amulets.' Journal of Biblical Literature, 1904, Vol. 23, No. 2 (1904), p. 97-105.
  • Unterman, Alan, Dictionary of Jewish Lore & Legend. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 1991.
  • Harari, Yuval, 'Amulets, Jewish.' The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, 2012.
Collection
Metalwork Collection
Accession number
344-1890

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Record createdJanuary 24, 2006
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O120655/religious-pendant/
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