Amulets were worn by men, women and children throughout southern Europe in the 19th century. Before the development of modern medicine, fevers, cramps and toothache could be painful and dangerous. Childbirth could kill mother or child. Many people believed that the supernatural powers embodied in an amulet could promote fertility and good health and offer protection against malign forces or the ‘evil eye’. Although the Catholic Church was opposed to the pagan nature of many amulets, it was powerless to prevent their use.

Amulets gain their power to protect from harm, or to attract good fortune, from their colour, pattern or material. Badger’s paws were considered efficacious against the evil eye, and their use as an amulet was widespread in Spain. At least some were imported, as the badger is not common in the region. Although the use of amulets was largely confined to the poorer classes by the end of the 19th century, they had previously been used by all levels of society. The painter Diego Velazquez shows Prince Felipe Prospero, at the age of two, wearing a badger’s paw amulet in his portrait of 1659.