Pendant
Amulet
1850-1870 (made)
1850-1870 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Amulets were worn widely throughout the lands of the Ottoman Empire. A hand, often so stylised that its origin is barely recognisable, was the most important Muslim amulet in North Africa and was also used in Syria. It was adopted by Christians and Jews living in the same regions.
The Hebrew inscription ‘Shaddai’, picked out in applied twisted wire, shows that this amulet was made for Jewish use. Sephardi Jewish women in the Ottoman Empire used hand amulets with this inscription to protect their newborn children against all kinds of evil. They pinned them to the baby’s clothing, or hung them round its neck. The Sephardic name for these hand-shaped amulets, ‘Xamsika’, is probably derived from the Arabic name hamsa, meaning five, which was the generic name for hand-shaped amulets.
The Hebrew inscription ‘Shaddai’, picked out in applied twisted wire, shows that this amulet was made for Jewish use. Sephardi Jewish women in the Ottoman Empire used hand amulets with this inscription to protect their newborn children against all kinds of evil. They pinned them to the baby’s clothing, or hung them round its neck. The Sephardic name for these hand-shaped amulets, ‘Xamsika’, is probably derived from the Arabic name hamsa, meaning five, which was the generic name for hand-shaped amulets.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Pendant (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Silver-gilt sheet with applied twisted wire decoration |
| Brief description | Silver gilt hand-shaped amulet with Hebrew inscription, Izmir (Turkey), 1850-1870. |
| Physical description | Amulet, made from gilded sheet silver cut in the shape of a very stylised hand. There are three Hebrew characters made from twisted wire in the centre, with a small rosette and ovals with pierced centres. The edges and details of the fingers are also emphasised with twisted wire. Hebrew letters in twisted wire: 'God' |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | שדי (Hebrew)
|
| Summary | Amulets were worn widely throughout the lands of the Ottoman Empire. A hand, often so stylised that its origin is barely recognisable, was the most important Muslim amulet in North Africa and was also used in Syria. It was adopted by Christians and Jews living in the same regions. The Hebrew inscription ‘Shaddai’, picked out in applied twisted wire, shows that this amulet was made for Jewish use. Sephardi Jewish women in the Ottoman Empire used hand amulets with this inscription to protect their newborn children against all kinds of evil. They pinned them to the baby’s clothing, or hung them round its neck. The Sephardic name for these hand-shaped amulets, ‘Xamsika’, is probably derived from the Arabic name hamsa, meaning five, which was the generic name for hand-shaped amulets. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 100-1873 |
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| Record created | April 1, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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