Birth Amulet, Habsburg Galicia (Ukraine)
Early 20th Century
Image
This impressive cut-paper birth amulet is in the form of the double eagle, the symbol of the Habsburg Monarchy (and pre-partition Poland) and thus a popular motif in Galician Jewish folk art. It is highly unusual to find such a small, ornate paper-cut birth amulet. On the birds’ wings are the names (clockwise from right) Adam, Eve, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob, and Leah. Most of the common texts for a birth amulet are present.
Credits
Collection of William Gross.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 7.
You may also like
Kiddush Cup with a Shmire of the Holy Rebbe of Sadigura
In some Hasidic communities, it became a common practice for the Hasidic leader or rebbe to give specially sanctified coins as amulets that could confer blessings on the holder. These coins-turned…
Scuola Canton Synagogue, Venice
The second-oldest building in the Venetian ghetto is the Scuola Canton Synagogue. Built several years after the Scuola Grande Tedesca, the Canton Synagogue also served the Ashkenazic community. The…
The Conquered Kings of Canaan
And the following are the local kings whom Joshua and the Israelites defeated on the west side of the Jordan—from Baal-gad in the Valley of the Lebanon to Mount Halak, which ascends to Seir—which…
You may also like
Kiddush Cup with a Shmire of the Holy Rebbe of Sadigura
In some Hasidic communities, it became a common practice for the Hasidic leader or rebbe to give specially sanctified coins as amulets that could confer blessings on the holder. These coins-turned…
Scuola Canton Synagogue, Venice
The second-oldest building in the Venetian ghetto is the Scuola Canton Synagogue. Built several years after the Scuola Grande Tedesca, the Canton Synagogue also served the Ashkenazic community. The…
The Conquered Kings of Canaan
And the following are the local kings whom Joshua and the Israelites defeated on the west side of the Jordan—from Baal-gad in the Valley of the Lebanon to Mount Halak, which ascends to Seir—which…