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Amulets often took the form of Bes, a minor Egyptian deity, who was understood to guard mothers in childbirth and their babies. Bes is often shown with a feathered headdress and a grotesque face, a…
The Hebrew word Shaddai—another name for God—is etched in the center of this ornate silver amulet from Italy.
Sefer Raziel (also known as The Book of Raziel the Angel) is a book of practical kabbalah that may have been composed in the thirteenth century, though scholars believe parts of it date from earlier…
This printed amulet, from Germany, was made for infant boys. The amulet has a companion, for a girl child (see “Amulet for a Newborn Girl”). The text in the center of the amulet is surrounded by a…
This German amulet is printed with unique designs. The names of the three angels, Sanoi, Sansanoi, and Smangalaf, indicate the use of this amulet as birth protection for mother and child, as…
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…
This is an early printed amulet from Tunis, containing texts and symbols commonly used on such talismans printed in North Africa. However, this example is somewhat unusual, as the Shir le-ma‘alot psal…
This printed amulet to protect a woman in childbirth features a central scene depicting Adam and Eve and several animals in the Garden of Eden, with a snake coiled around the forbidden “tree of…
Printed amulet for an infant girl from Germany. It was (presumably) printed alongside its companion amulet for a male child (see “Amulet for a Newborn Boy”). However, the pair were separated. A woman…
Silver amulet typical of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Italian Jewish homes. This example from Venice is unusual in that it contains an unidentified family coat of arms whose main feature is a…
