Metal alloy with silver. - Amulet - Islamic amulet

Islamic amulet case likely containing a scroll.

The case is welded shut on one side and closed on the other with a seal that has been sealed with resin. The case hangs on a chain and is studded with stones. At the bottom hang objects for personal hygiene such as a small ear scoop, an awl, and a small rod.

Dimensions:
- case: 9 x 2 x 2 cm
- overall length with chain: 43 cm

Condition: fair

Material: an alloy of metal with a substantial silver content

Origin: not clearly known to me; possibly India or the Near East (India, Yemen, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, North Africa)

Across North Africa and Southwest Asia, silver boxes were made to hold folded texts or small protective objects. Islamic amulet boxes are often called hirz, higab, or taweez and come in all kinds and sizes, and it is those shapes that tell us more about their history. In these boxes are housed (Islamic) talismans, and the shape of the box gives an indication of the nature of that talisman.

There is already evidence from ancient Egypt that confirms the use of amulet boxes in the form of a tube. Tube-shaped amulet boxes were designed to hold scrolls. These would be rolled up and inserted into the amulet box.

This is a practice that dates back to a time when writing was predominantly on papyrus sheets. These could not be folded well (although it happened from time to time, but it was never considered very successful), so they were usually rolled into scrolls. Large scrolls contained entire books, and small scrolls could contain only a few words. Such as spells or religious texts.

The scroll as the essential form of a written amulet is so ancient that, once paper was invented, writing and even printing talisman scrolls simply continued.