Triangular amulets: symbolism and jewellery traditions in the Middle East

by dr. Sigrid van Roode | Magic & Amulets

The meaning of triangles

Triangular amulets: symbolism and jewellery traditions in the Middle East

Updated October 1, 2025

Amulets come in many forms, and one of the most familiar is the triangular amulet. Found in jewellery across the Middle East and North Africa, these pieces combine shape, symbolism, and protection. The triangle itself has long been understood as a powerful form, associated with balance, fertility, and strength.

In this blog, part of my series on amulets in jewellery, we’ll look at how triangular amulets appear in silver, beads, textiles, and more — and what they might have meant to the people who wore them.

The symbolism of triangles in amulets and jewellery

Where does the triangle shape of amulets come from? As this is a very ancient symbol, its exact origin is difficult to pinpoint. It may be connected to phenomena in the natural world, such as the sun breaking through clouds, or a stylization of a mountain.

Both are associated with otherworldly realms: the rays of sun are interpreted as a stairway to heaven in some cultures, and mountains are known as places where gateways to other worlds may be located.

Apart from its physical shape, the triangle also carries symbolic value. It represents the constellation of man-woman-child, or the cycle of birth-life-death. Those symbolic values are also echoed in the number 3: see more about numerical values in jewellery here.

The most important thing to remember, I think, is that there is not just one open-and-shut explanation for what a triangle represents. It is not just one and the same thing to every culture that has ever walked this earth. For example, in some cultures, the triangle may also represent a stylized female wearing a dress – or could it be the other way around, that the dress is exaggerated as a triangle precisely because of its symbolic properties?

I’m usually wary of claims for any shape as representing one thing only. The reality of informal ritual and human associations is much more fluid and prone to changes, so instead, I’d suggest we all keep an open mind to the possibility of other explanations.

What we do know, is that the triangle is an important shape, and so you’ll find it in numerous amulets. Let’s look at some examples next! Here, I’ll go into actual amulets, objects designed to keep a person safe or attract good luck – triangles are worked into jewellery as design element in a million ways, but that’s for another blog!

Triangular amulets of gold and silver as containers

One form in which you’ll find triangular amulets, is as an amulet container made of precious metal. These are designed to hold either specific texts, or substances such as incense and herbs. They form part of a complete repertoire of amulet containers: Learn more about amulet containers and their surprising origin in this article.

You’ll find them incorporated into jewellery or worn on their own, executed in gold or silver, or maybe in less precious materials – triangles form a very recognizable form of amulet.

Beaded, textile and leather triangular amulets for protection

The triangle shape is also often used to create amulets that contain something, but that cannot be opened. These more like pouches, and what is contained in them, is often only known to wearer, or even only to the person who made the amulet: the wearer may just have to trust in their craft and knowledge.

These are also worn in jewellery, like the necklace above in the British Museum shows (click to enlarge it). Here, you’ll see a red fabric triangular amulet along with other materials that are known to keep evil at a distance: a tortoise shield and pieces of alum, also in a triangular shape. I’ll be going over those in future posts!

But more often, triangular amulets of fabric, leather of beaded forms are hung on other things than humans: cattle, but also one’s house, car, or utensils. The photo above shows a triangular amulet with golden sequins (and one blue one, against the evil eye), on a loom in Uzbekistan, where I photographed it.

You’ll find them incorporated into jewellery or worn on their own, executed in gold or silver, or maybe in less precious materials – triangles form a very recognizable form of amulet.

Triangular amulets: regional variations

The triangle shape is important in amulets, and this series will continue with very specific examples of triangular amulets that each have their own capacities:

Tunisian resin triangle amulets

Palestinian Hajar Musa triangle amulets

Triangular amulets: Frequently Asked Questions

Why are some amulets triangular?
The triangle is one of the simplest and strongest shapes. It may be derived from sunlight falling through clouds, from the shape of mountains, or refer to female dress. In jewellery, triangular amulets embody this varying symbolism.

What are triangular amulets made of?
They can be made from silver or gold, often serving as containers for prayers or texts. Other examples are created from beads, fabric, leather, or even resin, depending on local traditions.

Where are triangular amulets found?
Triangular amulets are recorded across the wider Middle East and North Africa. Each region used different materials and techniques to shape the triangular form.

Do triangular amulets always have the same meaning?
No. While the triangle often symbolises strength or fertility, its meaning changes depending on time and place.

Are triangular amulets still used today?
The triangle shape is still a popular form for pendants protecting homes, cars and people. They continue to illustrate the cultural importance of amulets in jewellery history.

Triangular amulets: meaning in geometry

By looking closely at triangular forms, we can trace how the simplest geometry became part of a shared visual language of amulets in jewellery.

This post is part of my series on amulets in jewellery — alongside blogs on for example eye beads, glass amulets, and clove necklaces. Together, they show how different materials and forms across the Middle East and North Africa were carriers of protective power!

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Sigrid van Roode

Sigrid van Roode is an archeologist, ethnographer and jewellery historian. Her main field of expertise is jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia, as well as archaeological and archaeological revival jewellery. She has authored several books on jewellery, and obtained her PhD at Leiden University on the jewellery of the Egyptian zar-ritual. Sigrid has lectured for the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, Turquoise Mountain Jordan, and many others. She provides consultancy and research on jewellery collections for both museums and private collections, teaches courses and curates exhibitions. She is not involved in the business of buying and selling jewellery, and focuses on research, knowledge production, and education only.

Keys as amulets

by dr. Sigrid van Roode | Magic & Amulets

magic of keys

Keys as amulets

Among the forms that are not immediately associated with amulets, is that of a key. Yet they appear as amulet in several ways throughout the Middle East and North Africa, from actual keys to images of keys. You will see them dangling from necklaces, included as miniature charm on charm necklaces, and alluded to in embroidery for example. What is the symbolic meaning of a key? In this article, I will introduce three ways keys hold significance as amulets in the Middle East.

Detail of a silver somt necklace, leather amulet pouches, bright beaded necklaces and keys worn by a Bedouin woman from Oman.

Power of keys: materials and amulets

First off, the material that keys were traditionally made of, is powerful in itself. Jinn are known to be afraid of iron, (see here why that is) and so anything made from iron would keep them at a distance. Keys, which for a long time were made of iron, fit that criterium perfectly. The image of the necklaces worn by a Bedouin woman from Oman shows her wearing a set of keys amidst leather amulet pouches: most likely, the keys also serve an apotropaic function.

A more recent version of a key as amulet is the silver key from Oman, shown below, which is shaped after a modern key. In North Africa, tiny keys sewn on to children’s clothing help prevent an early death. [1] (see here which spirits were feared for harming children). In 1915, a baby boy in Algeria was seen adorned with a series of amulets, including two iron keys, and the author observing that practice also noticed that keys were worn commonly as a charm. [2]

Silver Omani amulets, including a silver key

Key symbolism: locking and unlocking

There is more to keys than just the material they are made of, and is where their function comes into view. Keys, of course, lock and unlock things. The concept of locking and unlocking is closely related to a woman’s fertility: not so much in terms of chastity, but in the context of spirits blocking her from getting pregnant or causing a miscarriage. In that respect, keys function in a similar fashion to knots and knotting (see more about that here).

Here, keys are often combined with locks: amulets in the shape of locks were believed to prevent miscarriage in Egypt, as these ‘lock’ the womb until the time of birth has come. [3] When a birth is difficult, the reverse principle is used, and the key to a saint’s tomb is placed on the lower back of the mother to ease the birth. [4]

An Islamic magic bowl with a tiny iron key attached

Keys in ritual: protection and knowledge

Keys are also symbolic of accessing protection and knowledge. An example of that are the magical bowls of the Yezidi, where tiny amulet plaquettes are attached to its rim. These are called kilit, which literally means ‘key’ in Kurdic. [5] These amulet plaquettes can also take the form of an actual key, such as shown above.

The general idea is that the key amulet would enhance the efficacy of the bowl by submerging it into the water of the bowl. [6] Bowls like these were used in informal ritual aimed, again, at securing healthy pregnancy and safe births, as well as protection from evil forces. [7]

Keys as amulets: the magic in everyday objects

A seemingly simple household item may hold deep significance on a supernatural level: this example of keys shows how ‘magic’ is not something alien or mysterious, but something that is expressed in forms and shapes most familiar to us.

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What kinds of amulets exist in North Africa and the Middle East?

Curious as to what other everyday objects may be used as amulets, and what their meaning is? Find out more about the histories behind amulets in the e-course on Amulets and Magic in Jewellery!

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References

[1] Hansmann, L. and L. Kriss-Rettenbeck 1977. Amulet und Talismann. Erscheinungsform und Geschichte. Verlag Georg D.W. Callwey, Munchen, p. 240.

[2] Hilton-Simpson, M.W. 1915. Some Algerian Superstitions Noted among the Shawia Berbers of the Aures Mountains and their Nomad Neighbours, in: Folklore Vol. 26, no. 3, p. 233 and p. 240.

[3] Hansen, N. 2006. Motherhood in the Mother of the World, PhD-thesis, University of Chicago, p. 116.

[4] Idem

[5] Biesterfeld, H. & D. Pielow (eds) 2019. Die Geheimnisse der Oberen und Unteren Welt. Magie im Islam zwischen Glaube und Wissenschaft, Brill, Leiden. p. 469-470 for a description of these bowls.

[6] Idem, p. 469

[7] Idem, p. 472-473

Sigrid van Roode

Sigrid van Roode is an archeologist, ethnographer and jewellery historian. Her main field of expertise is jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia, as well as archaeological and archaeological revival jewellery. She has authored several books on jewellery. Sigrid has lectured for the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, Turquoise Mountain Jordan, and many others. She provides consultancy and research on jewellery collections for both museums and private collections, teaches courses and curates exhibitions. She is not involved in the business of buying and selling jewellery, and focuses on research, knowledge production, and education only.

Magic of plastic

by dr. Sigrid van Roode | Magic & Amulets

surprising materials

The magic of plastic

Updated Jan 8, 2024

Jewellery made with materials that we consider less valuable, are often not taken seriously. Plastic has that effect in particular, and you may hear comments like: ‘this piece has plastic, so it’s not real’ or even ‘this is a fake because it should have coral instead of plastic.’ But who says that it should…?⁠ Plastic plays a role in ethnic jewellery quite often, and its use extends into the realm of amulets. Here are a few examples.

Silver and enamel brooch from Kabylia, with bakelite

Bedouin woman holding her child, with silver and imitation amber jewellery.

Silver Bedouin ring with turquoise-coloured plastic.

Silver Omani necklace with glowing red bicycle reflector.

Plastics in ethnic jewellery: Bakelite

Bakelite, a type of plastic invented in the early 1900s, was widely used in jewellery production in the early 20th century. Its popularity was due to its durability, versatility, and affordability. It could be shaped, carved, and molded into various forms, making it an ideal material for creating intricate and colorful designs.

So instead of thinking about this material as ‘fake’, I feel the use of bakelite in traditional jewellery highlights the intersection of technology and culture and tells us about the changing social and economic circumstances of that time. It shows how people adapted to new materials and incorporated them into their jewellery.

The bright red of the bakelite in the Kabyle brooch shown above (click to enlarge it) shows both the fascination for this new material, and works miracles for the wearer!

Plastics in ethnic jewellery: Imitation amber

One thing these plastics were used for, is to imitate the costly amber. Amber was valued for a number of reasons, including magical ones: a little more about that is here.

An example is the woman from el-Arish, shown in the photo above (click to enlarge it). Around her neck, visible behind the string of Maria Theresia Thalers her child is playing with, she is wearing a necklace made of dark beads: most likely these are the imitation amber beads in a dark cherry hue as shown in the image.

They also exist as proper amber imitations in an opaque amber colour, and are now rare themselves as they are no longer made. ⁠[1]

Plastics in ethnic jewellery: Colour over material

Plastic is also the material chosen for the Bedouin ring, shown above (click to enlarge it) where a piece of battered and damaged plastic has been carefully set in silver. Judging by the wear, it has kept its wearer safe from harm for a lifetime.

That is by virtue of its colour: these bluegreen shades are considered particularly effective against the evil eye, just like turquoise. This piece of plastic serves that purpose perfectly: it is the colour that matters here, not the material.

A plastic bicycle reflector against evil

A wonderful example of jewellery with apotropaic properties is the silver necklace from Oman shown above. It combines several well-known principles of magical protection, and adds to those a reinforcement of its own.

The colour red is the dominant colour when it comes to averting evil, and is present here in three splashes of vibrant red.

Three is a number that is regarded as beneficial, as it represents the trinities of life: man, woman and child, along with birth, life and death.

The dangles confuse evil with their unpredictable swaying and the sound of their jingling, while the tiny crescent moons bring prosperity and growth. ⁠

But it is the center piece that steals the show: a plastic bicycle reflector. Its reflecting capacity averts evil even more on top of all of the above: imagine how these would shine when they catch a ray of sunlight! ⁠I especially like this necklace as it shows that purpose beats material in some cases: there is nothing precious about a plastic reflector, and yet it may save your life from both evil forces and approaching traffic.⁠

Plastic in ethnic jewellery: a wonderful amulet

So you see how plastic may function as amulet in a range of ways. It can be a substitute for something else (such as imitation amber or coral), it can function as fully equal to other materials because of its colour, and it can even be the material of choice precisely because of its own capacities. In all cases, it would have been as real to the wearer as other materials: it is the desired effect that counts!

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References

[1] See the chapter on imitation amber in King, R. 2022 Amber. From Antiquity to Eternity.

Would you like to quote this article? Please do! Here’s how:

Sigrid van Roode

Sigrid van Roode is an archeologist, ethnographer and jewellery historian. Her main field of expertise is jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia, as well as archaeological and archaeological revival jewellery. She has authored several books on jewellery. Sigrid has lectured for the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, Turquoise Mountain Jordan, and many others. She provides consultancy and research on jewellery collections for both museums and private collections, teaches courses and curates exhibitions. She is not involved in the business of buying and selling jewellery, and focuses on research, knowledge production, and education only.

Food ceremonies & amulets

by dr. Sigrid van Roode | Magic & Amulets

magic of food

Food ceremonies, rituals and amulets

Updated Jan 1, 2024

Not turning this jewellery blog into a foodie feed…but did you know there is a strong relation between food, ritual and personal adornment in North Africa and Southwest Asia? I have rounded up several examples of jewellery and adornment to show you how food and personal adornment are interrelated.

Three silver amulets in the shape of pea pods, from Tetuan, Morocco

Silver and coral necklace from Libya, showing two fish in the central pendant. These were believed to bring good luck and abundance.

Silver and goldwashed bracelet called habbiyat, 'peas'

Two Palestinian necklaces of clove, red glass beads and mother of pearl spacers.

Food and magic: a connection on many levels

Food is something we depend on. We can’t live without it, and so it is hardly surprising to find the importance of growing, raising and preparing of food resonating in the realm of magic and amulets. This is often related to growth, wealth, health and having children.

The opposite is also true: poisonous foods or animals feature in magic, too, with the aim of fighting evil influences.

Another link between food and magic is medicine: many ingredients used for food preparations are also found in medicine, a field originally closely linked to magic.

There are countless rituals involving beans, sprouts and such aimed at becoming pregnant or keeping spirits away from the house.

And everyday acts from the culinary domain take on new meaning in ritual, such as the pounding of coffee beans [1] referring to sexual relations. Yes, you read that right….do check the reference with this, the story is amazing!

Back to jewellery: that close relation between food and magic can take material form in personal adornment in several ways. First, there are actual edible things that may be worn on the body, but you could also think of imitations of those, both lifelike and in abstract shapes, the names given to jewellery elements and even more indirect connections such as through colours. So how does that work?

Food & amulets: actual ingredients

Starting with actual ingredients, to protect children in Egypt, a small pouch filled with bread and salt would be worn as an amulet to keep spirits away, a practice recorded up until the last century. [2]

A naming ceremony for a baby among the Bisharin, living in Sudan, had visiting guests write down a name suggestion and put that in a dish containing milk, bread and sugar. [3]

The fragrance of cloves was believed to be an aphrodisiac throughout North Africa and Southwest Asia, and so adornment made of cloves was regarded as a powerful means to attract the love of a husband.

Throughout Southwest and Central Asia, red chili peppers are dried and strung on cord to protect houses from evil spirits; tiny peppers in plastic are strung in between evil eye beads (see more about those here) as a powerful amulet. Here, the general idea is that just like peppers irritate your eyes (ever rubbed your eyes after chopping a pepper? You’ll know what I mean…!), they will irritate the evil eye as well.

Food & amulets: imitations of food

Those plastic mini peppers are an example of imitations of food. Another example are silver amulets from the area of Tetuan, Morocco, in the shape of peas in a pod. It’s the first image in the photo gallery with this article: click on the image to enlarge it, they are something special!

This amulet is called arhaz, and it was believed to be bring good luck and fertility to the wearer. [4] The amulets are very recognizable as pea pods, with a slight curve and bulging peas inside. What makes them stand out as an amulet is visible on the example on the right: the zigzag-border is characteristic of amulets and talismans.

Each pod is shown with 5 peas. Renderings of the number 5 in jewellery are known to bring good luck in general, as 5 is the most powerful number. (click here to read more on numerology in jewellery) That number is repeated again on each pea of the pendant on the left, where each pea is further decorated by 4 intersecting lines and a square in the centre. That is also a rendering of the number 5. This repetition of the number 5 and the imagery of the pea pod bursting with fat peas is what would bring good luck and abundance to the wearer.

The peas in the pod also serve as fertility amulet. That is a rather obvious metaphor of course, and one that is used in many cultures.

Food & amulets: names and shapes

In other cases, the relation is more subtle. Oak leaf lettuce (ifrawen ukerush) is rendered in the shape of Kabyle pendants from Algeria, and other pendants from the same region are named after melon seeds (iyes afeqqus). [5]

These are regular pendants on necklaces. They have not separately created as amulet, but still work their magic: melon seeds, as there are so many of them, are often associated with fertility beliefs as well.

Sometimes it is the visual similarity between food and jewellery that is reflected in the name: the habbiyat (chickpea) bracelets derive their name from the many granules on them. One example is shown above: click on the image to enlarge it.

Click here to read more on a special amulet that is actually named after food, which no one seems to remember…!

Food & amulets: embroidery, motifs and colours

Food finds its way into personal adornment in other forms as well.

In Siwa Oasis, Egypt, the colours chosen for embroidery on dresses, pants, shawls and scarves all reflect the colour palette of the dates that Siwa is famous for. The life cycle of date productions directs the rhythm of everyday life in the oasis, and so the embroidery on personal adornment brings that cycle of growth and abundance to the wearer. Palm branches themselves form part of the pattern repertoire.

The Palestinian tatreez elements of wheat stalks, coffee beans, pomegranates and more all form part of the connection with the land [6].

In some cases, it’s impossible to tell whether a magic connotation of an element is related to food, or that that is entirely by coincidence. Doves and fish for example are featured often in jewellery, and are related to blessings, happiness and abundance, but they appear equally often in delicious regional dishes.

The power of everyday life

That close connection does show one thing, though: forms and shapes chosen in personal adornment are rooted in everyday life to a level where distinguishing ‘magic’ as something different from regular existence is impossible.

Incorporating food themes in jewellery shows how its wearers aligned themselves with the rhythm of nature, with the endless cycles of sowing and harvesting, the same cycle that is at the basis of many amulets.

It is in motifs like these that we not only catch a glimpse of the most fervent wishes of women, but also of how they thought of themselves: connected with their world.

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More on amulets, charms and magic in jewellery? Download your free e-book here, read other posts, or enroll in the e-course on Magic of Jewellery!

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References

[1] See a fascinating article about female Bedouin poetry here, including the reference to pounding coffee beans.

[2] Hansen, N. 2006, Motherhood in the Mother of the World, pp. 222.

[3] Hansen 2006, p. 241.

[4] These three silver amulets are in the collection of the Museu Etnològic I de Cultures del Món in Barcelona, where I photographed them on their Montjuïc location.

[5] Camps Fabrer, H. 1990. Bijoux berbères d’Algérie, Edisud, pp. 44-45.

[6] Ghnaim, W. 2018. Tatreez and Tea.

Sigrid van Roode

Sigrid van Roode is an archeologist, ethnographer and jewellery historian. Her main field of expertise is jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia, as well as archaeological and archaeological revival jewellery. She has authored several books on jewellery. Sigrid has lectured for the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, Turquoise Mountain Jordan, and many others. She provides consultancy and research on jewellery collections for both museums and private collections, teaches courses and curates exhibitions. She is not involved in the business of buying and selling jewellery, and focuses on research, knowledge production, and education only.

‘Seven Eyes’ amulets

by dr. Sigrid van Roode | Magic & Amulets

an enigmatic amulet

Seven Eyes/Saba Uyun

Updated Feb 11, 2025

What is that blue disc with holes from the Arab world? It exists in a wide region, also outside the Arab world, and is a common sight in Iraq, Iran, Kurdistan, Palestine, Jordan and Syria, but also in Egypt. You’ll find these blue pierced discs in jewellery, as separate pendants, and in large sizes on walls of homes. They are called saba ‘uyun, or ‘seven eyes’. But what are they? This blog article gives the most complete overview to date on these blue amulets!

Several blue faience amulets called saba uyun, Lochscheibe or Seven Eyes

Amulets against the evil eye

First, here is what we do know. Saba ‘uyun amulets are considered powerful against the evil eye. They are pinned with regular glass eye beads on children’s caps and clothing, or strung with alum to protect both children and animals.

That combination with alum is also often seen in Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Egypt, and reinforces the power of the blue disc against the evil eye: eye beads among the Bedouin of the Negev desert are often strung with alum, and the idea is that alum attracts the glance of the evil eye before it can look at the child. [1]

Older amulets of this type are made of faience. This is created from a mixture of sand, soda, lime, and water. Copper oxide is added to produce the green-blue colour, and all of this is then formed into a paste, from which beads and other amulets could be made. The amulets would then be heated, which created the brilliant blue glaze.

More recent variations of the discs however have been made of plastic, and even blue buttons have been used in jewellery as a stand-in for this amulet. See a few examples from around the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century in the gallery below.

What does the name ‘Seven Eyes’ mean…?

There is some confusion over its name: why are they even called saba uyun, when they don’t always have 7 holes…? That is most likely because of the importance of the number 7 and its association with the planetary spheres.

Click here to read more about numerology in jewellery.

Click here to see more about astrology in jewellery.

The origin of the Seven Eyes amulet

And then there is what we don’t know. That is quite a lot! [2] Although this amulet is widely used throughout large parts of Southwest Asia, there is surprisingly little written about it. You’ll find them depicted in many jewellery books, as they are very common elements in jewellery, but with very little to no text of their own.

Peter W. Schienerl is one of the very few who discussed them at length in his article on Roman pendants from Egypt, and he believed this amulet to be a descendant from a Roman amulet in the form of a faience disc with seven coloured dots. [3]. He called it a Lochscheibe (which is German for a disc with holes in it), and never mentioned its vernacular name.

I am working on a hypothesis that these derive from Late Period Egyptian Eye of Horus-amulets, a notion I elaborate on in my book Desert Silver and in the e-course on amulets. Other suggestions for its origin are that it stems from ancient Mesopotamia, but so far no one who told me this has been able to back this up with actual evidence (if you have real facts to share on that, I’d love to hear more! Thank you in advance!).

Seven Eyes amulets in archaeology: ancient ancestors

So far, I have traced archaeological examples of this blue amulet in the collection of Egyptian antiquities in Bonn, but these are undated [4], and in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum in New York [5].

This last one [see it here] is said to have been excavated between 1935 and 1948 in Nishapur, Iran. That would make it date back to the 8^th-13^th century.

But I can’t help but wonder….how certain can we be that this is actually that old? According to the description, hundreds of Iranian workers excavated at the site: could one of them perhaps have lost it?

However, another example, dating to ca 800 BCE, is in the Yale Peabody Museum, where it can be seen on the far right of this bead timeline. According to the description (which is available to read when clicking on the bead – fantastic), this is one of a group of beads that has been said to come from Zagros Mountains: ‘said to come’, so again, uncertain.

Donkey beads, Lochscheibe, Saba Uyun: what are these beads?

In fact, there is so little known about this amulet that you’ll have a hard time searching for older examples online. Looking for Lochscheibe gets you lots of German industrial sites, searching for saba ‘uyun gets you nothing, although sebaa does come back with a few results.

In the Quai Branly museum, one is labeled as ‘baby amulet’ and described as a ‘blue button’ [6] Two amulets from Jordan in the same collection, sporting the saba ‘uyun amulets, are labeled as ‘amulet’ and described as ‘blue bead’: they were used to protect home and cribs. [7]

In Farsi they are called chasm-more [8], and they are also known as ‘donkey beads’ in English. [9]

Every collection has a different name for these, and those names can vary even within the same registration system.

So here you see why using correct names for things is so incredibly important: I am sure there is lots of information on these amulets somewhere, but because their vernacular name is not used, its history and cultural meaning have become scattered across several languages and descriptions.

That makes them pretty much untraceable, and that brings me to my other point: collecting things is one thing, but if we fail to collect and share the information that goes with them, we’re stuck with a pile of things we can’t really place.

Modern-day Iraqi amulets

Modern-day productions in enamel, plastic and other materials can be found by searching for ‘Iraqi blue amulet’, or ‘seven eyes amulet’. It is an old, and slightly enigmatic piece of jewellery, but it is still incredibly popular!

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Where can I learn more about Middle Eastern amulets?

More on amulets, charms and magic in jewellery? Download your free e-book here, read other posts, or enroll in the e-course on Magic of Jewellery!

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References

[1] Abu Rabia 2005, p. 248

[2] Kriss, R. & H. Kriss-Heinrich, 1962. Volksglaube im Bereich des Islam. Band II. Amulette, Zauberformeln und Beschwörungen. Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden.

[3] Schienerl, P.W. 1982. Crescent to Cross. Roman and Byzantine Glass Pendants from Egypt, in: Ornament Magazine 6 (2). This is also the explanation Alfred Janata uses in his book Schmuck in Afghanistan, p. 62. Janata includes a mention of ‘a medieval work on magic that describes a similar item, called kawkab (planet)’, but without reference.

[4] There are two on display in the Agyptisches Museum der Universität Bonn when I last visited a few years ago, but they do not have any other provenance than Egypt and are not dated.

[5] Accession number 48.101.222.119

[6] Inventory number 71.1967.100.113

[7] Inventory number 71.1967.100.5 and 71.1967.100.4

[8] A. Janata, Schmuck in Afghanistan, p. 62

[9] As explained to me by Patricia Deany in 2023

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