Description:

Near East / Holy Land, ca. 1st millennium BCE. A rare teardrop-shaped black and white marble amulet incised with two Hebrew characters, "He" and "Resh," the fifth and twentieth letter of the Semitic abjads respectively. These may represent someone's name or a personalized prayer, worn on this amulet for protection. Amulets inscribed with ancient Semitic letters have been found at a number of archaeological sites, usually in burials, sometimes placed inside of offering vessels made of ceramic. We know of many from Ketef Hinnom, a series of burial chambers cut into the rock in natural caverns located southwest of Jerusalem's Old City. Some researchers have seen the inscriptions on these amulets as "magical spells." The narrowest end is drilled through for suspension. Size: 1.2" L (3 cm)

Provenance: private Owen collection, New Jersey, USA, acquired in the 1990s from a US-based dealer

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#128980

  • Condition: Surface wear commensurate with age, including some wear around the drilled perforation for suspension. Incised letters are very clear.

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November 21, 2017 7:00 AM MST
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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