Brooch to avert the evil eye, Europe, 1900-1914
On the right, the shell’s colouring and shape looks like an eye. It is mounted in a metal rim. The brooch was worn to protect the wearer from the ‘evil eye’, a once widespread belief that some people can cause harm to others simply by looking at them in a certain way. This ‘look’ may be given deliberately, in an attempt to cause harm, or accidentally, perhaps because of feelings of envy . The harm may take the form of bad luck, illness or death. The amulet is shown here with two others worn to protect against the evil eye (A132526 and A665895).
Object number:
A666110
Related Themes and Topics
Glossary:
Glossary: brooch
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