Amulet Case

Unknown

19th–first half 20th century · SIlver, enamel, coral · Islamic Art

This amulet case would have served as a talismanic ornament, designed to protect the wearer. While it is now attached to a chain, it probably originally was the centerpiece of a larger pectoral ornament, suspended between two fibulae (such as 55.111.53). Brightly colored enamels, typical of the Kabylie region in Algeria, ornament both the recto and the verso of the box. Enameling techniques in North African Berber jewelry are believed to have been brought by jewelers exiled from Muslim Spain after the fifteenth century Reconquista.

Artist

Unknown

Date

19th–first half 20th century

Medium

SIlver, enamel, coral

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel Spear Jr., 1982