amulet

Silver amulet container, with a steel or inox back. Square shaped with concave sides of varying degrees. The front is pyramid like, consisting of 3 steps which are engraved with geometrical motifs. They are attached to a necklace made from black cotton strings, which form a tassel on either side of the amulet. Blue and white strips are wrapped around the cotton strings at the connection point.

The silver container may have paper with verses from the Koran written by a marabout inside, or other powerful substances, though it is also possible that these containers (in comparison with the leather amulet containers) contain nothing more than sand, in order to give it weight.

Collection Information

These objects are only a part of our collections, of which there are more than 350,000 objects. This information comes from our collections database. Some of this is incomplete and there may be errors. This part of the website is also still under construction, so there may be some fields repeated or incorrectly formatted information.

The database retains language taken from historical documents to help research. Please note that some records may feature language and reflect systems of thinking that are outdated and offensive. The database also includes information on objects that are considered secret or sacred by some communities.

If you have any further information about objects in our collections, can suggest corrections to our information or if you see content requiring immediate action, please contact us: enquiry@horniman.ac.uk