Gaster Amulets : Amulets for protection

Gaster Amulets

<p style='text-align: justify;'>Four paper amulets for protection of female and male newborns; in a paper folder.</p>

Page: 199A

Amulets for protection (Gaster Amulet 199)

Four paper amulets for protection of female and male newborns; in a paper folder.

Information about this document

  • Physical Location: The John Rylands Library
  • Collection: Gaster Amulet Collection
  • Classmark: Gaster Amulet 199
  • Title: Amulets for protection
  • Subject(s): Amulets
  • Origin Place: Germany
  • Date of Creation: 18th century
  • Language(s): Hebrew and Yiddish in Hebrew script
  • Former Owner(s): Gaster, Moses 1856-1939
  • Technique(s): Printed
  • Mode: Hung on the wall.
  • Function: Protection.
  • Note(s):

    They include Psalm 121, divine names, an historiola of the encounter between the Elijah and Lilith, angelic names, and magical formulas.

  • Quotation(s):
    "אדם וחוה חוץ לילית חוה ראשונה סינוי וסנסנוי וסמנגלוף שמריאל חסדיאל [...] בשם יהוה אלהי ישראל ששמו גדול ונורא אליהו הנביא זכור לטוב היה הולך בדרך ופגע בלילית ובכל כת דילה ואמר ללילית הרשעה [...] שיר למעלות אשא עיני אל ההרים מאין יבא עזרי..."
  • Physical Description:

    The four amulets are kept in a folder.

  • Extent: height: 175 mm, width: 215 mm.
  • Material(s): Paper
  • Format: Sheet
  • Condition:

    Gaster Amulets 199A-B: a few usage stains; Gaster Amulet 199C-D: usage stains, part of the frame is missing.

  • Shape: rectangle
  • Script:

    Printed Hebrew square and semi-cursive script.

  • Layout: Within a decorative frame, the text is divided into paragraphs.
  • Decoration:

    Gaster Amulets 199A-B for female newborns: a woodcut of a woman lighting Shabbat candles in the centre on the top. Eve is depicted in the left margin (holding a fruit?). Adam is depicted in the right margin (eating a fruit?). Decorative floral elements are also included in the frame. Two crowns (one on each side) mark the title of this amulet (לנקבה).


    Gaster Amulets 199C-D for male newborns: a woodcut of a Brit Milah (with two attendants, the mohel, the father and the baby) in the centre on the top. Eve is depicted in the left margin (holding a fruit?). Adam is depicted in the right margin (eating a fruit?).Decorative floral elements are also included in the frame. Two floral elements (one on each side) mark the title of this amulet (לזכר).

  • Acquisition: Acquired by The John Rylands Library from the heirs of Moses Gaster in 1954.
  • Date of Acquisition: 1954
  • Data Source(s): Catalogue description is by Gal Sofer (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva); edited by Zsófia Buda.
  • Bibliography:
    Isaiah Shachar, Jewish Tradition in Art: The Feuchtwanger Collection of Judaica (Jerusalem: The Israel Museum, 1981), 19.


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    Information about this document

    • Physical Location: The John Rylands Library
    • Collection: Gaster Amulet Collection
    • Classmark: Gaster Amulet 199
    • Title: Amulets for protection
    • Subject(s): Amulets
    • Origin Place: Germany
    • Date of Creation: 18th century
    • Language(s): Hebrew and Yiddish in Hebrew script
    • Former Owner(s): Gaster, Moses 1856-1939
    • Technique(s): Printed
    • Mode: Hung on the wall.
    • Function: Protection.
    • Note(s):

      They include Psalm 121, divine names, an historiola of the encounter between the Elijah and Lilith, angelic names, and magical formulas.

    • Quotation(s):
      "אדם וחוה חוץ לילית חוה ראשונה סינוי וסנסנוי וסמנגלוף שמריאל חסדיאל [...] בשם יהוה אלהי ישראל ששמו גדול ונורא אליהו הנביא זכור לטוב היה הולך בדרך ופגע בלילית ובכל כת דילה ואמר ללילית הרשעה [...] שיר למעלות אשא עיני אל ההרים מאין יבא עזרי..."
    • Physical Description:

      The four amulets are kept in a folder.

    • Extent: height: 175 mm, width: 215 mm.
    • Material(s): Paper
    • Format: Sheet
    • Condition:

      Gaster Amulets 199A-B: a few usage stains; Gaster Amulet 199C-D: usage stains, part of the frame is missing.

    • Shape: rectangle
    • Script:

      Printed Hebrew square and semi-cursive script.

    • Layout: Within a decorative frame, the text is divided into paragraphs.
    • Decoration:

      Gaster Amulets 199A-B for female newborns: a woodcut of a woman lighting Shabbat candles in the centre on the top. Eve is depicted in the left margin (holding a fruit?). Adam is depicted in the right margin (eating a fruit?). Decorative floral elements are also included in the frame. Two crowns (one on each side) mark the title of this amulet (לנקבה).


      Gaster Amulets 199C-D for male newborns: a woodcut of a Brit Milah (with two attendants, the mohel, the father and the baby) in the centre on the top. Eve is depicted in the left margin (holding a fruit?). Adam is depicted in the right margin (eating a fruit?).Decorative floral elements are also included in the frame. Two floral elements (one on each side) mark the title of this amulet (לזכר).

    • Acquisition: Acquired by The John Rylands Library from the heirs of Moses Gaster in 1954.
    • Date of Acquisition: 1954
    • Data Source(s): Catalogue description is by Gal Sofer (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva); edited by Zsófia Buda.
    • Bibliography:
      Isaiah Shachar, Jewish Tradition in Art: The Feuchtwanger Collection of Judaica (Jerusalem: The Israel Museum, 1981), 19.

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