LOT 1384

Aramaic Magic Bowl Group

4TH-8TH CENTURY A.D. AND LATER

3 1/2 - 6 1/2 in. (388 grams total, 9.1-16.5 cm).

Comprising: large domed vessel with rounded rim and four painted segments each with repeated symbols; plus a smaller non ancient conical vessel with inturned rim, painted legend in three concentric rings and symbol to centre. [2]

Acquired on the German art market, 1989-1995.
with The Museum Gallery, 19 Bury Place, London, WC1, UK, 1998-2003.
Property of a London based academic, 2003-present.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

These simple ceramic bowls, also known as magic bowls, each contain an Aramaic inscription, written in ink, which spirals from the centre. The bowls seem to have played an important part in domestic life. For example, during excavation in Nippur in 1889, one or more incantation bowls were found in each house together with domestic artefacts, most often in doorways or under floorboards in the corner of rooms. The bowls are predominantly apotropaic, and the inscriptions tend to protect their owners from misfortunes such as those faced in child-birth, illness and evil spirits.