LOT 1296

Aramaic Terracotta Bowl with Magical Incantation

4TH-8TH CENTURY A.D.

6 1/4 in. (330 grams, 16 cm).

With conical body, the inner face bearing the remains of concentric rings of inked magical Aramaic text, repaired. [No Reserve]

From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000.
From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.

Cf. The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, accession number: 80.001.0001.

Aramaic incantation bowls are particular to the Sassanian period and have been found in regions of modern Iraq. 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.