AN OVAL PALE AGATE APOTROPAIC AMULET PENDANT WITH TURQUOISE BEADS
Qajar Iran, second half 19th or early 20th century

Of oval shape, the agate intaglio engraved with 3ll. of overlapping, elegant riqa' script with an invocation to Allah to keep the wearer safe from harm caused by jinn and mankind alike, set in a finely incised silver mount decorated with a floral triumph of roses and daffodils at the back, surrounded by a frame of turquoise beads.

4.5cm x 6.5cm

86gr.

Inscription: يا صارف السوء والشواية اصرف عني أذية العالمين من الجن والأنس أجمعين

Translation: Oh Remover of (all) evil and fear, return and remove me from all the harms of the world, from the jinn and mankind all together.

Two analogous engraved bazuband amulets are published in David James' article, Koranverse en miniature, in Kunst und Antiquitäten, März/April, 1981, Hannover, p. 19.