Maskeh

NamePendant

Dateca. 1900

Place madeGHOR AND TRANSJORDAN, Middle East, Asia

Mediumsilver, niello

Dimensionsoverall: 50.6 CM (CLASP TO END COINS) X 4.3 CM (PENDANT WIDTH)

Credit LineIFAF Collection

Object numberFA.1972.25.54

Collections

Palestinian Dress and Jewelry

DescriptionPendant. Used in Ghor area and Transjordan. Silver link chain with tearshape silver pendant hanging with inscription "Ma Sha'allah" ("What God Wills") inscribed in niello etching.

FA. 72.25-54 Diameter of amulet: 6.6 cm. Maskeh (ca. 1900) (Fig. 44) This māskeh is a flat pear-shaped silver pendant with niello decoration. In the center are a crescent and five-pointed star which were not only Ottoman symbols, but also ancient prophylactic signs against the Evil Eye.¹7 The central inscription reads: mā shā'a 'llāh (“What God wills"). This phrase is used in many Middle Eastern countries when people are expressing compliments or admiration in order to negate the evil power of envy- even unintentional envy. Nine small chains (one of which is now missing) are soldered around the lower edge of the pendant. Each ends in a single coin, except the middle chain, which ends in a crescent. The crescent is inverted, and from it hang three coins. The coins are all badly worn. The dates are still legible on several and are from a.H. 1293 (a.d. 1876–77) on. This māskeh is attached to a silver chain with figure-eight links. There is a version of this māskeh in gold that was fashionable among Egyptian city women and called a qamara (crescent).1 Length of chain: 50.6 cm. FA. 72.25-3j 18 Diameter of amulet: 4.3 cm. (Palestinian Costume and Jewelry, Yedida Kalfon Stillman, 1979 ISBN: 0-82630490-7)