Terracotta open-form Incantation bowl
Terracotta
CB.3166
A wheel-made hemispherical bowl with simple rim, inscribed on the interior with an inscribed text. An incantation bowl, also known as a magic bowl, is a form of early protective...
A wheel-made hemispherical bowl with simple rim, inscribed on the interior with an inscribed text.
An incantation bowl, also known as a magic bowl, is a form of early protective magic found in modern-day Iraq and Iran. Produced in the Middle East during the Late Antiquity from 6th to 8th century AD, particularly in Upper Mesopotamia and Syria, the bowls were usually inscribed in a spiral, beginning from the rim and moving toward the center. Most of the preserved examples are inscribed in the Aramaic languages. The bowls were buried face down and were thus meant to capture demons. They were commonly placed under the threshold, courtyards, in the corner of the homes of the recently deceased and in cemeteries.
An incantation bowl, also known as a magic bowl, is a form of early protective magic found in modern-day Iraq and Iran. Produced in the Middle East during the Late Antiquity from 6th to 8th century AD, particularly in Upper Mesopotamia and Syria, the bowls were usually inscribed in a spiral, beginning from the rim and moving toward the center. Most of the preserved examples are inscribed in the Aramaic languages. The bowls were buried face down and were thus meant to capture demons. They were commonly placed under the threshold, courtyards, in the corner of the homes of the recently deceased and in cemeteries.