Circular metal pendant

Circular metal pendant Circular metal pendant Circular metal pendant Circular metal pendant

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Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

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License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

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Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

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License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

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License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

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Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Circular metal pendant, pierced for suspension, engraved Latin and cabalistic inscriptions and signs

Sigils are symbols believed to convey magical powers. Their practical use for beneficial effect was outlined by German polymath and physician Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa in his sixteenth-century work ‘Three Books of Occult Philosophy’.

This talisman, a circular metal disc perforated with a hole near the edge so it could be worn close to the body, bears the planetary sigil for Jupiter and Latin inscription "Confirmo Deus Potentissimus" translating as "Strengthen me, O God most powerful". The reverse side is inscribed with a magic square representing Jupiter, surrounded by Hebrew words and the number 136, which corresponds to the total value of the numbers associated with each Hebrew letter in the square.

Details

Category:
Ethnography and Folk Medicine
Collection:
Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
Object Number:
A657575
Materials:
steel, ? material
type:
pendants
credit:
Loan, Wellcome Trust