Amulet

A number of pieces in the Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery collection have been donated to us by private collectors. This amulet from Italy was presented to us by the artist Estella Canziani (1887-1964) in the 1930s, along with a major collection of water colours, tempera paintings, sketchbooks, costumes, ceramics, archive material, and jewellery.There were many jewellers’ shops in Abruzzi. One jeweller invited Estella in to show her the charms and amulets which he sold and explain the traditional beliefs about warding off the evil eye. She also asked the local people about what they were wearing: ‘When we picked up the charms of coral hanging on the children and asked what they were for, we either got the answer ”Chi lo sa, li portiamo tutti’ (Who knows, we all wear them), or we were told that they also were against the evil eye (malocchio)…The most common charms are … a closed hand with the forefinger extended…a hunchback (gobetto)..Later, when we gained the confidence of the people, we were told other means of keeping off the evil eye.”When we picked up the charms of coral hanging on the children and asked what they were for, we either got the answer ”Chi lo sa, li portiamo tutti’ (Who knows, we all wear them), or we were told that they also were against the evil eye (malocchio)…The most common charms are … a closed hand with the forefinger extended…a hunchback (gobetto)..Later, when we gained the confidence of the people, we were told other means of keeping off the evil eye.’