Italian Faience

16 Apr, 2010 in art pottery by admin

Italian Faience

Collecting Evil Eye Jewelry Today

Amulets and talismans are worn for protection and the appearance of these evil eye charms will vary according to culture. Some designs are very simplistic and may include red thread, cords or horseshoes. As discussed, some amulets take the form of a hand along with a representative blue eye. This is common today in lands like Greece and Turkey. Turkish women are fond of eye jewelry, and sterling silver evil eye charms. Not only are they available in blue colors, but they also come in much more fashionable Turkish evil eye designs.

In Egypt one might expect to find amulets made of various materials, including faience and steatite. Wall plague sized horseshoes with blue colors are also common. Another type of charm to look for is the buckle of Isis charm, which represents Isis, the mother of Horus, nursing her young, a strong protective image for newborns.

The Middle East favors blue faience evil eye beads, also called donkey beads, which protect livestock from the curse. In addition to smaller eye jewelry The Middle East is also known for large, wall-hanging ceramics dedicated to protection against evil eye curses. These ceramics are usually blue in color and inscribed with prayers.

Why the popularity of the horse shoe? The horseshoe is thought to represent the lunar crescent, and in pastimes (and still today) were attached to doors in order to stop the evil eye from entering a person's house or barn. In addition to protecting residents against the evil eye, the horseshoe was also believed to bring good luck.

In India, evil eye charms of cord are common especially among newborns. Whenever the cord starts to decay (which will be years later) then it is believed that the child is old enough to have outlasted the curse. Gypsies in India take a more aggressive approach and mirror back the evil eye with multi-colored mirror charms. These evil eye charms are also braided, crocheted and covered with beads and other jewelry. Among more expensive Indian clothing, such as wedding dresses and accessories, small mirrors are actually crocheted into the cloth. Throughout India, Israel and various Arabic territories expect to find eye-in-palm evil eye charms made in bone or perhaps metal-cast. In Nepal, the eye of Buddha serves the same purpose as the evil eye amulet, while in North Africa evil eye charms are usually made from eye-agate stone along with the classic hand design.

In Italy, evidence of the eye can be seen in the tradition of placing a familiarly shaped lemon above a doorway, as well as pinning a piece of rue plant to one's clothes. There are also evil eye silver charms that are designed to physically resemble a plant along with evil eye necklaces. A man who is threatened by an evil eye may seek gold evil eye charms or silver evil eye charms which are in the shape of a fig hand or horned hand gesture, obviously influenced by Roman aesthetics, and resembling a phallus. Besides gold and silver, this eye jewelry may also be carved from red coral. The Italian horn is also a common shape for protection and for good luck

In recent years however, more Italian-American women have been wearing these distinctly male evil eye charms, though the red coral varieties are becoming pricier due to rarity. Reproductions of red coral horned hand charms are now rising up in America.

About the Author

Jonathan is well known author who writes on good luck charms, Hamsa & accessories which prevent us from negative impact of evil eys. Please visit luckycharmsusa.com for more information.

SOSEAUA NORDULUI, CARTIERUL FRANCEZ - PARCUL HERASTRAU