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Ancient Near East & Levant · c. 6000 BCE – 650 CE

Aramaic incantation bowls

Meaning

An incantation bowl traps demons. Its spiral of text names the demons, the family being protected and the formulas that bind them, often around a central drawing of a shackled demon or a Lilith figure.

Intent

Bowls were written by specialists for a named client and buried upside down under the floors of houses, especially at thresholds and corners, where they caught and held evil spirits that would otherwise harm the household.

Significance

They are one of the richest sources for everyday religion in late antique Mesopotamia and one of the few places where Jewish, Christian, Mandaean, Manichaean and Zoroastrian practice meet. Formulas also show early forms of the Lilith legend.

History

Around 2,000 bowls are known, dating from the 5th to 7th centuries CE (Sasanian period to early Islamic), mostly from central Iraq around Nippur and Babylon. They are written in Jewish Aramaic, Syriac and Mandaic, and some in pseudo-script by illiterate scribes.

Making yours
15–20 cm unglazed earthenware bowl. Ink text written spiralling outward from a central figure of a shackled demon.
Ancient Near East & Levant: the tradition

Mesopotamian protection grew out of a world crowded with named demons, each with a job: Lamashtu killed infants, the utukku haunted, fever demons struck. Exorcists (ashipu) wrote incantation series such as Maqlû and the Lamashtu texts, and amulets put those texts and images to work. Carved stone animal seals of the Uruk period (c. 3500 BCE) are among the oldest amulet-seals anywhere. In the first millennium BCE, Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian households hung Pazuzu heads and Lamashtu plaques. Phoenician traders spread Egyptianising amulets and glass faces across the Mediterranean, and in Sasanian Mesopotamia Jews, Christians and Mandaeans buried inscribed incantation bowls under their floors.

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Incantation bowl with Mandaic inscriptionIncantation bowl with Mandaic inscriptionca. 5th–6th century A.D.Incantation bowl with Aramaic inscriptionIncantation bowl with Aramaic inscriptionca. 5th–6th century A.D.Incantation bowl with pseudo-Aramaic inscriptionIncantation bowl with pseudo-Aramaic inscriptionca. 5th–6th century A.D.Incantation bowl with Aramaic inscriptionIncantation bowl with Aramaic inscriptionca. 5th–6th century A.D.Incantation bowl with Mandaic inscriptionIncantation bowl with Mandaic inscriptionca. 5th–6th century A.D.Bol de protection avec une inscription et un démonBol de protection avec une inscription et un démonBowl with painted magical inscriptions, 400-700 ADBowl with painted magical inscriptions, 400-700 ADCOLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Magische schaal TMnr 674-853COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Magische schaal TMnr 674-853Coupe Araméen Nippur Musée MariemontCoupe Araméen Nippur Musée MariemontCurator of Archaeology Bryan Sitch discussing a magic or incantation bowl from Mesopotamia today in -CollectionBites in @thestudymcr at @mcrmuseum this afternoon. Part of the -festivalofarchaeolgy2016Curator of Archaeology Bryan Sitch discussing a magic or incantation bowl from Mesopotamia today in -CollectionBites in @thestudymcr at @mcrmuseum this afternoon. Part of the -festivalofarchaeolgy2016IncantationBowlIncantationBowlIncantation bowl, from Iraq, Aramaic inscription with a human figure.3rd to 7th century CE. Iraq MuseumIncantation bowl, from Iraq, Aramaic inscription with a human figure.3rd to 7th century CE. Iraq MuseumIncantation bowl from Southern Iraq. 4th-7th century CE. Sulaymaniyah MuseumIncantation bowl from Southern Iraq. 4th-7th century CE. Sulaymaniyah MuseumIncantation bowl with Aramaic script, from Babylon, Iraq, 4th to 7th century AD, on display in the Pergamon MuseumIncantation bowl with Aramaic script, from Babylon, Iraq, 4th to 7th century AD, on display in the Pergamon MuseumCoupe magique juive-Babylone du Sud-BNUSCoupe magique juive-Babylone du Sud-BNUSIncantation bowl, from Babylon, Iraq. Aramaic inscription with a human figure, 4th to 7th century CE. Pergamon Museum, BerlinIncantation bowl, from Babylon, Iraq. Aramaic inscription with a human figure, 4th to 7th century CE. Pergamon Museum, BerlinIncantation bowl demon Met L1999.83.3Incantation bowl demon Met L1999.83.3Incantation bowl from southern Iraq, Aramaic inscription. 4th to 7th century CE. Sulaymaniyah Museum, Iraqi KurdistanIncantation bowl from southern Iraq, Aramaic inscription. 4th to 7th century CE. Sulaymaniyah Museum, Iraqi KurdistanBowl with incantation for Kuktan Pruk during her pregnancy, Mandean in Mandaic language and script, Southern Mesopotamia, c. 200-600 ADBowl with incantation for Kuktan Pruk during her pregnancy, Mandean in Mandaic language and script, Southern Mesopotamia, c. 200-600 ADCOLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Magische schaal TMnr 179-2COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Magische schaal TMnr 179-2Incantation bowl, Aramaic inscription, from southern Iraq, 4th-7th century CE. Erbil Civilization MuseumIncantation bowl, Aramaic inscription, from southern Iraq, 4th-7th century CE. Erbil Civilization MuseumIncantation bowl, from Babylon, Iraq. Aramaic inscription with a human figure. 4th to 7th century CE. Pergamon MuseumIncantation bowl, from Babylon, Iraq. Aramaic inscription with a human figure. 4th to 7th century CE. Pergamon MuseumIncantation bowl from Iraq, Aramaic inscription. 4th to 7th century CE. Sulaymaniyah Museum, Iraqi KurdistanIncantation bowl from Iraq, Aramaic inscription. 4th to 7th century CE. Sulaymaniyah Museum, Iraqi KurdistanMagical bowl with inscriptions in Mandaic, Mesopotamia.Magical bowl with inscriptions in Mandaic, Mesopotamia.Mandaic Incantation BowlMandaic Incantation BowlSide view. Incantation bowl from Iraq, Aramaic inscription. 4th to 7th century CE. Sulaymaniyah Museum, Iraqi KurdistanSide view. Incantation bowl from Iraq, Aramaic inscription. 4th to 7th century CE. Sulaymaniyah Museum, Iraqi KurdistanEgyptian AntiquitiesEgyptian AntiquitiesFragment, incantation bowl, Aramaic inscription, from southern Iraq, 4th-7th century CE. Erbil Civilization MuseumFragment, incantation bowl, Aramaic inscription, from southern Iraq, 4th-7th century CE. Erbil Civilization MuseumIncantation bowl, from Babylon, Iraq. Aramaic inscription. 4th to 7th century CE. Pergamon MuseumIncantation bowl, from Babylon, Iraq. Aramaic inscription. 4th to 7th century CE. Pergamon MuseumIncantation bowl, from Iraq, Aramaic inscription with a human figure and snakes. 3rd to 7th century CE. Iraq MuseumIncantation bowl, from Iraq, Aramaic inscription with a human figure and snakes. 3rd to 7th century CE. Iraq MuseumIncantation bowl from Southern Mesopotamia, Iraq. 4th-7th century CE. Sulaymaniyah Museum, IraqIncantation bowl from Southern Mesopotamia, Iraq. 4th-7th century CE. Sulaymaniyah Museum, Iraq134497 jerusalem national library PikiWiki Israel134497 jerusalem national library PikiWiki IsraelBowl with incantation to protect Anush Busai and his family against bad luck, Mandean in Mandaic language and script, southern Mesopotamia, c. 200-600 ADBowl with incantation to protect Anush Busai and his family against bad luck, Mandean in Mandaic language and script, southern Mesopotamia, c. 200-600 ADCOLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Magische schaal TMnr 674-849COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Magische schaal TMnr 674-849Incantation bowl, from Iraq, Aramaic inscription with a human figure,3rd to 7th century CE. Iraq MuseumIncantation bowl, from Iraq, Aramaic inscription with a human figure,3rd to 7th century CE. Iraq MuseumIncantation bowl from Southern Iraq. 4th-7th century CE. Sulaymaniyah Museum, IraqIncantation bowl from Southern Iraq. 4th-7th century CE. Sulaymaniyah Museum, IraqBowl with incantation for Buktuya and household, Mandean in Mandaic language and script, Southern Mesopotamia, c. 200-600 ADBowl with incantation for Buktuya and household, Mandean in Mandaic language and script, Southern Mesopotamia, c. 200-600 ADIncantation bowl, from Babylon, Iraq. Aramaic inscription with a human figure, 4th to 7th century CE. Pergamon MuseumIncantation bowl, from Babylon, Iraq. Aramaic inscription with a human figure, 4th to 7th century CE. Pergamon MuseumIncantation bowl from Iraq, Aramaic inscription. 4th to 7th century CE, Sulaymaniyah Museum, Iraqi KurdistanIncantation bowl from Iraq, Aramaic inscription. 4th to 7th century CE, Sulaymaniyah Museum, Iraqi KurdistanIncantation bowl in Aramaic language, Nippur, Sasanian period, 240-641 ADIncantation bowl in Aramaic language, Nippur, Sasanian period, 240-641 ADMandaicMandaic

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Anything in the gallery can be made, by hand, in the prescribed metal or yours and, where the tradition names an hour, at that hour or with a plain note that it was not. Numbered. Price on commission, quoted first. I reply within one business day.