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Jewelry is a highly esteemed craft in Islamic societies, attracting attention to its beauty, elaborate designs, and intricate artistry. The function of jewelry, however, often goes beyond aesthetic adornment or even a status and wealth symbol. Jewelry often served amuletic purposes, believed to protect their wearers.

Presented by the Santa Fe Distinguished Lecture Series, Professor Shalom Sabar will examine examples of precious Jewish amulets, created among the communities of Iran, Kurdistan, Iraq, and North Africa. Through the processes, the basic visual and textual components of amulets and how central motifs such as the fish and the hamsa were totally “Judaized” in the process will be addressed and considered.

ABOUT SHALOM SABAR
Professor Shalom Sabar lectures widely across Europe and the United States on Jewish and folk material culture, objects associated with the cycles of life and of the year, and ritual and custom in the Jewish communities in Europe and in Islamic lands. He is interested in the culture of Italian Jews and the Sephardic diaspora in Europe, the cultural and artistic interrelationships between the Jewish communities and their Christian and Muslim neighbors, and the image of the Jew and Hebrew writing in art.

Professor Sabar has published over 200 books and articles. He is an avid collector of Jewish art objects and Israeli ephemera and presents lectures and guides tours to Jewish sites in Europe, North Africa, India, and Central Asia.

This program was generously underwritten by Doris Francis-Erhard