BoxesMoroccan20th century

Qur'an or Amulet Box

after 1912

Description

Small boxes like this one were used to hold small Qur'ans, prayer manuals, or talismanic texts, which were written on long sheets of paper and folded repeatedly or rolled to fit the confines of their containers. The front of the box is decorated with a coin surrounded by stylized vine-and-leaf motifs in relief. The coin features a six-pointed star popularly known as the Seal of Solomon, which—since Solomon was believed to have authority over supernatural powers—often adorns talismanic objects and texts. The coin inscribed as the Dinar of Yusuf belongs to Yusuf bin Hasan, who ruled Morocco between 1912 and 1927 as a French Colony. Based on the reverse of another coin of the same type, the full inscription includes the minting date and place "1331 Paris" corresponding to 1912–1913, the year Yusuf b. Hassan ascended the throne. An arched lid closes the box; cords passed through its two handles would have allowed it to be suspended, providing protection to a place or a person.

Classification

Boxes

Medium

Approximately 20 sheets of brass, steel, and nickel silver joined with gray lead-tin solder

Culture

Moroccan

Period

Modern

Century

20th century

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Islamic & Later Indian Art

Dimensions

16 x 18.2 x 2.4 cm (6 5/16 x 7 3/16 x 15/16 in.)

Provenance

Stanford and Norma Jean Calderwood, Belmont, MA (by 1992-2002), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2002.

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