Brass hand, Iran, 1880-1925

The fingers of this brass hand are inscribed in Arabic as an amulet to avert the ‘evil eye’. It was made in Persia (modern day Iran). The evil eye has been a widespread belief that some people can cause harm to others simply by looking at them in a certain way. This ‘look’ may be given deliberately, in an attempt to cause harm, or accidentally, perhaps because of feelings of envy. The harm may tak…