Object worn or placed somewhere special in the belief that it has magico-religious powers, such as to protect against danger, cure disease, give strength or promote good fortune. In this sense it is more or less synonymous with ‘talisman’. Amulets are commonly worn as jewellery or carried within the clothing, but they may also be incorporated into such objects as weapons or placed within buildings or near crops. They have been treated as goods to trade in several cultures. A charm (i.e. magical formula) may be recited over an amulet, which may then itself be referred to as a charm. The term ‘amulet’ also denotes a medical or prophylactic treatment and a substance used in medicine.

• amulets
  • Devotional objects and popular images
  • Jewellery
  • historical and regional traditions
    • Africa
      • Africa, §VI, 5(ii): Dressing the torso
    • Ancient Near East
      • Ancient Near East, §II, 1(i)(a): Stamp seals: Before the 4th millennium BC
      • Ancient Near East, §II, 1: Seals
      • Ancient Near East, §II, 1(ii)(a): Cylinder seals: Introduction
    • Antilles, Lesser
      • Caribbean Islands, §II, 1(i): Native American cultures: Saladoid
      • Caribbean Islands, §II, 1(ii): Native American cultures: Carib
    • Buddhism
      • Tibet, §V, 9: Prints
    • Carolingian
      • Carolingian art, §V, 1: Metalwork, before AD 843
    • China
      • China, §VIII, 4: Jade-carving: Han
      • China, §XIII, 16(i): Jewellery: Neolithic to Warring States
      • China, §XIV, 4: Popular and national minorities’ art: Dress, jewellery and textiles
    • Egypt, ancient
      • Beadwork, §2(ii): Ceremonial and talismanic uses
      • Egypt, ancient, §XI, 1(iv): Hieroglyphs: Hieroglyphs and art
      • Egypt, ancient, §XII, 3(vi): Funerary amulets and jewellery
      • Egypt, ancient, §XVI, 1: Amulets
      • Egypt, ancient, §XVI, 5(i): Faience and glaze: Introduction
      • Egypt, ancient, §XVI, 15(ii): Stamp seals
      • Mummy, Egyptian, §1: Human
      • Early Dynastic (c. 2925-c. 2575 BC)
        • Egypt, ancient, §XVI, 5(ii): Faience and glaze: Predynastic and Early Dynastic periods
      • Predynastic (c. 6000-c. 2925 BC)
        • Egypt, ancient, §IX, 3(i)(a): Predynastic statuary
        • Egypt, ancient, §XIV, 1: Jewellery: Predynastic
        • Egypt, ancient, §XVI, 9(i): Ivory and bone: Predynastic and Early Dynastic
    • England
      • Jet, §2(ii): History and uses: England and Scotland
    • Gnosticism
      • Gem-engraving, §I, 5: Gnostic
    • Greece, ancient
      • Helladic, §X: Seals
    • Greenland
      • Greenland
    • Islamic
      • Jet, §2(i): History and uses: Spain
    • Italy
      • Jewish art, §VI, 4(i): Ritual objects: Birth and circumcision
    • Mesoamerica, Pre-Columbian
      • Mesoamerica, Pre-Columbian, §VIII, 2(v): Lapidary arts: Southern Highlands
      • Mesoamerica, Pre-Columbian, §IX, 2(ii): Bone-carving: Other areas
    • Native North Americans
      • Native North American art, §III, 1(i): Carving and sculpture: Arctic
      • Native North American art, §XII, 2: Featherwork: Plains
    • Phoenician
      • Phoenician, §9: Other arts
      • Punic art, §6(i): Faience and glass
    • Punic
      • Punic art, §6(iii): Jewellery
    • Rome, ancient
      • Rock crystal, §2: Uses
    • Tibet
      • Tibet, §V, 5: Jewellery
    • Tuareg
      • Tuareg, §2: Metalwork and jewellery
  • materials
    • amber
      • Amber (ii), §3: History and uses
    • coral
      • Coral, §2: History and uses
    • jet
      • Jet, §2: History and uses
  • types
    • design amulets see SEALS -> types -> seal amulets