Amulet

This oblong panel with scalloped upper edge was once the front of a head covering worn by the mother of a newborn child. The central area bears an embroidered Hebrew inscription in metallic thread set off by tinsel: Almighty, Sanvai, Sansanvai, Semanglof, Adam and Eve. Sanvai, Sansanvai, and Semanglof are angels believed to neutralize the power of Lilith.

Decorative motifs include flowering branches, two hamsa (an apotropaic symbol) and a star and crescent found on Ottoman Judaica of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

The wearing of special costume elements by a post-partum mother and the dressing of the bed with silk coverings are Ottoman Jewish customs.