PAPERCUT AMULET FOR A NEWBORN CHILD, [EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE: CA. 1900]

PAPERCUT AMULET FOR A NEWBORN CHILD, [EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE: CA. 1900]

Ink on paper (9 3/4 x 8 1/2 in.; 250 x 215 mm). Light staining in the lower portion. Glazed and framed in a gilt wood frame; not examined outside of the frame.

Jewish birth amulets are designed to counter the harmful effects of evil spirits, in particular those of the demon Lilith, who is believed to seek out and injure newborn children and nursing mothers.

The present lot, created to be hung in the birthing room or placed near the child’s bed, is an intricate, handmade papercut amulet decorated with elaborate scrolling foliage and two pairs of lions that symbolize ideal human qualities (e.g., “be strong as the lion;” Avot 5:20). The text at center is that of psalm 121, a prayer frequently inscribed on such documents as it is believed to provide protection. The text goes on to invite Adam and Eve in and exclude the demon Lilith and her cohorts in order to prevent them from entering the room to harm the newborn infant. 

Encircling the amulet are the verses of the priestly benediction (Num. 6:24-26) and Jacob’s blessing to Menasseh and Ephraim: “The angel who has redeemed me from all harm—bless the lads. In them may my name be recalled, and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they be teeming multitudes upon the earth” (Gen. 48:16). According to Yehudit Shadur, preeminent scholar of the art of Jewish papercuts, most of the surviving birth amulets of this type were created in the region of the Carpathian Mountains and southern Galicia.

Literature

Joseph and Yehudit Shadur, Traditional Jewish Papercuts: An Inner World of Art and Symbol (Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 2002), 61-69.