Made by hand in our partner workshop in China  ·  Shipped worldwide  ·  Every symbol comes with its sources
Atlas  /  Against envy  /  HamsaNo. 14
Plate IWest Asia & Middle East · North AfricaHamsa, drawn by Wishlore
Pl. IHamsa. An open hand with an eye at its centre. Drawing: Wishlore.
No. 14  ·  Against envy  ·  West Asia & Middle East

The hamsa

An open hand, worn and hung in Jewish and Muslim communities across North Africa and the Middle East.

Earliest record
Open-hand amulet of North Africa and the Middle East
Source
Wikipedia, Hamsa
Region
West Asia & Middle East · North Africa
Wish
Against envy
Layers
Record Folk Modern
Keep this symbol · from £2.99Read the sources
The story · three layers

The story, in three layers.

Record, Folk and Modern are kept apart, and each one carries its source.

I
Record
Mesopotamia to 1526

An old image of the hand

Scholars trace the raised open hand to images from Mesopotamia and Iron Age Judah. The name “Hand of Fatima” was given later by Europeans, and Spain banned such amulets in 1526.

II
Folk
Today

A living sign

It is both a Jewish and a Muslim sign. Some Muslim scholars reject wearing amulets, and in Israel the hamsa is also a mark of identity.

III
Modern
UK shops, today

On a red string

UK shops sell small hamsa charms, often on a red string, from about £4.

Hamsa
Open-hand amulet of North Africa and the Middle East
Story and sources on the reverse
Pl. IIThe story card. Every printed piece carries the story and a code that opens the full source list.
Keep it close

How would you like to keep it?

Add to bag · £8
  • Pendants are whole symbols, drawn from this plate. Pictures are design drawings, not photos, until the piece is made and photographed
  • Printed cards and pendants are made in our partner workshop in China and shipped worldwide
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Watch the story

The story, in a minute.

It opens with the pencil construction, then follows the record, how people used it, and the piece we make today. Every fact in it comes from the sources on this page.

Length
0:58
Narration
English, with subtitles on screen
Images
Pencil construction and the atlas drawing on this page, animated; no AI images; jewellery shown as a line drawing
Sources
Listed at the end of the film
Story film · 0:58 · Drawn from the atlas plate · no AI images
In one breath
An open hand, shared by more than one faith. Who would you keep it for?
Also against envy

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Figa
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Zhong Kui
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