Norse, Germanic, Baltic & Slavic · c. 500 BCE – 1900 CE

Zmeeviks & lunnitsy

Meaning

The zmeevik ('serpent piece') has a saint or the Virgin on one side and, on the other, a head wreathed in snakes: the demon of fever and illness, heir to the Byzantine hystera and the child-killing demoness. The lunnitsa is a crescent moon pendant.

Intent

The zmeevik protected against fever, 'the twelve fever sisters' of Slavic folklore, and women's illnesses by binding the demon under the saint's power. The lunnitsa protected women and brought fertility.

Significance

Zmeeviks show pagan and Christian belief fused in Kievan Rus', and the princely gold Chernigov zmeevik is one of the great treasures of Russian medieval art. Lunnitsy connect the Slavs to the Roman lunula.

History

Zmeeviks date from the 11th to the 16th centuries in Kievan Rus' and Muscovy; Byzantine hystera amulets were their model. Lunnitsy are found in Slavic graves from the 9th to 13th centuries.

Making yours

Zmeeviks are 4–7 cm cast bronze or copper medallions with an inscription band. Lunnitsy are 3–6 cm silver crescents with granulation.

Norse, Germanic, Baltic & Slavic: the tradition

In pre-Christian Scandinavia and the Germanic world, protection came from the gods and from signs: Thor's hammer, runes, gold bracteates stamped with Odin. Amber from the Baltic shore had been carved into amulets since the Stone Age. Christianisation from the 9th to 11th centuries produced hybrid objects such as crosses cast in the same moulds as hammers. In the Slavic East, Byzantine Orthodoxy met older fever and serpent beliefs to produce the zmeevik. Scandinavian and Finnish peasant culture kept a strong tradition of protective objects against trolls, the evil eye and illness into the 19th and 20th centuries, documented by folklorists and now in the ethnographic museums of Stockholm, Oslo and Helsinki.

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Son of Horus AmuletEgypt, Late period (715–332 BCE), Dynasty 26 · 664–525 BCE

Isis and Horus amulet, glazed composition, EgyptEgypt

Horus FalconGreco-Roman Egypt · 1 st century BC date QS:P571,-050-00-00T00:00:00Z/7 ?- ?1 st century AD date QS:P571,+050-00-00T00:00:00Z/7 (Greco-Roman

Horus with Falcon's HeadEgyptian late period · between 664 and 332 BC (Late Period)

Amulet of Horus the ChildEgyptian New Kingdom · between 1550 and 1307 BC date QS:P571,-1500-00-00T00:00:00Z/6,P1319,-1550-00-00T00:00:00Z/9,P1326,-1307-00-00T00:00:00Z/

Amulet depicting the god Horus title QS:P1476,en:"Amulet depicting the god Horus " label QS:Len,"Amulet depicting the god Horus " label QS:Lit,"Amuleto raffigurante il dio Horus"between 722 and 30 BC date QS:P,-0500-00-00T00:00:00Z/6,P1319,-0722-00-00T00:00:00Z/9,P1326,-0030-00-00T00:00:00Z/9 Late

Papyrus amulet title QS:P1476,en:"Papyrus amulet " label QS:Len,"Papyrus amulet " label QS:Lit,"Amuleto raffigurante un papiro"between 722 and 332 BC date QS:P,-0500-00-00T00:00:00Z/6,P1319,-0722-00-00T00:00:00Z/9,P1326,-0332-00-00T00:00:00Z/9 Lat

Amulet: A Young Prince Represented as the Child Horus664–332 B.C. Period: Late Period Dynasty: Dynasty 26–30

Jewellery, falcon, horus, falk amulet from EgyptEgypt

Amulets from RussiaRussia

King Tutankhamuna's burial goods Horus amulet DSC 0996 (44795397075)Tutankhamun

Amulet stele of Osiris and the four sons of Horus (faience), Ancient Egypt, 20th dynasty-DSC05398aEgyptian 20th dynasty

Son of Horus AmuletEgypt, Late period (715–332 BCE), Dynasty 26 · 664–525 BCE

Isis and Horus amulet, blue-green glazed composition, Egypt, Late PeriodEgypt · 664 BC - 332 BC

Horus amuletEgyptian late period · 664–332 B.C.

Jewellery, horus, isis amulet from EgyptEgypt

Amulets from RussiaRussia

Son of Horus AmuletEgypt, Late period (715–332 BCE), Dynasty 26 · 664–525 BCE

Horus Falcon AmuletEgyptian late period · 664–332 B.C.

Amulet depicting one of the Four Sons of Horus title QS:P1476,en:"Amulet depicting one of the Four Sons of Horus " label QS:Len,"Amulet depicting one of the Four Sons of Horus " label QS:Lit,"Amuleto between 722 and 332 BC date QS:P,-0500-00-00T00:00:00Z/6,P1319,-0722-00-00T00:00:00Z/9,P1326,-0332-00-00T00:00:00Z/9 Lat

Isis, fragment, jewellery, horus amulet from EgyptEgypt

Son of Horus AmuletsEgypt, Late period (715–332 BCE), Dynasty 26 · 664–525 BCE

Amulet, Isis, HorusEgyptian late period · 525–332 B.C. Period: First Persian Period–Late Period Dynasty: Dynasty 27–30

Amulet of Horus the Childbetween 1550 and 1069 BC date QS:P571,-1500-00-00T00:00:00Z/6,P1319,-1550-00-00T00:00:00Z/9,P1326,-1069-00-00T00:00:00Z/

Amulet depicting the god Horus title QS:P1476,en:"Amulet depicting the god Horus " label QS:Len,"Amulet depicting the god Horus " label QS:Lit,"Amuleto raffigurante il dio Horus"between 722 and 332 BC date QS:P,-0500-00-00T00:00:00Z/6,P1319,-0722-00-00T00:00:00Z/9,P1326,-0332-00-00T00:00:00Z/9 Lat

Isis, jewellery, horus amulet from EgyptEgypt

Amulet: Horus falconEgyptian late period · 664–332 B.C.

Pendant, Horus with Falcon Head7th-1st Century BC (Late Period-Greco-Roman)

Amulet depicting the god Horus title QS:P1476,en:"Amulet depicting the god Horus " label QS:Len,"Amulet depicting the god Horus " label QS:Lit,"Amuleto raffigurante il dio Horus"between 722 and 332 BC date QS:P,-0500-00-00T00:00:00Z/6,P1319,-0722-00-00T00:00:00Z/9,P1326,-0332-00-00T00:00:00Z/9 Lat

Horus, jewellery, isis amulet from EgyptEgypt

The Falcon God Horusbetween 664 and 332 BC (Late Period)

Jewellery, fragment, horus amulet from EgyptEgypt

Triad of Isis, Horus and Nephthysbetween 400 and 200 BC (Late Period-Greco-Roman)

Isis, jewellery, horus amulet from EgyptEgypt

Papyrus amulet title QS:P1476,en:"Papyrus amulet " label QS:Len,"Papyrus amulet " label QS:Lit,"Amuleto raffigurante un papiro"between 1540 and 722 BC Egyptian Empire (circa 1550 BC date QS:P,-1550-00-00T00:00:00Z/9,P1480,Q5727902 –1070 BC date QS

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