Turkoman Amulet (Tumar)

• country - Turkmenistan (or adjacent)
• materials - silver-gilt, silver, blue beads, carnelian
• object - amulet
• object date - second half of the 20th Century
• source - Laney Skeel, American Collector.

The piece is comparatively recent but stays acceptably within the parameters of a tumar, as this Turkoman amulet is called. Its size is remarkable: 44cm wide. It is somewhat of a show piece, or at least unlikely to have been worn by a single woman, as a more frequent small tumar normally was. Some say that a large tumar was placed in a prominent position to protect a group. Note the blue beads meant to frighten off the evil eye, and the ram’s heads along the top (the mountain ram was sacred in the eyes of the Turkoman). The red carnelians invariably have a protective function (notably guarding against blood loss). The central amuletic tube was used to contain verses of the Koran. The silver back features incised decoration.