Collection ID: 0002 | Metadata type: TEI | TEI XML | Data

Title

Collection of amulets, charms, remedies, and magic bowls.
[קמעות, קמעות, תרופות וקערות קסם]

Other related names

• Gross, William L, former owner

Call number

CAJS Rar Ms 658
(420 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106-3703, University of Pennsylvania, Library at the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies)

Alternate identifiers

• bibid: 9979215023603681
• http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1407068157
• http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017.12/1229047 https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p3833p079

Publisher

University of Pennsylvania

Language

Hebrew and Aramaic (many amulets and texts of incantations in Aramaic)

Origin

Place

Turkey

Notes

• Ms. composite codex.
   
• Title supplied by cataloger.
   

Extent

105 leaves : 170 x 130 mm bound to 180 x 145 mm

Support

Paper

Layout

Written in single columns, with captions above column; illustrations built-in to text column (such as f. 76r); mantras written in three tapered columns (f. 105v); some catchwords, some blind-ruling.

Script

Written in Turkish cursive and semicursive scripts, in multiple hands; some amuletic and incantations vocalized (such as f. 98v).

Provenance

• Formerly owned by Tel Aviv collector William L. Gross (Kedem); former call number The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, OT.011.021.
   
• Sold by Kedem Auctions (Jerusalem), Auction 93 part 1, lot 80 (as part of selections from the Gross Family Collection).
   

Subjects topical

• Occultism--Religious aspects--Judaism
• Cabala
• Incantation bowls
• Amulets
• Jews--Turkey--18th century--History--Sources

Genres

• codices (bound manuscripts)
• Manuscripts, Hebrew--18th century
• Manuscripts, Aramaic--18th century
• incantations

Licenses

• Text

  These images and the content of Library at the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies CAJS Rar Ms 658: Collection of amulets, charms, remedies, and magic bowls. are free of known copyright restrictions and in the public domain. See the Creative Commons Public Domain Mark page for usage details, http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/.

  URL

  http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

• Text

  Metadata is ©2026 University of Pennsylvania Libraries and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License version 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. For a description of the terms of use see the Creative Commons Deed https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

  URL

  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

Table of contents

• fol. 11r — Protection amulets against assassins
• fol. 22r — Instructions on creation of a glass bowl with a handle, with a precise vocalized incantation text to be read through the top circularly
• fol. 27r — Instructions on writing and reading the angelic pseudo-scripts
• fol. 29v — Creation of amulets and amuletic texts
• fol. 48v — Cipher as amuletic text
• fol. 104r — Protection amulets against robbers
• fol. 106r — Protection amulets against migraines