Minneapolis Institute of Art

Amulet container

Date

late 1800s

Medium

Iron, brass, copper, silver

Culture

Tuareg

Department

Arts of Global Africa

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Tuareg men and women wear metal amulets containing Qur’anic verses and other protective messages suspended from cords around their necks. The large example is especially rare because of an inscription incised on the outside in Tifinar script, which is related to ancient Libyan scripts dating to 150 BCE. The inscription, whose letters are made up of lines, circles, and dots, reads from right to left and transcribes as NK SDLMQTR G XLYFA. It means, “I am Mr. Lmqtar Khalifa, ” likely referring to a previous owner. Algeria, Niger, Africa

The authoritative record is held by Minneapolis Institute of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.