Cowrie Shell Amulet

The fifteenth-century original is a strange mix of the somewhat exotic shell (Monetaria moneta lives in Indo-Pacific tropical waters and must have been imported from at least as far away as the Persian Gulf) with the inexpensive pewter setting. Of course, someone may have tried to pass off the setting as silver, which is the precious metal in which cowrie shells are found in later pendants, but it is hard to imagine this ruse would be reliably successful. In any case, it is beautiful, and we are delighted to offer it. Cowrie shells pierced for suspension or in settings are usually regarded as amulets, and the original owner of this piece doubtless hoped it would bring them good fortune.

In later periods, the cowrie shell is associated with prosperity and, for obvious reasons, with fertility, fecundity, and at the simplest level with sex.

It was also considered protection against the evil eye, and it is in this context one comes closest to medieval evidence. In his treatise, Tratado de la fascinación o de aojamiento (Treatise on the Evil Eye), Enrique de Villena (1384–1434) wrote that shells were hung from children’s necks to protect them from injury from the evil eye. He does not, unfortunately, record what type of shell was used.