I’m Daniella Sanchez, and I’m a Yale College student in the Class of 2025 and a Nancy Horton Bartels Scholar Intern in the Yale University Art Gallery’s African Arts Department.

This is an amulet pendant from Djerba, Tunisia, dated to the nineteenth century. The decorative elements of this piece are emblematic of the long-standing tradition of Amazigh jewelry in North Africa. The Amazigh are the Indigenous people of the Maghreb, said to have inhabited the region since 10,000 B.C.

An elaborate work such as this would hang on a long silver chain alongside similar pendants and be worn by women during weddings and religious ceremonies. The shape of, use, and motifs of the jewelry correlate to Islamic teachings and culture, which were first introduced to North Africa in the middle of the seventh century. This amulet pendant is designed with the shape of the sacred book, the Qur’an, in mind, and it would’ve opened to encase Qur'anic verse meant to protect the wearer. Moreover, the three arches, highlighted by the red velvet fabric, which was a later addition to the piece, strikes our gaze and calls our eyes into the piece of jewelry. These arches are known as horseshoe arches, and their significance in both Islamic architecture and as an ornamental motif denotes a sacred space. In this way, it becomes a miniature architectural space that houses sacred text.

It is not only forms but materials themselves that embody religious meanings. For example, coral (which is beaded through the silver wire at the top of this pendant) is seen as protective against the evil eye and as a symbol of fertility. These meanings are derived from surahs in the Qur'an that speak to the value of coral and its attribution of beauty, chastity, grace, and grandeur—qualities that women should adorn themselves with. Similarly, silver itself symbolizes purity, bringing with it innocence and fidelity, honesty, and nobility.

As you explore other African artworks on view, you can consider how the materiality of the objects might contain symbolism that reveals a shared artistic language that represents a culture.