Skip to content
Pitt Rivers Museum
AboutHire the MuseumNewsletterUniversity of Oxford

1985.51.350

Rabbit's foot , used as an amulet. [SM 16/02/2011]

1985.51.350

Digital asset copyright: Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford

Terms and Conditions

If you wish to order a high-resolution image and/or licence its use for print or web publication, exhibition, film, promotional product or any other use, whether in the academic or commercial sector of any print run, then please visit photographic services.

Collection type
Object
Description
Rabbit's foot , used as an amulet. [SM 16/02/2011]
Person
Field collector Edward Lovett
PRM source Wellcome Institute
PRM source Wellcome Historical Medical Museum
Date / Period
Date made: Before 1933
Date collected
By 1933
Acquisition information
Transferred: 1985
Materials and processes
Material Animal Part
Dimensions
Width: max 57 mm, Length: max 77 mm
Object numbers
Accession number: 1985.51.350 Other numbers: Z 176532 AM C lot 195
Associated publications
Illustrated in colour in the pamphlet accompanying the Reading Room displays at the Welcome Collection with the caption “Rabbit’s foot Natural materials UK? RRa0170/1985.51.350 Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.” [FB 15/8/2016] Illustrated in colour on page 198 in ‘Reading Room Companion consisting of a rare and valuable collection of diverse curiosities acquired by and for Henry Wellcome with a great variety of books’ Written and compiled by Anna Faherty published in 2014 by the Wellcome collection, London. Illustrated alongside 1985.52.21, 1985.51.177, .923, .340, and. 361 with the caption “Amulets made from animals or animal parts. Pitt Rivers Museum. Any object can become a protective amulet or good-luck charm, so long as its owner belives (or hopes) it has the power to affect the world around them. Just as the value of an object in a museum collection is transformed from its intrinsic natural or functional purpose into something more representational, amulets are redefined and repurposed by those who use and value them. Derived from the Arabic term hamala, which means ‘to carry’, most amulets are worn in some way or kept in bags or pockets. The amulets and charms on display in the Reading Room were collected by three different individuals. There original owners employed them as protection against threats such as the ‘evil eye’, or hoped that they would bring fertility, good health and good luck. For full details on each amulet, please consult the dedicated Amulets, charms and votives booklet.” [FB 15/8/2016]

Search terms: Religion, Amulet

Further items to explore