A LARGE TIMURID CARVED TALISMANIC PENDANT, PERSIA, 15TH-16TH CENTURY

A green jade with a cusped petal border and flat edge with a cylindrical opening for attaching, finely carved with arabesque designs surrounded by foliate scrolls and talismanic numbers on both sides. 7.5 by 7.2 cm. diam.

CATALOGUE NOTE Equations of magic numbers find their origin to the second century BC, and originated in India and China. Recorded as early as the tenth century in the Islamic world, such compositions of magical numbers were referred to as ‘harmonious organisation of numbers’. These equations appear on a number of mediums, and notably jade, which was carved into amulets such as the present example.