✅ SOLVED Help Identify Old Jewelry Prayer Box Hallmark Markings

[chadkeath]

Thank you in advance. Hi I am hoping someone could shed some light on the hallmarks this piece is stamped with. I think it’s from middle eastern area and is a type of prayer box, which has been used for 1000’s of years. Any help with markings is helpful. And any information.

 

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[crashbandicoot]

Thank you in advance. Hi I am hoping someone could shed some light on the hallmarks this piece is stamped with. I think it’s from middle eastern area and is a type of prayer box, which has been used for 1000’s of years. Any help with markings is helpful. And any information.

Don,t know bro,but it,s cool as can be!

 

[Red-Coat]

Very nice.

It's Egyptian silver. You're showing the hallmarks upside down. They're this way up:



The centre mark is a cat, facing left, for silver. The characters at the left are the town mark for the assay office with the numeric silver fineness below it in Arabic. The numerals are '90' for .900 fine silver and the town mark is a little unclear but looks like Alexandria to me. The final mark at the right is the date letter... a western alphabet 'X', which is 1922-1923.

 

[Red-Coat]

It was late when I responded and I was just heading for bed. A little more.

You’re correct that this is a ‘prayer box’ locket/amulet. For the Islamic world, In Arabic, it’s called a taʿwīdh (تعويذ) and would have contained a piece of paper/parchment (occasionally, a piece of silk) with a hand-written or printed message.

They fall into three main categories: religious (the most common), inspirational, and sentimental. The message may be a prayer, a wish for protection from evil/illness, a quote/proverb, or a devotion from a loved one such as husband or wife. The religious ones usually take their quotes from verses of the Quran.

 

[chadkeath]

Thank you for the help and answers.