Voodoo dolls

Stories behind the objects

Snails in linen bags collected from the walls of St Leonard's chapel in Brittany. Worn around the neck as a cure for fever, they were buried at the foot of the walls of the chapel as soon as the fever had passed. It was believed that if the wearer failed to perform this ceremony, their fever would return.

Policeman's amulet, France. Acquired in Paris in 1889, this amulet is made from a coin, a piece of hangman's rope and skin from a sadistic murderer named Campi. Campi reportedly murdered one Monsieur Ducros de Sixt in the Rue du Regard on 10th August 1883 and was sentenced to death. In the 189th century many people believed that the rope from which a criminal had been hanged had curative powers and could bring good luck. On execution days people would congregate around the gallows in order to be cured by a 'death stroke' from the dead man's hand.

 

Horned hands, Italy. Horned hands we worn as protection against the harmful glance of the Evil Eye. Sparkling and brightly coloured, their striking appearance was thought to divert attention away from the wearer so that she or he could escape unharmed. Belief in the Evil Eye - the power of certain animal and people to inflict malady on anything they look at - continues to be held in many parts of the world.

 

Skulls, Italy. These 'death's head' amulets from Naples were used to decorate rosaries and to remind people of the transience of life. The white ones are made of shell, while the brown coloured ones are made of lava from Mount Vesuvius.

Carved and decorated sheep bone, to protect against scorpions

Crocodile eggs used to carry poison

Tiger's tooth on which an oath has been taken

Sealed bottle, said to contain a witch

Cast brass hand amulet against the Evil Eye. Fixed to the saddle of a cab-horses's harness

Studying pigeons

I quite like pigeons

Their cockiness, their drabness, their 'Northerness', their ability to construct flimsy nests from sticks and other debris and the fact that unlike most other birds, pigeons produce "crop milk", which is secreted by a sloughing of fluid-filled cells from the lining of the crop. Both sexes produce this highly nutritious substance to feed to the young.

Pigeon milk - Now that's fancy!

This fella was sat on the fence for about an hour...

...whilst Lebowski and I watched from the window

When I opened the back door to get a closer look, he turned...

... and did a poo down me fence!

Then flew off and sat on the neighbour's roof

 Some pigeons at The Natural History Museum

Darwin's pigeons

nice bird

similar bird

dead bird in a book

Not a pigeon

Not a pigeon, not a bird

Curious and curiouser

Bag full of earth with pins inserted. To cure a fever.

Bag in which prey God fetishes are hung round the neck when on a hunting expedition

Moulded Buddha reputed to contain ashes of a deceased Lama, and stamped with the seal of a monastery

Intriguing drawing, unsure as to what the ground is. Fabric, paper, leather?

Interesting bag knitted with thread, containing a fish-like amulet

Hunting amulet

Icons inside leather 'purse' looks hand made.

Natural charm

 Sometimes it's the more simple of the collections which appeal to me most. Also the handmade, the idea of using what is around you to create the amulets.  The idea of putting more than one object together to create a whole new meaning - that is what appeals to me.

Teeth and claws

Tooth and bone necklace worn to cure disease and illness

One of the many curious drawers at the museum

Natural objects stabbed with nails and wrapped with thread

Nuts used to hang in a boat for good luck

Seal charm

A cure for warts

More from The Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford

Young child, silver

 I went back to the Pitt Rivers Museum to have another look at the amulets collections. I wanted to expand my initial ideas for the metal pieces. I like the way that these pieces are in relief with the flat space surrounding them. I will experiment with the metal to see if I can get a similar effect.

Box of silver body parts, used as votives if the person has an ailment with that particular part of their body

View through one of the cabinets

 I am also interested in the way in which the collections have been displayed. The cabinets are often cluttered and full of notes, labels and fascinating facts about the objects. Some objects are in small display boxes, others in specimen bags and others simply labelled.

cow, silver

 This cow reminds me of a silver butter dish which I have, the lid of which has a cow very similar to this.

Case displaying labelled metal amulets and votives

Eye votive

Figures of a boy and girl, clay

 I particularly liked these clay figures, mainly for their simplicity and naivety. Also this illustrates the fact that something simple and almost insignificant can become an object of meaning/superstition/power because of the presence and meaning which someone has put upon it.

Clay and plaster moulds and casts

 It was interesting to see the casts again, especially after experimenting for so long myself with this technique. I like that the moulds have been displayed alongside the casts.

Mould for the goat

Various casts from clay, wax and wood

Wax goat with mould

Body part votives used as offerings for medical conditions