The Long Life of Magical Objects: A Study in the Solomonic Tradition (Magic in History)

248 Pages·2019·3.769 MB·English

by  Allegra Iafrate

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THE LONG LIFE
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A STUDY in the SOLOMONIC TRADITION
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THE LONG LIFE OF MAGICAL OBJECTS
THE MAGIC IN HISTORY SERIES
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The Magic in History series explores the role magic and the occult have played in European culture, religion,
science, and politics. Titles in the series bring the resources of cultural, literary, and social history to bear on the
history of the magic arts, and they contribute to an understanding of why the theory and practice of magic have
elicited fascination at every level of European society. Volumes include both editions of important texts and
significant new research in the field.
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A STUDY IN THE SOLOMONIC TRADITION
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allegra iafrate
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THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS
UNIVERSITY PARK, PENNSYLVANIA
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Iafrate, Allegra, 1985– author.
Title: The long life of magical objects : a study in the Solomonic tradition / Allegra
Iafrate.
Other titles: Magic in history.
Description: University Park, Pennsylvania : The Pennsylvania State University
Press, [2019] | Series: Magic in history | Includes bibliographical references
and index.
Summary: “Examines a series of powerful artifacts traditionally associated with
King Solomon, largely via extra-canonical textual sources—Solomon’s ring,
bottles to contain evil forces, the so-called Solomon’s knot, a shamir, and a flying
carpet—and traces their varying cultural resonances”—Provide by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019005847 | ISBN 9780271083667 (cloth : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Magic. | Solomon, King of Israel—Miscellanea.
Classification: LCC BF1621.I23 2019 | DDC 133.4/3—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019005847
A version of chapter 2 was previously published as “Solomon, Lord of the Rings:
Fashioning the Signet Power from Electrum to Nuhās,” Al- Masāq 28, no. 3 (2016):
221–41.
A version of chapter 3 was previously published as “ ‘Il demone nell’ampolla’:
Solomon, Virgil, Aeolus, and the Long Metamorphosis of Rain Rituals and
Wind- Taming Practices,” Revue de l’histoire des religions 234, no. 3 (2017): 387–425.
Copyright © 2019 Allegra Iafrate
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
Published by The Pennsylvania State University Press,
University Park, PA 16802- 1003
The Pennsylvania State University Press is a member of the Association of
University Presses.
It is the policy of The Pennsylvania State University Press to use acid- free paper.
Publications on uncoated stock satisfy the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed
Library Material, ansi z39.48–1992.
To Anna and Cesare

CONTENTS
List of Ill ustra tio ns / ix
Acknowled gments / xi
Solomon’s Cabinet of Curiosities: Objects from
an Uncanonical Collection / 1
1. Magical Objects and Where to Find Them / 4
2. The Signet Ring / 41
3. Bottles for the Demons / 60
4. Much Ado About Knotting / 80
5. The Metamorphic Shamir / 109
6. Carpets and Other Flying Devices / 134
Conclusion: “Of the Cosmopolitan Destiny of Magical
Objects” / 149
Notes / 161
Biblio grap hy / 197
Index / 225

ILLUSTRATIONS
Figures
1. G old ring set with red jasper intaglio engraved with a monogram, Roman,
mid- third century / 43
2. M osaic depicting hydriae being filled with water during the wedding at Cana,
Chora Museum, Istanbul, 1315–21, detail / 45
3. D evil’s buoy employed for Magiotti’s experiment, reproduced in Athanasius
Kircher, Magnes, sive de arte magnetica (Rome: Vitalis Mascardi, 1654) / 61
4. Pier Dandini (1646–1712), Witchcraft, ca. 1700 / 64
5. Solomonic knots / 81
6. Solomonic pillars with knots, Würzburg Cathedral, thirteenth century / 86
7. O ath Taken by the Knights of the Order of Saint- Esprit on Bible Held by
King Louis of Anjou, 1352 / 91
8. Tomb of a knight of the Order of Saint- Esprit, aἀer 1352, detail / 92
9. Antoine de Lonhy, Amedeo IX of Savoy, aἀer 1474, detail / 94
10. Andrea del Verrocchio, Tomb of Cosimo il Vecchio with cosmic diagram,
1467 / 97
11. Bartolomeo Veneto (op. 1502–31), Portrait of a Man, ca. 1510–15 / 98
12. Jan van Eyck, Lucca Madonna, ca. 1437–38 / 100
13 . Palace of the Salomoni- Alberteschi family (Domus Salomonia Albertiscorum),
Rome, ca. 1613–14, detail of the façade with lions and Solomonic knots / 102
14. P ierfrancesco Valentini, Canone a 96 voci nel nodo di Salomone (Rome: Paolo
Masotti, 1631) / 104
15. Personal emblem of Piero di Lorenzo de’ Medici (1471–1503), ca 1490 / 106
16. Eberhard Werner Happel, Ein Wurm der Stein frisst, in Relationes curiosae oder
Denckwürdigkeiten der Welt, vol. 1 (Hamburg: Reumann, 1707), 45 / 110
17. King Solomon Flying on His Throne Carried by Jinns, in Mohammad Hāfiz.- i
Shīrāzī, Dīwān / 139
18. Kay Kavus Falls from the Sky, folio from a Shahnama of Firdausi, ca. 1330–40,
detail / 143
19. Apotheosis of Emperor Titus, Arch of Titus, Rome, ca. 81–100 CE / 146