Incantation bowls were used in Mesopotamia during the late Sassanian and early Islamic

periods (ca. 6th-7th centuries CE). They were usually buried under the floors of houses to

protect the owner and his or her household from harm attributable to demonic forces. The

majority of the bowls were written in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic, presumably by Jewish

practitioners, for both Jewish and non-Jewish clients. A significant number of Mandaic

bowls and a lesser quantity of Syriac bowls (mostly in the Manichaean script) have also

been found. A few Pahlavi and Arabic bowls are also known.  The bowls in this exhibition

are written in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic.