“The evil eye (Greek: μάτι, mati; Turkish: Nazar; Hebrew: עַיִן הָרָע; Italian: malocchio; Arabic: عين الحسد, ayn; Persian: چشم cheshm; Kazakh: Көз) is a supernatural belief in curse,[1] brought about by a malevolent glare, usually given to a person when one is unaware.”
The history and origin of the evil eye and corresponding amulet might be disputed (is it Greek, Turkish or Persian?) but what is understood, is that it has been used in various cultures for thousands of years. It would only be natural that it’s been worn as a form of adornment throughout the centuries, with the earliest form of dating to around 3000BC.
“The earliest version of eye amulets goes back to 3,300 BC,” Dr Nese Yildiran, an art history professor at Istanbul’s Bahçeşehir University, tells BBC Culture. “The amulets had been excavated in Tell Brak, one of the oldest cities of Mesopotamia – modern day Syria. They were in the form of some abstract alabaster idols made with incised eyes.”
And what if you need a 2022 version to suit your very fashionable needs? These days you can buy diamond encrusted amulets, Swarovski have an entire range if you need some serious sparkle, or like me, you can turn to one of many artisans throughout the mediterranean and middle east who hand made them into all manner of jewellery. Case in point: these earrings from Miracle Lives Gift Shop in Turkey.
I stumbled upon them on a recent Etsy search, not there to necessarily find this particular treasure but Etsy can be a bit like that! They’re made from 100% Bronze then 22K Gold Plated with delicate seed pearls. It looks as though the eye is made from glass but the listing doesn’t specifically say. In any case: they’re absolutely gorgeous!
