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

Iafrate, Allegra

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0271083670 ISBN 13: 9780271083674

Publisher: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2020

Synopsis

This book explores a series of powerful artifacts associated with King Solomon via legendary or extracanonical textual sources. Tracing their cultural resonance throughout history, art historian Allegra Iafrate delivers exciting insights into these objects and interrogates the ways in which magic manifests itself at a material level.

Each chapter focuses on a different Solomonic object: a ring used to control demons; a mysterious set of bottles that constrain evil forces; an endless knot or seal with similar properties; the shamir, known for its supernatural ability to cut through stone; and a flying carpet that can bring the sitter anywhere he desires. Taken together, these chapters constitute a study on the reception of the figure of Solomon, but they are also cultural biographies of these magical objects and their inherent aesthetic, morphological, and technical qualities.

Thought-provoking and engaging, Iafrate’s study shows how ancient magic artifacts live on in our imagination, in items such as Sauron’s ring of power, Aladdin’s lamp, and the magic carpet. It will appeal to historians of art, religion, folklore, and literature.

About this title

About the Author

Allegra Iafrate is the author of The Wandering Throne of Solomon: Objects and Tales of Kingship in the Medieval Mediterranean.

Edition details

• Publisher: Pennsylvania State University Press
• Publication date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0271083670
• ISBN 13: 9780271083674
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 248