a lizard’s leg, mounted in a silver cradle decorated with filigree and beading, suspended from a ropetwist loop.

£4,800

Exhibited:

Spellbound, Magic, Ritual & Witchcraft at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 2018-2019.

The talisman is prized for its magical properties, as protection against evil and for its perceived prophylactic benefits. Shakespeare in MacBeth’s haunting Witches’ chant references the magical potency of a lizard’s leg.

In the cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder’s fork and blindworm’s sting,
Lizard’s leg and howlet’s wing.
For charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
Double,double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.