Home blessing plaque (Birkat ha-Bayit) from North Africa

This plaque, known as Birkat ha-Bayit ("blessing of the house"), is a panel hung at the entrance of the home, invoking upon the dwelling and its inhabitants blessing, peace, and protection against misfortune. It belongs to the tradition of domestic and apotropaic art. The North African tradition readily associates it with the protective hand (hamsa, or "hand of Fatima"), fish believed to bring good fortune and ward off the evil eye, as well as verses and inscriptions of blessing. Made of printed and painted paper, often framed or placed under glass, this object combines religious wishes with popular protective beliefs shared with the surrounding Maghrebi environment.