Hamsa ceramic plaque from Fès

This wall plaque in the shape of a hand (hamsa or khamsa) was hung above the door to ward off the evil eye and protect the home, in an apotropaic belief shared by Jews and Muslims in Morocco. The five-fingered hand is one of the most widespread protective symbols around the Mediterranean, long integrated into the popular culture of North African Jewish communities. The ceramics of Fès, renowned for their glazes and characteristic blue on a white background, render it embellished with geometric motifs specific to the city's art. As a domestic protective object, it illustrates the inscription of apotropaic beliefs in the material culture of Moroccan Judaism.