Page 437 - שערות לילית וקרני אשמדאי / נעמה וילוז'ני

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SUMMARY
In everything to do with magic, the Jews were not isolated from the cultural environment
in which they lived; on the contrary, they were subject to outside influences, both textual
and artistic. At the same time they themselves contributed from their own world to local
magic figures and practices. The paintings on the incantation bowls and the Talmud share
a conceptual world in which demons, both male and female, occupy a significant place in
the universe, as understood by the Babylonian Jews and their sages. At the same time, the
incantation bowl paintings do not always accurately reflect the Talmudic descriptions, and
vice versa, the Talmudic descriptions are not always depicted on the bowls.

We see that Jewish art, like Jewish literature, was influenced by ancient Mesopotamian
and Persian traditions and religion prevalent at the time. It appears that just as many
literary motifs found their way from neighboring cultures into Talmudic literature, various
indigenous artistic motifs appeared on the incantation bowls. The bowl painting then,
represents a mixture of local literary and artistic tradition, and traditions which were
passed down orally, so they support the assumption that Judaism was indeed influenced by
its environment in the Babylonian exile.

Although merely schematic, the paintings on the incantation bowls include clearly
coded motifs, rooted deep in people’s knowledge, which enable one to identify the figures
so that this work takes its place in the kind of iconic art prevalent at the time. An icon
serves to transmit a message quickly and clearly. In this kind of painting, the emphasis is
not on the aesthetic, but on the representation of iconographic elements which are essential
if we are to interpret the figures correctly.

This book provides a foundation till now lacking in research of magic art and it will
serve as a basis for future research of such or other art connected with it. Similarly, the
book contributes to the study of popular Jewish art from Babylon at the end of the ancient
period, of whose existence the incantation bowls were till now the only evidence.