Pearls of Wisdom: The Arts of Islam at the University of Michigan

The function of this carved bone piece decorated with a pattern of concentric circles remains unclear. It may be an amulet that was worn as a pendant or a noisemaker, since a small rod could be attached to the object and scraped along the pattern to produce sound. Alternatively, it may have been a piece belonging to an unknown game.

Bibliography: Rodziewicz, 2012, 20–22, pls. 52 and 107; Bacharach and Rodenbeck 2002, 35–38; and Scanlon 1968; 1964.