Superstition Collection (#4)

Illustration for "Mr. Fox?, from English Fairy Tales, 1890. Creator: Batten, John Dickson (1860-1932)
Illustration for "Mr. Fox?, from English Fairy Tales, 1890. Private Collection

The Frog Princess. Illustration from the book The Parade by Gleeson White, 1897. Creator: Dearmer, Mabel (1872-1915)
The Frog Princess. Illustration from the book The Parade by Gleeson White, 1897. Private Collection

Exorcism or witches. Painting by Francisco de GOYA Y LUCIENTES (1746-1828), 1797-1798
LRI4664714 Exorcism or witches. Painting by Francisco de GOYA Y LUCIENTES (1746-1828), 1797-1798. Oil on canvas. Madrid, Lazaro Galdiano Foundation by Goya y Lucientes

Stuffed baby llamas in Witches Market, La Paz, Bolivia

Black cat

The Holy Horse-Grass, 1822 (colour woodblock print)
8603859 The Holy Horse-Grass, 1822 (colour woodblock print) by Hokusai, Katsushika (1760-1849); 40.3 x 27.7 cm; Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

The Knave of Wands, facsimile of a tarot card from the Visconti deck
AGD336587 The Knave of Wands, facsimile of a tarot card from the Visconti deck, 1441-47 (colour litho) by Bembo, Bonifacio (c.1420-82) (attr.) (after); 17.5x8.7 cm; Private Collection; (add.info)

Miss Modern magazine fortune teller
Front cover of Miss Modern magazine for November 1931, featuring a young gipsy fortune teller with a crystal ball (and the free gipsy ring, found FREE inside the magazine!). Date: 1931

Bloodmoon, total lunar eclipse, double exposure with tree on moraine hill, Hirzel
atmospheric, dramatic, dream, mystic, superstition, blood moon, 1091502154

Shiite Muslims reach out to touch the gold-ornamentation of sword and shield, placed on a symbolic sacred horse, for good luck, during the Youm Ali procession in Karachi, Pakistan June 17, 2017

Touristic Items, Istanbul, Turkey

Eddie Merton, superstitious stuntman, who always slept in a coffin on the night before a dangerous stunt. Seen here sitting up in the coffin in his hotel bedroom for his morning cup of tea. Date: 1971

Quaker's group hanging a dog condemned by warlock. Engraving
New England (Massachusetts). 17th century. Quaker's group hanging a dog condemned by warlock. Engraving, 1807

A meteor over the Sinai Desert is interpreted by the Arabs as the herald of important events in the Red Sea area Date
A meteor over the Sinai Desert is interpreted by the Arabs as the herald of important events in the Red Sea area... Date: July 1935

Old Egyptian Fortune-Teller's Last Legacy, Superstition and paranormal, 18th Century
Vintage illustration of from an 18th Century Chapbook. Old Egyptian Fortune-Teller's Last Legacy

The Magpie (gouache on linen)
GLS314010 The Magpie (gouache on linen) by Crawhall, Joseph (1861-1913); 29.2x43.2 cm; Art Gallery and Museum, Kelvingrove, Glasgow, Scotland; © CSG CIC Glasgow Museums Collection

Detail of the ankh held by Iwnit, 1405-1367 BC, Luxor statue cache (stone)
7062682 Detail of the ankh held by Iwnit, 1405-1367 BC, Luxor statue cache (stone) by Egyptian; Luxor Museum of Ancient Art, Egypt; (add.info.: Detail of the ankh held by Iwnit, 1405-1367 BC)

Detail of the ankh held by Hathor, 1405-1367 BC, Luxor statue cache (stone)
7062683 Detail of the ankh held by Hathor, 1405-1367 BC, Luxor statue cache (stone) by Egyptian; Luxor Museum of Ancient Art, Egypt; (add.info.: Detail of the ankh held by Hathor, 1405-1367 BC)

Pillar of Sesotris I depicted as Osiris, 1971-1926 BC, from Karnak (limestone)
7062657 Pillar of Sesotris I depicted as Osiris, 1971-1926 BC, from Karnak (limestone) by Egyptian; Luxor Museum of Ancient Art, Egypt; (add.info.: Pillar of Sesotris I depicted as Osiris)

Pillar of Sesotris I depicted as Osiris, 1971-1926 BC, from Karnak (limestone)
7062658 Pillar of Sesotris I depicted as Osiris, 1971-1926 BC, from Karnak (limestone) by Egyptian; Luxor Museum of Ancient Art, Egypt; (add.info.: Pillar of Sesotris I depicted as Osiris)

King Akhenaton wearing the double crown and holding Heka and Wast, 1365-1360, from Karnak (sandstone)
7062652 King Akhenaton wearing the double crown and holding Heka and Wast, 1365-1360, from Karnak (sandstone) by Egyptian; Luxor Museum of Ancient Art

Ear ornament or amulet, 19th century (bowenite)
1072466 Ear ornament or amulet, 19th century (bowenite) by Maori, (19th century); 12.065x1.5875x1.27000254 cm; Dallas Museum of Art, Texas, USA; given in memory of Jerry L. Abramson by his estate

Dogon Wheel, from Western Sudan (bronze)
HSC137100 Dogon Wheel, from Western Sudan (bronze) by African School; Private Collection; Photo © Heini Schneebeli

Soul Vessel (terracotta)
HSC181679 Soul Vessel (terracotta) by African School; diameter:43 cm; Private Collection; (add.info.: tradition of burying the dead twice; in period between the two burials)

Elephant shaped charms, from Ghana (gold)
XBP228672 Elephant shaped charms, from Ghana (gold) by African School; Private Collection; Photo © Boltin Picture Library

Scarab from the neck bead of a mummy, Late Period, c. 600 BC (blue glass paste)
BAL3633 Scarab from the neck bead of a mummy, Late Period, c.600 BC (blue glass paste) by Egyptian 26th Dynasty (664-525 BC); Pilkington Glass Museum, St.Helens, Merseyside, UK

The Bat, 1860 (oil on panel)
LAF470805 The Bat, 1860 (oil on panel) by Braekeleer, Ferdinand de (1792-1883); 105.6x142.7 cm; Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Ghent, Belgium; © Art in Flanders

Jansenist convulsionary (or Saint Medard) (Works of convulsions) in the 18th century
ELD4846076 Jansenist convulsionary (or Saint Medard) (Works of convulsions) in the 18th century: " the sick and infirm go to the cemetery of Saint-Medard

Jansenist convulsionary (or Saint Medard) (Works of convulsions): " the nun sister Francoise
ELD4842667 Jansenist convulsionary (or Saint Medard) (Works of convulsions): " the nun sister Francoise, in a mystico-religious trance

The Fortune Teller and the Lady. Creator: Andries Stock
The Fortune Teller and the Lady

The Dead Drummer. A legend of Salisbury Plain. Illustration by George Cruikshank for Richard Barham The Ingoldsby
536404 The Dead Drummer. A legend of Salisbury Plain. Illustration by George Cruikshank for Richard Barham The Ingoldsby Legends, London, 1840. Engraving

193-0082164 Bon voyage, plate 64 of Los caprichos, 1799 (etching)
IND81683 193-0082164 Bon voyage, plate 64 of Los caprichos, 1799 (etching) by Goya y Lucientes, Francisco Jose de (1746-1828); 21.9x15.2 cm; Private Collection; Index Fototeca

193-0082152 What a tailor can do!, plate 52 of Los caprichos, 1799 (etching)
IND81671 193-0082152 What a tailor can do!, plate 52 of Los caprichos, 1799 (etching) by Goya y Lucientes, Francisco Jose de (1746-1828); 21.8x15.1 cm; Private Collection; (add.info)

193-0082166 There it goes, plate 66 of Los caprichos, 1799 (etching)
IND81685 193-0082166 There it goes, plate 66 of Los caprichos, 1799 (etching) by Goya y Lucientes, Francisco Jose de (1746-1828); 21x16.7 cm; Private Collection; Index Fototeca

Detail from a monument to Imenyseneb, Chief of Expeditions to the Pharaoh
IND113548 Detail from a monument to Imenyseneb, Chief of Expeditions to the Pharaoh, with magical numbers and formulae for him and his female companions (painted limestone) by Egyptian

Out hunting for teeth, plate 12 of Los caprichos, pub. 1799 (etching) (see also 175021)
IND81631 Out hunting for teeth, plate 12 of Los caprichos, pub. 1799 (etching) (see also 175021) by Goya y Lucientes, Francisco Jose de (1746-1828); 21.9x15.3 cm; Private Collection; Index Fototeca

193-0082169 Blow, plate 69 of Los caprichos, 1799 (etching)
IND81688 193-0082169 Blow, plate 69 of Los caprichos, 1799 (etching) by Goya y Lucientes, Francisco Jose de (1746-1828); 21.4x15.2 cm; Private Collection; Index Fototeca

Troubles in Astrakhan (colour litho)
2818313 Troubles in Astrakhan (colour litho) by Meyer, Henri (1841-99) (after); Private Collection; (add.info.: Troubles in Astrakhan. Riots during an outbreal of cholera in Russia)

Knight, Death, and the Devil, 1513 (engraving)
4071439 Knight, Death, and the Devil, 1513 (engraving) by Durer or Duerer, Albrecht (1471-1528); 24.6x18.8 cm; Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; (add.info.: The Christian knight)

The Triumph of Death, c. 1608 (oil on oak)
3617960 The Triumph of Death, c.1608 (oil on oak) by Brueghel, Pieter the Younger (c.1564-1638); 123.3x166.5 cm; Kunstmuseum, Basel, Switzerland; (add.info.: Copy after Pieter Brueghel the Elder)

The Fortune Teller (oil on canvas)
5055374 The Fortune Teller (oil on canvas) by Halle, Charles Edward (1846-1914); 107x122.5 cm; Sheffield Galleries and Museums Trust, UK; Sheffield Museums Trust

Knight, Death, and the Devil, 1513 (engraving)
883704 Knight, Death, and the Devil, 1513 (engraving) by Durer or Duerer, Albrecht (1471-1528); Minneapolis Institute of Arts, MN, USA; (add.info.: The Christian knight)

Knight, Death and the Devil, 1513 (engraving)
877268 Knight, Death and the Devil, 1513 (engraving) by Durer or Duerer, Albrecht (1471-1528); 24.9 x 19.2 cm; Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts

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"Unraveling the Threads of Superstition: From Wicker Man to Divine Amulets" Superstition, a captivating realm where belief and folklore intertwine, has long fascinated humanity. Like pieces of a puzzle scattered across time and cultures, various hints shed light on this enigmatic subject. The iconic UK One Sheet poster of "The Wicker Man (1973)" beckons us into a world where ancient rituals and pagan beliefs collide with modern sensibilities. A chilling reminder that they can still hold sway over our lives. In France, the notion that good wine brings luck takes center stage as the rugby team prepares to face their Irish rivals. With glasses raised high, they hope for fortune's favor on the field. Across borders in Netherlandish Proverbs illustrated in a village landscape, we glimpse an intricate tapestry woven with hidden meanings. Each proverb carries its own superstitious weight, reminding us that wisdom often hides behind seemingly ordinary words. A 4-Leaf Clover by Barde captures nature's lucky charm; its rarity symbolizing hope against all odds. As we stumble upon it amidst life's chaos, we dare to dream of serendipitous moments yet to come. Francisco de Goya's haunting masterpiece "Witches Sabbath" transports us deep into the heart of darkness where superstitions thrive unchecked. The artist invites us to confront our fears and question what lies beyond reason's grasp. Amidst Edinburgh's bustling Royal Mile stands St Giles Cathedral adorned with Heart of Midlothian paving stones mosaic – an emblematic tribute rooted in local lore. Stepping carefully upon these stones is said to bring good fortune or ward off ill fate for those who believe. Men-an-tol standing stones whisper secrets from ancient times when mystical energies were harnessed through sacred rituals. These silent sentinels remind us how deeply ingrained they are within human history.