Artisans’ tools such as molds seldom survive the ravages of time, but the rare examples that remain illuminate the production processes behind the creation of commercial works in multiples. Likely intended for an amulet, this mold forms a pointed arch topped with a vegetal design. Below, the artisan has carefully inscribed a text in reverse, which would only be rendered fully legible once the form was cast in metal. Its three lines of Arabic in naskhi script contain Sura 2, verse 25 from the Qur’an, the first half of the Throne Verse, which held appeal as a powerful religious statement or source of protection from evil.

During the medieval period, amulets could attract a wide range of buyers from pious believers to popular medicinal practitioners. To meet these consumer demands, metalworkers favored soapstone as the primary medium for reliable molds. Its relative softness facilitated carving, while its high resistance to heat and durability made it an ideal material for casting metals. In addition to metal amulets, paper talismans (like M.2002.1.370) could also owe their designs to tin plates cast from shallow molds. A cursory glance further reveals that this mold clearly suffered breakage and imperfect repair at some point in its history, resulting in damage to its inscription. The rejoining of its pieces indicates that the owner retained respect for the divine word inscribed on it even if it no longer could serve its original function.

During the thirteenth-century, metalworkers in Iran would often cast amulets of silver with detailing in niello and gilt (see M.2002.1.545a-b). As these materials suggest, the finished amulets made striking pieces of jewelry, typically on rings, or affixed to necklaces, and armbands worn close to the body for fullest effects. Such amulets frequently bear quotations from the Qur’an, the names of God, or para-religious texts of an apotropaic nature, which were designed to fend off evil and more specific harms. On this mold, the text of the Throne Verse, refers to God as “the Living” and “Eternal”, continuing to proclaim that “no slumber can seize Him, nor sleep.” Thus, the finished pendant may have acted simultaneously as a declaration of faith and an invocation for God to watch over the wearer.