Amulet container

Tuareg men and women wear metal amulets containing Qur’anic verses and other protective messages suspended from cords around their necks. The large example is especially rare because of an inscription incised on the outside in Tifinar script, which is related to ancient Libyan scripts dating to 150 BCE. The inscription, whose letters are made up of lines, circles, and dots, reads from right to left and transcribes as NK SDLMQTR G XLYFA. It means, “I am Mr. Lmqtar Khalifa, ” likely referring to a previous owner.