Hand Pendant, old handcarved Silver pendant from Tunisia. The symbol represents the right hand palm outwards, signifying its perceived power to ward off the “evil eye”, and examples of it have been unearthed in Mesopotamian excavations dating back over a thousand years before the modern era (BC). It is commonly used across North Africa as a talisman, both of good luck and against the “evil eye”.
The symbol has had numerous names, depending on the period and place, including Hand-of-Venus, Hand-of-Mary and Hand-of-Fatima, the last being the name most commonly attributed to it these days.
The sentiment of danger attached to the “evil eye”, the glare of malevolence and/or envy, is a common human sentiment and it is easy to imagine how the palm outstretched to ward it off would become the talisman against it.