Mano Cornuto means “horned hand” in Italian; the gesture is commonly depicted on charms to protect against the evil eye. It is unclear whether the gesture originated as a symbol of animal horns or a “poking out the (evil) eyes” action, but ancient lunar goddess charms depicting animal horns were used for similar protective purposes and are probably related to the Mano Cornuto. Heavy Metal fans adopted the hand gesture in the late 20th century, and in fact, Gene Simmons of KISS tried to trademark it! This one is coral (or shell?) and was carved in the late 19th century. It hangs from a new 14k gold chain on 14k gold wire.
MATERIALS: coral or shell, 14k gold wire, new gold fill chain
AGE: c. 1880
SIZE: 1 1/4" tall including bail, 18" chain