Protective amulet, consisting of nickel (?) medallion, called Billiken, with pixie on obverse, De Mortillet collection, French, 1908-1931
This token is from the Luna Park amusement park in Paris (open from1907/9 to 1931), as indicated by the inscription on the reverse – ‘Porte-Maillot’, an area of Paris. The inscription on the front reads: ‘Si tu me gardes je te porterai bonheur’ – ‘I smile at you bad luck can’t harm you.’
The pixie is a Billiken, known as ‘The God of Things As They Ought to Be’, and whilst the purchase of a Billiken was said to give the customer luck, being given one would afford even greater luck.
Details
- Category:
- Ethnography and Folk Medicine
- Collection:
- Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
- Object Number:
- A665091
- Materials:
- nickel, ? material
- Measurements:
-
overall: 1 mm 30 mm, .002 kg
- type:
- amulet
- credit:
- Loan, Wellcome Trust