Qalemdan at the Sleeping Seven of Ephesus

Qalemdan at the Sleeping Seven of Ephesus

Eastern Europe, signed Ali Reza and dated circa 1880

Enameled silver pen box, traditional shape, signed with the maker's seal Ali Reza with the date 13 ... (circa 1882). The lid of the inkwell is decorated with a bee, symbol of Imam Ali ("Ali sahib-i nahl"). The underside of the lid bears the names of the Sleeping Seven and their dog Qitmir in a composition forming the Seal of Solomon (Star of David), with magical protective properties. Below the Qalemdam, a combination of signs with the "ineffable name of God". (wear). L. 22.5 cm The Seven Sleepers, for the Christians, or People of the Cave, according to the Koran, were the object of immense popular veneration from the outset. Often invoked to ward off fever and sometimes insomnia, particularly in children, the legend of the Sleeping Seven dates back to the 3rd century AD. Seven young men, refusing to sacrifice themselves to the cult of the emperor and idols, took refuge in a cave near Ephesus (Izmir), where they fell asleep and only awoke two hundred years later, in great shape. They then went around the country proclaiming the resurrection of the flesh, and returned to their cave, where they fell asleep for eternity. The 18th Sura of the Koran, dedicated to the "People of the Cave", has obvious resonances with that of the Seven Sleepers. From the 6th century onwards, they were venerated in both the Christian West and the Muslim world, from Morocco to Chinese Turkestan. Their names are engraved on everyday objects to protect against the "evil eye". The series of signs engraved on this pen box (including the letters min, waw, ha or a star) make up a formula whose meaning was revealed only to the prophets. In Brittany, this myth is the subject of an annual interfaith pilgrimage to the Fountain of the Seven Sleepers, not far from Lannion in the Trégor region.