Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio: Cursed! The Power of Magic in the Ancient World
Overview
Head of Pazuzu, neo-assyrian, 7th century BC, chalcedony; h. 12 cm
Head of Pazuzu, neo-assyrian, 7th century BC, chalcedony; h. 12 cm

Cursed! The Power of Magic in the Ancient World

21 March - 5 July 2026 

 

'For millennia, people across Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome turned to magic for protection, for healing, to curse their enemies, and to seek favor from powers beyond the human realm. Ancient magic was woven into daily life and ritual practice—sometimes accepted and sometimes feared. Cursed! invites visitors to step into an exciting world of spells, amulets, and protective figures dating from 2000 BCE to 300 CE.

 

This exhibition brings exceptional works in a variety of materials to Toledo, including intricately carved ivory wands, brilliant gems, rare magical papyri, and lead curse tablets from the Louvre, the British Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and other institutions. These objects reveal a shared human desire: to influence the unseen forces shaping life and death.'

- Toledo Museum of Art 

 

For more information on the exhibition see the TMA website

 

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