507 – Jar of artefacts: spirit house
- Physical description:
- Glass jar, rusted lid, assorted artefacts inside.
- Museum classification:
- Working Tools
- Size:
- 310mm
- Information:
This is a west country spirit house from Shepton Mallet, Somerset. The base is filled with white and black pebble chips on which rest various items of symbolic meaning, such as a star puff ball, an open egg shell, sycamore winged seeds, lily root and bulb, a lump of sulphur and a lady's bra formed into a ball etc. The thinking behind such fabrications is complicated to say the least, and calls for a deal of folklore knowledge and an understanding of the world of spirit force. My advice, leave well alone. Just smile and say "all rather quaint, isn't it?" And then move on.
- Resource:
- Object
- Materials:
- glass
- Copyright ownership:
- Copyright to The Museum of Witchcraft Ltd.
This is a west country spirit house from Shepton Mallet, Somerset. The base is filled with white and black pebble chips on which rest various items of symbolic meaning, such as a star puff ball, an open egg shell, sycamore winged seeds, lily root and bulb, a lump of sulphur and a lady's bra formed into a ball etc. The thinking behind such fabrications is complicated to say the least, and calls for a deal of folklore knowledge and an understanding of the world of spirit force. My advice, leave well alone. Just smile and say "all rather quaint, isn't it?" And then move on.