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Eye bead

Europe tradition · 5 examples · indicative market tier: Under $500 (entry level & living craft)

A naẓar (from Arabic ‏نَظَر‎ [ˈnaðˤar], meaning 'sight', 'surveillance', 'attention', and other related concepts), or an eye bead, is an eye-shaped amulet believed to protect against the evil eye. The term is also used in Albanian, Azerbaijani, Bengali, Hebrew, Hindi–Urdu, Kurdish, Pashto, Persian, Punjabi, Turkish, and other languages. In Turkey, it is known by the name nazar boncuğu (the latter word being a derivative of boncuk, "bead" in Turkic, and the former borrowed from Arabic), in Greece it is known as máti (μάτι, 'eye'). Wikipedia →

Types & examples

Glass eye bead MET sf17194678color
Glass eye bead MET sf17194678color
Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Glass eye bead MET sf17194715color
Glass eye bead MET sf17194715color
Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Krobo eye beads
Krobo eye beads
Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Glass eye bead MET sf17194807color
Glass eye bead MET sf17194807color
Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Glass eye bead MET DP155063
Glass eye bead MET DP155063
Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

Where to buy

1stDibsHigh-end antiques & design marketplaceBrowse listings → LiveAuctioneersAggregated live auctions worldwideBrowse listings → InvaluableAuction-house listings & price archiveBrowse listings → Christie'sMajor-auction results & upcoming salesBrowse listings → EtsyLiving artisans & vintage dealersBrowse listings → eBayBroad secondary market — vet sellers carefullyBrowse listings →

Each link opens a live, image-rich search for this craft on that marketplace. Listings rotate constantly; authenticate significant pieces independently — attribution quality varies widely outside museum collections.