Quick Specs
- Type: Tree of life evil eye wall hanging with bells
- Size: 12 1/2 by 2 1/4 inches
- Tree: Silver-toned openwork tree with three blue eye beads in the canopy
- Bells: Three silver-toned domed bells, each under two stacked blue eye beads
- Tassel: Long blue tassel
- Cord: Braided blue cord at the top
A Silver Tree, Nine Eye Beads and a Long Blue Tassel
A braided blue cord forms the top, finished with a small gold and black bead. Below it hangs the tree: a silver-toned openwork piece with a round canopy packed with small blossoms and curling branches, and three blue eye beads set into the canopy, one at the top and one on each side. The trunk widens into roots at the base, and three thin hooks drop from the roots. Each hook carries two stacked blue eye beads above a domed silver-toned bell, which makes nine eye beads in all. A long blue tassel of shiny thread hangs from beneath the bells, tied off with a band of orange thread at its top. The tree is the ornate part and the tassel the simple part, and the tassel is the longest single element of the piece. At 12 1/2 by 2 1/4 inches it’s tall and slim, a shape that suits a door frame or a narrow wall. The beads, bells and tassel share the same deep blue, so the lower half reads as one long dark line under the bright silver tree.
The eye beads bring the evil eye belief into the design: the idea that a malevolent glare, usually inspired by envy, can bring harm. A museum catalogue lists glass eye beads among the commonest amulets against it, worn or carried. In Turkey the eye amulet is the nazar boncuğu, and in Greece it’s the mati. Reference works place the belief across the Mediterranean, West and South Asia, Africa and Latin America, and accounts describe such amulets hung in houses, shops and cars. Traditional nazars use concentric circles in dark blue, white, light blue and black, and the beads here follow that palette. The tree is a motif found in the art and myth of many cultures. Here it carries three eye beads in its canopy, where a tree would carry fruit or blossom, and six more sit on the hooks above the bells. Blue is the thread that runs through the whole piece, from the cord to the beads to the tassel.
Practical Ways to Display It
Hang it where its length has room: along a door frame, on a narrow wall between two windows, on the inside of a closet door or beside a staircase. The braided cord hangs from a hook, and the bells and the tassel move freely below, so leave a hand’s width on each side and a clear drop below. A door frame or the side of a bookcase lets the tassel fall straight. Keep the tassel clear of candles, incense and stove tops, since it is made of thread. Hang it above the reach of small children, since the bells and beads are small. It also works as a gift for a new home. For more pieces with bells to hang, see my wind chimes, sun catchers and dream catchers collection.
How to Hang and Care for the Tree of Life Hanging
Three steps cover checking the hooks and bells, hanging the piece and keeping it tidy.
- Check the Hooks, Bells and Beads
Hold the cord at the top and let the hanging drop. Look at the three hooks under the roots and the beads and bells they carry, and give each a light tug. Check that the tassel is tied firmly at its top and that the cord shows no fraying. If a hook has opened, close it gently with small pliers or ask a jeweler to do it before the hanging goes up.
- Hang It by the Cord
Set a small nail or hook at the height you want and hang the braided cord from it. Let the piece settle for a minute and check that the tree hangs straight. Keep the bells and tassel clear of shelves, door edges and furniture, because knocking against a hard edge can scratch the metal and tangle the strands.
- Dust the Tree and Tassel
Dust the tree and the bells with a soft dry brush every few weeks, working around the blossoms and the eye beads. Shake the tassel lightly to loosen lint and smooth it with your fingers. Skip sprays and soaking. When you take the hanging down, store it flat in a box so the tassel stays smooth and the hooks stay untangled.
The Tarot Fellow Standard
I stock this hanging because it joins two old emblems on one cord, a tree and an eye, at a size that fits a door frame. The evil eye is a living folk belief in Turkey, Greece and many other places, and the tree of life appears in the traditions of many cultures, some of them living faiths. This piece is a decorative reference to both, never a stand-in for the customs of the people who keep them. If either belongs to your family’s tradition, follow what you were taught. If they’re new to you, learn their history from the communities that keep them. See my evil eye collection for more pieces that carry the eye.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources describe the tree of life as an archetype found in many mythological, religious and philosophical traditions, often tied to immortality, fertility and renewal. A Smithsonian page calls the world tree the center of the universe, binding the heavens to the earth. Meanings differ by culture, and here the tree is a decorative emblem shown with eye beads.
Sources point to ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, Norse myth, where the world tree Yggdrasil connects the realms, Mesoamerican world trees that join underworld, earth and sky, and the Etz Chaim, or tree of life, of Jewish sources. A Smithsonian page says the tree motif was well established 5,000 years ago in the Middle East. Several of these belong to living traditions, and the communities that keep them are the best guides to their meanings.
In accounts of the nazar tradition, a broken bead is believed to have absorbed a particularly strong negative force, and the usual advice is to replace it as soon as possible. A folklore interview with a Palestinian-American informant adds that a broken nazar is set aside and worn no more. These are folk beliefs, and customs differ by family and region.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet