Symbol identification
April 1, 2015 10:55 PM Subscribe
Can someone identify these symbols for me?
how odd! mind if i ask, what's the story behind the amulet?
might be korean? i have no clue.
posted by nephilim. at 12:59 AM on April 2, 2015
might be korean? i have no clue.
posted by nephilim. at 12:59 AM on April 2, 2015
Vaguely reminds me of Chinese seal scripts, and immediately struck me as upside-down as well. There are other Chinese calligraphical scripts, might be one of them. Or something else entirely, but it really looks like ideograms.
posted by fraula at 1:01 AM on April 2, 2015
posted by fraula at 1:01 AM on April 2, 2015
definitely looks korean:
http://www.wright-house.com/korean/korean-graphics/hangul-basic.jpg
http://media.mediatemple.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/calligraphy421.jpg
http://www.ancientscripts.com/korean.html
posted by nephilim. at 1:40 AM on April 2, 2015
http://www.wright-house.com/korean/korean-graphics/hangul-basic.jpg
http://media.mediatemple.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/calligraphy421.jpg
http://www.ancientscripts.com/korean.html
posted by nephilim. at 1:40 AM on April 2, 2015
Response by poster:
The piece turned up while digging a new garden in a friend's backyard. We're in the middle of the Silicon Valley so it's more likely to be jewelry than local craftwork.
Korean was my first guess too, but honestly only a few characters seem to match. I was hoping someone who reads Korean natively might weigh in.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 1:47 AM on April 2, 2015
The piece turned up while digging a new garden in a friend's backyard. We're in the middle of the Silicon Valley so it's more likely to be jewelry than local craftwork.
Korean was my first guess too, but honestly only a few characters seem to match. I was hoping someone who reads Korean natively might weigh in.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 1:47 AM on April 2, 2015
Could it be some kind of joke? The last line certainly suggests "fish" and "stick" (i.e., "fish-stick") to me, the other symbols might also be interpretable by someone in on the joke.
posted by ubiquity at 11:00 AM on April 2, 2015
posted by ubiquity at 11:00 AM on April 2, 2015
I do not understand Hebrew, but it looks to me like you are holding it upside down and that the characters are Hebrew.
The Hebrew alphabet.
posted by tel3path at 11:05 AM on April 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
The Hebrew alphabet.
posted by tel3path at 11:05 AM on April 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
It's definitely not Hebrew.
posted by zeri at 11:36 AM on April 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by zeri at 11:36 AM on April 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
This is an odd one.
If you don't get an answer here, may I suggest posting it to /r/whatisthisthing? I know the usual MeFi response to reddit, but that's a good one. I've been surprised by what they can figure out.
posted by jammer at 12:22 PM on April 2, 2015
If you don't get an answer here, may I suggest posting it to /r/whatisthisthing? I know the usual MeFi response to reddit, but that's a good one. I've been surprised by what they can figure out.
posted by jammer at 12:22 PM on April 2, 2015
Response by poster: For convenience I've changed the picture to include the other side up.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 1:06 PM on April 2, 2015
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 1:06 PM on April 2, 2015
The impression this gives me, though, looking at it, is that it feels very much like some of the early Mediterranean or West Asian scripts, eg Linear A, Linear B, or Samaritan. None of these match what's there, but that's just the feeling it gives my unexpert eye. Maybe digging deeper into that website might be useful. Or maybe not, just a thought.
posted by jammer at 1:21 PM on April 2, 2015
posted by jammer at 1:21 PM on April 2, 2015
That looks very much like part of a pair of inexpensive earrings I got at Cost Plus/World Market that have similar markings and that I expect are just meant to be vaguely "ethnic". I'll examine them more closely when I get home and see if they are really similar.
posted by agatha_magatha at 2:19 PM on April 2, 2015
posted by agatha_magatha at 2:19 PM on April 2, 2015
Best answer: To me that looks like the type of cheap ersatz "coin" that comes on vaguely Middle-Eastern dance belts/scarves like this one: http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00KBDSGJS. Each garment is going to have dozens to hundreds on it, so the practice is not to use actual coins, but to use cheap metal discs with meaningless designs stamped on them, purchased from craft suppliers. On a cursory Google Image check I see that there are a lot of different patterns on this type of decoration, so it wouldn't prove me wrong if you tried to match your item to a friend's belly dancing scarf and it didn't match. Also I believe this is not a new practice, i.e. if you could date this coin and it dated to the 1940s, it would still seem plausible to me that it was from a dance belt/scarf or similar costume jewelry.
What makes me think this? The hole drilled in the coin.
posted by gillyflower at 2:32 PM on April 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
What makes me think this? The hole drilled in the coin.
posted by gillyflower at 2:32 PM on April 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
The thing was in my garden, and thank you for all the ideas. What the photos don't show well is that it is a thin, stamped piece of metal more than a coin. The idea of a dance belt or scarf is sounding quite possible. Google image search just shows coins.
posted by mdoar at 3:34 PM on April 2, 2015
posted by mdoar at 3:34 PM on April 2, 2015
Best answer: Belly dance coins tend to be quite thin (so they move and 'jangle' easily). Although it looks like nothing in my b/d wardrobe, that seems like a definite possibility. Mine all have more simple, plain designs, nothing as ornate as these markings.
But b/d costumes and accoutrements vary between cultures. Tribal, Indian, Egyptian, Turkish, etc, can have their own little quirks which make them individual. I'm thinking the markings look tribal, but I am only guessing.
I'd seek the advice of a b/d expert and aee what they think.
posted by malibustacey9999 at 5:59 PM on April 2, 2015
But b/d costumes and accoutrements vary between cultures. Tribal, Indian, Egyptian, Turkish, etc, can have their own little quirks which make them individual. I'm thinking the markings look tribal, but I am only guessing.
I'd seek the advice of a b/d expert and aee what they think.
posted by malibustacey9999 at 5:59 PM on April 2, 2015
I'm a native Korean speaker. It is absolutely not Korean.
posted by tickingclock at 11:38 AM on April 3, 2015
posted by tickingclock at 11:38 AM on April 3, 2015
Best answer: Here's a photo of the earrings I mentioned above. I think they are a contender.
posted by agatha_magatha at 3:06 PM on April 8, 2015
posted by agatha_magatha at 3:06 PM on April 8, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by traveler_ at 12:53 AM on April 2, 2015