Persia, 10th century, A green glass fertility talisman

composed of green glass, of typical, cylindrical form on a flat circular base

Intact, with some abrasions to surface and iridescence, minor chips, particularly near base, as viewed.
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Talismans are described in the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology by Barbara Ann Kipfer as a "charm or fetish thought to produce unusual, extraordinary happenings". Of characteristic phallic form, the present talisman draws on an ancient cult tradition centering on fertility, whose potency endured in the Islamic period.