The evil eye. An account of this ancient and wide spread superstition

366 THE EVIL EYE chap.
Every one of these five statues has both hands
posed in distinct gesture-like attitudes, and every
hand is open.
The cavalli inarini (Figs. 166-169) of course represent
the same sea-horses as those upon the Diana
statues. The sea-horse is an amulet apart, worn
equally by the cab horses and upon the breasts of
Neapolitan women. On the statues these creatures
seem to have heads more like goats than horses.
The same may be said of the silver charms. Never-
theless they are all known as cavalli.
Each of the statues wears a veil, reaching to the
ground upon four, but curtailed to a mere head-dress
on the fifth (Fig. 69). These are like the veils often
worn by brides, not to hide but to set off the face.
Upon Diana the veil represents night— " Velo Dianse
nox indicatur." Moreover, it is the symbol of
modesty and chastity. ^^''
In the British Museum is an ancient terra-cotta
flat bottle, having on both sides the same figure,
brandishing in the right hand a sword and in the
left a scabbard. All that is known of it is that it
was purchased at the Durand sale, described in the
" Cabinet Durand," by De Witte, Paris 1836, No.
1550. It is called a Scylla, but on what grounds
we are not told. Fig. 179 is from a rough sketch
by the writer, but it is sufficient to suggest the
general resemblance of this figure to the Proserpines
upon the Diana statues and upon the Neapolitan
amulets. The two dogs are true Diana symbols,
but there is no sign of a crown. One striking
feature is in common : the dolphins on the water-
bottle are matched by the dolphin alongside the
^'^'' Syinbolica Diance, pp. 20, 2 1
.