King Solomon and the Shedds Creature Mug

The Talmud contains a legend concerning the remarkable stone called the Shamir with which King Solomon tried and trued the stones for the Temple. The Shamir was the magical jewel, or “worm” used by Aaron to cut the stones for the breastplate of the High Priest. Solomon, when ordered to build the Temple without the sound of hammers, could not cut the stones in the ordinary manner, but by laying the Shamir against the side of the rock the stones instantly and noiselessly separated according to any desired pattern. In order to learn the whereabouts of the Shamir, Solomon invoked the elementals, who told him that Ashmedai, the great king of the Shedds, could give him the desired information.