Auction 93 Part 1 - Manuscripts, Prints and Engravings, Objects and Facsimiles, from the Gross Family Collection, and Private Collections
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The Book of Psalms. Publisher and year of publication not indicated, “Printed in the Holy Land, ” [Jerusalem, ca. 1940s]. English.
Print on paper; engraved silver, filigree (marked: 925, “Bezalel, ” and an additional mark, on clasp).
English translation of the biblical Book of Psalms in miniature format. Two columns per page, with photographs and illustrations of the Holy Land, mostly of Jerusalem, with some illustrations after engravings by Ephraim Moses Lilien. In silver binding, with the inscription “Psalms” engraved in vertical relief on the front. On the back, a small rectangular plaque depicting worshipers at the Western Wall.
99, [1] pp. + [12] pls (with illustrations and photographs), 5.7 cm. Book in good condition. Book loosely attached to binding.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, No. B.1103.
Hanging lamp. [Italy, 19th century].
Brass; cast and engraved.
Hanging lamp comprised of three parts: an oil basin shaped as an eight–pointed star, with a suspension rod attached in the center; a drip pan hanging under the oil basin with an acorn–shaped weight under it; and a stylized hanger attached to the central suspension rod.
Height: approx. 40 cm, maximum diameter: 23 cm (oil basin). Brass rod (late) for hanging lamp on the wall.
Provenance: Private collection.
Hanger for memorial lamp ("kas" / "kas des–s'il"). Morocco, [first decades of 20th century].
Brass, cast and engraved (chased); sheet brass, cut; copper.
The hanger is comprised of a hamsa–shaped ornament, thumb pointing sideways; a dome with stylized edges attached to the bottom of it. Five long chains hang from the dome, intended for suspending the glass jug (oil lamp, usually inscribed with the name of the deceased; lacking in this exemplar).
Height: approx. 78 cm, width of hanger: approx. 18 cm. Good condition.
Literature: Jewish Life in Morocco, Aviva Müller–Lancet (editor). Israel Museum, 1983, pp. 40–41.
Provenance: Private collection.
Tefillin bag ("Skara de–Tfillin"). Morocco, Tétouan or Tangier, [first decades of 20th century].
Multicolored metallic thread embroidery on purple velvet; card base; silk lining and threads. Rectangular bag, symmetric motif embroidered on both sides in metallic thread, with the name of the owner: "Shalem Raphael Danino".
Gold thread embroidery in vegetal patterns on the sides and bottom of the bag. Long straps made of braided yellow and purple silk threads for tying and carrying the bag.
Height: 21 cm (without straps), width: 15.5 cm, depth: 3 cm.
Provenance: Private collection.
Mezuzah cover – "Jeta del Mezuzah". [Algeria, first decades of 20th century].
Sheet silver; cut and repoussé, nailed onto wooden board.
Decorated with high–quality, detailed repoussé: a seven–branched menorah is depicted in the center, with priestly hands, an oil jug and altar utensils beneath it; surrounded by a border of branches and flowers. Depression at the back of the wooden board for holding the mezuzah parchment.
Height (including wooden board): 28.5 cm, width: 18 cm. Good condition.
See: Jewish Life in Morocco, Aviva Müller–Lancet (editor). Israel Museum, 1983, p. 60.
Provenance: Private collection.
Mezuzah cover – "Jeta del Mezuzah". [Algeria, first decades of 20th century].
Sheet silver; cut and repoussé, nailed onto wooden board.
A seven–branched menorah is depicted in the center, with an oil jug and altar utensils beneath it; surrounded by a border of branches and flowers. Suspension ring at the top.
Height (including wooden board): 24 cm, width: 15 cm. Good condition.
Literature: Jewish Life in Morocco, Aviva Müller–Lancet (editor). Israel Museum, 1983, p. 60.
Provenance: Private collection.
Memorial plaque in the form of a convex shield or cartouche. [Syria], Kislev 5676 [November–December, 1915].
Brass, cut and engraved, inlaid with copper and silver (damascene craftsmanship).
Thick brass plaque, with memorial inscription in large, bold silver letters: “Dedicated to the Lord for the transcendence of the soul of the young man who passed away before his time, Ovadiah son of Yom Tov Bokai, may his soul rest in Eden, who passed on to his eternal home on the 15th of Kislev 5676 [November 22, 1915], may his soul be bound up in the bond of eternal life.”
The entire surface area is intricately adorned with vegetal patterns, some engraved into the brass, and others as silver and copper inlay. The plate’s perimeter is left blank, creating something of a frame, punctured with small holes that enable the object to be sewn onto the “parohet” (curtain) of the synagogue’s Torah ark.
29X24 cm. Good condition.
Provenance: Private collection.
Pair of Torah finials. [Tunisia, probably Djerba, 19th century].
Silver (unmarked); filigree.
Pair of tall, narrow Torah finials, constructed around a central rod supporting two spherical ornaments and an additional half–spherical, half–prismatic ornament above them, all filigreed and perforated. Bells suspended from long chains dangle from the two upper ornaments. Two flattened, rounded hexagonal segments surmount both spherical ornaments, and the entire central rod is surmounted by a clover–shaped screw of a type characteristic of Islamic art. Polygonal shafts.
The structural and decorative design of these Torah finials is reminiscent of Tunisian Jewish “gnadel” or “gandila”–type bridal headdress ornaments and earrings (for comparison, see: Kedem Auction Catalogue No. 81 (2021), Lot 86).
Height: 48 cm. Minor blemishes and soldering repairs. One strip missing from ornaments at end of central rod. Shafts may have been exchanged, but such shafts can be found in other 19th–century Tunisian Torah finials.
For further comparison, see also: Center for Jewish Art, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Item Nos. 3604, 3607, 248461, 27896.
Provenance: Private collection.
Case and finials for a Torah scroll. Iraq, [1923].
Wood covered with sheet silver, repoussé and engraved, parcel gilt; silver, cast and engraved; glass and paint; without the Torah scroll.
Ornate case, covered with a sheet of repoussé silver with repetitive geometric and vegetal motifs, typical of Iraqi Torah cases. The dome is made of alternating silver and gilt strips, while the pear–shaped ornament at the top is entirely gilded and decorated with chains and bells. A coronet of repetitive vegetal motif surrounds the dome.
Two strips of text at the top and bottom of case, with a dedicatory inscription: "This case and Torah scroll are in the memory of the young boy Yaakov Aharon Abdal Yitzchak Elisha, permission is granted to the owners of the case and Torah scroll to take it out and place it elsewhere".
Additional, decorated dedicatory inscription inside case, on mirrored glass plaques: "This case and Torah scroll are dedicated in the memory of the young boy Yaakov Aharon Abdal Yitzchak Shashua, d. on Shabbat 21st Nissan 1923".
Enclosed with the case are a pair of matching finials, in typical Iraqi style. Chains with bells on each finial.
Height: 96 cm. Diameter: 28 cm. Height of finials: 22 cm.
Provenance: Private collection.
Torah pointer. Tunisia or Algeria, [early 20th century].
Silver; engraved.
The upper part of the pointer is rectangular and very narrow, with a ring and chain at the end; the lower part is flat, and tapers towards the wrist. Decorated with a vegetal pattern on one side, and with a dedication on the other: "Dedicated in the memory of Khalifa Kahloun Gracia".
Length: 25 cm (without chain).
Provenance: Private collection.