Auction 94 Part 1 Important Items from the Gross Family Collection
Set of four printed Sukkah plaques. [Livorno, Italy: Eliezer Saadon], [1782].
Print on paper.
Set comprising four printed plaques designed as sukkah decorations; each plaque features different verses connected to the sukkah and Sukkot. The plaque borders are comprised of typographic ornaments typical of books printed in Livorno in that period. A medallion at the foot of each plaque, decorated with flower bouquets and putti, states the year of printing. Both the text and ornaments appear to be woodcut.
The custom of decorating the sukkah with ornamented plaques developed over the course of the 18th century. The plaques mostly contained verses or texts related to Sukkot, alongside illustrations, ornaments and blessings. These plaques, essentially temporary decorations used only during the course of the festival, were not well conserved. This is a unique exemplar of a set which was preserved in good condition (only one plaque from this set is found in the NLI, from the Valmadonna collection).
Approx. 42X30 cm. Fair condition, varies. Stains, tears, folding marks, creases and wear. Open tears – slightly affecting illustrations and text – professionally restored.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 038.011.001.
Illuminated sukkah plaque, with the text of the prayer recited upon entering and exiting the sukkah. [Presumably Germany, 18th century].
Ink and paint on paper.
Leaf – handwritten and illuminated plaque, with the text of the prayer recited upon entering the sukkah. The prayer occupies the center of the leaf, inscribed in square characters in sepia ink. The text is set in a wide architectonic border comprised of a pair of tall pillars with vases of fruit and flowers, a pair of jugs with trees, rocaille and other rococo vegetal motifs – all hand-illustrated and colored. A sukkah is depicted at the top of the leaf, with a dome-shaped roof comprising branches, and elegantly clad figures sitting inside (two additional figures in contemporary dress outside the sukkah). This depiction of the sukkah bears a great resemblence to a woodcut appearing in "Sefer HaMinhagim", printed in Amsterdam (1768). At the foot of the leaf, in a decorated medallion, additional prayer recited on the last day of Sukkot.
The illustration is signed in the lower margin (signature indistinct): "gezeichnet v. P. A. Lof----" [drawn by…]. The present plaque was presumably inspired by a printed Sukkah plaque (engraving), printed in Germany in the 18th century; the illustrations were accurately reproduced, including the fine lines seen in the original engraving. Compare: Sotheby's, 17 December 2013, item no. 115 (additional copy in the JTS library).
37X30 cm. Fair condition. Stains. Folding marks, tears and creases. Marginal open tears. Minor tears affecting text.
Reference:
1. Geschichten von Gegenständen, by Eva Grabherr. Tel Aviv, Jüdisches Museum, 1994, pp. 146-147.
2. Skies of Parchment, Seas of ink: Jewish illuminated manuscripts, edited by M. Epstein. Princeton, Princeton University Press, 2015, p. 200.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 038.011.004.
This item is documented on the Center for Jewish Art (CJA) website, item no. 48977.
A diorama, or paper theater, depicting the Sukkot festival meal; composed of six hand-colored engravings, following Bernard Picart. [Augsburg: Martin Engelbrecht, mid-18th century].
Hand-colored engraving, cardboard.
Diorama following Bernard Picart, representing a Jewish family in a Sukkah (the original illustration appeared as a normal engraving in Picart's book, Religious Ceremonies and Customs of All the Peoples of the World).
The present diorama is made of six layers: each layer includes an engraving with various details from the full picture, mounted on a thick board. By erecting the layers horizontally, the three-dimensional effect is shown – Picart's full picture, resembling a theater scene with depth.
In the first layer the Sukkah is perceived from outside, with doors wide open; in the second layer appear the title "Jüdisches Lauberhütten Fest / Fête des Tabernacles" and three guests – two men and a lady, entering the Sukkah; in the third layer appear the Sukkah decorations, a male and female servant, and a pair of lit candlesticks; in the fourth layer appear the festival table, the rest of the family and Sukkah decorations; in the fifth layer appear two additional servants carrying two plates to the table; in the sixth layer appears the window of the Sukkah.
Dioramas such as the present item appeared at the start of the 18th century, and were purchased as wedding gifts or toys for children. The dioramas were composed of a number of layers and set up in a dedicated "peep show box" through which the engraving appeared to "come to life" and become a theater scene. The most important of the diorama printers was the engraver and publisher Martin Engelbrecht (1684-1756), who among other dioramas printed two dedicated to a Jewish theme – the dedication of the Portuguese synagogue in Amsterdam, and the Sukkot holiday meal (both following Bernard Picart's illustrations); the Sukkot diorama is the less common of the two, and to the best of our knowledge, it is not exist in any other private collection.
Six parts, approx. 16X21 cm. Without margins (in the copy in the Jewish Museum in Amsterdam, there are larger margins with the printer's details; see item no. M000635). Good condition. Light stains and damages. A paper Menorah is missing from the fourth part. The parts are glued to new carboard sheets (slightly larger than the engravings).
Exhibitions:
1. Pots and Pans: Memories from Grandma's kitchen, by Yael Wiesel. [Ashdod], Museum of Philistine Culture, 2014 (Hebrew).
2. Only on Paper, Six Centuries of Judaica from the Gross Family Collection. Chicago, Columbia College, 2005.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 038.011.043.
Two papercuts for hanging in the Sukkah, produced by Yitzchak Baruch son of Yechiel Michel. [Germany or Poland], Sunday Parashat Ekev 1855.
Papercut; ink on paper; colored paper.
Rare exemplar of a pair of papercuts for hanging in the sukkah (other such exemplars are not known), designed, cut and scribed by the same artist.
1. Papercut with handwritten text of Eruv Tavshilin (for a Yom Tov followed by Shabbat). Rectangular papercut, comprised of delicate vegetal patterns incorporating many animals: pairs of various types of birds, lions, dear, foxes (?) and unicorns. Arabesque ornament in each corner. Backed with colored paper (black, red and gold).
The Eruv Tavshilin blessing is scribed under the upper border; a central panel contains the Eruv Tavshilin text in Aramaic. The artist signed his name above the lower border "…Yitzchak Baruch son of R. Yechiel Michel: produced and completed on Sunday Parashat Ekev 1855". Although this papercut contains no direct reference to the festival of Sukkot, due to its similarity to the Ushpizin papercut (below), it appears that it was also intended as a Sukkah decoration. Additionally, during Sukkot 1855, the second day of Yom Tov fell on Erev Shabbat.
2. Papercut with handwritten order of Ushpizin.
Square papercut topped with an architectural arch. Comprised of delicate vegetal patterns incorporating many animals (similar to no. 1, above): pairs of various types of birds, lions, dear, griffins, and more. Arabesque ornaments at the base of the upper arch. Backed with colored paper (black, red and gold).
Text recited upon entering the Sukkah scribed in a goblet-shaped panel at the top of the papercut. The text of the order of Ushpizin occupies the center of the papercut, beginning in a central, gate-shaped panel and continuing in eight rectangular panels placed on both sides of the central panel. Although the date and name of the artist who produced this papercut are not stated, its similarity to the above papercut (no. 1) leaves no doubt as to the fact that they form an organic pair.
Due to their ephemeral character and exposure to the elements, Sukkah decorations did not survive in large quantities. Especially rare are Sukkah decorations in form of papercuts, and they form a subgenre both in the category of Jewish papercuts and in the category of Sukkah plaques (which were usually either printed or hand-illustrated). This pair of papercuts may have originally belonged to a larger set. See also items no. 42 (papercut), an nos. 38-39 (Sukkah plaques) in the present catalogue.
No.1: 32X25 cm; no. 2: 39X34.5 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains and dampness damage, affecting text. Papercut no. 2 lacking several paper parts, semi-professionally restored. Some of the colored paper backing the papercut may have been replaced over the years.
Reference and exhibitions:
1. Siddur Klal Israel, edited by Yohanan Fried and Yoel Rappel. Tel Aviv, Mesora Laam, 1991, p, 274 (Hebrew).
2. Ma BaMigzeret. Organization of Paper Cutters in Israel, Issue no. 5, March 2015 (illustrated on the cover).
3. Jewish Tradition in Papercuts, by Naomi Shapira. Kfar Haoranim, Matan, 2018, pp. 42-43 (Hebrew, English, and Russian).
4. Jewish papercuts, by Joseph and Yehudit Shadur. Jerusalem, Gefen, 1994, pp. 62-63, items no. 97-98.
5. Jüdische Lebenswelten / Berliner Festspiele, eidted by Andreas Nachama. Frankfurt am Main, Jüdischer Verlag, 1991-1992, nos. 3/62 and 3/63 (Illustrated).
6. Tradition!: Celebration and Ritual in Jewish Life, edited by Vicki Weber. [New York], Behrman House, 2000.
7. Traditional Jewish papercuts: an Inner World of Art and Symbol, by Joseph and Yehudit Shadur. Hanover, University Press of New England, [2002], p. 82.
8. Only on Paper, Six Centuries of Judaica from the Gross Family Collection. Chicago, Columbia College, 2005.
9. Gilded Lions and Jeweled Horses, by Murray Zimiles. Waltham, Mass., Brandeis University Press / New York, American Folk Art Museum, [2007], pp. 76-77.
10. Futur antérieur: l'avant-garde et le livre yiddish, by Nathalie Hazan-Brunet et al. Paris, Skira Flammarion, 2009, p. 76.
11. Jodendom: een boek vol verhalen, by Edward van Voolen. Amsterdam, Museumshop De Nieuwe Kerk, 2011, item no. 83.
12. Skies of Parchment, Seas of Ink: Jewish Illuminated Manuscripts, edited by M. Epstein. Princeton, Princeton University Press, 2015, p. 200, figure 236 (the Ushpizin papercut; illustrated).
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 036.011.006, 036.011.007.
The papercuts are documented on the Center for Jewish Art (CJA) website, item nos. 48927, and 48928.