Auction 95 Early Printed Books, Chassidut and Kabbalah, Letters and Manuscripts, Engravings and Jewish Ceremonial Objects
Pair of Torah finials. Romania, 1926-1937.
Silver; cast and repoussé (marked); filigree; gilt.
Pair of large, heavy, solid finials. Two-tiered octagonal body, comprised of rectangular filigree panels with floral ornaments and arched windows. The lower tier, surrounded by a balcony, features eight birds resting in its windows, with bells in their beaks (birds attached with springs, allowing for movement). Coronet of filigree leaves above upper tier, with a circle of eight additional birds (holes for bells in their beaks), surmounted by a large, crown-shaped ornament with a large bell in the center. Resting on large, cylindrical, widening shafts.
Romanian silver ceremonial items are not particularly prevalent, especially those produced in Romania itself (items used in Romania were frequently produced in Austro-Hungary).
The Moldovan family collection features an identical pair of Torah finials, originating from Ukraine, which bear a dedicatory inscription dated to 1890; see: Mirror of Jewish life: a selection from the Moldovan Family Collection. Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv University, 1999, item no. 40.
Height: 37 cm. Overall good condition. Bends and several breaks to filigree. Bells lacking (primarily to lower tier).
Provenance: Estate of R. Zeev Wolf Gottlieb (1910-1983, brother-in-law of Rabbi Dr. David Moses Rosen, chief rabbi of Romania).
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Erect Hanukkah lamp. [Unknown provenance, ca. mid-20th century].
Silver (marked: “835”).
This Hanukkah lamp has an ornate main stem rising up from a round base. Surmounting the main stem is an ornament in the shape of an eagle. A removable servant light is suspended from one side of the main stem. Suspended from the other side is an oil pitcher, also removable. The oil fonts have removable lids.
Diameter at base: 16 cm. Maximum height: 42 cm. Maximum width: 43 cm. Weight: 1.92 kg. Good condition. Minor blemishes. Fissure and small fracture to middle of main stem.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
“Havdalah” spicebox. Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 1837. Dedicatory inscription (apparently from Amsterdam) dated 1890.
Cast silver, turned, perforated, and engraved (bearing marks designating quality, date [year], and maker: JGG [Jan George Grebe Jr.], active Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 1827-1861).
Caster (silver table vessel for sprinkling sugar), repurposed as a “Havdalah” spice vessel. With round base and pitcher-shaped body; surmounted by removable lid – perforated with small holes to enable sniffing the spices inside – in turn surmounted by an ornament in the form of a hand grasping a dumbbell. Vessel engraved with dedicatory inscription (in Dutch and Hebrew): “Aangeboden / door de Vereeniging / Ahavat Hessed [provided by the ‘Ahavat Hessed’ Organization] / 5650 [1890]…”
In the possession of the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana Jewish cultural and historical collection are two original documents issued by the “Ahavat Hessed UMenahem Avelim” Hevra Kadisha of Amsterdam, dated to the first half of the 19th century; presumably, the present “Havdalah” spicebox is associated with this particular organization.
For similar Dutch “Havdalah” spice vessels, see: Joods Historisch Museum, Amsterdam, item nos. M001387, M001323, M010676, M010674, M010675, and M011862.
Height: Approx. 12.5 cm; Maximum diameter: Approx. 5 cm. Good condition. Minor blemishes. Minor soldering repairs and dents.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
“Havdalah” candlestick. Schoonhoven, the Netherlands, [ca. 1924-30].
Turned silver (bearing marks designating quality and maker: “PW6” – Pleijt & de Wilde).
“Havdalah” candlestick which had belonged to a Dutch-Jewish family of Portuguese origin. With round base. Surmounted by a socket supporting a removable candle holder enclosed by four silver rods meant to secure the “Havdalah” candle. The silver rods are in turn encircled by a spiraling silver coil with a leaf-shaped ornament at its tip.
For comparison, see: Joods Historisch Museum, Amsterdam, item nos. M001319 and M015141. Also see following item.
Height: 18 cm. Good condition. Remnants of glue or paint on interior side of base.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
“Havdalah” candlestick. Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 1930.
Turned silver (bearing marks designating date [year], quality, and maker: "AF4” – A. Chr. Fontani Jr.; plaster.
Small “Havdalah” candlestick which had belonged to a Dutch-Jewish family of Portuguese origin. With round base bearing granulated rim. Surmounted by four silver rods – meant to secure the “Havdalah” candle – encircled by a spiraling silver coil with a leaf-shaped ornament at its tip. The base is weighted with a plaster cast filling.
For comparison, see: Joods Historisch Museum, Amsterdam, item no. M015141 (in which the spiraling silver coil is shaped like a snake); see also: item no. M001319.
Height: 14.5 cm. Good condition.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Pair of candlesticks, by Hans Jacob Ettlinger. Israel, [ca. 1950s].
Silver; turned, pierced and soldered (marked: H.Y.E. Jerusalem, 925, Hand Made).
Tall, conical candlesticks with high, wide base. Pierced inscription: "Lichvod Shabbat VeYom Tov".
The silversmith Hans Jacob Ettlinger studied in the metal department of New Bezalel in 1937-1940 (and presumably even until 1942), which was headed by Ludwig Yehuda Wolpert and David Heinz Gumbel. The influence of his teachers is apparent in the modernistic quality of the candlesticks, as well as in the use of Hebrew typography as a decorative element.
Height: 23 cm. Good condition.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Decorated pair of silver cases for phylacteries, Russia/Poland. [second half of 19th century].
Silver, cut, soldered, and engraved (marked several times with quality mark and maker’s mark: the initials “AR” enclosed in a rectangle; later Dutch import mark); velvet lining.
Pair of decorated cases for housing phylacteries, with each case consisting of a cube-shaped box rising from a flat base. The two parts of each base are connected by means of a hinge, enabling opening and closing. Exteriors (other than bottoms of bases) entirely decorated in matching floral and vegetal patterns; a four-armed version of the Hebrew letter “shin” is engraved on the case for the phylacteries to be worn on the head. The interiors of the boxes are lined with dark red velvet.
Height: 4.5 cm. Length: 8 cm. Width: 5 cm. Good condition. Slight blemishes to velvet lining of interiors.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Mezuzah case – “jitah del mezuzah.” [Algeria or Morocco, early decades of the 20th century].
Silver sheet, cut and repoussé, mounted with nails onto wooden panel.
At center is the symbol of the seven-branched Menorah, with images of a pitcher of oil and the Temple vessels at its base. The Menorah is flanked by columns surmounted by an arch, and is encircled by a pattern of tendrils, branches, and flowers. Underneath the arch is the Hebrew word “Shaddai” (one of the names of the Almighty). Case surmounted by suspension ring.
Height (incl. wooden panel): approx. 25 cm. Width: 16.5 cm. Good condition. Wear to edges of wooden panel. Fracture to length of back of wooden panel, reinforced with rectangular strips of cardboard, nailed on. Without the mezuzah scroll.
Reference: “Jewish Life in Morocco”, by Aviva Müller-Lancet. Exhibition catalogue, 2nd edition. Jerusalem, the Israel Museum, 1983 (Hebrew; French edition published 1986), p. 60.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
“Darbuka”, drum used as a musical instrument at weddings and other joyous celebrations, [North Africa (Tunisia?), early decades of the 20th century].
Painted earthenware; leather; string and synthetic cord.
Earthenware drum with a broad upper opening and a narrow leg, tapering gently downward toward the base. The opening on top is covered with a circular sheet of leather for percussion. The body of the drum is encircled with decorative bands and grooves, carved into the ceramic material. It is colorfully painted with patterns of flowers and tendrils. Inscribed on the bottom of the spherical part of the body is a dedicatory inscription in Judeo-Arabic: “Lahaba’ab Walsa’ha’ab : Ul-masu’ah : Ladamt : Farh :” [“To the beloved and to the friends, may you be forever joyful”].
The words in the dedicatory inscription derive, among other contexts, from a well-known Tunisian Jewish wedding ritual, namely the special celebration conducted following the wedding ceremony to honor the guests and all individuals who contributed wedding gifts. Musicians played a decidedly prominent role in this particular celebration; the guests would gravitate toward tables overladen with all manner of delectable dishes while being pleasantly serenaded by the musicians. The guests would customarily shower the families of the bride and groom with monetary gifts to help allay the burdensome financial costs of the wedding – including payment for the musicians – and would hand their donations to the master of ceremonies. The emcee would then bombastically announce – often in rhyme – the sum gifted by any given individual or couple, in honor of the bride and groom and in honor of the “haba’ab” and “sa’ha’ab” – “the beloved and the friends” – that is, the guests attending the wedding.
For information regarding this custom and ceremony, see: “Jewish Communities in the East in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries: The Life Cycle, ” by Shalom Sabar. Jerusalem, Israel Ministry of Education and the Ben Zvi Institute, 2006 (Hebrew), p. 262.
Height: 38.5 cm. Maximum diameter: 25 cm. Good condition. Minor fractures and fissures, mostly to lower rim of leg. Blemishes to paint. Tiny holes and minor scratches to leather. Two small drills towards the lower part of the earthenware body.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
1. Amulet pendant. Stamped and soldered silver; gilt. [Iran, 19th century].
Round amulet with two suspension rings. Stamped with identical inscriptions and designs on both faces. The inscriptions bear the initials of the (Hebrew) lyrics to the “piyut” (liturgical poem) “Ana Bi-Koach”, followed by the initials to the liturgical (Hebrew) words of blessing and praise for the Almighty, “Barukh Shem K’vod Malkhuto Li-Olam Va-Ed”, arranged in two concentric circles. At center is a decoration apparently meant to look like a flower. The border consists of an inner circle of dots and an outer circle with a hatched pattern.
Diameter: 3.5 cm.
Provenance: The Ignat Mahler Collection (“Valuable Judaica: From the Collection of the Late Ignat Mahler”, Parke-Bernet Galleries, 1970, Lot No. 24).
2. Amulet or pseudo-amulet. Engraved silver. [Iran, ca. 1948].
Rectangular amulet with cut corners, engraved on both sides. On one side, in Hebrew, are the names of angels along with inscriptions (some faded) believed to impart protection against evil: “By virtue of these names … may You have mercy upon … and grant him plenitude … and grace and benevolence and may you rescue (misspelled) him from all manner of trouble and distress…” The other side features something of a “magic square” bearing a text or formula apparently borrowed from a “ketubah” document: “On the fifth day of the week – the eighteenth of the month of Iyar, the year 5708 [May 27, 1948] since the Creation of the World…”
8.5X9.5 cm.
Purchased in Tehran, Iran, 1971.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
“Shavuos’el” / “roizeleh”, papercut, painted in watercolor, for the holiday of Shavu’ot, by Yosef Zvi Geiger. [Safed], 1914.
Papercut, hand-made and painted in watercolor, with gilt calligraphy. The work centers around the (Hebrew) words “In Honor of the Holiday of Shavu’ot, Festival of the Giving of the Torah” in large gilt letters. Surrounding the letters and intertwined within them are slender branches bearing flowers, buds, and leaves. Birds are perched on the branches. Inscribed (in Hebrew) on the back of the papercut: “Made in Year 1914”.
The art of papercutting is believed to be the quintessential expression of European Jewish folk art. Eastern European Jewish papercuts assumed many different forms and exhibited a wealth of themes and motifs, to serve a wide range of purposes. They were used as “Mizrah” and “Shiviti” plaques; “Yahrzeit” plaques; “Shir HaMa’alot” (“Song of Ascent”, Psalms 121) plaques, believed to give protection to childbearing mothers and newborns; “roizelakh” (rose-shaped ornaments) to decorate the household during the Shavu’ot holiday; “Ushpizin” plaques for the Sukkot holiday; and other forms of items.
The present papercut represents a local "Eretz Israel" variation on the type of "roizelakh" made specifically for Shavu'ot; unlike its Eastern European counterparts, this one is not symmetrical, nor is it laid out according to the typical plan of Shavu'ot roizelakh from Eastern Europe. Nor does it follow the design of other, more traditional, Shavu'ot roizelakh made by Geiger himself. But it does in fact resemble "Mizrah" and "Shiviti" papercut plaques, and its creator, Yosef Zvi Geiger, lived and was active among the inhabitants of the Old Jewish Yishuv in Safed, many of whose members had brought with them the traditions of the Eastern European Jewish communities from which they originated.
See following items.
23.5X24 cm. Overall good condition. Pinholes to margins. Few stains and creases. Slight tears. Small repairs with adhesive tape.
Yosef Zvi Geiger (1870-1944), native of Safed. One of the most accomplished and prominent public figures involved with Safed’s Torah and charity institutions. Served as general secretary of Safed’s “kolel” institutions, and was influential in running them. His home served as a regular meeting place for the “gaba’im” (managers) of the various “kolelim” and congregations. The Yishuv’s foremost newspapers – including “Havatzelet, ” “HaLevanon, ” and “HaZefirah” – all regularly published his articles. His penmanship and elegant calligraphy rendered his handwriting eminently legible; among his many other duties, he served as a “sofer” (ritual scribe) for the kolelim, and assisted illiterate members of the community by writing letters on their behalf. Geiger was renowned in his hometown of Safed for being both a gifted scribe and talented painter, entrusted with producing beautifully scripted documents. Among his extant works are splendid “Mizrah” and “Shiviti” plaques; calligraphic and illustrated title pages for “donors’ books”; illuminated donors’ certificates and letters of greeting; and papercuts in the Eastern European style. His contemporaries in Safed glowingly recall the beautiful marriage contracts he produced for the town’s couples, decorated with gilt lettering and with floral and vegetal patterns; and artworks he created to adorn the walls of the local synagogues, including gilt-lettered plaques. Among his many special talents was his ability to inscribe micrographic texts onto grains of wheat; he could fit entire biblical verses onto a single grain. In the (Hebrew) book of memoirs by Yosef Zvi’s grandson, Benjamin Geiger, entitled “One of the Elders of Safed, ” Benjamin writes that his grandfather also specialized in engraving in stone, and his lettering appears on a number of Safed’s headstones.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
“Shavuos’el” / “roizeleh”, papercut for the holiday of Shavu’ot, by Yosef Zvi Geiger. [Safed], Sivan 1915.
Symmetrical papercut, hand-made and painted in watercolor, and decorated in gilt. The work centers around a rounded octagonal star with decorated sides, enclosed within a circle. The surface and corners are all cut in patterns of flowers, branches, and leaves. In the middle of the star is a colored pitcher; rising out of the pitcher are branches with flowers, and a pair of birds hovers in the middle foreground. The leaves encircling the pitcher and birds bears a gilt (Hebrew) inscription: “The Law [Torah] of the Lord is perfect / restoring / the soul… / the precepts of the Lord / are right / rejoicing / the heart…” (Psalms 19:7-8). The papercut is titled and dated in pencil (in Hebrew) on the back: “Made in Sivan Year 5765 [1915], time of the Great War / a year of wars [involving] most of the world, a year of moratorium”.
See also previous item and following items.
23.5X24 cm. Overall good condition. Pinholes to margins. Few stains and creases. Minor repairs with adhesive tape.
Yosef Zvi Geiger (1870-1944), native of Safed. One of the most accomplished and prominent public figures involved with Safed’s Torah and charity institutions. Served as general secretary of Safed’s “kolel” institutions, and was influential in running them. His home served as a regular meeting place for the “gaba’im” (managers) of the various “kolelim” and congregations. The Yishuv’s foremost newspapers – including “Havatzelet, ” “HaLevanon, ” and “HaZefirah” – all regularly published his articles. His penmanship and elegant calligraphy rendered his handwriting eminently legible; among his many other duties, he served as a “sofer” (ritual scribe) for the kolelim, and assisted illiterate members of the community by writing letters on their behalf. Geiger was renowned in his hometown of Safed for being both a gifted scribe and talented painter, entrusted with producing beautifully scripted documents. Among his extant works are splendid “Mizrah” and “Shiviti” plaques; calligraphic and illustrated title pages for “donors’ books”; illuminated donors’ certificates and letters of greeting; and papercuts in the Eastern European style. His contemporaries in Safed glowingly recall the beautiful marriage contracts he produced for the town’s couples, decorated with gilt lettering and with floral and vegetal patterns; and artworks he created to adorn the walls of the local synagogues, including gilt-lettered plaques. Among his many special talents was his ability to inscribe micrographic texts onto grains of wheat; he could fit entire biblical verses onto a single grain. In the (Hebrew) book of memoirs by Yosef Zvi’s grandson, Benjamin Geiger, entitled “One of the Elders of Safed, ” Benjamin writes that his grandfather also specialized in engraving in stone, and his lettering appears on a number of Safed’s headstones.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.