Belt and three belt buckles. Syria, [late 19th or early 20th century].
Silver (parcel gilt), filigree and granulation; silver, cast and engraved; beads; cotton fabric.
1. Belt. Made from strap of cotton fabric in shades of white and light brown with twenty identical filigreed silver ornaments sewn on. Elegant buckle, composed of five layers of ornaments, filigreed in vegetal patterns, surmounted by crescent-shaped ornament with inlaid turquoise stones. Three small pendants suspended. Closed with hook (without corresponding loop). Marked (Ottoman hallmarks). 77X11 cm.
2. Small belt buckle, [19th century]. Consists of two identical links, decorated in filigree and granulation and inlaid with red and light blue beads. Closed with hook, covered with small ornament surmounted by bird. 18th- and 19th-century coins suspended from bottom. 13X5 cm.
3. Small belt buckle. Composed of five layers of silver and filigree silver ornaments, with vegetal patterns and with blue bead inlaid in middle. 8X7 cm.
4. Small belt buckle. Consists of two identical droplet-shaped links ("boteh" or paisleys). Decorated in filigree and granulation. Dome-shaped ornament covering hook. 8.5X2.5 cm.
References: The Arts and Crafts of Syria, p. 94; Sephardi Jews in the Ottoman Empire, plates 39-40; A World of Belts, pp. 119-21.

Two silver belts. Turkey, Ottoman Empire, [19th or early 20th century].
Silver (marked), cast and engraved; filigree and granulation; niello.
1. Belt, marked with Ottoman silver hallmarks. Consisting of fourteen silver links connected to one another by hinges. Eleven of the links decorated in niello with vegetal patterns, and with the Tughra seal of the Ottoman ruler, the coat of arms of the Ottoman Empire, and an urban scene with a minaret. Belt hinges covered by ornaments. Elegant buckle, with three small suspended pendants. Three last links with perforations shaped like keyholes for buttoning belt. 77X7 cm.
2. Belt, marked with silver hallmarks originating from Van, Turkey; Armenian manufacturer. Consisting of fourteen silver links connected to one another by hinges. Twelve of the links engraved with vegetal patterns and with elliptical or droplet-shaped central bosses. Belt hinges covered by ornaments, some missing. Two last links with perforations shaped like keyholes for buttoning belt. Hook missing. 74X3.5 cm.

Alms box. "Holy Society" of the Küfecis guild, [Hasköy], Istanbul, [late 19th century].
Silver (marked thrice), cast and engraved.
Cylindrical alms box, shaped like a small pitcher, with a concave lid, connected by a hinge, slotted to allow deposit of small change, and with small hook for opening. Handle in shape of twisted branch.
Side of box decorated with branches and flowers, and with engraved Hebrew dedicatory inscription, enclosed within three elliptical medallions: "… The Holy society of küfevis [!], Moshe Ya'ish […] Rabbi Shemuel Denan […] Avraham Mailruzado […] and Rabbi Ye'udah Fereira […]".
The charity represented by this alms box served members of Küfecis guild, which was probably an organization representing peddlers, possibly fruit and vegetable vendors, who carried their merchandise either in a basket slung over the back, or inside a case on wheels.
The Istanbul-based Küfecis guild is mentioned a number of times in a collection of documents originating with the charitable organizations of another guild, specifically the Kaïkçis ("boat owners") guild, which was a parent guild that provided seafaring transportation services to the Jewish guilds that required them. Because the city of Istanbul and its suburbs occupy parts of three distinct regions separated by two broad channels, namely the Golden Horn Estuary and the Bosphorus Strait, their inhabitants were in need of cheap and speedy transport services which were provided by small sea taxis that ferried back and forth from place to place; a boat such as this was known in Turkish as kaïk.
On the basis of these documents (dated 1835, 1900, and 1911) – part of the Collection of Prof. Rabbi Meir Benayahu, Jerusalem – it appears that the Küfecis guild was based in Hasköy, formerly a village on the outskirts of Istanbul that was home to a sizable segment of the Jewish community following the Expulsion from Spain, and today a residential quarter of the city. Some of these documents are cited in their entirety in an article (in Hebrew) by Prof. Yaron Ben-Naeh entitled "Charity and Benevolence on the Banks of the Bosphorus".
Height: 10.5 cm. Width: 10.5 cm.
A similar alms box of the "Holy Society of Küfecis" can be found in the Israel Museum Collection, item no. B51.05.0287; see Sephardi Jews in the Ottoman Empire, item no. 38.
Reference: Yaron Ben-Naeh, "Charity and Benevolence on the Banks of the Bosphorus: Benevolent Societies of the Kaïkçis in Istanbul" (Hebrew), in: Joseph R. Hacker and Yaron Harel (eds.), "The Scepter Shall Not Depart from Judah: Leadership, Rabbinate, and Community in Jewish History, Studies Presented to Professor Simon Schwarzfuchs," Bialik Institute, Jerusalem, 2011 (Hebrew).
Purchased in Istanbul in 2003.

Qawas, mace-like staff of the type used by official Ottoman guardians and gatekeepers. [Ottoman Empire / Palestine, early 20th century].
Silver, stamped and engraved; painted wood.
Long wooden mace-like staff, with upper part coated with silver – massive, conical, eight-sided head and narrow cylindrical band, all adorned with strips of leaves and flowers.
The term "qawas" is defined, in general, as the guardian or gatekeeper of a large, important institution, or the emissary of an embassy or consulate. Over time, the term began to be applied to the actual object – the mace – and not just the official holding it. The qawas was in use in the Ottoman Empire, and in some parts of Palestine, late as the early decades of the 20th century. They were also owned and used by Qawas officials who were in the service of Jewish persons, such as the chief rabbis.
Length: 120 cm. Maximum width: 6 cm. Warping and minor blemishes to silver.

Embroidered oval fabric. Ottoman Empire, [early 20th century].
Linen, cotton and silk embroidery thread, metal thread.
Oval fabric entirely embroidered with thread in shades of cream, brown, blue, and purple. At center, Star of David, encircled by vegetal patterns and enclosing Hebrew word "Zion," encircled in turn by band with Hebrew name "Jerusalem" (four times) and circlets, in recurrent pattern. Metal-thread embroidery in margins. This embroidered fabric may have served as a sukkah decoration or, alternatively, as a matzah cover on seder night.
43X38 cm. Good condition. Some stains. Some unraveling.
Reference: Sephardi Jews in the Ottoman Empire: Aspects of Material Culture, p. 90; Shimmering Gold, the Splendor of Gold Embroidered Textiles, pp. 68-69.