Auction 97 Part 1 The Solomon David Schloss Collection (1815-1911)
Miniature volume in Spanish including a siddur and pocket calendar, both in Spanish, in a splendid binding with silver ornaments and buckles. Amsterdam, 17th century.
Libro de oraciones de mez y la orden de Hanukah, y Purim, dispuesto con toda curiozidad. Amsterdam: David de Crasto [i.e. Castro] Tartaz, 1663. Two pocket calendars for Hebrew years 5423-5431 [1662-1671] and 5431-5439 [1670-1679]. Spanish.
Both the siddur and pocket calendars are printed entirely in Spanish, and were specifically intended for Marranos (conversos) and other members of Amsterdam’s Spanish-Portuguese Jewish communities.
The binding is bordered in silver thread, with a frame marked by serrated and undulating patterns. The book is locked with a pair of silver hinges, with buckle-like silver clasps, above and below, bearing handsomely styled ornaments cut in a vegetal pattern, spanning the thickness of the block (unmarked). The spine is divided into four compartments by decorative lines in a pattern that matches the border frame.
Siddur: [13], 165 [i.e. 265], [1] leaves; calendars: [6], [6] leaves, 9.5 cm. Height of binding: 10 cm. Good condition. Gilt edges, with gauffered floral pattern.
Exhibition: Basel, Jewish Museum of Switzerland, JMS 1017.
Provenance:
1. Collection of Peter Castle (1922-2011), great-grandson of Solomon David Schloss; acquired prior to 1981.
2. Heirs of the above.
Machzor in large format. Presumably, intended for the synagogue cantor. Italian script; square Hebrew script, (partly vocalized), and semi-cursive Hebrew script. Corrections and glosses inserted throughout the book, in cursive Italian script. Title page illuminated in architectonic style, inspired by copper engravings made for title pages of printed books; inside the architectonic frame, the Hebrew liturgical poem "Adon Olam" is jotted down in handwriting. Initials, decorative text openings, and titles with letters adorned with "tagim", and with crowns, flowers, and frames. Some of the instructions are inscribed inside cartouches adorned with ceremonial crowns. Large, colorful carnations appear at the end of the piyyut "HaYom Te’amtzeinu".
Colophon on final page, inscribed in Hebrew: "And thus all the work was completed on this day, Tuesday, 6 Nisan, [1732].
On the blank sheets at the end of the machzor there are Hebrew notations relating to family matters in Italian script, written by two writers: a note by Yehonatan Shlomo Hartom, dated 5516 (1755-1756), regarding the birth of his son Avraham Eliezer; and another note by Shlomo Moshe Yonah, dated to the month of Kislev, 5576 (late 1815), mentioning the passing of his father.
Tradition of the Apam Jewish Communities
"Apam" is a Hebrew acronym for the Italian "comune" (township) of Asti, the town of Fossano, and the village of Moncalvo – three small Jewish communities who together practiced what was known as "Minhag Apam". All three communities were established by Jewish exiles from France who settled in the Piemonte Region of Italy after being expelled from France in the 14th century. Once in Italy, most Jewish émigrés from France adopted the customs and traditions of the communities that absorbed them, and only the ones who settled in these three places insisted on clinging stubbornly to the French traditions they arrived with, thus preserving a very old version of French-Jewish prayer. The French version of prayer ("Nusach Tzarfat") is somewhat similar to "Nusach Ashkenaz", but differs from it both in its own particular versions of some of the prayers, and in the distinctive piyyutim that are peculiar to this tradition alone. Prayer books associated with the "Minhag Apam" tradition were never put into print or published by any printing press; thus, they survive only in manuscript form.
With regard to "Minhag Apam", most of the available academic literature is in Hebrew. For references to this literature, see Hebrew description.
The machzor presented here preserves the piyyutim and the particular version of prayer unique to "Minhag Apam" and the small Jewish communities it represents. These unique elements include a little-known version of "Kol Nidre"; the "Eten Tehilla La-El" introduction to Yom Kippur’s "Seder Ha-Avodah", and more. The following intriguing note appears (in Hebrew) on page 4: "And it is a praiseworthy practice of the people of Tzarfat that on Rosh HaShanah, prior to "LeDavid BeShanoto etc. [Psalms 36], they read ‘Mizmor yud-zayin’ [Psalms 17]…".
[244] pages, 40.5 cm. Wide margins. Thick, high-quality paper. Good condition. Stains, some with browning. Several leaves with remnants of mold or other fungus, restored. New binding (from early 1980s; rebound by the Jewish Museum of Switzerland, Basel).
Exhibition: Basel, Jewish Museum of Switzerland, JMS 1018.
Provenance:
1. Peter Castle (1922-2011). Purchased by Henry Levy (1887-1980), stepfather of Peter Charles Castle, in London, prior to WWII.
2. Heirs of the above.
Silver, cut, soldered, and engraved.
Hallmarks: · Maker's mark, the initials "AG" – Franz Anton Gutwein (active 1759-1805); · Augsburg’s municipal emblem with the letter "L".
Cylindrical candleholder soldered onto a fancy base with four perforations, through which tall cylindrical silver rods are inserted, enabling the candleholder and its base to be elevated by means of a small, silver ring-shaped handle. The rods are surmounted by flags. Just beneath the flags, the rods are held together by a silver plate with a large hole for a candle in its center. This plate matches the base of the candleholder beneath it, and is equipped with a large, ring-shaped handle. At the base of the rods is the spicebox, designed in the form of a shallow drawer. The entire contraption is supported by a wide, short-legged square base, adorned with delicate vegetal patterns consisting of flowers, leaves, and clumps of grapes. Matching patterns appear on the spicebox.
Some 20 items of Judaica created by the silversmith Franz Anton Gutwein are known, including roughly a dozen Torah shields, a few pairs of Torah finials, several kiddush cups, one spicebox, and one other havdalah vessel. Among other places, his works can be found in the collections of the Jewish Museum, New York, the Jewish Museum, Amsterdam, the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, Berkeley, and the Israel Museum, Jerusalem.
Height: 21 cm. Width at base: 7.5 cm. Good condition. Open fracture to handle of spicebox.
For comparison and for additional information, see: Crowning Glory, item nos. 50-53, 269; and Sotheby’s, Tel Aviv, December 9, 1999, lot no. 9.
Reference: Michele Klein, "The Havdalah Candle-holder", Ars Judaica, 2012, pages 46, 52, and 53.
Provenance:
1. Peter Castle (1922-2011), great-grandson of Solomon David Schloss, purchased in 1991.
2. Heir of the above.
Pewter, cast, soldered and engraved.
Touchmark: shield surmounted by crown, Strasbourg’s municipal emblem, flanked by the initials "IB" (probably for Jacques-Frédéric Borst, active 1769-1810).
Arched, undulating back plate, with circular opening near top. Soldered onto the lower central portion is a gracefully styled undulating ornament. Matching side panels. Broad drip pan with a row of tapering oil fonts soldered to its bottom.
A Hebrew inscription consisting of the Hanukkah prayer "HaNerot Halalu", recited or sung immediately following the lighting of the Hanukkah lights, is engraved onto the back plate. The prayer was unprofessionally inscribed here in square Hebrew script, with vocalization marks occasionally added. The circular hole at the top of the back plate is flanked by a symmetrical pair of engraved floral patterns. Remnants of a faded, indecipherable Hebrew inscription appear on the front of the drip pan.
Only a handful of pewter Hanukkah lamps inscribed with a prayer for the lighting of the Hanukkah lights on the back plate are known to exist. Included among these are three lamps belonging to the Collection of the Jewish Museum, New York (item nos. F2337, F2642, and F2724).
Height: 23 cm. Width: 19.5 cm. Fair condition. Old fractures and soldering repairs. Missing strips of metal mended with old repairs (causing damage to inscription on front of drip pan). No servant light. Remnants of a metal shelf that originally supported the row of oil fonts appear on the inner faces of the side panels.
For Hanukkah lamps of similar design, see: Musée alsacien, item nos. D.66.002.0.62 and D.66.002.0.63; Ester Muchawsky-Schnapper, "Les Juifs d'Alsace: Village, Tradition, émancipation / rédactrice", The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1991, item no. 37.
For a similar Hanukkah lamp by the same maker, see: Willy Lindwer, "The Beauty of Jewish Pewter", Fig. 13.
Provenance:
1. Peter Castle (1922-2011), great-grandson of Solomon David Schloss. Acquired from Galerie Potterat, Lausanne, Switzerland, 1993.
2. Heir of the above.
Silver, stamped, punched, and engraved.
(Marked: "15" and the initials "TB"; markings most likely false); gilt.
Consists of three silver plates; the farthest right and farthest left are both adorned on their outer edges with a fleur-de-lis, and the Hebrew inscription "Unetaneh Tokef / Kedushat HaYom" – the opening words of the famous piyyut recited during the Mussaf prayers of Rosh HsShanah and Yom Kippur – appears on them in relief. The middle plate bears the image of a crouched lion, in relief. The plate on the right is connected to the middle plate by means of a hook, and is thus detachable. The left plate is connected to the middle one by a hinge. The lines of perforations along the edges of the three plates are most likely meant to enable sewing them onto the sash.
Buckles of this type – typically adorned with images of lions or depictions of the Binding of Isaac – would often serve, on Yom Kippur, as a clasp for the avnet, the sash wrapped around the waist, over the kittel, the white robe worn by many Ashkenazi Jews on the High Holidays.
We are unfamiliar with parallel buckles of this particular design, apart from one identical item, part of a private collection in Tel Aviv. These buckles were likely products of the Jewish reawakening of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and a consequent trend toward a renewed interest in the Judaica market (for more on this subject, see the introduction to this catalogue, p. 15; in addition, see next item).
Width: 19 cm. Height: approx. 3 cm. Good condition.
Exhibition: Basel, Jewish Museum of Switzerland, JMS 1046.
Provenance:
1. Peter Castle (1922-2011).
2. Heirs of the above.
Silver, cast and engraved (unmarked); silver sheet, soldered and perforated; granulation; steel.
Knife handle bears illustrations on both its sides of images connected to the circumcision ritual: on one side is a depiction of a "mohel" (circumcisionist) holding a knife, while the other side bears an illustration of the "sandak" (godfather), holding the newborn in his arms. Inscription engraved on lower borders (beneath illustrations): "… Yosef son of / Noah Mayov (?) (Hebrew)."
The handle is hollow, and houses a small, hidden container for powder (used both as a disinfectant and to stop bleeding). At the bottom of the container is a removable lid, and at the top is a crown-shaped ornament which also surmounts the handle, and serves as a knob for pulling out the container. Both the knob and the sides of the handle are adorned with rows of spherules, created by granulation.
We are unfamiliar with parallel items resembling this knife. It was likely a product of the Jewish reawakening at the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and a consequent trend toward a renewed interest in the Judaica market (for more on this subject, see the introduction to this catalogue, p. 15; in addition, see previous item).
Length: approx. 15.5 cm. Width: 2.5 cm. Thickness: 2 cm. Good condition.
Exhibition: Basel, Jewish Museum of Switzerland, JMS 1044.
Provenance:
1. Ignat Mahler Collection.
2. Peter Castle (1922-2011), acquired at a public auction in 1970 ("Valuable Judaica: From the Collection of the Late Ignat Mahler", Parke-Bernet Galleries, 1970, lot no. 132).
3. Heirs of the above.
Silver, cast, cut, soldered, and engraved.
1. Women’s ensemble of amulets (probably for childbearing women), to be worn on the arm. Includes two pencil-shaped cases (containing verses ascribed with protective attributes, and the initials and names of angels), and an amulet in the form of a stylized leaf, with, on the front, the initials of the words to one of the "Songs of Ascent" (Psalm 121), followed by an additional protective inscription, and on the back, the engraved name of the owner, in Hebrew: "Sharha born from Barkurdar". Original blue cotton-thread, forming three tassels with silver ornaments at their ends. One case with missing cover.
2. Buckle-shaped amulet, to be worn on the arm. Consists of three parts, connected to each other with hinges. Bears Hebrew inscriptions ascribed with protective attributes, including names of angels, and initials and ending letters of words of biblical verses, and initials of words of the kabbalistic prayer "Ana BeKoach". The name of the amulet’s owner – "Bilha daughter of Tzruya" – appears in the center.
3. Round amulet pendant. Bears Hebrew inscriptions ascribed with protective attributes, including initials of words of the kabbalistic prayer "Ana BeKoach". Two suspension hooks on top, and suspension rings for bells at bottom. Three missing bells.
4. Amulet pendant with an undulating, rounded perimeter. Engraved on both sides with Hebrew inscriptions bearing the names of the four rivers of the Garden of Eden, and with the letters of these names jumbled, and with various other letter combinations. The name of the amulet’s owner – "Sarah daughter of Sefrou" – appears at the bottom. Two suspension hooks on top, with remnants of original cotton-thread cord.
Size and condition varies.
Provenance:
1. Collection of Peter Castle (1922-2011), great-grandson of Solomon David Schloss. Acquired from Cameo Corner (Mosheh Oved), London, early 1950s.
2. Heirs of the above.
![1. Impression seal on jasper stone, with silver handle [Europe, late 19th or early 20th century]. Silver, cast; engraved jasp](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale97/36_1.jpg "Impression Seal with Silver Handle, and Signet Ring – Hebrew Inscripti")
![1. Impression seal on jasper stone, with silver handle [Europe, late 19th or early 20th century]. Silver, cast; engraved jasp](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale97/36_2.jpg "Impression Seal with Silver Handle, and Signet Ring – Hebrew Inscripti")
![1. Impression seal on jasper stone, with silver handle [Europe, late 19th or early 20th century]. Silver, cast; engraved jasp](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale97/36_3-web.jpg "Impression Seal with Silver Handle, and Signet Ring – Hebrew Inscripti")
1. Impression seal on jasper stone, with silver handle [Europe, late 19th or early 20th century].
Silver, cast; engraved jasper stone.
Square jasper stone, with cut corners, equipped with a decorative handle. In the center of the stone, the Hebrew inscription "Behold the Guardian of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep" (Psalms 121:4). Beneath the inscription is the image of a pair of olive branches, held together with a ribbon, tied in a bow.
Stone of the seal: 2.5X2.5 cm. Height of handle: 4.5 cm.
Exhibition: Basel, Jewish Museum of Switzerland, JMS 1050.
2. Impression seal ring [Europe, 19th century?].
Brass, cast and engraved.
Ring featuring an elliptical seal with a slender frame, and decorated with stars, a flower, and a wavy line. Engraved inscriptions (Hebrew): in large letters, "The Fourth Day" (Wednesday), and, in smaller letters, "Katz".
Seal: 1X1.5 cm. Diameter of ring: approx. 2.5 cm.
Exhibition: Basel, Jewish Museum of Switzerland, JMS 1049.
Provenance:
1. Henry Levy (1887-1980), London (stepfather of Peter Charles Castle); both items were acquired in London between 1930 and 1939 from a private individual Henry worked with.
2. Peter Castle (1922-2011).
3. Heirs of the above.