Silver (unmarked); filigree, granulation.
Multi-tiered tower-shaped havdalah spicebox ("Hadas"), made of high-quality filigree, with symmetrical vegetal patterns. With tall steeple surmounted by flag. Each of the four corners at the base of the steeple is marked with a floral ornament. The belfry underneath the steeple has four pairs of arched windows exposing the bell inside, and a decorated spherical ornament at each of the four corners of its base. The spice compartment under the belfry has a hinged, arched door with a locking mechanism (without a key). The lowest tier is surrounded by balconies throughout, and adorned with floral ornaments at the corners.

Height: 35.5 cm. Uppermost gilt flag, and gilt sphere surmounting it, not original. Key missing.

Exhibitions:
1. Presumably, London, Exhibition of Jewish Art and Antiquities, Whitechapel Art Gallery, 1906, item no. 1127.
2. Basel, Jewish Museum of Switzerland, JMS 1042.
Provenance:
1. Collection of Solomon David Schloss (1815-1911).
2. Lewis Raphael Castle (1858-1932), son of the above.
3. Peter Castle (1922-2011), grandson of the above.
4. Heirs of the above.
This item appears in the inventory list of the Schloss Collection, dated 1923 (see appendix, pp. 146-148), and is documented in a 1931 collection photograph (see p. 11).

Silver, cast, repoussé, pierced, engraved, and soldered.
Hallmarks: · Municipal mark of the city of Frankfurt am Main (an eagle) from the mid-18th century; · Maker's mark, the initials "RH" in a rectangular frame – Rötger [Rüdiger] Herfurth (1722-1776), certified silversmith, 1748.

Fine havdalah candleholder (with no spicebox), composed of two parts (both marked). The lower part consists of a round base surmounted by a short leg in turn surmounted by a miniature human figure. The upper part – fastened by a screw to the head of the human figure in the lower part – includes a square base enclosed within a fancy, serrated fence; soldered onto this are four tall cylindrical rods. The four rods are threaded through four designated holes in an upper base, matching the base underneath it, but with a cylindrical candleholder in the middle; the base bearing the candleholder can be adjusted up and down the rods, and thus raised and lowered. Soldered onto the end of each of the four thin rods is a miniature ornament in the form of a human face, gazing outward.
The miniature human figure at the top of the base – standing seven centimeters tall – is expertly sculpted. The statuette is of a bearded gentleman, donning a cape, with a long, partly buttoned overcoat underneath. The costume also includes a fancy ruff collar around the neck, and a round hat on the head. In its hands, the figure holds two havdalah vessels, a tall, tower-shaped spicebox in the right hand and a wine cup in the left.

This candleholder is a rare, exquisite item, created by an eminent silversmith; it is one of only a handful of similar 18th century havdalah vessels, likewise supported atop statuettes. Among the few items in this small group in private hands, this may well be the finest. Some nine similar havdalah vessels of various levels of quality are known to be extant, and most of these belong to museum collections.

The Disappearance and Reappearance of the Candleholder

Early in 1887, the candleholder presented here was in the possession of Solomon David Schloss. That same year, the collector submitted it on loan to the Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition – staged at the time at London’s Royal Albert Hall – to be put on display. A photograph of the object was published in the Deluxe edition of the exhibition catalogue (see p. 8). Thanks to the outstanding craftsmanship that distinguished the item, and its immeasurable significance, the photo was republished several times over the years in a number of notable publications dealing with Judaica. At some point in time, the candleholder was separated from the rest of the Schloss Collection.

But finally, in 1985, it was located and identified by Michael Keen at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; it had initially been listed in the museum records as "NN" – "not numbered", i.e., as an item with no serial number. It is unknown just how the item managed to become part of the Victoria and Albert Collection; there is no documentation regarding the object’s whereabouts during the intervening 98 years – from the time it was exhibited at the Royal Albert Hall until its mysterious reappearance in the V&A, where no records could be found attesting to its acquisition by the museum through either purchase or donation. It is quite possible that the elderly Solomon Schloss entrusted the item to the V&A for repair, and simply forgot about it. In 2009, the candleholder was returned to Schloss’s heirs.

Height: 30 cm. Diameter of base: 10 cm. Good condition.

For comparison see: The Jewish Museum, New York, item no. JM 36-52 (also created by Rötger Herfurth); Collection of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, item nos. B86.0084 (a-b), 124/396 and 124/535; collection of the Jewish Museum, Amsterdam, item no. MB00155; Skirball Museum, Hebrew Union College, Los Angeles, item no. 28.5 (not intact).

For further information, see: Michele Klein, "The Havdalah Candle-holder", Ars Judaica, 2012, pp. 31-54, illustrated on p. 31.

Reference:
1. Catalogue of the Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition, Publications of the Exhibition Committee IV, Royal Albert Hall, London, 1st ed., 1887; Deluxe ed., 1888, no. 1677, p. 105, depicted in the photographic plate facing p. 101.
2. Adolph Kohut, Geschichte der Deutschen Juden, Berlin, ca. 1900. Page 341 features a detail of the 1888 photograph depicting, among other pieces, the present Herfurth candleholder.
3. Rudolf Hallo, Notizblatt der Gesellschaft zur Erforschung Jüdischer Kunstdenkmaeler, 1929, item no. 24, mentioned on p. 168.
4. Michael E. Keen, Jewish Ritual Art in the V&A Museum, London, HMSO, 1991, item no. 55, with image, descriptive text, and a note: "This would appear to be the candlestick illustrated in the deluxe (1888) edition of the Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition catalogue; at that time it belonged to Solomon Schloss".
5. Louise Hofman, "Silver for Holy Days", Apollo Magazine, vol. 163, March, 2006, pp. 72-79, item no. 529.
6. Michele Klein, "Art of Havdalah", Jewish Renaissance, vol. 6, no. 1, Oct. 2006, p. 12.
7. Michele Klein, "The Havdalah Candle-holder", Ars Judaica, vol. 8, 2012, pp. 31-54.
8. Fritz Backhaus, Raphael Gross, Sabine Kossling, and Mirjam Wenzel (eds.), "The Judengasse in Frankfurt", Munich, 2016, p. 90.
9. Michele Klein, "Wild Oats", Shemot, Journal of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain, vol. 28, no. 2, Aug. 2020, Cover and p. 2.
10. Michele Klein, "Preserving Jewish heritage: Solomon Schloss's collection of Jewish ritual art", Journal of the History of Collections, vol. 34, no. 3, 2022, pp. 441-54.
Exhibitions:
1. London, Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition, Royal Albert Hall, 1887, item no. 1677.
2. London, Sacred Silver Gallery, Victoria & Albert Museum, 2005 until February 11, 2009.
3. Frankfurt, The Jewish Museum Frankfurt / Judengasse Museum.
Provenance:
1. Collection of Solomon David Schloss (1815-1911).
2. Heirs of the above.

Silver, cut, cast, soldered, and engraved.
Hallmarks: · Partial mark (in form of a crown?); · Blurred maker's mark, with initials – "FD/--" [?]. Probably false hallmarks, perhaps an imitation of 18th century marks.
Four tall, cylindrical rods soldered onto a square base. A ring whose purpose is to support the havdalah candle is positioned toward the top. The four rods are threaded through four designated holes in the rim of the ring, allowing the height of the ring to be adjusted upward and downward. At the upper ends of the rods are flower-shaped nuts that serve as stoppers for the upward motion of the ring. The spicebox – also serving as a base for the rods and adorned with floral and vegetal patterns – is in the form of a shallow drawer that can be pulled in and out; it is divided into four compartments. Soldered onto the top of the spicebox is a square ornament enclosed within a fancy, serrated fence. Standing atop the four corners of the fence are four miniature human figures, inclined inward and holding an assortment of objects: a "shofar" (ram’s horn); a large, braided havdalah candle; a spicebox (in the form of an open box with four compartments); and a wine cup.
The entire compendium is supported on top of a dome-shaped base surmounted by a short leg. The spicebox alone may be of earlier origin than the other elements in the compendium – the base and the miniature human figures – which may have been added at a later stage.

Height: 21 cm. Diameter at base: 9 cm. Overall good condition. Fractures and blemishes to spicebox. Loose screw connections. Human figures partly bent out of shape.

For similar items, after which the present compendium was presumably modeled, see: Stephen S. Kayser (ed.), Jewish Ceremonial Art: Philadelphia, 1959, item no. 96; Yeshiva University Museum, New York, item no. 1986.167; Sotheby’s, New York, May 28, 1986, lot no. 289.
Exhibitions:
1. Possibly, London, Exhibition of Jewish Art and Antiquities, Whitechapel Art Gallery, 1906, item no. 1125.
2. Glasgow, Festival of Jewish Arts Exhibition, McLellan Galleries, 1951, item no. 250.
3. Basel, Jewish Museum of Switzerland, JMS 1036.
Provenance:
1. Collection of Solomon David Schloss (1815-1911).
2. Lewis Raphael Castle (1858-1932), son of the above.
3. Peter Castle (1922-2011), grandson of the above.
4. Heirs of the above.
This item is documented in a 1931 collection photograph (see p. 11).

Silver, repoussé, punched, and engraved.
Hallmarks: · Maker's mark, the initials "IEB", for Johann Ernst Braungart (active in Breslau, 1754-1793); · Municipal mark of the city of Breslau; · The date-letter "G" – 1761-1776; · The initials "FW" in script – Prussian tax mark, in use beginning in 1809; · Later Dutch tax mark, in use in the years 1893-1905.
At the center of the back plate is a large depiction of an eight-branched Hanukkah menorah, encircled by a large cartouche composed of rocailles and vegetal patterns. To the right is the figure of Judith, holding a long sword in her right hand, and the severed head of Holofernes (a Chaldean general at the head of the army of Nebuchadnezzar) in her left. Judith’s maidservant appears on the left side of the back panel, holding a burning torch in her right hand, and a pitcher of oil in her left. Attached to the lower part of the back plate is a row of oil fonts shaped like elongated spoons, with tabs inside them for the wicks. The row of oil fonts is fastened to the back plate with screws, and is suspended above a drip pan with a rim whose undulations are designed to accommodate the oil fonts. A matching, removable servant light with a handle is attached to the lamp by means of a holder, soldered onto the upper left surface of the back plate. The lamp is supported on four leaf-shaped legs.

Height: 29 cm. Width: 26 cm. Depth: 8 cm. Good condition. Minor blemishes to one of the supporting legs, with old soldering repairs. Minor hole and old soldering repairs to upper left side of back plate, probably as result of relocation of the servant light. Slight damage to edges of the back plate, near the servant light. Three original bolts oמ back side of back plate. Greenish staining to oil fonts.

For similar Hanukkah lamps bearing depictions of Judith, see: The Israel Museum Collection, item no. B86.0029, 118/869 (The Stieglitz Collection, item no. 135); The Jewish Museum, New York, item no. JM 26-64; Sotheby’s, New York, December 14, 2011, lot no. 12.

Regarding the works of the silversmith Johann Ernst Braungart, several Torah shields and a single Torah finial are known to be extant; see: Grafman, Crowning Glory: item no. 267; and Center for Jewish Art (CJA), the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, item no. 37298.
Exhibitions:
1. Glasgow, Festival of Jewish Arts Exhibition, McLellan Galleries, 1951, item no. 240.
2. Jewish Museum of Switzerland, Basel, JMS 1054.
Provenance:
1. Collection of Solomon David Schloss (1815-1911).
2. Lewis Raphael Castle (1858-1932), son of the above.
3. Peter Castle (1922-2011), grandson of the above.
4. Heirs of the above.
This item appears in the inventory list of the Schloss Collection, dated 1923 (see appendix, pp. 146-148), and is documented in a 1931 collection photograph (see p. 11).