A "Menorah" – large papercut serving as a "Shiviti" plaque and amulet. [North Africa, Morocco or Algeria, second half of the 19th century]. Inscribed (Hebrew): "Made by Mordekhai Hanoun...".

Papercut; colored aluminum foil.

An especially large "Menorah" (in Europe, termed "Shiviti") plaque, in the form of a delicate, meticulously crafted white papercut, over a background of sparkling sheets of colored aluminum foil in shades of pink, green, and light blue. A symmetrical composition, exhibiting numerous decorative elements – such as horseshoe arches and geometric, Arabesque-style guilloches – that bear the distinctive influence of Islamic art, as well as a host of delicate vegetal patterns in various forms.

The main, central decorative feature consists of three architectonic arches supported by large, decorated pillars. The rounded central arch frames the "LaMenatze’ach" menorah, depicted alongside the Temple vessels. Flanking the central arch on either side are two tapering horseshoe arches that enclose decorated elliptical boxes framing the Ten Commandments.

The architectonic arches are enclosed by three rectangular frames inscribed with various Hebrew texts. Cut out of the inner frame: the names of the ten kabbalistic "Sefirot"; the initials of the kabbalistic liturgical poem "Ana BeKo’ach"; initials of the verse "Barukh Shem K’vod Malkhuto Le’Olam Va’ed"; a number of variations on the Holy Name; initials representing the names of the archangels Uriel, Raphael, Gabriel, Michael, and Nuriel, in addition to their full names; initials of the biblical verse "a charming son is Joseph, a son charming to the eye..." (Bereshit, 49:22); and finally, the artist’s "signature": "Work of… Mordekhai Hanoun…". Cut out of the middle frame is the inscription "I have placed [Shiviti] the Lord before me constantly…" (Tehillim, 16:8), with the words of this verse divided among the four sides of the frame. And cut out of the third and largest of the frames, in large letters, are verses from Bereshit containing various blessings: "And may the Lord give you of the dew of the heavens and [of] the fatness of the earth… Those who curse you shall be cursed, and those who bless you shall be blessed" (Bereshit, 27:28-29); "And may the Almighty God bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and you shall become an assembly of peoples; and may He give you the blessing of Abraham" (Bereshit, 28:3-4).

Approx. 90X70 cm. Fair-good condition. Tears and missing strips, restored, partly with old paper repairs and partly with recent professional repairs. Stains. Abrasions to sheets of colored aluminum foil. Kept in more recent picture frame.

For a similar plaque by Mordekhai Hanoun, see: Kedem, Auction 88, September 6, 2022, Lot 280. For similar Jewish papercuts from North Africa, see: Musée d'art et d'histoire du Judaïsme (mahJ), Paris, item nos. 2002.01.0426 and 2002.01.0427; and the Center for Jewish Art (CJA), Jerusalem, item 48969 (from the Gross Family Collection).

"Havdalah" Spicebox. Apparently, Bohemia or Moravia (possibly Brno or Prague), [second half of 18th century].

Silver, repoussé, pierced, sawed, and engraved (unmarked except for tax mark from Vienna, in use from 1806 onward); parcel gilt.

Elegant "Havdalah" spicebox, in the form of a belltower surmounted by a pair of onion-shaped domes and bearing a clock equipped with a single rotating hand. This particular model of spicebox was in widespread use across Bohemia and Moravia, and similar spiceboxes were known to have been produced in the cities of Prague and Brno.

The splendid, meticulously crafted spicebox bears an architectonic design which includes two bell chambers, and a square spice container surmounted by a tall steeple featuring a pair of onion-shaped domes. At the base of the steeple is a clock with one rotating hand. Above the two onion-shaped domes is a spherical ornament at the base of a fancy flag, whose mast is surmounted by an additional, flower-shaped ornament. The spice container is perforated (pierced) with apertures and openings to enable sniffing the spice inside. It is decorated with vegetal patterns and bordered with small brick-shaped rectangles. The onion-shaped domes are similarly decorated with a pattern of brick-shaped rectangles. A prominent, relief ornament in repoussé in the form of a domed structure appears on all four sides of the spice container. On the front side of the container, this ornament is equipped with a tiny hinged door with a locking mechanism. Extending from each of the four corners of the container are spiraling silver columns surmounted by small flags with flower-like ornaments on top. The container is supported by an ornament in the form of a pitcher with four handles, screwed into the broad, square base, itself adorned with vegetal patterns. Hebrew letters are engraved onto each of the four cartouches adorning the base; these are apparently the letters "yud", "bet", "nun", and "heh", each of them representing, in sequential order, the first letter of the subject of each of the four blessings that make up the Havdalah ritual: "yud" for "yayin" (wine), "bet" for "besamim" (spices), "nun" for "ner" (candle), and "heh" for "havdalah" (separation).

Height: 31 cm. Width at base: 9.5X9.5 cm. Overall good condition. Minor warping to spice container and other parts. Connections between spiraling columns and spice container slightly loose.

For comparison, see: the Jewish Museum in Prague, item nos. 012.228, 027.795; Chaya Benjamin and Marilyn Gold Koolik, eds. and curators, "Towers of Spices: The Tower-Shape Tradition in Havdalah Spiceboxes, " exhibition catalogue, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel, 1982 (Hebrew and English), pp. 20-23 (in Hebrew edition).

Provenance:

1. Oscar and Regina Gruss Collection, New York.

2. Heirs of the above.

The Oscar and Regina Gruss Collection
In 1939, Oscar and Regina Gruss fled their hometown of Lvov (then part of Poland, now in Ukraine), narrowly escaping the Holocaust, and eventually settling in the United States. In the years following the war, they devoted themselves to assembling one of the finest collections of Jewish ceremonial art in the USA, with a particular focus on silverwork and 19th-century Jewish paintings.
Their collection featured masterpieces by celebrated artists such as Isidor Kaufmann, Moritz Daniel Oppenheim, and Solomon Alexander Hart. Many of these works were generously donated to The Jewish Museum, New York, while others remained within the family. The paintings in this catalogue are being offered at auction for the first time.
For additional items from the collection of Oscar and Regina Gruss in the present catalogue, see lot nos. 133, 144, 147, 153, 154, 204 and 205.

Wimpel commemorating the birth of the infant boy Moshe (Maurice) Ulmann. [Probably Alsace / France], February 1884.

Ink and paint on linen fabric.

Richly decorated "wimpel". Consists of four sheets of cloth of identical size, sewn together. The following inscription appears in the center (Hebrew and French): "Moshe son of Yisrael Ulmann (Maurice fils de Jsidor Ulmann) born on Sunday, the 28th of Shevat 5644 [1884] …".

This wimpel is adorned with more than 50 hand-painted illustrations, covering most of its surface, giving it a magnificently colorful richness. The illustrations bear a variety of themes and motifs, including animals (birds, butterflies, fish – the latter, Pisces, being the Zodiac sign of the newborn child – as well as a lion, an antelope, a deer, and other creatures); musicians (playing the cello, violin, trumpet drum, accordion, and other instruments); angels; illustrations of biblical scenes, with emphasis on themes related to Moses (in connection to the child’s Hebrew name, "Moshe"), specifically the figures of Moses and Aaron, Pharaoh’s daughter discovering Moses on the Nile, the Exodus from Egypt and crossing of the Red Sea, Adam and Eve, and more; and illustrations depicting various mitzvot or the cycle of life, including learning Torah, a woman lighting a Sabbath lamp, a feast (Purim?), a Chuppah, and more.

360X22.5 cm. Overall good condition.

Chumash in decorated silver binding. [Amsterdam, early 18th century]. Silver, cast, pierced and engraved (unmarked); print on paper; velvet-covered wood. Chumash, bound in a wooden cover overlaid with velvet, and enclosed in an elegant silver binding, pierced on front and back boards with identical symmetrical vegetal patterns, and on spine with matching symmetrical vegetal patterns. Also with pair of decorated silver buckles. Book: Chumash, with the Five Megillot and Haftarot. Amsterdam: Moses Mendes Coutinho, [1701]. With a separate title page for the Haftarot on leaf 501.
[1], 50, 53-138, 140-150; 451-540, 241-262 leaves. Lacking leaves 51-52, 139. 12.5 cm. Book block with gilt edges, (somewhat faded). Good-fair condition. Stains, including dampstains. Tears, including open tears, with damage to text, partly mended with paper. Cropped edges to book block, with damage to page titles in some places. Ownership inscriptions of Jacob Abraham Hahn on inside front flyleaf, and on page 479a (in Hebrew letters). Additional ownership inscription of Hahn’s appears on rear flyleaf: “Jacob Abraham Hahn” (in Latin letters). Silver binding: 12.5 cm. Overall good condition. Velvet cloth significantly worn and faded.

18th-Century German silver binding (Halle an der Saale, Germany, ca.1714) for a siddur, with the coat of arms of the Rothschild family and with the engraved initials of the owner's name: "B de R" – Betty de Rothschild, [ca. 1824].

Silver, cast, repoussé, pierced and cut; parcel-gilt; later engraving (clasp marked with three hallmarks: Halle (Saale) city mark, date-letter G [probably for 1714], partial maker's mark P over [I]F within a leaf).

The front and back panels of the binding, identical in design, are in a formal, baroque floral and strapwork pattern, with a small, tasseled canopy at the top, beneath which is a small conch, and near the bottom a valance; at the center is an oval boss within a floral frame. The boss on the front of the binding bears the initials "B de R" with crown on top, while that on the back panel bears the full coat of arms of the Rothschild family. The spine is decorated en suite. The pierced silver is backed by a gilt sheet, giving the whole a splendidly rich effect. At the top of both the front and back panels is a single loop, intended for a chain to suspend the book (chain missing).

The Rothschild Family Coat of Arms and Baroness Betty (Batiah) Salomon de Rothschild

The well-known coat of arms of the Rothschild family was officially established in 1822, thus it was certainly engraved on this binding after that year. The initials engraved on the front binding – combined with the fact that the siddur bound here was intended for a woman (see below) – lead to the conclusion that the initials refer to Baroness Betty (Batiah) Salomon de Rothschild (1805-1886), daughter of Salomon Mayer Rothschild, founder of the Rothschild bank branch in Vienna, and granddaughter of Mayer Anschel Rothschild, founder of the Rothschild banking family.

In 1824, Betty de Rothschild married in Frankfurt her uncle (her father's brother), James (Jacob) Mayer de Rothschild, founder of the French branch of the banking empire, and traveled with him to Paris. The present binding and siddur were apparently given to her as a wedding gift from her husband or her parents, following the tradition of the "Sivlonot" gift after engagement.

In Paris, Betty de Rothschild integrated into high society: she took private piano lessons with Frédéric Chopin, Heinrich Heine composed a poem about her beauty, Balzac dedicated one of his books to her and the painter Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres painted her portrait; furthermore, she maintained connections with politicians and nobility and conducted philanthropic activity. One of her sons, Edmond de Rothschild (1845-1934), became known as "the Baron Rothschild", "HaNadiv HaYadua"; in Eretz Israel the settlement Bat Shlomo was named after her and also the settlement

of Ekron, founded by the Baron Rothschild in 1883, changed its name to Mazkeret Batya in Betty's honor.

The Siddur

The binding is fitted with a year-round siddur according to the Western Ashkenazic rite, with Yiddish translation. Includes Psalms and supplications, with separate title pages. Amsterdam: Solomon Ben Joseph Proops, 1714.

This Siddur edition was designated for the use of women and was decorated with an engraved title page by Joannes Lamsvelt, depicting biblical heroines: Eve, Rebecca, Leah, Miriam, Deborah, and Hannah. At the bottom appears the Talmudic teaching: "In the merit of the righteous women, our Forefathers were redeemed from Egypt".

Binding: height: 18 cm, width: 12 cm, depth: 6 cm. Good condition. Minor blemishes. Some warping. Original pastedowns, decorated with colorful floral patterns, worn and blemished.

Siddur: [1], 279; 136 leaves. 16.5 cm. Gilt and gauffered edges. Fair condition. Stains, including many dampstains. Several leaves detached and loose. Tears. Trimming, affecting text.

Enclosed is an expert opinion by Rafi Grafman (January 2000).

For silver hallmarks, see: Rosenberg, Der Goldschmiede Merkzeichen (1922-1928), Vol. 2, nos. 2306-2307, 2310-2311, 2325.

Provenance:

1. Ownership inscription on front flyleaf (German and Hebrew): Hirsch son of Abraham Segal (apparently, late 18th or early 19th century).

2. Baroness Betty von Rothschild (1805-1886), presumably given to her as a wedding gift upon her marriage to her uncle, James Mayer de Rothschild in 1824.

3. Alphonse (Mayer) James de Rothschild (1827-1905), son of the above.

4. Édouard Alphonse James de Rothschild (1868-1949), son of the above.

5. Baroness Bethsabée (Batsheva) de Rothschild (1914-1999), daughter of the above.

6. Purchased from the estate of the above, Tel Aviv, 1999.

7. Private collection, London.

Certified by the Art Loss Register (ALR); certificate enclosed.