Tallit bag for a Bar Mitzvah boy. Algeria, [1849? or early 20th century].

Silver, repoussé, pierced and engraved (marked with French fineness mark, in use from 1838, and a tiny, difficult to decipher maker’s mark in a lozenge frame); velvet; cotton and metal threads.

Elaborate tallit bag, apparently presented as a Bar Mitzvah gift. Richly decorated on both sides: one side with vegetal designs, two palm trees, a seven-branched menorah, Temple implements, palm motifs (hamsas), and the Bar Mitzvah boy’s name at the top –
“Chaim Dayan”; the other side features two lions flanking a Star of David, inscribed with the year “1836” (possibly the boy’s year of birth), vegetal motifs, a hamsa, and a monogram with the initials DE. The bag’s sides are decorated with pierced vegetal motifs and fitted with rings holding braided cords of metal thread. Lined with white velvet.

Height: 27.5 cm. Width: 23 cm, depth: 4 cm. Overall good condition. Missing one ring and some metal thread. Another ring missing near opening of the bag. Without carrying strap.

For similar items, see: Israel Museum collection, items B06.2816, 157/244; Center for Jewish Art (CJA), item 36704 (Gross Family Collection). Though these items were produced in the early 20th century, their design closely resembles the present item.

Three Sabbath lamps. [Afghanistan, late 19th or early 20th century].

Silver, cast, repoussé and engraved (unmarked).

1. Double Sabbath lamp, composed of two oil cups with pinched spouts, mounted on legs with a rectangular base and three smaller legs. Each oil cup is a separate, detachable unit, connected by a central rod surmounted by a Star of David ornament.

Height: 12 cm. Width: 13.5 cm, depth: 9 cm. Good condition.

2. Single Sabbath lamp, consisting of an oil cup with a pinched spout, mounted on a stem with a round base. A tall rod is soldered to the rear of the base, decorated with vegetal motifs and topped with a Star of David ornament.

Height: 11 cm, maximum width: 8.5 cm. Good condition. Minor bends and some corrosion.

Two Kiddush cups with matching saucers. Uzbekistan (Bukhara), Iran or vicinity, [late 19th or early 20th century].

Silver, repoussé and engraved (unmarked).

1. Kiddush cup shaped as a bowl, resting on a short stem and circular base, and a matching saucer on a similarly short stem with a fancy base, decorated with matching vegetal motifs. Additional bird motifs appear on the cup. Inscribed for
"Yissachar son of Rahamim" (for full see inscription see Hebrew description).

Total height (cup and saucer): 8.5 cm, saucer diameter: 12.5 cm. Good condition. Minor breaks, dents, and a few missing silver pieces.

2. Small bowl-shaped cup on a raised circular base, and a matching saucer with a raised rim. Decorated with vegetal and geometric motifs; bearing dedication inscriptions (inscribed and repoussé; see Hebrew description).

Total height (cup and saucer): 5.5 cm, saucer diameter: 13.5 cm. Good condition. Minor breaks and dents.

Similar cups were also used for Kiddush by the Jews of Afghanistan. For comparison, see: the Center for Jewish Art (CJA), item 12806.

Spice container. [Eastern Europe (Galicia), 18th century].

Silver filigree (unmarked).

Spice container with square base resting on animal-form legs, each ending in clawed feet grasping a ball. The central section is fashioned as a multi-tiered tower, topped with a bell tower, onion-shaped dome, topped with a finial, a flag and a lion-shaped ornament (likely a later addition).

Height: 25 cm, maximum width: 6.5 cm. Fair condition. Old fractures, some losses to filigree, and old soldering repairs.