Auction 105 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Esther Scrolls and Jewish Ceremonial Art | Page 19

Auction 105 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Esther Scrolls and Jewish Ceremonial Art

Jan 27, 2026

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Lot 217 Parchment Ketubah – Amsterdam, 1792 – Elaborate Engraved Border

Ketubah for wedding of the "expert physician" Yaakov son of the "famed expert physician" Yaakov Chaim d

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Parchment Ketubah – Amsterdam, 1792 – Elaborate Engraved Border

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Ketubah for wedding of the "expert physician" Yaakov son of the "famed expert physician" Yaakov Chaim d'Ancona and Chavah daughter of the distinguished Baruch Lopes de Leao. Amsterdam, 8th Cheshvan 5593 [1792].

Spanish-Dutch parchment ketubah, set in an ornamental copper-engraved border: In the right and left margins are two vases containing large bouquets, on which various birds and animals are perched. These are topped by images of a bride and groom in contemporary attire (to the right) and a mother with two children (to the left; an allegory of Caritas [charity]). The text is scribed between two rounded pillars entwined with branches, crowned with an arch. On both sides of the arch are two cherubs holding a drapery bearing the inscription "BeSiman Tov". At the bottom of the engraving is a large Rococo cartouche in which the Tena'im were written. The text of the ketubah and Tena'im are handwritten in Sephardic script.

The inspiration for this engraving was the design of two Dutch ketubot created in 1648 and in 1654 by the artist and engraver Shalom Mordechai Italia. Shalom Italia, who arrived in Holland from Mantua, was also known for producing two Esther scrolls and portraits of Jacob Judah Leon Templo and of Menasseh Ben Israel.

The ornamentation of this ketubah and the inscription printed at the bottom vary slightly from those appearing on earlier ketubot of this type (compare to Kedem catalog 61, item 96): the attire of the bride and groom which appear in the upper right corner were updated, reflecting fashion changes. A medallion with the image of a phoenix was added to the bottom of the cartouche and the inscription referring to R. Yitzchak Aboab was replaced with the inscription: "Pertenece ao K. K. de T. T. de Amsterdam Roshodes Kislef A° 5499 D = M" – "Belongs to the Amsterdam Talmud Torah community, Rosh Chodesh Kislev [November] 1738". About one hundred years previously, in 1639, the three Jewish congregations in Amsterdam of Sephardi and Portuguese origin, Beit Yaakov, Neveh Shalom and Beit Yisrael, merged into one congregation named Talmud Torah. According to Prof. Shalom Sabar, the changes to this ketubah were made on the occasion of the centennial of the Talmud Torah congregation.

The signatures of the groom (in Latin characters) and witnesses – Daniel son of R. David HaKohen d'Azevedo and David ibn Yakar Ximenez – are affixed beneath the text of the ketubah. These signatures are repeated at the end of the Tena'im in the lower cartouche. The ketubah text and Tena'im also name the notary.

The wedding of Yaakov d'Ancona and Chavah Lopes de Leon is also documented in records of the Sephardic-Portuguese community in Amsterdam (entry 759-378).

The Sephardic d'Ancona family, as indicated by its name, originates in Ancona; in the 17th century the family moved to Venice and later Amsterdam. The present bridegroom (1762-1839) studied medicine in Leiden and served as a physician in Amsterdam. His wife Chavah (Eva), the present bride (1773-1852) was born in Amsterdam and moved to the Hague after her husband's death.

R. Daniel HaKohen d'Azevedo, who signed this document as a witness, succeeded his father as Chief Rabbi of the Portuguese synagogue of Amsterdam between 1779-1812.

Approx. 32X39 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains and creases. Folding markes. Matted.

Literature:

1. Ketubbah: Jewish marriage contracts of the Hebrew Union College Skirball Museum and Klau Library, by Shalom Sabar (NY, 1990), pp. 265-270; item 171.

2. The Oeuvre of the Jewish Engraver Salom Italia, by Mordechai Narkis, in: Tarbitz, Vol. 25, Issue 4, Tammuz 1956, pp. 441-451; Vol. 26, Issue 1, Tishrei 1956, pp. 87-101.

3. HaKetubah BeIturim, by David Davidowitz. Tel Aviv: A. Levine-Epstein, 1979, pp. 21-24.

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Portraits, Prints and Graphic Works

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Lot 218 Decorated Ketubah – Alexandria, Egypt, 1843 – Signature of Rabbi Shlomo Chazan

Decorated paper ketubah. Alexandria, Egypt, 19th Tamuz 5603 [1843].

Ink and paint on paper.

Ketubah on paper sheet, w

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Auction 105 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Esther Scrolls and Jewish Ceremonial Art Jan 27, 2026

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Decorated paper ketubah. Alexandria, Egypt, 19th Tamuz 5603 [1843].

Ink and paint on paper.

Ketubah on paper sheet, with upper edge decoratively cut. Ketubah and Tena'im (in Oriental cursive script) in center, inside a decorated frame. Signatures of groom (at center, in Latin characters) and witnesses at edge.

On right side, calligraphic signature of "Shlomo Chazan" – R. Shlomo Chazan, Rabbi of Alexandria, who also appears to have written the entire text of the ketubah. The other witness: "Elisha Karpi".

R. Shlomo Chazan (d. 1855) was a leading Egyptian Torah scholar, who succeeded R. Yedidiah Shlomo Yisrael as Chief Rabbi of Alexandria (in 1831). He was a halachic decisor, Torah disseminator of books, including the biographical HaMaalot LiShlomo.

Approx. 28X39 cm. Overall good condition. Creases and folding marks. Several tears, slightly affecting illustration at top of ketubah.

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Lot 219 Collection of Ketubot – Yemen, First Half of 20th Century

Collection of ketubot, on paper. Yemen, 1920-1949.

• Ketubah. Al-Afri, 1920.

• Ketubah (possibly a copy). Al-Kalabah,

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Auction 105 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Esther Scrolls and Jewish Ceremonial Art Jan 27, 2026

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Collection of ketubot, on paper. Yemen, 1920-1949.

• Ketubah. Al-Afri, 1920.

• Ketubah (possibly a copy). Al-Kalabah, 1923.

• Ketubah. Jarani, 1932.

• Ketubah. Jurn al-Qaba'il, 1938.

• Copy of a ketubah. Jarani, 1932.

• Replacement ketubah. Aden, 1947.

• Replacement ketubah. Aden, 1949.

7 ketubot (paper). Varying size and condition.

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Lot 220 Torah Crown – Timișoara, Ca. 1820

Torah crown. Timișoara / Temesvár, Kingdom of Hungary (today Romania), ca. 1820-1830.

Silver, repoussé and

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Torah crown. Timișoara / Temesvár, Kingdom of Hungary (today Romania), ca. 1820-1830.

Silver, repoussé and punched (marked with fineness mark from the city of Timișoara, in use ca. 1820-1830, and with maker’s mark, "FK" = Franciscus Klamer, active 1815-1828).

Torah crown with a design reminiscent of Torah crowns from Italy, and from Sephardi Jewish communities of the Ottoman Empire: cylindrical, open at the top and at the base, and tapering, broadening upward. Rim at base adorned with spherical, diamond-shaped, and flower-shaped ornaments, all in high relief. Body above base rim in form of a circle of tall, broad leaves, separated, toward the tops, by pointy-topped ornaments, curving slightly outward, with large silver spheres at their upper tips.

Remnants of soldering visible on interior, where the fixture meant to fit the Torah scroll handles had been attached.

Height: 18-19 cm. Diameter at base: 22 cm. Diameter at opening at top: 29-30 cm. Overall good condition. Minor warping, mostly to tips of leafy ornaments and to bases of spherical ornaments. Old soldering repairs at several points of connection of spherical ornaments. Some spherical ornaments kept in place with rivets; one of them broken and detached. Some old fractures with soldering repairs. Remnants of soldering and minor fractures to interior (see above).

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Torah Ornaments – Torah Crowns, Torah Finials, Torah Shields

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Lot 221 Torah Crown – Lazarus Posen – Frankfurt am Main, Ca. 1900

Torah crown, created by Lazarus Posen. [Frankfurt am Main, ca. 1900].

Silver, repoussé and stamped (marked with

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Torah Crown – Lazarus Posen – Frankfurt am Main, Ca. 1900

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Auction 105 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Esther Scrolls and Jewish Ceremonial Art Jan 27, 2026

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Torah crown, created by Lazarus Posen. [Frankfurt am Main, ca. 1900].

Silver, repoussé and stamped (marked with maker’s mark "Posen", and with additional, unidentified mark, possibly a fineness mark); gilt.

Consisting of six arches with clover-shaped ornaments and adorned with numerous spherical-shaped ornaments in various sizes.

In between the arches are leaf-shaped ornaments with suspended bells. Surmounted by a large spherical ornament, in turn surmounted by an apex in the form of a flower bud. At the base is a wide silver plate, with a pair of cylindrical tubes for inserting the Torah scroll handles.

Height: 27 cm. Maximal width: 23 cm. Good condition. Some of the bells not original (some marked, apparently with Viennese marks).

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Torah Ornaments – Torah Crowns, Torah Finials, Torah Shields

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Lot 222 Torah Crown – Piedmont Region, Italy

Torah crown [Piedmont Region, Italy, probably first half of 20th century].

Silver, repoussé and stamped (apparent

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Auction 105 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Esther Scrolls and Jewish Ceremonial Art Jan 27, 2026

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Torah crown [Piedmont Region, Italy, probably first half of 20th century].

Silver, repoussé and stamped (apparently unmarked).

Torah crown in a characteristic Italian design: Cylindrical, tapering downward toward the base, open at base and at top. The base is adorned with wreaths of leafy branches and flowers, while the taller upper portion is decorated with two different, alternating patterns, six in the form of tall leaves; and six arched, Rococo-style ornaments with, at center, a Star of David inside a frame, surmounted by a crown, with the frame in the shape of the Two Tablets of the Law. A flat, curving silver bar spans the width of the interior of the base and is soldered onto it.

A similar crown from Genova can be found in the collection of the Umberto Nahon Museum of Italian Jewish Art, Jerusalem (No. ON 0154; The Center for Jewish Art [CJA], Item No. 4932).

Height: 20.5 cm. Diameter at base: 21.5 cm. Diameter of upper opening: 26.5 to 27 cm. Overall good condition. Minor warping and slight blemishes to edges.

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Torah Ornaments – Torah Crowns, Torah Finials, Torah Shields

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Lot 223 Silver Ornament (Crown) for Torah Scroll – The Netherlands, First Half of 20th Century

Ornament for Torah scroll, created by silversmith L. J. Limburg. Amsterdam, the Netherlands, [early decades of 20th century

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Silver Ornament (Crown) for Torah Scroll – The Netherlands, First Half of 20th Century

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Auction 105 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Esther Scrolls and Jewish Ceremonial Art Jan 27, 2026

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Ornament for Torah scroll, created by silversmith L. J. Limburg. Amsterdam, the Netherlands, [early decades of 20th century, prior to 1945].

Silver, cast, cut, pierced, sawed, and engraved (marked with fineness mark, the letters "LL" and underneath, the digit 5 inside a square frame = L.J. Limburg, active in Amsterdam in years 1900-1945).

Torah ornament with a unique structure and design, with no known counterparts. Designed in form of a broad, oval-shaped crown, with no protruding upper portion (atarah), and with a tall base and broad, flat upper surface adorned with vegetal patterns. Attached to the front is a pair of ornaments sawed by hand, one depicting the Table of the Showbread, and the other representing the seven-branched Menorah. The ornaments bear inscriptions (Hebrew, both from Proverbs 3:16) engraved onto an accompanying pair of ornaments shaped like cloth ribbons: "In her left hand are riches and honor" and "Length of days is in her right hand".

Seven pendants shaped like leafy wreaths dangle from the bottom edges. The entire crown consists of four units identical in size, which are movable thanks to a combination of tracks, slots, and pins. At the center of the upper surface is a broad, rectangular opening that can be widened or narrowed.

Height: 8.5 cm. Width: 34.5 cm. Depth: 26 cm. Overall good condition. One pendant missing. Two pendants partly disconnected, and with broken edges. Strip missing from ornament shaped like Table of the Showbread. Minor blemishes.

Reference: Maker's marks of Dutch gold- and silversmiths (1981), no. 7564

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Torah Ornaments – Torah Crowns, Torah Finials, Torah Shields

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Lot 224 Torah Crown – Ottoman Empire, 19th Century

Torah crown. [Ottoman Empire (probably Turkey), 19th century].

Silver, cut, repoussé, pierced, and stamped (unmar

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Torah Crown – Ottoman Empire, 19th Century

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Auction 105 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Esther Scrolls and Jewish Ceremonial Art Jan 27, 2026

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Torah crown. [Ottoman Empire (probably Turkey), 19th century].

Silver, cut, repoussé, pierced, and stamped (unmarked).

Tall Torah crown, cylindrical, open both at the top and at the base. Adorned with decorative elements typical of crowns and other ornaments associated with Torah scrolls of the Ottoman Empire, such as rich vegetal patterns, and a lunar crescent partly encircling an eight-point star – emblem of the Ottoman Empire from 1844 onward. The crown is pierced with six triangular openings; at their tips are apertures for suspended bells (missing). Soldered onto the interior at the base is a wide, rectangular silver plate with two rounded openings intended to fit the Torah scroll handles.

Height: 28 cm. Diameter at base: 21 cm. Diameter of upper opening: 23 to 25 cm. Fair condition. Warping and fractures. Approximately five of upper ornaments broken or missing. Silver plate at base broken, and with numerous missing components. Fractures and old soldering repairs to base. Inner silver rod may be a later addition. Missing bells.

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Torah Ornaments – Torah Crowns, Torah Finials, Torah Shields

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Lot 225 Torah Crown – Istanbul, Late 19th or Early 20th Century

Torah crown. Probably Istanbul, Ottoman Empire (today Turkey), [late 19th or early 20th century].

Silver, pierced, repou

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Torah Crown – Istanbul, Late 19th or Early 20th Century

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Auction 105 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Esther Scrolls and Jewish Ceremonial Art Jan 27, 2026

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Torah crown. Probably Istanbul, Ottoman Empire (today Turkey), [late 19th or early 20th century].

Silver, pierced, repoussé, and stamped (marked with a "tughra" mark, in use in the years 1876-1918, and with a Ottoman fineness mark).

Cylindrical Torah crown, open both at the top and at the base. Structure and decorative elements include thirteen tapering arches, curving slightly forward at their tips. Arches with recurrent, symmetrical vegetal pattern which includes a large flower encircled by smaller flowers and leafy elements. Soldered onto the interior at the base is a flat, broad, rectangular silver rod with two circular openings for inserting the Torah scroll handles.

Height: 13-14 cm. Diameter at base: 27 cm. Diameter of upper opening: 30.5 cm. Overall good condition. Slight warping. Minor fractures and fissures at connection lines between several pairs of adjacent arches.

For an identical Torah crown from Istanbul, see: The Center for Jewish Art (CJA), Item No. 903.

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Torah Ornaments – Torah Crowns, Torah Finials, Torah Shields

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Lot 226 Silver Torah Crown – Israel

Crown for Torah case (Tunisian or Algerian). [Israel, second half of 20th century].

Silver, cast (unmarked); enamel.

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Auction 105 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Esther Scrolls and Jewish Ceremonial Art Jan 27, 2026

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Crown for Torah case (Tunisian or Algerian). [Israel, second half of 20th century].

Silver, cast (unmarked); enamel.

Crown for adorning a Sephardi Torah case. Composed of twelve identically designed links attached to one another by pins and hinges. The link serving as a clasp is divided into two halves. All links almost identically decorated, with appliqués in the form of a seven-branched menorah, the Two Tablets of the Law (with the abbreviated Ten Commandments engraved), and a large Star of David with the word "Zion" at center.

Column-shaped ornaments connect the links one to another. Blue enamel is applied to the lines of the Stars of David, and to the capitals of the columns. Twelve small plates bearing the emblems of each of the Twelve Tribes of Israel are soldered onto the surfaces of each link, between the Star of David and the lower border.

Height: 14.5 cm. Total length: 115 cm. Overall good condition. Lengthy suspension hooks soldered onto back. Rings attached to lower centers of menorah ornaments (but missing in some) – possibly for bells or other ornaments (missing).

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Torah Ornaments – Torah Crowns, Torah Finials, Torah Shields

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Lot 227 Pair of Silver Torah Finials – Johann Jakob Runnecke – Fürth, Germany, Late 18th Century

Pair of silver Torah finials. Fürth, Germany, late 18th century.

Silver, pierced, stamped, repoussé, and eng

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Pair of Silver Torah Finials – Johann Jakob Runnecke – Fürth, Germany, Late 18th Century

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Auction 105 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Esther Scrolls and Jewish Ceremonial Art Jan 27, 2026

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Pair of silver Torah finials. Fürth, Germany, late 18th century.

Silver, pierced, stamped, repoussé, and engraved (marked with Fürth municipal mark – a crescent moon with the letter "F"; year mark "Z"; and maker’s mark – the letters "IR" and above them, four dots – of the silversmith Johann Jakob Runnecke / Runecke); gilt.

Torah finials of a German type, adorned with vegetal patterns, with three apertures for bells. At the top, a crown-like ornament capped by a small dome.

The silversmith Johann Jakob Runnecke has been documented in the past by Marc Rosenberg (Der Goldschmiede Merkzeichen, 1922) and other sources and authorities, referred to as "J. Rimonim". This craftsman, whose Berliner father was also a silversmith, was active in Fürth and produced quite a few articles of Judaica in the late 18th century, including Hanukkah lamps, Torah shields and Torah finials, Kiddush cups, and at least one magnificent Sabbath lamp (formerly part of the Sassoon Family Collection).

Height: 23 cm. Maximal width: 8 cm. Fair condition. Warping, fractures, and missing pieces, especially to upper ornaments. Bud-shaped upper tip missing in one finial. Numerous old soldering repairs at points of attachment of shafts. One missing bell; several bells apparently not original.

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Torah Ornaments – Torah Crowns, Torah Finials, Torah Shields

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Lot 228 Pair of Torah Finials – Germany / Alsace, 1913 – Blum Family

Pair of Torah Finials. [Germany, possibly Berlin, early 20th century], dedicatory inscription from Alsace, dated 1913 [5673

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Pair of Torah Finials – Germany / Alsace, 1913 – Blum Family

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Auction 105 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Esther Scrolls and Jewish Ceremonial Art Jan 27, 2026

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Pair of Torah Finials. [Germany, possibly Berlin, early 20th century], dedicatory inscription from Alsace, dated 1913 [5673].

Silver, turned, stamped, and engraved (marked with German quality marks – "800", crown and crescent moon – and with unidentified maker’s mark, possibly H. Meyen & Co. Berlin).

Torah finials with tall, broad cylindrical shafts, each with a large crown on top, surmounted by a sphere, in turn surmounted by an ornament in the form of the Two Tablets of the Law, engraved (in Hebrew) with the abbreviated Ten Commandments. Supported on broad, dome-shaped bases, each bearing an engraved dedicatory inscription (French), "Donn de Mme Vve Moïse Blum Avril 1913" (= "Gift of the Mme, wife of Moïse Blum, April 1913") on one, and "En Souvenir de son cher mari né à Bischheim" (= "In memory of her dear husband, born in Bischheim") on the other.

Height: 28.5-29 cm. Diameter at base: 9 cm. Fair-good condition. Minor warping. Fractures and soldering repairs to attachments of upper ornaments. Corrosion to upper ornaments.

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Torah Ornaments – Torah Crowns, Torah Finials, Torah Shields

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