Auction 95 Early Printed Books, Chassidut and Kabbalah, Letters and Manuscripts, Engravings and Jewish Ceremonial Objects
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![Decorated pair of silver cases for phylacteries, Russia/Poland. [second half of 19th century].
Silver, cut, soldered, and en](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale95/349_1.jpg "Fine Pair of Decorated Silver Cases for Phylacteries – Russia-Poland")
![Decorated pair of silver cases for phylacteries, Russia/Poland. [second half of 19th century].
Silver, cut, soldered, and en](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale95/349_2.jpg "Fine Pair of Decorated Silver Cases for Phylacteries – Russia-Poland")
Decorated pair of silver cases for phylacteries, Russia/Poland. [second half of 19th century].
Silver, cut, soldered, and engraved (marked several times with quality mark and maker’s mark: the initials “AR” enclosed in a rectangle; later Dutch import mark); velvet lining.
Pair of decorated cases for housing phylacteries, with each case consisting of a cube-shaped box rising from a flat base. The two parts of each base are connected by means of a hinge, enabling opening and closing. Exteriors (other than bottoms of bases) entirely decorated in matching floral and vegetal patterns; a four-armed version of the Hebrew letter “shin” is engraved on the case for the phylacteries to be worn on the head. The interiors of the boxes are lined with dark red velvet.
Height: 4.5 cm. Length: 8 cm. Width: 5 cm. Good condition. Slight blemishes to velvet lining of interiors.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
![Mezuzah case – “jitah del mezuzah.” [Algeria or Morocco, early decades of the 20th century].Silver sheet, cut and repouss&eac](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale95/350.jpg "Silver Mezuzah Case – North Africa")
Mezuzah case – “jitah del mezuzah.” [Algeria or Morocco, early decades of the 20th century].
Silver sheet, cut and repoussé, mounted with nails onto wooden panel.
At center is the symbol of the seven-branched Menorah, with images of a pitcher of oil and the Temple vessels at its base. The Menorah is flanked by columns surmounted by an arch, and is encircled by a pattern of tendrils, branches, and flowers. Underneath the arch is the Hebrew word “Shaddai” (one of the names of the Almighty). Case surmounted by suspension ring.
Height (incl. wooden panel): approx. 25 cm. Width: 16.5 cm. Good condition. Wear to edges of wooden panel. Fracture to length of back of wooden panel, reinforced with rectangular strips of cardboard, nailed on. Without the mezuzah scroll.
Reference: “Jewish Life in Morocco”, by Aviva Müller-Lancet. Exhibition catalogue, 2nd edition. Jerusalem, the Israel Museum, 1983 (Hebrew; French edition published 1986), p. 60.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
“Darbuka”, drum used as a musical instrument at weddings and other joyous celebrations, [North Africa (Tunisia?), early decades of the 20th century].
Painted earthenware; leather; string and synthetic cord.
Earthenware drum with a broad upper opening and a narrow leg, tapering gently downward toward the base. The opening on top is covered with a circular sheet of leather for percussion. The body of the drum is encircled with decorative bands and grooves, carved into the ceramic material. It is colorfully painted with patterns of flowers and tendrils. Inscribed on the bottom of the spherical part of the body is a dedicatory inscription in Judeo-Arabic: “Lahaba’ab Walsa’ha’ab : Ul-masu’ah : Ladamt : Farh :” [“To the beloved and to the friends, may you be forever joyful”].
The words in the dedicatory inscription derive, among other contexts, from a well-known Tunisian Jewish wedding ritual, namely the special celebration conducted following the wedding ceremony to honor the guests and all individuals who contributed wedding gifts. Musicians played a decidedly prominent role in this particular celebration; the guests would gravitate toward tables overladen with all manner of delectable dishes while being pleasantly serenaded by the musicians. The guests would customarily shower the families of the bride and groom with monetary gifts to help allay the burdensome financial costs of the wedding – including payment for the musicians – and would hand their donations to the master of ceremonies. The emcee would then bombastically announce – often in rhyme – the sum gifted by any given individual or couple, in honor of the bride and groom and in honor of the “haba’ab” and “sa’ha’ab” – “the beloved and the friends” – that is, the guests attending the wedding.
For information regarding this custom and ceremony, see: “Jewish Communities in the East in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries: The Life Cycle, ” by Shalom Sabar. Jerusalem, Israel Ministry of Education and the Ben Zvi Institute, 2006 (Hebrew), p. 262.
Height: 38.5 cm. Maximum diameter: 25 cm. Good condition. Minor fractures and fissures, mostly to lower rim of leg. Blemishes to paint. Tiny holes and minor scratches to leather. Two small drills towards the lower part of the earthenware body.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
![1. Amulet pendant. Stamped and soldered silver; gilt. [Iran, 19th century].Round amulet with two suspension rings. Stamped wi](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale95/352_1.jpg "Two Amulets – Iran, 19th and 20th Centuries")
![1. Amulet pendant. Stamped and soldered silver; gilt. [Iran, 19th century].Round amulet with two suspension rings. Stamped wi](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale95/352_2.jpg "Two Amulets – Iran, 19th and 20th Centuries")
![1. Amulet pendant. Stamped and soldered silver; gilt. [Iran, 19th century].Round amulet with two suspension rings. Stamped wi](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale95/352_3.jpg "Two Amulets – Iran, 19th and 20th Centuries")
![1. Amulet pendant. Stamped and soldered silver; gilt. [Iran, 19th century].Round amulet with two suspension rings. Stamped wi](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale95/352_4.jpg "Two Amulets – Iran, 19th and 20th Centuries")
1. Amulet pendant. Stamped and soldered silver; gilt. [Iran, 19th century].
Round amulet with two suspension rings. Stamped with identical inscriptions and designs on both faces. The inscriptions bear the initials of the (Hebrew) lyrics to the “piyut” (liturgical poem) “Ana Bi-Koach”, followed by the initials to the liturgical (Hebrew) words of blessing and praise for the Almighty, “Barukh Shem K’vod Malkhuto Li-Olam Va-Ed”, arranged in two concentric circles. At center is a decoration apparently meant to look like a flower. The border consists of an inner circle of dots and an outer circle with a hatched pattern.
Diameter: 3.5 cm.
Provenance: The Ignat Mahler Collection (“Valuable Judaica: From the Collection of the Late Ignat Mahler”, Parke-Bernet Galleries, 1970, Lot No. 24).
2. Amulet or pseudo-amulet. Engraved silver. [Iran, ca. 1948].
Rectangular amulet with cut corners, engraved on both sides. On one side, in Hebrew, are the names of angels along with inscriptions (some faded) believed to impart protection against evil: “By virtue of these names … may You have mercy upon … and grant him plenitude … and grace and benevolence and may you rescue (misspelled) him from all manner of trouble and distress…” The other side features something of a “magic square” bearing a text or formula apparently borrowed from a “ketubah” document: “On the fifth day of the week – the eighteenth of the month of Iyar, the year 5708 [May 27, 1948] since the Creation of the World…”
8.5X9.5 cm.
Purchased in Tehran, Iran, 1971.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.