Auction 97 Part 1 The Solomon David Schloss Collection (1815-1911)
Miniature volume in Spanish including a siddur and pocket calendar, both in Spanish, in a splendid binding with silver buckles. Amsterdam, 17th century.
"Orden de oraciones, de mes con los ayunos del solo y congregacion y Pascuas nuevamente emendaco y anedido" ["Order of the Prayers for the Regular Days of the Week, for Sabbaths, and for Holidays"]. Amsterdam: printed by Iehudah Machabeu on behalf of Eliau y David Uziel Cardoso, 5416 [1656]. Spanish.
The siddur was printed entirely in Spanish, and was specifically intended for Marranos (conversos) and other members of Amsterdam’s Spanish-Jewish community. Rare edition, not in NLI.
Printed along with: "Calendario de las Fiestas que Celebran los Hebreos, En cada un ano… Del a criacion del mundo 5417 hasta 5436" ["Calendar of Holidays and Festivals for the Years 5417-5436 (1656-1676)"]. Amsterdam: Gillis Joosten (edited by Iehudah Machabeu), 1656. Spanish.
The binding is adorned on both sides with silver corner ornaments and with a pair of fancy silver buckles. An additional pair of silver ornaments serve as hinges connecting the front and rear binding to the book’s spine (all silver ornaments gilt).
Siddur: [2], 697, [3], 9 pages. Calendar: [25] pages. Height of binding: 9 cm. Gilt leaf edges, gauffered with a pattern of flowers and birds. Overall good condition. Stains, some with moderate browning. Slight wear to some leaves. Open tears affecting text in several places. Title page and additional leaf detached. Minor blemishes to binding (fracture, slightly open, to top of spine).
Exhibitions:
1. Presumably, London, Exhibition of Jewish Art and Antiquities, Whitechapel Art Gallery, 1906, item no. 1096.
2. Basel, Jewish Museum of Switzerland, JMS 1015.
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).
Miniature combination of a siddur in Hebrew and a pocket calendar in Spanish, in a splendid binding with silver buckles. Amsterdam, 17th century.
Sephardi version of the standard Hebrew siddur (prayer book) for both regular days and the Sabbath. Amsterdam: David de Castro Tartas, 1663. Bound together with: Calendario de ros-hodes, fiestas y ajunos que los hebreos celebran cada año", a Spanish calendar for Hebrew years 5436-5460 (1675-1700). Amsterdam: Jahacob de Jehuda Senior (publisher) Gillis Ioosten Zaagman (printer), 1675. Spanish.
The binding is adorned with four silver ornaments: two buckles, and two additional ornaments reinforcing the spine (unmarked). All four ornaments are gilt. They are delicately and meticulously cast, partly with vegetal patterns and partly with images of infant angels (putti).
Rare edition. Only one copy known to exist, in the Bodleian Library, bound with a different calendar. See: Steinschneider, CB, no. 2162; and Lajb Fuks and R. G. Fuks-Mansfel, Hebrew typography in the Northern Netherlands, 1585-1815, Part 2. Leiden: Brill, 1987, p. 349, no. 435.
Siddur: 192 leaves; Calendar: 32, [3] pages, 10.5 cm. Height of binding: 11 cm. Minute holes to binding (chain or ornaments missing) and several open fractures. Gilt leaf edges, with gauffered floral pattern.
Exhibitions:
1. Presumably, London, Exhibition of Jewish Art and Antiquities, Whitechapel Art Gallery, 1906, item no. 1096.
2. Basel, Jewish Museum of Switzerland, Basel, JMS 1016.
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).
Siddur for the entire year, in Yiddish, arranged according to Ashkenazic custom. Includes Psalms and prayers of supplication, with separate title pages. Amsterdam: Press of Solomon Ben Yosef Proops, 1714. In decorated silver binding with engraved dedicatory inscriptions and chain, used for suspension or for fixing the siddur to the synagogue furniture.
Silver, pierced, repoussé, engraved, and soldered (unmarked); Print on paper; wood and leather.
Dutch women’s siddur. Title page with engraving by Joannes Lamsvelt, depicting biblical heroines: Eve, Rebecca, Leah, Miriam, Deborah, and Hannah. The Talmudic teaching "In the merit of righteous women were our fathers redeemed from Egypt", appears at the bottom of the title page.
Apparently, this siddur was given by a bridegroom to his bride-to-be in accordance with the custom of "sivlonot", namely gifts sent by a newly-betrothed couple to one another following their betrothal. It is bound in its original wooden binding, and coated in full-grain leather encased within an elegant silver binding, engraved with the names of the bride and groom. The various decorations in the silver binding are created by piercing, such that the underlying dark leather appears in the background.
The back and front of the binding are identically adorned with vegetal patterns, and, in the center, a pair of lions with outstretched tongues, grasping a heart-shaped medallion surmounted by a large, crown-shaped ornament. The medallion on the front binding is engraved with the name of the bridegroom and the Hebrew year, "Hayyim son of / Uri Cohen / of blessed memory. 5477 [1717]", surmounted by a small, engraved, crown-shaped ornament. The medallion on the rear binding is engraved with the name of the bride and the Hebrew year, "Gittel daughter of / Rabbi Abraham / may he live for many long years 5477…". The unpierced spine bears matching patterns. A pair of silver ornaments, spanning the width of the book block, are perpendicularly soldered onto the top and bottom of the spine. The book block is locked with a pair of decorated silver buckles attached to the silver binding, and a suspension chain spans the top of the book block, connected to the front and rear silver binding by means of a pair of rings.
A handwritten notation attesting ownership to the bride, Gittel daughter of Abraham, appears in Yiddish on the front endpapers. It is dated 1718. A personal prayer, also in Yiddish, is handwritten onto the final pages of the siddur. In all likelihood, like the ownership notation in the front, it was written by the book’s owner, namely the bride herself.
For a similar item, see: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, item no. 025.001.007 (Center for Jewish Art, item no. 23636).
Silver Binding: 18.5 cm. Good condition. Minor blemishes and warping to clasp hinges, and edges of spine. Minor warping to binding edges.
Siddur: [1], 279, 136 Leaves. Approx. 17.5 cm. Overall good condition. Six original vorsatz leaves, three in the beginning of the volume and three more at its end, with handwritten ownership inscriptions in Yiddish (see above). Leaves 113-136 in first sequence detached, torn, and missing (leaf 114 and most of leaf 113 missing). Stains, with some browning. Creases and minor wear. Tears, including open tears, at leaf margins, affecting text in some places. Gilt leaf edges, with gauffered patterns of flowers and birds. Original wooden binding, covered in leather. Paper label (English print form, filled in with handwritten script) bearing the name of Solomon Schloss, from the exhibition at Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, 1906, pasted to inside front cover.
Exhibitions:
1. London, Exhibition of Jewish Art and Antiquities, Whitechapel Art Gallery, 1906, item no. 1098 (paper label glued onto inside flap of binding).
2. Glasgow, Festival of Jewish Arts Exhibition, McLellan Galleries, 1951, item no. 251.
3. Basel, Jewish Museum of Switzerland, JMS 1009.
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).
Five Books of the Torah and the Five Scrolls with Targum Onkelos (only for the Pentateuch), Rashi commentary, and the Haftarah portions. Amsterdam: Press of Shlomo Ben Yosef Proops, [1734]. In decorated silver binding.
Silver, pierced, repoussé, engraved, and soldered (unmarked); print on paper; leather.
This Chumash is bound in a reddish leather binding dating from the time of the printing of the volume, superimposed with a magnificent silver binding, pierced with various symmetrical, matching floral and other rich vegetal patterns on the front and rear, as well as on the spine. The piercing exposes the leather underneath. Silver binding includes a pair of decorated silver buckles.
Chumash: 2-491 leaves (title page missing); 56 leaves, 12.5 cm. Separate title page for the haftarot. Wear and tears on first and last leaves. Open tears to final leaf. Inked stamps of Russian censor. Gilt edges, with gauffered patterns on edges of book block.
Silver binding: 13.8 cm. Early ownership notation (Hebrew) on front flyleaf: “Avigdor Kieffer”. Paper label (English print form, filled in with handwritten script) bearing the name of Solomon Schloss, from the exhibition at Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, 1906, pasted to inside front cover.
Exhibitions:
1. London, Exhibition of Jewish Art and Antiquities, Whitechapel Art Gallery, 1906, item no. 1100.
2. Basel, Jewish Museum of Switzerland, JMS 1011.
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).
Hallmarks: · Quality mark "12"; · Maker's mark "AJ".
Pair of decorated cases for housing phylacteries, with each case consisting of a cube-shaped box rising from a flat base. Adorned on all sides with recurrent vegetal patterns, including large, matching floral decorations. Inscriptions engraved on upper faces: the Hebrew letters "shin-yud" ("shel yad": "of the arm") and "shin-resh" ("shel rosh": "of the head").
Height: 5 cm. Length: 7.5 cm. Width: 5.5 cm. Good condition. Minor blemishes and stains. Minor warping to base of the "shin-resh" case.
Exhibition: London, Exhibition of Jewish Art and Antiquities, Whitechapel Art Gallery, 1906, item no. 1169. Documented in the following article in which the above exhibition is reviewed: "The Exhibition of Jewish Art and Antiquities, Part 2: Ecclesiastical Art", "The Jewish Chronicle", November 16, 1906, p. 18.
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.
Silver, repoussé, engraved, and soldered.
Hallmarks: · Year mark, the letter "N" = 1822; · Maker's mark, the initials "JS" – Jacob Hendrik Stellingwerff (active in Amsterdam, 1812-1826); · Fineness marks.
Round platter, supported on three spherical legs. At center, enclosed within a round frame, is a scene depicting a father blessing his children – the so-called "Blessing of the Sons" – upon returning home from synagogue on Shabbat eve. Inscribed underneath the illustration are the German words "Freitag Abend" ("Sabbath Eve"). Various items are engraved in the margins: the family emblem (a shield marked with pair of diagonal lines forming an inverted "V", and three Stars of David) flanked by a pair of angels holding books and blowing trumpets, and three additional Stars of David, the bottom one flanked by a pair of cornucopias.
The illustration at the center of the platter is based on a renowned painting by the German-Jewish artist Moritz Daniel Oppenheim (1800-1882), "Friday Evening Blessing" ("Sabbath Anfang", 1867), which, as early as 1868, was reproduced in numerous editions and various formats as part of the series titled "Bilder aus dem Altjüdischen Familienleben" ("Pictures from the Life of the Traditional Jewish Family"). In all likelihood, Schloss – as a native of Frankfurt where Oppenheim was active – could readily identify with the scene depicted on the platter, insofar as it portrayed a memorable weekly experience from his own childhood.
The other decorations were added to the platter in the latter decades of the 19th century (certainly prior to 1906), probably as a product of the Jewish reawakening in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and a consequent trend toward a renewed interest in the Judaica market (for more on this subject, see the introduction to this catalogue, p. 15).
Diameter: 26 cm. Good condition.
Exhibitions:
1. London, Exhibition of Jewish Art and Antiquities, Whitechapel Art Gallery, 1906, item no. 1122.
2. Basel, Jewish Museum of Switzerland, JMS 1035.
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, turned, pierced, and engraved; gilt
Hallmarks (marked on base only): · The municipal mark of the city of Mulhouse, in use during the 17th and 18th centuries; · Maker's mark, the initials "IIK" – Johann Jacob Kielmann (1728-1819, certified silversmith from 1756).
Havdalah spicebox designed in the form of a multi-tiered tower, with balconies, flags, arches, and other apertures and openwork, in various forms and patterns. Cubic spice compartment, pierced on three sides with an openwork lattice pattern with an architectonic column in the middle; and on the front face with three small windows above a large, hinged door to be opened and closed. The door has a handle and can be locked by means of a key attached to a small dead bolt. Standing on the balcony above the spice compartment, at the corners, are four miniature male figures: two are wearing round hats; of these, one wields a small sledgehammer-like implement while the other blows a "shofar" (or some other type of horn); the other two wear contemporary hats (their hands are missing). Another balcony has four flags rising up from its corners. This balcony is surmounted by a belfry and bell chamber (with no bell) topped with a tall, domed, shingled roof supported by fancy columns. The roof is in turn surmounted by a gilt ornament supporting a flag. The shaft of the spicebox is in the form of a three-handled pitcher; the handles are fashioned in a vegetal pattern and are surmounted by bird heads. The dome-shaped base is adorned with floral patterns and rocailles.
The spicebox ("Hadas") presented here comprises silver elements dating from different periods. It appears that the upper, tower-shaped section was created in Germany in the late 17th or early 18th century. The pitcher-shaped shaft is earlier, and is dated to ca. 1620-1640. The base – the part bearing the silver mark from Mulhouse – is dated to the late decades of the 18th century. It assumed its present form sometime in the 19th century, at which time the gilt was restored to its various parts.
As to the significance of the miniature figures standing in the corners of the balcony, in the estimation of the Jewish Museum of Switzerland, where the item was on display for many years, they are likely meant to represent a synagogue attendant or manager (shamash or gabay), who would go from house to house in the Jewish neighborhood and knock on the doors with an instrument resembling a miniature sledgehammer (known in Yiddish as a "shul-klapper") in order to awaken the residents for morning synagogue services.
Height: 34.5 cm. Diameter at base: approx. 9 cm. Uppermost flag not original. Unclear inscriptions engraved on bottom of base. The hands of two of the figures are missing.
Reference: Katia Guth-Dreyfus (ed.), Juden im Elsass: Jüdisches Museum der Schweiz, Schweizerisches Museum für Volkskunde: Ausstellung 1992-1993, Basel, Switzerland, 1992. Exhibition catalogue, item no. 84, illustrated on p.23, described in p. 53.
Exhibitions:
1. London, Exhibition of Jewish Art and Antiquities, Whitechapel Art Gallery, 1906, item no. 1106.
2. Basel, Jewish Museum of Switzerland, JMS 1038.
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, sawed, and engraved; parcel gilt; filigree
Hallmarks: · Two of the figures marked "13"; · The initials "AM", perhaps a maker's mark.
High-quality havdalah spicebox ("Hadas") in the form of a belltower, with a tall, tapering steeple surmounted by a flag. Cubic, filigreed spice compartment with a small door, to be closed with a dead bolt lock. The compartment’s four corners are each adorned with thick, coiled silver-thread flagpoles with gilt flags on top of them. Surmounting each of the four flags are miniature male figures (also gilt) enacting the four essential, customary parts of the havdalah ceremony, with one figure holding a wine cup, another holding a siddur, a third, a tower-shaped spicebox, and a fourth, a braided havdalah candle. Spicebox supported on a gilt shaft, on top of a dome-shaped filigreed base with a gilt rim.
Height: 31.5 cm. Fractures and old repairs to filigree, in the base. Fracture to filigreed base of steeple/flagpole, professionally mended. Gilt silver spherical knob not original.
Reference: Chaya Benjamin and Marilyn Gold Koolik, Towers of Spice: The Tower-Shape Tradition in Havdalah Spiceboxes (exhibition catalogue), The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1982, item nos. 65-68, V, XIX (in the Hebrew version), especially item no. 67. Two 18th-century Havdalah objects originating from Nitra, featuring miniature figures and bearing a similar "13" hallmark, are showcased in the Stieglitz collection, item nos. 60-61.
Exhibitions:
1. Presumably, London, Exhibition of Jewish Art and Antiquities, Whitechapel Art Gallery, 1906, item no. 1127.
2. Presumably, Glasgow, Festival of Jewish Arts Exhibition, McLellan Galleries, 1951, item no. 247.
3. Basel, Jewish Museum of Switzerland, JMS 1041.
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 (unmarked), cut; filigree; gilt.
Belltower-shaped havdalah spicebox ("Hadas"); high-quality filigree work. Adorned with symmetrical floral (rosette) and vegetal patterns. The square spice compartment, housing a bell, is encompassed by a square railing; Mounted on each of the four corners of the railing are slender, spiraling columns surmounted by masts bearing (gilt) double-tongued flags, and flowers. Openings in the form of double-arched windows appear on all four sides of the upper compartment (which may have originally housed the bell). The spire is surmounted by a pair of spherical filigreed ornaments separated by a mast bearing an additional (gilt) double-tongued flag. Tower supported by a square pyramidal base with four spherical legs.
Height: 30 cm. Width at base: 6 cm. Flower-shaped ornaments missing; open fractures to filigree. One missing flag. Old soldering repairs.
For comparison, see: Chaya Benjamin and Marilyn Gold Koolik, Towers of Spices: The Tower-Shape Tradition in havdalah Spiceboxes (exhibition catalogue), The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel, 1982, item nos. 27, 45, and 46; The Israel Museum Collection, item nos. B50.02.0915 and B50.02.1147.
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. Abba and Shoshana "Suzy" Eban, gifted by Peter Castle on the occasion of their silver (25th) wedding anniversary.
5. Heirs of Peter Charles Castle.
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 (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; filigree.
Hallmarks: · Marked on flag and on two of the legs with fineness mark "84"; · The initials "OM" (assayer's mark); · The year "1889".
Havdalah spicebox ("Hadas") in the form of a tall tower with a conical spire surmounted by a sphere, a flag, and an eagle in flight. Three eagles adorn the base of the spire’s cone. Hexagonal spice compartment, surmounted by six eagles, each perched on a sphere. Six bells dangle from the corners at the bottom of the spice compartment. Supported by a tall, broad, crown-shaped base in turn supported on three legs, shaped like animal legs. Four eagles sit perched on top of the large ring that forms the base of the crown.
Height: 35 cm. Overall good condition.
Exhibitions:
1. London, Exhibition of Jewish Art and Antiquities, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, 1906, item no. 1102 or 1109. Documented in a photograph in an article reporting on this particular exhibition: "The Exhibition of Jewish Art and Antiquities, Part 2 – Ecclesiastical Art", The Jewish Chronicle, November 16, 1906, pp. 17-20 (illustrated on p. 20).
2. Glasgow, Festival of Jewish Arts Exhibition, McLellan Galleries, 1951, item no. 248.
3. Basel, Jewish Museum of Switzerland, JMS 1040.
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.