Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $7,000
Estimate: $10,000 - $15,000
Sold for: $13,750
Including buyer's premium
Torah crown, created by silversmith Antoni Riedel (active 1878-1910). Warsaw, Poland, 1884.
Silver, repoussé, engraved and embossed; silver, cast; parcel gilt (maker's mark "A. Riedel", workshop mark (logo), Warsaw city marks, "84" quality mark, and assayer's mark with date "OC 1884" [Osip Sosnkovski]).
Large Torah crown, in a design typical of crowns from Poland and Eastern Europe. With a round base, decorated with dense leaf ornaments, featuring three gilded medallions engraved with a dedication inscription: "Moshe Zvi son of R. Simcha / Pinczowski, from Konin / Year 1884".
Six half-arches decorated with floral patterns extend from the base to the crown's top, which is also adorned with floral patterns and a wide ring with leaf ornaments. Six rampant lions are positioned between the crown's half-arches, and above them are six cast decorations in the shape of deer heads, with rings holding bells in their mouths. Above the large crown is a smaller crown, decorated with six eagles standing on globes with bells, topped by a gilded spherical ornament on which stands a swan with spread wings.
A Jewish community existed in the city of Konin from the 14th century, and for hundreds of years it was administratively subordinate to the Kalisz community. In the late 19th century, about 2,480 Jews lived in Konin.
Height: 34 cm, base diameter: 19.5 cm, maximum width: 30 cm. Good condition.
Only a few crowns made by Riedel are known. For comparison, see: Center for Jewish Art (CJA), item 31584 (collection of the National Museum of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia); J. Greenstein, March 12, 2014, Lot 178.
This crown was likely part of a set, along with the Torah pointer and breastplate sold at Kedem, Jerusalem, May 8, 2024, Lot 43 (these lots match in terms of design, silver marks, and the style of letters engraved on the interchangeable plates of the breastplate).
Category
Jewish Ceremonial Art
Catalogue
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $5,000
Estimate: $6,000 - $8,000
Sold for: $7,500
Including buyer's premium
Pair of cups: a Kiddush cup and Elijah's Cup. Russian Empire / Galicia, with a dedication inscription from 1876.
Silver, engraved; both goblets are marked on the base with the quality mark "84" and the initials "P. B.(?)" in cursive Cyrillic script (presumably the maker's mark).
Large and impressive cups, with a narrow base and a body that widens towards the rim. One cup is engraved with the inscription "This / Cup / for R. / Mordechai / Shachtman / 1876" and the second cup is engraved with the inscription
"This / Cup of / Elijah the Prophet… 1876".
Both cups are similarly decorated with intricate vines, a large bird of prey (eagle) with wings spread to the sides, and a pair of large, tongue-lolling lions supporting with their paws a rectangular frame with an arched top (within these frames, the aforementioned inscriptions are engraved). Elijah's Cup also features a double-headed eagle embellishment, engraved below the frame.
Height: 8.5 cm, base diameter: 4.7 cm, rim diameter: 8.2 cm. Overall good condition.
Category
Jewish Ceremonial Art
Catalogue
![Spice container. Tlemcen, Algeria, [ca. 1900-1930].
Silver sheet, repoussé, pierced and engraved; silver, cas](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/154_1.jpg "Silver Spice Container – Tlemcen, Algeria, Early 20th Century")
![Spice container. Tlemcen, Algeria, [ca. 1900-1930].
Silver sheet, repoussé, pierced and engraved; silver, cas](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/154_2.jpg "Silver Spice Container – Tlemcen, Algeria, Early 20th Century")
![Spice container. Tlemcen, Algeria, [ca. 1900-1930].
Silver sheet, repoussé, pierced and engraved; silver, cas](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/154_3.jpg "Silver Spice Container – Tlemcen, Algeria, Early 20th Century")
![Spice container. Tlemcen, Algeria, [ca. 1900-1930].
Silver sheet, repoussé, pierced and engraved; silver, cas](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/154_4.jpg "Silver Spice Container – Tlemcen, Algeria, Early 20th Century")
![Spice container. Tlemcen, Algeria, [ca. 1900-1930].
Silver sheet, repoussé, pierced and engraved; silver, cas](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/154_5.jpg "Silver Spice Container – Tlemcen, Algeria, Early 20th Century")
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $1,000
Estimate: $2,000 - $4,000
Sold for: $1,500
Including buyer's premium
Spice container. Tlemcen, Algeria, [ca. 1900-1930].
Silver sheet, repoussé, pierced and engraved; silver, cast (unmarked).
A container designed for storing spices for the Havdalah ceremony. Shaped as a hexagonal container with a pointed dome, topped by a flower-like ornament and an upper cast decoration in a symmetrical vegetal pattern characteristic of Islamic art.
The container stands on an additional decoration – matching the upper one at the top – soldered to the hexagonal base. One of the container's facets features a pierced arched opening closed by a hinged door with a locking mechanism (similar to European tower-shaped spice containers). The container and base are decorated with floral patterns and palm designs (hamsas). Two gilded bells hang on hooks fixed to the upper part of the container.
Two engraved inscriptions serve as indication to the container's origin and owner: on the upper margins,
"…Moshe / di / Yaakov / Levy…", and on the lower margins – "Handmade by / the craftsman Yehia / Faruz / and Makhluf ben / Hamu / Tlemcen".
This container – likely created as a private commission – beautifully reflects the typical silversmith work of North African Jews. It is reminiscent in its shape and decorations of Jewish ceremonial objects from Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia, especially Torah finials and crowns. However, it represents a unique and possibly singular example of an Algerian spice container, as in Middle Eastern countries, spices used for Havdalah were abundant, eliminating the need to preserve them for reuse in dedicated containers, as was customary in European countries.
The name of the silversmith Yaya Farouz of Tlemcen is mentioned in Paul Eudel's L'orfèvrerie Algérienne et Tunisienne (Alger, 1902, p. 430); According to online genealogical records Farouz passed away in 1936, a fact that helps dating this item to the very first decades of the 20th century.
The name of the silversmith Yaya Farouz of Tlemcen is mentioned in Paul Eudel's L'orfèvrerie Algérienne et Tunisienne (Alger, 1902, p. 430); According to online genealogical records Farouz passed away in 1936, a fact that helps dating this item to the very first decades of the 20th century.
Height: 31.5 cm, base width: 8.5 cm. Overall good condition.
Category
Jewish Ceremonial Art
Catalogue
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $40,000
Estimate: $50,000 - $60,000
Unsold
Year-round siddur following Ashkenazi rite, with Torah portions, Shir HaYichud, Yotzerot and Selichot, Hoshanot and Ma'aravot. Amsterdam: Herz Levi Rofe and his son-in-law Kosman, 1752.
Bound with: Book of Psalms arranged according to the days of the week, with German commentary and order of supplications. Amsterdam: Herz Levi Rofe and his son-in-law Kosman, [1760]. Includes Yiddish translation ("Taytsh"); with separate title pages for Psalms and for supplications. Bound in a magnificent silver binding, with dedicatory inscriptions.
Paper, cardboard and fabric; brass sheet; silver, repoussé, pierced and engraved (both clasps are stamped with the 18th century Halberstadt city mark; unidentified maker's mark: the letters F.S with a flower above and below within a shield-shaped frame [not documented in Scheffler], and a stamped letter H, apparently date letter for the year 1761).
It appears that this siddur was given as a "Sivlonot" – a present from the groom to his betrothed, after their engagement. It is bound in a magnificent silver binding on which the names of the couple appear: on the front cover –
"R. / Leib son of the Gaon … [A]kiva Eger / of blessed memory", and on the back cover – "Hendele / daughter of Itzek … 1761".
Both sides of the binding are symmetrically decorated, in identical floral patterns typical of the 18th century: a pair of rampant lions in the center, tongues extended, supporting a stylized cartouche and a large crown-shaped ornament. The spine and clasps are also decorated with matching patterns; a pair of silver ornaments soldered to the spine at the top and bottom (covering the thickness of the book).
In addition to the repoussé and engraved decorations, the silver binding also features tiny decorations pierced in patterns of leaves, stars, moons and flowers; a thin brass sheet located under the silver plates of the binding serves as a background and gives them a golden glow. Such pierced decorations are not common in bindings of this type, but are indeed found, for example, in German Torah pointers from the 18th century.
R. Yehuda Leib Yaakov Eger (1741-1814), son of Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi of Zülz and Pressburg ("Rabbi Akiva Eger the First"), served for forty years as rabbi in Halberstadt and was one of the leading Torah scholars of his generation. He was the uncle of the famous Rabbi Akiva Eger, Rabbi of Posen (1762-1837; author of Responsa Rabbi Akiva Eger and Derush VeChiddush, father-in-law of the Chatam Sofer). Together with his brother Rabbi Binyamin Wolf, he published his father's novellae in the book Mishnat D'Rabbi Akiva (Fürth, 1781). His sons were R. Peretz Sabel Eger and R. Avraham Eger of Mezhyrich.
Rebbetzin Chana Hinda Eger (Hendele) née Borchardt was born in Halberstadt in 1736 and died there in 1787. Her father's name was Yitzchak Baruch (see below: "Itzek") and he was called "Köslin" after his city of origin in Pomerania.
On the back endpaper appears a long and detailed genealogical inscription in the handwriting of R. Yehuda Leib's son –
R. Peretz Sabel Eger – which was apparently written after he inherited this volume from his father's estate, around 1814: "The young Sabel Eger residing here… Braunschweig son of…. Rabbi Leib Eger of blessed memory who was Rabbi of the holy community of Halberstadt for forty years, son of… Rabbi Akiva Eger… who was Rabbi and Rosh Metivta in… Zülz and Pressburg, author of the book Mishnat D'Rabbi Akiva son of the late… Rabbi Bunem Eger… son of… Rabbi Leib Eger… son of Rabbi Meir… The name of my mother and teacher the righteous Rebbetzin Mrs. Hendela… daughter of… Rabbi Itzek Köslin… son… Rabbi Baruch Köslin… of Pomerania / And my mother and teacher… mentioned above was born to a pious and famous generous woman Mrs. Schönchen of blessed memory".
R. Peretz Sabel Eger (1768-1842) was the cousin of the renowned Rabbi Akiva Eger. In 1809, he was appointed as Rabbi of Braunschweig. He corresponded on halachic matters with his cousin Rabbi Akiva Eger, and dozens of responsa in Rabbi Akiva Eger's responsa are addressed to him. He authored the books Ateret Paz on Tractate Beitzah and Rimon Peretz on Tractate Ketubot.
[2], 243; 85; 128, [1], 130-144 leaves. Misfoliation. 18.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains, including dampstains (many stains on first and last leaves due to dampness on the endpapers). Worming to some leaves, affecting text. Gilt edges. New cloth-covered cardboard binding, with original endpapers, partially restored and reconstructed. Two French bookplates, presumably from the 19th or early 20th century ("Bibliotheque du Chateau, de Livry, CB"; "Candide et Constanter, JWC"). Silver binding 19X13.5 cm, overall good condition.
The binding is documented in the Center for Jewish Art (CJA), item 3909.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 025.001.013.
Category
Jewish Ceremonial Art
Catalogue
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $10,000
Estimate: $15,000 - $20,000
Sold for: $13,750
Including buyer's premium
Passover Haggadah and Seder Sefirat HaOmer. Manuscript on parchment, work of scribe and illustrator Chaim Leib Beinhocker. Place and date not specified, [likely first half of the 20th century]. Bound in a magnificent silver binding, with the Fiorentini family crest. Rome, presumably 19th century (1815-1870).
Ink and paint on parchment; silk fabric; silver, repoussé and engraved (twice stamped with the emblem of Rome and a maker's mark – A70G (?) in a lozenge-shaped frame).
Manuscript on parchment. Miniature format. Written in black ink in Ashkenazi square script, without vocalization. All pages are framed in a rectangular border in pink ink. Accompanied by 87 color illustrations. Text: Leaves [1]-[55a] – Passover Haggadah; Leaves [55b]-[69a] – Seder Sefirat HaOmer.
The manuscript opens with an architectural title page featuring the figures of Moses and Aaron, where the names of the scribe and the patron for whom the manuscript was created appear: "Passover Haggadah / with fine illustrations / collected from / old Haggadot… I / the humble Chaim Leib / Beinhocker in honor of… Rabbi / Yekutiel Fischhof" (we were unable to identify these figures).
In addition to the illustration on the title page, 86 more color illustrations are integrated throughout the manuscript, depicting the Haggadah story as well as Lag BaOmer and Shavuot – most are miniatures (the smallest measures 4X2.5 cm, and the largest 8x5 cm) – as well as initial words adorned with gold, with tiny illustrations.
Although created during the 20th century, it appears that the creator of this manuscript was influenced by the tradition of 18th-century European illustrated manuscripts, especially those of the "Moravian School". However, while most 18th-century manuscripts base their illustrations on the "Amsterdam Haggadah" (Amsterdam, 1695), this manuscript's illustrations are based on the woodcuts of the "Venice Haggadah" first printed in Venice in 1609.
The silver binding is identically decorated on both sides with floral patterns centered around the Fiorentini family crest – a bent arm holding a wreath with three flowers – topped by a crown-shaped ornament. This family originated in Tuscany and has lived in Rome since the 16th century. Among its famous members are the poet Salomone Fiorentino, and several military figures who fought during the 19th and 20th centuries. For more information about this family, see: Elivo Giuditta, Araldica Ebraica in Italia. [Torino]: Società Italiana di Studi Araldici, 2007, p. 179.
For another binding by the same silversmith (dated ca. 1830), see: Sotheby's, December 20, 2017, Lot 80.
[69] leaves + [3] blank parchment leaves at the end of the volume. 9X6 cm. Overall good condition. Some stains. Creases in several leaves. Silver binding: 9.7 cm, with doublures covered in dark purple silk fabric (slightly frayed at the edges).
Provenance: Sotheby's, New York, December 19, 2012, Lot 125.
Category
Jewish Ceremonial Art
Catalogue
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $5,000
Estimate: $8,000 - $10,000
Sold for: $6,250
Including buyer's premium
Two handwritten documents from members of the Sforno family. Bologna (Italy).
1. Manuscript, appeal to the authorities of Bologna by Avraham Sforno. February 14, 1477. Italian.
An appeal calling for the involvement of the mayor and the court of Bologna in an episode of violence.
The appellant, Avraham son of Reuven son of Shmuel Sforno (uncle of the biblical commentator Rabbi Ovadia Sforno), a resident of Santo Stefano, Bologna, claims that a man named David Musetti, a Jew of Modena living in Bologna, was one of the two armed men who attacked him one night outside of his home, beating him and severely injuring him and his servant. Despite the fact that the attackers wore masks, one of Sforno's servants identified Musetti, and this document shows that the victim attempted to bring the attacker to justice.
The episode occurred in October 1476, next to Sforno's home in Guardia di Bologna, located on a hill in a forest outside of the city (today in the suburb San Ruffillo), where he and his family had fled from a plague that had broken out in the city.
As mentioned, Avraham Sforno mentioned here is the uncle (paternal brother) of Rabbi Ovadia Sforno, the biblical commentator.
See: R. Rinaldi, un inventario dei beni dell'anno 1503: Abramo Sforno e la sua attività di prestatore, Il Carrobbio IX, 1983.
The watermark matches paper manufactured in 14th-century Italy.
[1] leaf. Approx. 21X30.5 cm. Good condition. Light stains. Folding marks. Puncture to center of leaf, slightly affecting text. Minute marginal tears.
2. Manuscript, legal ruling regarding Avraham Sforno of Bologna. December 22, 1479. Latin.
Confirmation of a legal ruling handed out by the court of Bologna, sentencing citizen Matteo Salaroli to death for robbing the bank of Avraham Sforno (Abramo figlio di Rubino) of Santo Stefano Square, Bologna. In addition, Salaroli is ordered to repay the sum he robbed in full. The document notes that the defendant had robbed the same bank several times, that the sentence is final and that its execution was approved by the mayor.
See: M. G. Muzzarelli, Gli Sforno di Bologna, Zakhor 3, 1999.
[1] leaf (written on both sides). 31.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Puncture to bottom of leaf, not affecting text. Minute marginal tears.
The Sforno family, a family of bankers from Spain, one of the most prominent Jewish families in Italy, whose members included, most famously, the Biblical commentator R. Ovadiah Sforno (1468/1473-1549). After a long period of wandering throughout Italy, he settled in Bologna along with his brother Chananel, where he served as a posek and physician and was moreover a partner in establishing a Hebrew printing press (the first Hebrew book to be printed there was his philosophical book Or Amim, in 1537).
Category
Jewish Communities – Ketubot and Various Documents
Catalogue
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $5,000
Estimate: $6,000 - $8,000
Sold for: $8,750
Including buyer's premium
Decorated parchment ketubah for the wedding of Shemaiah son of Aminadav Cases and Mirele daughter of Yosef Rimini. Mantua, Friday, May 25 1668.
An early, elaborate ketubah from Mantua, richly decorated with colors, geometrical patterns, gold and silver dots, and a family emblem; the earliest Italian ketubah decorated with this pattern.
The text of the ketubah is written in square letters, within the center of an architectural frame featuring a pair of pillars and an arch, decorated with an interlocking geometrical pattern colored green, red, blue and gold, with silver dots; a large image of a crown is featured in the center of the arch. The margins of the ketubah are decorated with a wide frame – in the same colors as the inner frame – with geometrical patterns of interlocking circles. The medallion located at the upper end of the frame features an illustration of a pair of doves with the word "Shalom" in between them (apparently an allegorical illustration, perhaps alluding to the bride's family emblem of a rooster), and the medallion at the bottom of the frame incorporates the groom's family emblem – an erect lion holding a branch.
The bottom margins of the ketubah text contain the signatures of the witnesses: "Shlomo son of R. Binyamin of Formiggini" and "Gur Aryeh son of R. Moshe Hoshayah HaLevi". Handwritten notes appear between the lines of the dowry and at the end of the ketubah text: "Verona currency…".
The bridegroom was a member of the respected
Cases family, who were of Spanish origin and reached Tuscany and later Florence in the late 15th century. The family settled in Bologna and Mantua, where they were distinguished leaders of the Jewish community. Its members gained fame as scribes, rabbis and physicians.
The second witness,
R. Gur Aryeh son of R. Moshe Hoshayah HaLevi [Finzi], was a rabbi and kabbalist in Mantua in the latter half of the 17th century. He authored a commentary on the Shulchan Aruch, printed with the Mantua 1722-1723 Shulchan Aruch edition published by his nephew R. Gur Aryeh (the second) son of R. Binyamin HaLevi Finzi. Other works of his, some kabbalistic, remain in manuscript. He was a friend of R. Moshe Zacuto (1625-1697), and the Chida reports that he heard the heavenly messenger teaching Torah to R. Moshe Zacuto (Shem HaGedolim, entry R. Moshe Zacuto).
R. Shlomo son of Binyamin Formiggini, the first witness, was a Torah scholar and kabbalist in Mantua, who served as the official scribe of the city's Jewish community.
Approx. 57X47 cm. Fair-good condition. Creases and stains, some dark. Folding marks. Tears, mainly to bottom part, including some open tears. Some tears are a few cm long. Some strips lacking, affecting decorations, some artistically repaired on paper. Several paper strips mounted on verso for reinforcement and repair of tears.
Provenance: Sotheby's, New York, June 16 2022, Lot 71.
Category
Jewish Communities – Ketubot and Various Documents
Catalogue
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $2,500
Estimate: $3,000 - $5,000
Sold for: $6,875
Including buyer's premium
Certificate of appreciation bestowed upon Dr. Ignaz (Yitzchak) Kuranda by the Gomlei Chasadim Chevra Kadisha of Prague. Color lithograph, Mittag & Wildner: Prague, dedication dated 5641 (1880-1881).
Large, elaborate certificate of appreciation, with a dozen illustrations depicting the ancient Jewish cemetery of Prague – featuring images of several of its distinguished and ancient graves – and the activities of the Gomlei Chasadim Chevra Kadisha in the city.
The eight illustrations depicting the cemetery document the graves of R. David Oppenheim, R. Mordechai Meisel – leader of the Jewish community in the time of the Maharal, the Maharal of Prague, R. David Gans, the noblewoman Hendele wife of financier Yaakov Bassevi, R. Avigdor Kara, R. Shimon Shapiro and R. Yosef Shlomo Delmedigo (Yashar of Kandia). The remaining four illustrations depict the activities of the Chevra Kadisha.
The center of the certificate contains printed blessings and dedications from the Chevra Kadisha, with the recipient's name and titles filled in by hand: "The man raised high, the all-around sage R. Dr. Yitzchak Kuranda, one of the ministers and advisors of the lands of the King of Austria, adorned in glorious ornaments by kings desiring his honor!".
Ignaz (Yitzchak) Kuranda (1811-1884) was a publicist, author and Austrian statesman born in Prague, who took an active part in Jewish community life in Vienna in the second half of the 19th century. Kuranda served as a representative in the Landtag of Lower Austria from 1861 and later served as president of the Jewish community of Vienna (IKG) from 1872 until his passing.
The bottom margins of the document contain the signatures of the representatives of the Chevra Kadisha in Prague: "Itzek R. Avraham Schitz", "Shmuel Taussig", "Kaufman Plahn", "Moshe R. Avraham Wohle Absan", "David Zoppert", "Zechariah Kuh", "Leib son of R. David Kuhe Segal".
This document is reminiscent, in design and layout, of Mizrach and Yahrzeit posters printed in central Europe during the 19th century which were distributed and sold commercially. Nevertheless, the present certificate appears to be an original work designed specifically for the Gomlei Chasadim society of Prague; we know of no other copies of this print, and it appears that even the illustrations printed here were specifically designed for this certificate, as they do not appear in other sources.
38X48 cm. Fair-good condition. Wide, complete margins. Creases, wear and rolling marks. Stains, some dark. Marginal tears, some reinforced with tape to verso.
Category
Jewish Communities – Ketubot and Various Documents
Catalogue