Mezuzah case by Ludwig Yehuda Wolpert (1900-1981). [New York, ca. 1960s]. Signed on reverse: "Wolpert".

Sterling silver, cut and pierced; ink on parchment.

Designed as a pair of Ark doors. Rectangular base with two holes for affixing to a doorpost; removable concave front inscribed in sewn Hebrew letters, in Wolpert’s distinctive style: "Barukh atah bevo'akha uvarukh atah betsetekha".

Cylindrical shaft in center for housing the parchment scroll, with small window revealing the word "Shaddai". The mezuzah parchment is written in Ashkenazi scribal hand (ca. mid-20th century).

Ludwig Yehuda Wolpert (1900-1981), Israeli-American designer and silversmith, a pioneer of the modernist style in Jewish ceremonial art. Born near Heidelberg to an Orthodox family of Eastern European origin, he studied sculpture and metalwork at the Frankfurt School of Arts, influenced by Bauhaus principles and the modernist designs of his teacher Christian Dell.

In 1933, following the Nazi rise to power, he emigrated to Palestine. In 1935, he joined the faculty of the New Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts in Jerusalem, where he co-directed the metalwork department with David Heinz Gumbel.

Wolpert’s work is distinguished by its synthesis of modernist silversmithing with Hebrew typography and biblical texts. In 1956, he moved to the U.S., where he headed the Tobe Pascher Workshop for Modern Jewish Art at the Jewish Museum, New York.

For comparison, see: Sharon Weiser-Ferguson (curator), Forging Ahead: Wolpert and Gumbel, Israeli Silversmiths for the Modern Age, Israel Museum, 2012, p. 80 and p. 65 (Torah Ark doors) [Hebrew edition].

Approx. 13X9X1.5 cm. Good condition. Minor staining and blemishes. Suspension holes in the back.