Two hanging Sabbath lamps ("Judenstern"). [Germany, 19th or 20th century].
1. Copper and bronze, cast, soldered and pierced.
Baluster-shaped shaft over an eight-spout wick holder. Adjustable suspension bar.
Total length: approx. 88 cm. Production defects. Welding repairs.
2. Brass, cast and turned.
Column shaft over a six-spout wick holder. Connector brackets and hollow screws inside each spout (possibly as part of past electric wiring).
Total length: approx. 125 cm. Good condition. Minor damage. Adjustable suspension bar presumably supplemented from a different lamp.

Decorated mezuzah cover from the house of the woman Rovida Alkobi. [Morocco, late 19th century to mid-20th century].
Low-grade silver, pierced and engraved; cloth and cardboard.
A silver shield-shaped mezuzah cover, pierced and engraved with palmettes and scrolling foliage. The divine name "Shadai" and the name "Rovida Alkobi" are engraved on top. The name Rovida, short for Orovida, is a Judeo-Spanish name meaning "golden life".
Elaborate mezuzah covers were of the most important religious artifacts in Jewish households in Morocco, and unlike other artifacts, were considered "feminine" objects, bearing the name of the lady of the household. The covers were usually embroidered goldwork on velvet in vibrant colors; some were made of silver and backed with velvet. Most of the silver mezuzah covers most probably originate from the mellah of Fez, which was home to many silversmiths who worked in this style. Similar silverwork is typical of Moroccan Hanukkah lamps, prayers shawl (tallit) bags and phylacteries (tefillin) bags.
The Mezuzah cover was often made for the bride's dowry, but in some cases the need for it arose only later; at first, the young couple would live with the husband's parents and only when children were born and the family moved to a more spacious house would a new mezuzah cover be made. Since Jewish houses in Morocco (like Muslim houses) were closed off for reasons of modesty and safety, and due to the value of the silver mezuzah covers, they were not hung on the door facing the street but rather inside the house, often at the entrance to the living room. Thus, the Mezuzah symbolized the central place of the wife and mother as the supporting pillar of the family, in the spirit of the Mishnaic saying "his house is his wife".
This mezuzah cover is documented in the Bezalel Narkiss Index of Jewish Art, item no. 7262.
18X26.5 cm. Good condition. A suspension loop on top. Bends. On a new cardboard base covered with fabric.
Literature: The Mezuzah Cover: A Special Artistic Ritual Object in the Life of the Jewish Woman in the Moroccan Cities, by Shalom Sabar (Hebrew). In Yahadut Marocco, January-June 2016, Issue 3, pp. 48-53.

Flavij Josephi des Hochberühmten Jüdischen Geschichtschreibers Historien und Bücher, Von alten Jüdischen Geschichten zwentzig sammt eynem von seinem Leben; Vom Jüdischen Krieg und der Statt Jerusalem und des gantzen Lands zerstörung siben. Strassburg: Theodosium Rihel [Theodosius Rihel], 1597 (imprint from colophon). German.
A large volume opening with Antiquities of the Jews, which includes twenty chapters narrating the history of the Jewish people from the creation of the world until the Great Revolt (66 C.E.). The second part is book V of The Jewish War, recounting the events of the destruction of Jerusalem (with separate title page). Both parts are illustrated with more than a hundred impressive woodcuts.
Part I: [6] leaves, 946 pp, [20] leaves; Part II: [6] leaves, 214 pp, [5] leaves, 32.5 cm. Good condition. Stains and minor blemishes. Worming to several leaves at the beginning of the book (not affecting text). Handwritten notations and markings to several leaves. Library stamps to several leaves; bookplate to inside front board. Leather-covered binding, spine gilt-embossed, worn and damaged. Paper label to bottom spine.

Hierozoicon, sive bipertitum opus de animalibus S. Scripturae, by Samuel Bochart. Leiden: Cornelium Boutesteyn & Jordanum Luchtmans / Utrecht: Guilielmum vande Water, 1692. Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Arabic. Two parts in one volume.
An important study by French scholar and priest Samuel Bochart (1599-1667), attempting to identify biblical animals based on a variety of ancient sources: The Holy Scriptures, Near Eastern literature and Greek and Latin sources.
Additional imprint at the end of each part: Utrecht: Ernestum Voskuyl, 1690.
Both title pages feature an engraving depicting a group of people presenting a picture of the Tower of Babel.
[4] leaves, 63 pp, 1094 columns, 91 pp; [2] leaves, 888 columns, 79 pp, approx. 37 cm. Good condition. Stains. Minor blemishes. Vellum-covered, embossed binding, damaged and worn.

Der wunderwürdige Juden- und Heiden-Tempel / Darinn derselben Gottes- und Götzen-Dinst eröffnet und gezeigt wird. Nuremberg: Wolfgang Moritz Endters. Printed by Johann Ernst Adelbulner, 1701. German. First edition.
An extended German edition of Alexander Ross's (1590-1654) work Pansebeia, or View of all the Religions in the World, with the Lives of certain notorious Hereticks – a comparative study of various world religions. With an essay about paganism by the translator and editor, theologian David Nerreter (1649-1726).
The book, written from a Christian perspective, reviews and compares various religions in Asia, Africa, America and Europe and contains dozens of engraved plates, mostly depicting religious rituals and pagan rites. The first chapter is dedicated to Judaism, and includes a folding engraved plate depicting the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) in the days of the Temple (the High Priest is shown performing the lottery for the two goats).
The first engraved plate depicts the Temple’s Menorah and Ark.
[12], 1195, [83] pp + [72] plates (ten folding plates), 17 cm. Good condition. Stains. Several tears. Worming. Several plates smaller than the leaves. Contemporary green vellum binding (slightly damaged).