Auction 79 - Judaica from the Finkelstein Family Collection
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Auction 79 - Judaica from the Finkelstein Family Collection
June 21, 2021
Opening: $3,000
Estimate: $4,000 - $6,000
Sold for: $5,000
Including buyer's premium
Antoni Kozakiewicz (1841-1929), Jews in a Polish village market, 1909.
Watercolor on paper. Signed and dated.
Approx. 46X31 cm. Good condition. Minor defects and stains. In a 63X48 cm frame, unexamined outside of frame. Minor defects to frame.
Antoni Kozakiewicz (1841-1929), Polish painter, born in Kraków, acquired his artistic training at the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts. During his studies, he participated in the January Uprising and was arrested by the Russians. After his release he moved to Vienna, and later to Munich, where he continued his studies. He later returned to Poland, where he lived until his death. Many of his works depict the lives of Polish peasants, Romani people and Jews (such as his famous 1882 work Jews Praying). He created portraits, landscapes and Realist genre paintings, as well as illustrations for children's books.
Watercolor on paper. Signed and dated.
Approx. 46X31 cm. Good condition. Minor defects and stains. In a 63X48 cm frame, unexamined outside of frame. Minor defects to frame.
Antoni Kozakiewicz (1841-1929), Polish painter, born in Kraków, acquired his artistic training at the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts. During his studies, he participated in the January Uprising and was arrested by the Russians. After his release he moved to Vienna, and later to Munich, where he continued his studies. He later returned to Poland, where he lived until his death. Many of his works depict the lives of Polish peasants, Romani people and Jews (such as his famous 1882 work Jews Praying). He created portraits, landscapes and Realist genre paintings, as well as illustrations for children's books.
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Auction 79 - Judaica from the Finkelstein Family Collection
June 21, 2021
Opening: $10,000
Estimate: $20,000 - $30,000
Unsold
Decorated earthenware Passover seder bowl, inscribed in Hebrew and Russian, product of one of the china factories owned by Moisei (Moshe) Shapiro in either Polonne or Bilotyn/Kamenny-Brod, Ukraine, Russian Empire, late 1870s to late 1890s.
Off-white bowl, with six medallions at center, representing each of the six basic ingredients on the classic seder plate, namely the bitter herb, shank-bone, haroset, horseradish, green vegetable, and egg. Each ingredient is accompanied by captions in Hebrew and Russian. Interestingly, for the "shank-bone, " the depiction actually shows a chicken neck, in keeping with a custom of using it as a substitute for shank, and the caption in Russian corresponds accordingly. Above the medallions is an illustration of a livestock animal – part sheep, part goat; above and below it are Hebrew and Russian inscriptions meaning "Passover Offering." The lip of the bowl is also decorated; enclosed within eight cartouches framed with geometric patterns are the titles of seven of the fourteen stages of the Passover seder, from "Kadesh" to "Motzi Matzah, " and inside two adjoining medallions are the two Hebrew words "Seder HaKe'arah" ("Order of the Plate [or Bowl]") with the (partly missing) Russian translation underneath.Evidently, the inscription process was not adequately planned, and insufficient space was allowed for the texts. The bowl was apparently modeled after bilingual Hebrew-English porcelain seder plates or bowls produced in England from the mid-19th century onward.
The bowl is marked on the underside with an elliptical stamp bearing the Russian name "Шапира" ("Shapira"). The digit "2" appears above this. Also on the underside is an undeciphered printed Russian inscription: "Э.Т. и ко М.Т." The mark indicates that the bowl was produced in one of workshops owned by the porcelain manufacturer Moisei (Moshe) Shapiro, sometime between the 1870s and 1890s.
Moisei (Moshe) Shapiro is associated with two or three different porcelain workshops / factories, in the rural villages of Bilotyn and Kamenny-Brod and in the city of Polonne. All three of these businesses were under the ownership of Shapiro for certain periods of time between the years 1876 and 1897. The shop in Bilotyn was established in the 1850s or 1860s and was bought by a Jewish industrialist by the name of Fischel Zussman. According to a number of sources, this business in Bilotyn was sold by Zussman to Shapiro in 1880, and remained in operation until it burned down in 1889. Other sources suggest that Zussman had already moved the workshop to Kamenny-Brod in 1874, and began renting it out to Shapiro in 1876. Shapiro then purchased the business in 1880, and continued operating it until it burned down in 1889. That same year, Shapiro established a porcelain workshop in Polonne; in 1897, he sold it to Zussman. The dishes manufactured at the workshop in Polonne under Zussman's ownership are well-documented, but only one other extant plate – commemorating the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's discovery of America – is known to us from Moisei Shapiro's time.
Regardless of whether this particular seder bowl was made in Bilotyn or Kamenny-Brod or Polonne, it is an utterly unique piece of Judaica, representing an unfamiliar aspect in the history of Jewish-owned porcelain industry in the Russian Empire in the late 19th century.
Diameter: 23 cm. Fractures. Minor blemishes and stains.
Article written based on an expert report by Dr. Anna Berezin, The Center for Jewish Art at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Off-white bowl, with six medallions at center, representing each of the six basic ingredients on the classic seder plate, namely the bitter herb, shank-bone, haroset, horseradish, green vegetable, and egg. Each ingredient is accompanied by captions in Hebrew and Russian. Interestingly, for the "shank-bone, " the depiction actually shows a chicken neck, in keeping with a custom of using it as a substitute for shank, and the caption in Russian corresponds accordingly. Above the medallions is an illustration of a livestock animal – part sheep, part goat; above and below it are Hebrew and Russian inscriptions meaning "Passover Offering." The lip of the bowl is also decorated; enclosed within eight cartouches framed with geometric patterns are the titles of seven of the fourteen stages of the Passover seder, from "Kadesh" to "Motzi Matzah, " and inside two adjoining medallions are the two Hebrew words "Seder HaKe'arah" ("Order of the Plate [or Bowl]") with the (partly missing) Russian translation underneath.Evidently, the inscription process was not adequately planned, and insufficient space was allowed for the texts. The bowl was apparently modeled after bilingual Hebrew-English porcelain seder plates or bowls produced in England from the mid-19th century onward.
The bowl is marked on the underside with an elliptical stamp bearing the Russian name "Шапира" ("Shapira"). The digit "2" appears above this. Also on the underside is an undeciphered printed Russian inscription: "Э.Т. и ко М.Т." The mark indicates that the bowl was produced in one of workshops owned by the porcelain manufacturer Moisei (Moshe) Shapiro, sometime between the 1870s and 1890s.
Moisei (Moshe) Shapiro is associated with two or three different porcelain workshops / factories, in the rural villages of Bilotyn and Kamenny-Brod and in the city of Polonne. All three of these businesses were under the ownership of Shapiro for certain periods of time between the years 1876 and 1897. The shop in Bilotyn was established in the 1850s or 1860s and was bought by a Jewish industrialist by the name of Fischel Zussman. According to a number of sources, this business in Bilotyn was sold by Zussman to Shapiro in 1880, and remained in operation until it burned down in 1889. Other sources suggest that Zussman had already moved the workshop to Kamenny-Brod in 1874, and began renting it out to Shapiro in 1876. Shapiro then purchased the business in 1880, and continued operating it until it burned down in 1889. That same year, Shapiro established a porcelain workshop in Polonne; in 1897, he sold it to Zussman. The dishes manufactured at the workshop in Polonne under Zussman's ownership are well-documented, but only one other extant plate – commemorating the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's discovery of America – is known to us from Moisei Shapiro's time.
Regardless of whether this particular seder bowl was made in Bilotyn or Kamenny-Brod or Polonne, it is an utterly unique piece of Judaica, representing an unfamiliar aspect in the history of Jewish-owned porcelain industry in the Russian Empire in the late 19th century.
Diameter: 23 cm. Fractures. Minor blemishes and stains.
Article written based on an expert report by Dr. Anna Berezin, The Center for Jewish Art at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Catalogue
Array
Auction 79 - Judaica from the Finkelstein Family Collection
June 21, 2021
Opening: $80,000
Estimate: $100,000 - $150,000
Unsold
Two parchment scrolls with laudatory poems and accolades written in Hebrew, in honor of Nicholas II, Emperor of Russia, on the occasion of his coronation ceremony, Moscow, May 14, 1896.
These scrolls – one created by the rabbi and author R. Nahum Weissblat, and the second by the author and Zionist activist, Eliezer Eliyahu Friedman – were the result of independent initiatives on the part of their authors. As such they are utterly unique, a sole example of personal gifts prepared for the Czar by private Jewish individuals, representing only themselves and not their community nor any particular organization.
Nicholas II (1868-1918), Czar of Russia, was the last monarch of the Russian Empire. His actual reign began in 1894 (although his formal coronation only took place two years later, in May, 1896) and ended with the February Revolution of 1917, an event which signaled the end of the five-hundred-year rule of the Russian czars, and the three-hundred-year reign of the House of Romanov. In July, 1918, less than a year after the October Revolution of 1917, the dethroned czar was executed by the Bolsheviks along with his entire family.
Like his father, Czar Alexander III, Nicholas II was notorious for his anti-Semitic inclinations; both emperors were responsible for provoking numerous violent riots, pogroms, and restrictive measures against Jews living throughout the great Russian Empire. Nevertheless, Jewish communities in all parts of the realm would customarily send the czar gifts in honor of all manner of events related to the Imperial House, and such events would be marked with special prayers and with words of praise and glory, in keeping with the Mishnaic dictum, “pray for the welfare of the government” (Ethics 3:2). Nevertheless, as stated above, gifts of this nature would typically be presented by communities, organizations, and institutions, and not by private individuals.
1. The First Scroll
" A Song of Praise to His Noble Highness, Our Master the Great and Gracious Emperor… Our King, Nicholas Aleksandrovich, and his wife, the Honorable Empress Aleksandra Feodorovna, and our entire Royal House." Parchment scroll written in Hebrew in honor of Czar Nicholas II and presented to him as a "Gift Offering" and token of respect on the occasion of his coronation, by "his loyal Hebrew servant, out of his love and awe… R. Nahum son of Jacob [Weissblat], native of Narodychi of the Volhynian Governorate, written in Malin of the Kiev Governorate, and [currently] residing in Berdychiv of the Kiev Governorate, as an author of famous Hebrew books."
The scroll is designed to look like a miniature Torah scroll with elegant silver rollers, written on parchment in square Ashkenazi script. It contains poems of praise and exaltation in honor of the czar, on the occasion of his coronation.
Text arranged in fifteen columns, some of them in double-width. The text includes various expressions of esteem for the Emperor and Empress in the form of poems, greetings, and expounding homilies revolving around particular verses. Throughout the work, the author demonstrates his own extraordinary literary talent, creativity, and linguistic virtuosity, perhaps best exemplified by an assortment of acrostics and large initial letters that artfully comprise the name of the czar and his praiseworthy virtues.
Inter alia: an introductory title column of sorts, revealing several details regarding the author; a geometric design made of text praising the emperor, with the first letters of each line, taken together, spelling out the (Hebrew) title "A Song of Praise, a Gift Offering to His Noble Highness, Our Master the Great and Gracious Emperor Nicholas Aleksandrovich"; texts containing homilies on the Biblical verse "My son, fear you the Lord and the King" (Proverbs 24:21), as well as on the first and last verses of the Five Books of Moses (Genesis 1:1 and Deuteronomy 34:12) – all similarly glorifying Czar Nicholas II (as well as his father, Czar Alexander III); a poem cleverly constructed from the first and last letters of the title "Our Master, the Czar Nicholas, " followed by an additional acrostic built around the words "and his wife, the Empress Aleksandra, may their Majesty be Exalted;" and still other texts. The last column forms a colophon of sorts, in which the author signs off with greetings that summarize his work, and with a final acrostic which gives his name, his father's name, and the name of his town.
The author of the scroll, Rabbi Nahum (Menahem Nahum) Weissblat (1865-1925), native of Narodychi of the Volhynian Governorate, Ukraine, was affiliated with the Hasidic sect of Chernobyl, and was the grandson of the kabbalist, Rabbi Jacob Kopel Lipschutz and great-grandson of Rabbi Jacob Kahana. While still in his twenties, Rabbi Nahum published his first halakhic works, "Pardes HaRimonim" (regarding the 613 mitzvot [precepts] of the Torah), and "Mahatzit HaShekel, " a commentary on the "Yoreh De'ah" section of the "Shulhan Arukh." These writings earned him rabbinic approbations from leading Torah scholars of the generation, including Rabbi Isaac Elhanan Spektor of Kovno. He was also famous for a number of other books, including a Hebrew calendar that extended as far as the end of the sixth millennium since the Creation (published in 1890), and was generally renowned for his extraordinary memory and his commanding mathematical skills. In 1902, he was appointed Rabbi of Kiev, and remained deeply involved in public affairs until his death.
Parchment: Approx. 9.5X130 cm. Rollers: 19 cm.
2. The Second Scroll
" Praise and blessings, a song for the day [when] the Crown of Kingship was placed on the head of Our Master the Great Emperor Nicholas Aleksandrovich, and his wife, the Honorable Empress Aleksandra Feodorovna, may their Majesty be Exalted, May 14, 1896, by Leiser Eliah son of Benjamin Friedman, Resident of Kiev."
This scroll is wrapped around a roller with a silver handle and housed in an ornate (marked) silver case, and is thus reminiscent of Esther scrolls. Engraved on the case is an image of the Two Tablets of the Law (with letters representing the Ten Commandments), alongside the Biblical verses "O Lord, in Your strength shall the king rejoice, and in Your salvation how greatly does he exult!" and "For You meet him with choicest blessings; You set a crown of fine gold on his head" (Psalms 21:2,4; the cantor of the Grand Choral Synagogue of St. Petersburg also chanted this particular chapter of Psalms at the special prayer service held to celebrate the coronation of Czar Nicholas II).
Text arranged in sixteen columns, two of them in double-width. It includes a poem of praise, with 28 verses in rhyme, written on the occasion of the coronation of Nicholas II. The scroll is written in the type of script traditionally used by Jewish ritual scribes, complete with the special crownlets decorating the Hebrew letters "shin/sin, " "ayin, " "tet, " "nun, " "zayin, " "gimel, " and "tsade." The said poem describes the coronation ceremony, in honor of which great crowds thronged to Moscow, including Jewish individuals who "stood… in the corner, in harmonious commotion, his [i.e., their] spirit[s] celebrating and his [i.e., their] heart[s] filled with gladness." Further on in the poem, the writer expresses a desire to see all the czar's subjects, of all nationalities, together with the "Sons of Jacob, " living in peace under his rule. He even wishes that "in peace shall he [the czar] broaden his borders." And then he once again blesses him and his wife, concluding with a "Hallelujah" dedicated to Russia and the Russian Imperial Court.
The author who composed and created the scroll, Rabbi Eliezer (Leiser) Eliyahu Friedman (1858-1937), native of Kelmė, Lithuania, was the scion of a family of great rabbis. He took up residence in Kiev in 1893, and was actively involved in Jewish community affairs there, and in the spiritual leadership of Kiev's Great Choral Synagogue. He later became one of the leaders of the "Hibat Zion" ("Lovers of Zion") movement in the city of Vilna (Vilnius), and founding editor of the daily newspaper "HaTzofeh, " published in the years 1903-1905. Following the Russian revolutions of 1917, he immigrated to Palestine and settled in Tel Aviv. Authored the book "Beit Arazim" (Berdychiv, 1896-97) on the subject of legends of the ancient Rabbinic Sages, as well as other works, including his own book of memoirs. His writings are regarded as important sources on Jewish history in the Russian Empire in general and in the city of Kiev in particular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Parchment: Approx. 11.5X101.5 cm. Case: 17.5 cm.
For more information regarding the scrolls and the circumstances of their composition, please refer to enclosed material.
These scrolls – one created by the rabbi and author R. Nahum Weissblat, and the second by the author and Zionist activist, Eliezer Eliyahu Friedman – were the result of independent initiatives on the part of their authors. As such they are utterly unique, a sole example of personal gifts prepared for the Czar by private Jewish individuals, representing only themselves and not their community nor any particular organization.
Nicholas II (1868-1918), Czar of Russia, was the last monarch of the Russian Empire. His actual reign began in 1894 (although his formal coronation only took place two years later, in May, 1896) and ended with the February Revolution of 1917, an event which signaled the end of the five-hundred-year rule of the Russian czars, and the three-hundred-year reign of the House of Romanov. In July, 1918, less than a year after the October Revolution of 1917, the dethroned czar was executed by the Bolsheviks along with his entire family.
Like his father, Czar Alexander III, Nicholas II was notorious for his anti-Semitic inclinations; both emperors were responsible for provoking numerous violent riots, pogroms, and restrictive measures against Jews living throughout the great Russian Empire. Nevertheless, Jewish communities in all parts of the realm would customarily send the czar gifts in honor of all manner of events related to the Imperial House, and such events would be marked with special prayers and with words of praise and glory, in keeping with the Mishnaic dictum, “pray for the welfare of the government” (Ethics 3:2). Nevertheless, as stated above, gifts of this nature would typically be presented by communities, organizations, and institutions, and not by private individuals.
1. The First Scroll
" A Song of Praise to His Noble Highness, Our Master the Great and Gracious Emperor… Our King, Nicholas Aleksandrovich, and his wife, the Honorable Empress Aleksandra Feodorovna, and our entire Royal House." Parchment scroll written in Hebrew in honor of Czar Nicholas II and presented to him as a "Gift Offering" and token of respect on the occasion of his coronation, by "his loyal Hebrew servant, out of his love and awe… R. Nahum son of Jacob [Weissblat], native of Narodychi of the Volhynian Governorate, written in Malin of the Kiev Governorate, and [currently] residing in Berdychiv of the Kiev Governorate, as an author of famous Hebrew books."
The scroll is designed to look like a miniature Torah scroll with elegant silver rollers, written on parchment in square Ashkenazi script. It contains poems of praise and exaltation in honor of the czar, on the occasion of his coronation.
Text arranged in fifteen columns, some of them in double-width. The text includes various expressions of esteem for the Emperor and Empress in the form of poems, greetings, and expounding homilies revolving around particular verses. Throughout the work, the author demonstrates his own extraordinary literary talent, creativity, and linguistic virtuosity, perhaps best exemplified by an assortment of acrostics and large initial letters that artfully comprise the name of the czar and his praiseworthy virtues.
Inter alia: an introductory title column of sorts, revealing several details regarding the author; a geometric design made of text praising the emperor, with the first letters of each line, taken together, spelling out the (Hebrew) title "A Song of Praise, a Gift Offering to His Noble Highness, Our Master the Great and Gracious Emperor Nicholas Aleksandrovich"; texts containing homilies on the Biblical verse "My son, fear you the Lord and the King" (Proverbs 24:21), as well as on the first and last verses of the Five Books of Moses (Genesis 1:1 and Deuteronomy 34:12) – all similarly glorifying Czar Nicholas II (as well as his father, Czar Alexander III); a poem cleverly constructed from the first and last letters of the title "Our Master, the Czar Nicholas, " followed by an additional acrostic built around the words "and his wife, the Empress Aleksandra, may their Majesty be Exalted;" and still other texts. The last column forms a colophon of sorts, in which the author signs off with greetings that summarize his work, and with a final acrostic which gives his name, his father's name, and the name of his town.
The author of the scroll, Rabbi Nahum (Menahem Nahum) Weissblat (1865-1925), native of Narodychi of the Volhynian Governorate, Ukraine, was affiliated with the Hasidic sect of Chernobyl, and was the grandson of the kabbalist, Rabbi Jacob Kopel Lipschutz and great-grandson of Rabbi Jacob Kahana. While still in his twenties, Rabbi Nahum published his first halakhic works, "Pardes HaRimonim" (regarding the 613 mitzvot [precepts] of the Torah), and "Mahatzit HaShekel, " a commentary on the "Yoreh De'ah" section of the "Shulhan Arukh." These writings earned him rabbinic approbations from leading Torah scholars of the generation, including Rabbi Isaac Elhanan Spektor of Kovno. He was also famous for a number of other books, including a Hebrew calendar that extended as far as the end of the sixth millennium since the Creation (published in 1890), and was generally renowned for his extraordinary memory and his commanding mathematical skills. In 1902, he was appointed Rabbi of Kiev, and remained deeply involved in public affairs until his death.
Parchment: Approx. 9.5X130 cm. Rollers: 19 cm.
2. The Second Scroll
" Praise and blessings, a song for the day [when] the Crown of Kingship was placed on the head of Our Master the Great Emperor Nicholas Aleksandrovich, and his wife, the Honorable Empress Aleksandra Feodorovna, may their Majesty be Exalted, May 14, 1896, by Leiser Eliah son of Benjamin Friedman, Resident of Kiev."
This scroll is wrapped around a roller with a silver handle and housed in an ornate (marked) silver case, and is thus reminiscent of Esther scrolls. Engraved on the case is an image of the Two Tablets of the Law (with letters representing the Ten Commandments), alongside the Biblical verses "O Lord, in Your strength shall the king rejoice, and in Your salvation how greatly does he exult!" and "For You meet him with choicest blessings; You set a crown of fine gold on his head" (Psalms 21:2,4; the cantor of the Grand Choral Synagogue of St. Petersburg also chanted this particular chapter of Psalms at the special prayer service held to celebrate the coronation of Czar Nicholas II).
Text arranged in sixteen columns, two of them in double-width. It includes a poem of praise, with 28 verses in rhyme, written on the occasion of the coronation of Nicholas II. The scroll is written in the type of script traditionally used by Jewish ritual scribes, complete with the special crownlets decorating the Hebrew letters "shin/sin, " "ayin, " "tet, " "nun, " "zayin, " "gimel, " and "tsade." The said poem describes the coronation ceremony, in honor of which great crowds thronged to Moscow, including Jewish individuals who "stood… in the corner, in harmonious commotion, his [i.e., their] spirit[s] celebrating and his [i.e., their] heart[s] filled with gladness." Further on in the poem, the writer expresses a desire to see all the czar's subjects, of all nationalities, together with the "Sons of Jacob, " living in peace under his rule. He even wishes that "in peace shall he [the czar] broaden his borders." And then he once again blesses him and his wife, concluding with a "Hallelujah" dedicated to Russia and the Russian Imperial Court.
The author who composed and created the scroll, Rabbi Eliezer (Leiser) Eliyahu Friedman (1858-1937), native of Kelmė, Lithuania, was the scion of a family of great rabbis. He took up residence in Kiev in 1893, and was actively involved in Jewish community affairs there, and in the spiritual leadership of Kiev's Great Choral Synagogue. He later became one of the leaders of the "Hibat Zion" ("Lovers of Zion") movement in the city of Vilna (Vilnius), and founding editor of the daily newspaper "HaTzofeh, " published in the years 1903-1905. Following the Russian revolutions of 1917, he immigrated to Palestine and settled in Tel Aviv. Authored the book "Beit Arazim" (Berdychiv, 1896-97) on the subject of legends of the ancient Rabbinic Sages, as well as other works, including his own book of memoirs. His writings are regarded as important sources on Jewish history in the Russian Empire in general and in the city of Kiev in particular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Parchment: Approx. 11.5X101.5 cm. Case: 17.5 cm.
For more information regarding the scrolls and the circumstances of their composition, please refer to enclosed material.
Catalogue
Array
Auction 79 - Judaica from the Finkelstein Family Collection
June 21, 2021
Opening: $10,000
Estimate: $12,000 - $15,000
Sold for: $35,000
Including buyer's premium
Pair of Torah finials, dedicated to the Musmeah Yeshua Synagogue of the Iraqi-Jewish community in Rangoon, Burma (today Yangon, Myanmar), 5648 (1887/88).
Silver (Chinese marks), repoussé, engraved and punched; parcel gilt.
Torah finials of the Oriental type, reminiscent in form of finials characteristic of Baghdad. Head in form of tapering dome, surmounted by knop. Body pear-shaped, decorated in vegetal patterns; topped with decorated disk-like ornament, and with flattened sphere at bottom. Each finial with eight dangling chains with chimes shaped like grains of wheat at their ends.
Dedicatory inscription (Hebrew) on each of the two finials: " In honor of the Prophet Elijah […, dedicated to] Musmeah Yeshua [Synagogue], Year 5648 [1887/88], Rangoon […]."
The Myanamar Jewish community is one of the smallest Jewish communities in East Asia. The Musmeah Yeshua Synagogue is the last surviving Jewish house of worship in the Lower City of Yangon, and, for that matter, the lone surviving synagogue in all of Myanmar. Established in 1857, it is nestled between private shops on a small street in the vicinity of the city center, and continues to serve the remaining members of Myanmar’s tiny Jewish community, most of them descendants of Sephardic Iraqi Jews.
Height: 19 cm.
Torah finials very similar to the present pair (with an identical inscription), but somewhat smaller, can be found in the Israel Museum Collection. See: The Israel Museum Collection, item no. B86.0167(a-b). See also: Chaya Benjamin, "The Stieglitz Collection: Masterpieces of Jewish Art, " exhibition catalogue, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1987, checklist item no. 17.
Silver (Chinese marks), repoussé, engraved and punched; parcel gilt.
Torah finials of the Oriental type, reminiscent in form of finials characteristic of Baghdad. Head in form of tapering dome, surmounted by knop. Body pear-shaped, decorated in vegetal patterns; topped with decorated disk-like ornament, and with flattened sphere at bottom. Each finial with eight dangling chains with chimes shaped like grains of wheat at their ends.
Dedicatory inscription (Hebrew) on each of the two finials: " In honor of the Prophet Elijah […, dedicated to] Musmeah Yeshua [Synagogue], Year 5648 [1887/88], Rangoon […]."
The Myanamar Jewish community is one of the smallest Jewish communities in East Asia. The Musmeah Yeshua Synagogue is the last surviving Jewish house of worship in the Lower City of Yangon, and, for that matter, the lone surviving synagogue in all of Myanmar. Established in 1857, it is nestled between private shops on a small street in the vicinity of the city center, and continues to serve the remaining members of Myanmar’s tiny Jewish community, most of them descendants of Sephardic Iraqi Jews.
Height: 19 cm.
Torah finials very similar to the present pair (with an identical inscription), but somewhat smaller, can be found in the Israel Museum Collection. See: The Israel Museum Collection, item no. B86.0167(a-b). See also: Chaya Benjamin, "The Stieglitz Collection: Masterpieces of Jewish Art, " exhibition catalogue, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1987, checklist item no. 17.
Catalogue
Array
Auction 79 - Judaica from the Finkelstein Family Collection
June 21, 2021
Opening: $25,000
Estimate: $40,000 - $60,000
Sold for: $87,500
Including buyer's premium
Esther scroll in elaborate, fine case. Hong Kong, China, [late 19th century].
Scroll in Sephardic script (ink on thin parchment); silver case (marked; maker: Whang Hing, Rao J. workshop) turned and engraved, gilt, enamel.
The elaborately decorated case comprises three parts: a handle with horizontal grooves (reminiscent of a bamboo), a hexagonal compartment for the scroll, and a foliate coronet encircling a dome surmounted by a knob. The case is decorated with blue and green enamel bamboo leaves and flowers reminiscent of cherry or almond blossoms.
The scroll and case were presumably commissioned in China by Ezra Ezekiel Ezra, a Jewish-Iraqi silk and spice merchant from Baghdad, who was active in China in the second half of the 19th century.
Height of case: 17.5 cm. Height of parchment: 5.5 cm, width of parchment: 146 cm. Stains and tears to parchment.
Provenance:
1. Collection of Ezra Ezekiel Ezra (Elias, ca. 1858-1920), a member of the Baghdadi Jewish community in Hong Kong.
2. Purchased at Christie's Amsterdam, Silver, Judaica, Russian Works of Art and Objects of Vertu, December 20, 2005, lot no. 431.
Scroll in Sephardic script (ink on thin parchment); silver case (marked; maker: Whang Hing, Rao J. workshop) turned and engraved, gilt, enamel.
The elaborately decorated case comprises three parts: a handle with horizontal grooves (reminiscent of a bamboo), a hexagonal compartment for the scroll, and a foliate coronet encircling a dome surmounted by a knob. The case is decorated with blue and green enamel bamboo leaves and flowers reminiscent of cherry or almond blossoms.
The scroll and case were presumably commissioned in China by Ezra Ezekiel Ezra, a Jewish-Iraqi silk and spice merchant from Baghdad, who was active in China in the second half of the 19th century.
Height of case: 17.5 cm. Height of parchment: 5.5 cm, width of parchment: 146 cm. Stains and tears to parchment.
Provenance:
1. Collection of Ezra Ezekiel Ezra (Elias, ca. 1858-1920), a member of the Baghdadi Jewish community in Hong Kong.
2. Purchased at Christie's Amsterdam, Silver, Judaica, Russian Works of Art and Objects of Vertu, December 20, 2005, lot no. 431.
Catalogue
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Auction 79 - Judaica from the Finkelstein Family Collection
June 21, 2021
Opening: $4,000
Estimate: $6,000 - $8,000
Sold for: $5,750
Including buyer's premium
Silver dedicatory plaque ("tass"), suspended so as to overhang a Torah ark curtain ("parokhet"), dedicated to the Yagel Yaakov Synagogue in the Old City of Jerusalem by Habiba Aboudi of the Iraqi-Jewish community in Hong Kong. Hong Kong, China, Nisan 5654 [1894].
Sheet silver, cut, repoussé, and punched.
Round silver plaque with engraved dedicatory inscription (Hebrew) commissioned by Habiba Aboudi of Hong Kong, in honor of her husband, Yitzhak Ezra Aboudi (Isaac Ezra Ellis, prominent member of the Jewish community in Hong Kong; worked for E. D. Sassoon & Co. and served as a gabbai at the Beth El synagogue), and her children, dedicated to the Jerusalemite synagogue Nisan 1st 5654 (1894).
The Jewish congregation of Hong Kong was officially founded in 1857, although the earliest Jewish settlers in the city, members of the Sassoon and Kadoorie families, had already moved their business affairs there some fifteen years earlier, in 1842. By 1882, the entire Sephardic Jewish community of Hong Kong numbered no more than 60 members.
The Yagel Yaakov Synagogue – named after a book by the same name, and its author, Rabbi Yaakov ben Yosef Israel – was originally established in 1888 in the Old City of Jerusalem, adjacent to the Hurva Synagogue.
Diameter: 15 cm. Plaque slightly warped.
Provenance:
1. The Sassoon Family Collection.
2. Sotheby's, A Collection from the Sassoon Family Estate, auction, Tel Aviv, Oct. 25 and 27, 2000, lot no. 24.
Sheet silver, cut, repoussé, and punched.
Round silver plaque with engraved dedicatory inscription (Hebrew) commissioned by Habiba Aboudi of Hong Kong, in honor of her husband, Yitzhak Ezra Aboudi (Isaac Ezra Ellis, prominent member of the Jewish community in Hong Kong; worked for E. D. Sassoon & Co. and served as a gabbai at the Beth El synagogue), and her children, dedicated to the Jerusalemite synagogue Nisan 1st 5654 (1894).
The Jewish congregation of Hong Kong was officially founded in 1857, although the earliest Jewish settlers in the city, members of the Sassoon and Kadoorie families, had already moved their business affairs there some fifteen years earlier, in 1842. By 1882, the entire Sephardic Jewish community of Hong Kong numbered no more than 60 members.
The Yagel Yaakov Synagogue – named after a book by the same name, and its author, Rabbi Yaakov ben Yosef Israel – was originally established in 1888 in the Old City of Jerusalem, adjacent to the Hurva Synagogue.
Diameter: 15 cm. Plaque slightly warped.
Provenance:
1. The Sassoon Family Collection.
2. Sotheby's, A Collection from the Sassoon Family Estate, auction, Tel Aviv, Oct. 25 and 27, 2000, lot no. 24.
Catalogue
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Auction 79 - Judaica from the Finkelstein Family Collection
June 21, 2021
Opening: $2,000
Estimate: $3,000 - $4,000
Unsold
Hanukkah lamp. Greece, [19th century].
Brass, cast and engraved; sheet brass.
Form typical of 19th century Greece, with examples originating in Thessaloniki, Corfu and Cairo, as evident from dedicatory inscriptions.
Backplate consisting of circular scrolls and eight bud-like rings, five of which are set with polychrome glass discs. Central triangular panel topped with a palmette hook, inscribed "Mordechai son of Perez Balili / For a commandment is a candle, and the Torah is light" (Proverbs 6:23; Hebrew). Servant light set at left and used-wick container at right. Oil font row set above sheet brass drip pan.
Height: 25 cm. Width: 31 cm. Depth: 7 cm.
Reference: Mordechai Narkiss, "The Hanukkah Lamp." Plate XIV, item no. 40; Chaya Benjamin, "The Stieglitz Collection: Masterpieces of Jewish Art, " item no. 160.
Brass, cast and engraved; sheet brass.
Form typical of 19th century Greece, with examples originating in Thessaloniki, Corfu and Cairo, as evident from dedicatory inscriptions.
Backplate consisting of circular scrolls and eight bud-like rings, five of which are set with polychrome glass discs. Central triangular panel topped with a palmette hook, inscribed "Mordechai son of Perez Balili / For a commandment is a candle, and the Torah is light" (Proverbs 6:23; Hebrew). Servant light set at left and used-wick container at right. Oil font row set above sheet brass drip pan.
Height: 25 cm. Width: 31 cm. Depth: 7 cm.
Reference: Mordechai Narkiss, "The Hanukkah Lamp." Plate XIV, item no. 40; Chaya Benjamin, "The Stieglitz Collection: Masterpieces of Jewish Art, " item no. 160.
Catalogue
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Auction 79 - Judaica from the Finkelstein Family Collection
June 21, 2021
Opening: $8,000
Estimate: $12,000 - $15,000
Sold for: $10,000
Including buyer's premium
Single Torah finial. Morocco, [Tafilalt? 18th century].
Brass, cast; chased; enamel.
Single Torah finial (known in many Sephardic Jewish communities by the Hebrew term "tapu'ah" [lit. "apple"]). With tall, cylindrical, wide-based shaft, tapering upward toward body. Finial body composed of two convex panels soldered together. Entire surface, including shaft, decorated with vegetal patterns, mostly scrolling tendrils and flowers. A large multi-petaled flower appears in relief at the center of either side of the body. The tendrils and flowers are set with enamel in shades of turquoise, green, white, and pink.
This particular Torah finial represents a rare, early example – quite possibly the only extant one of its kind – of a type with a similar form, known from the Tafilalt and Sefrou regions from the 19th and 20th centuries. However, these later models, made of brass or silver, would bear clover-shaped side ornaments from which chains would usually be suspended. They would also be surmounted by an additional ornament. They further differed from the present finial in terms of the quality of workmanship and the techniques employed in their creation.
Height: 22 cm. Enamel partly missing. Possibly missing ornament in upper part. Flowers at center of body may have originally been inlaid with gemstones.
See: Aviva Müller-Lancet (ed.), "Jewish Life in Morocco, " exhibition catalogue, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 2nd edition, 1983, Item nos. 68-69; The Israel Museum Collection, no. B63.11.3282(a-b).
Brass, cast; chased; enamel.
Single Torah finial (known in many Sephardic Jewish communities by the Hebrew term "tapu'ah" [lit. "apple"]). With tall, cylindrical, wide-based shaft, tapering upward toward body. Finial body composed of two convex panels soldered together. Entire surface, including shaft, decorated with vegetal patterns, mostly scrolling tendrils and flowers. A large multi-petaled flower appears in relief at the center of either side of the body. The tendrils and flowers are set with enamel in shades of turquoise, green, white, and pink.
This particular Torah finial represents a rare, early example – quite possibly the only extant one of its kind – of a type with a similar form, known from the Tafilalt and Sefrou regions from the 19th and 20th centuries. However, these later models, made of brass or silver, would bear clover-shaped side ornaments from which chains would usually be suspended. They would also be surmounted by an additional ornament. They further differed from the present finial in terms of the quality of workmanship and the techniques employed in their creation.
Height: 22 cm. Enamel partly missing. Possibly missing ornament in upper part. Flowers at center of body may have originally been inlaid with gemstones.
See: Aviva Müller-Lancet (ed.), "Jewish Life in Morocco, " exhibition catalogue, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 2nd edition, 1983, Item nos. 68-69; The Israel Museum Collection, no. B63.11.3282(a-b).
Catalogue
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Auction 79 - Judaica from the Finkelstein Family Collection
June 21, 2021
Opening: $2,500
Estimate: $3,000 - $5,000
Sold for: $3,125
Including buyer's premium
Large cloth bag for a new mother ("L'mara del-msebbek"). Morocco, probably Marrakesh, [early 20th century].
Goldwork embroidery on red velvet cloth; cotton.
Large rectangular bag, decorated on both sides in rich, gold metal thread embroidery. Name of new mother – "Rahel Sh. Peretz" – embroidered (in Hebrew) on front, at the top of a frame enclosing two pairs of rooster-like birds, scrolling tendrils, and at center, an eight-point star ("Rub el Hizb") ornament with a floral shape in the middle. Eight hamsa-like hand shapes embroidered on back. All these decorations bear a strong resemblance to those appearing on other Moroccan articles of Judaica, such as mezuzah covers and tallit (prayer shawl) bags.
Fringed tassels dangle from the sides of the pouch. Opening tightened with draw string.
The purpose of such pouches is not entirely clear; it may have differed from place to place. In all likelihood, it was used to hold gifts and baby clothes, or perhaps aromatic herbs, and was meant to be suspended from one of the posts of the bed of the new mother. Quite possibly, the recurrent theme of the number eight (as in the eight-point star and the number of hamsas) is an allusion to the eight days of circumcision and the circumcision ceremony. According to one theory, the pouch would be given as a gift to the mother by her husband – only upon her first birth – in a custom unique to the city of Marrakesh.
Length: 46 cm. Width: 34 cm. Few stains, minor wear and slight unraveling.
Reference: Aviva Müller-Lancet (ed.), "Jewish Life in Morocco, " exhibition catalogue, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 2nd edition, 1983, p. 95.
Goldwork embroidery on red velvet cloth; cotton.
Large rectangular bag, decorated on both sides in rich, gold metal thread embroidery. Name of new mother – "Rahel Sh. Peretz" – embroidered (in Hebrew) on front, at the top of a frame enclosing two pairs of rooster-like birds, scrolling tendrils, and at center, an eight-point star ("Rub el Hizb") ornament with a floral shape in the middle. Eight hamsa-like hand shapes embroidered on back. All these decorations bear a strong resemblance to those appearing on other Moroccan articles of Judaica, such as mezuzah covers and tallit (prayer shawl) bags.
Fringed tassels dangle from the sides of the pouch. Opening tightened with draw string.
The purpose of such pouches is not entirely clear; it may have differed from place to place. In all likelihood, it was used to hold gifts and baby clothes, or perhaps aromatic herbs, and was meant to be suspended from one of the posts of the bed of the new mother. Quite possibly, the recurrent theme of the number eight (as in the eight-point star and the number of hamsas) is an allusion to the eight days of circumcision and the circumcision ceremony. According to one theory, the pouch would be given as a gift to the mother by her husband – only upon her first birth – in a custom unique to the city of Marrakesh.
Length: 46 cm. Width: 34 cm. Few stains, minor wear and slight unraveling.
Reference: Aviva Müller-Lancet (ed.), "Jewish Life in Morocco, " exhibition catalogue, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 2nd edition, 1983, p. 95.
Catalogue
Array
Auction 79 - Judaica from the Finkelstein Family Collection
June 21, 2021
Opening: $2,000
Estimate: $3,000 - $5,000
Sold for: $6,250
Including buyer's premium
Box adorned with lions and vegetal patterns. Product of Bezalel, Jerusalem, 5672 (1911/12).
Brass, etched.
Lid adorned with symmetrical pair of lions, encircled by a densely packed assortment of vegetal patterns. Lions flanked on either side by vases, from which a pair of stylized trees ascend. Margins of lid artfully and meticulously crafted with (Hebrew) inscriptions in the distinctive calligraphy characteristic of the Bezalel School: "Bezalel School of Arts, Jerusalem / If I forget thee O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its cunning; let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth if I remember thee not / For out of Zion shall go forth Torah, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem / 5672 [1911/12]" (quoting Psalms 137:5-6, Isaiah 2:3).
Sides of box with recurring motif of seven-branched candelabrum (menorah) in the form of a stylized tree trunk with branches terminating with buds and flowers.
18.5X10.5X4.5 cm.
Brass, etched.
Lid adorned with symmetrical pair of lions, encircled by a densely packed assortment of vegetal patterns. Lions flanked on either side by vases, from which a pair of stylized trees ascend. Margins of lid artfully and meticulously crafted with (Hebrew) inscriptions in the distinctive calligraphy characteristic of the Bezalel School: "Bezalel School of Arts, Jerusalem / If I forget thee O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its cunning; let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth if I remember thee not / For out of Zion shall go forth Torah, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem / 5672 [1911/12]" (quoting Psalms 137:5-6, Isaiah 2:3).
Sides of box with recurring motif of seven-branched candelabrum (menorah) in the form of a stylized tree trunk with branches terminating with buds and flowers.
18.5X10.5X4.5 cm.
Catalogue
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Auction 79 - Judaica from the Finkelstein Family Collection
June 21, 2021
Opening: $6,000
Estimate: $8,000 - $12,000
Sold for: $9,375
Including buyer's premium
Minimalist handwashing vessel, made by Zelig Segal (1933-2015).
Silver (marked on underside: "Z. Segal"), hand wrought; hammered.
Spherical handwashing vessel with two symmetrical concave pockets upon which a pair of rounded silver handles are mounted.
Artist Zelig Segal (1933-2015) was born in Jerusalem, and raised and educated in ultra-Orthodox environment. In 1949, he began studying in the metalwork department at the New Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts in Jerusalem. He is perhaps best known for creating objects of Judaica in a distinctive minimalist and modernist style. In the words of Gideon Ofrat (in translation from the Hebrew), Segal's works are distinguished by their "daring concept of form, forgoing embellishment, free for the most part of Orientalism, modernist in their clean geometric form, and subject to the language of the machine."
Height: 15 cm.
Silver (marked on underside: "Z. Segal"), hand wrought; hammered.
Spherical handwashing vessel with two symmetrical concave pockets upon which a pair of rounded silver handles are mounted.
Artist Zelig Segal (1933-2015) was born in Jerusalem, and raised and educated in ultra-Orthodox environment. In 1949, he began studying in the metalwork department at the New Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts in Jerusalem. He is perhaps best known for creating objects of Judaica in a distinctive minimalist and modernist style. In the words of Gideon Ofrat (in translation from the Hebrew), Segal's works are distinguished by their "daring concept of form, forgoing embellishment, free for the most part of Orientalism, modernist in their clean geometric form, and subject to the language of the machine."
Height: 15 cm.
Catalogue
Array