Auction 81 - The Wily Lindwer Collection
July 13, 2021
Displaying 25 - 36 of 52
Auction 81 - The Wily Lindwer Collection
July 13, 2021
Opening: $150
Unsold
Three Hanukkah lamps. Djerba, Tunisia, [20th century].
Sheet metal, cut and shaped; paint.
Three folk art Hanukkah lamps, made from sheets of tin. Arched back plate, similar to Tunisian Hanukkah lamps made from cast brass. Smallest lamp with decoration shaped like bird (corresponding decoration on other side missing). Row of oil fonts and servant light either soldered or suspended by hooks. Reeded oil fonts with pinched spouts for wicks.
Height: 15 cm, width: 32 cm; height: 16 cm, width: 30 cm; height: 15.5 cm, width: 22.5 cm. Fair condition. Rust, warping, and stains.
Purchased in Djerba.
Sheet metal, cut and shaped; paint.
Three folk art Hanukkah lamps, made from sheets of tin. Arched back plate, similar to Tunisian Hanukkah lamps made from cast brass. Smallest lamp with decoration shaped like bird (corresponding decoration on other side missing). Row of oil fonts and servant light either soldered or suspended by hooks. Reeded oil fonts with pinched spouts for wicks.
Height: 15 cm, width: 32 cm; height: 16 cm, width: 30 cm; height: 15.5 cm, width: 22.5 cm. Fair condition. Rust, warping, and stains.
Purchased in Djerba.
Category
Tunisia, Libya, Algeria and Egypt
Catalogue
Auction 81 - The Wily Lindwer Collection
July 13, 2021
Opening: $250
Unsold
Suspended memorial light. Tunisia, Tishrei 5688 [1927].
Silver, cut, engraved, and punched; cast silver.
Memorial light consisting of silver band, meant to hold cup to be filled with lighting oil. Engraved Hebrew dedicatory inscription (using customary abbreviation): "To the [peaceful] rest of the humble young man, Moshe Bouhnif, may he rest in Eden, the 4th of Tishrei, 5688 [1927]." Four handles with suspension rings are soldered onto the main band, and four long chains are attached to these rings. The chains are in turn suspended from a domed canopy surmounted by its own suspension ring, by which the entire object is hung.
Length: 24 cm. Diameter of main silver band: approx. 12 cm.
Purchased in Djerba, November 2005.
Silver, cut, engraved, and punched; cast silver.
Memorial light consisting of silver band, meant to hold cup to be filled with lighting oil. Engraved Hebrew dedicatory inscription (using customary abbreviation): "To the [peaceful] rest of the humble young man, Moshe Bouhnif, may he rest in Eden, the 4th of Tishrei, 5688 [1927]." Four handles with suspension rings are soldered onto the main band, and four long chains are attached to these rings. The chains are in turn suspended from a domed canopy surmounted by its own suspension ring, by which the entire object is hung.
Length: 24 cm. Diameter of main silver band: approx. 12 cm.
Purchased in Djerba, November 2005.
Category
Tunisia, Libya, Algeria and Egypt
Catalogue
Auction 81 - The Wily Lindwer Collection
July 13, 2021
Opening: $250
Unsold
Two amulets to protect against scorpions and venomous reptiles. Tripoli, Libya / Tunisia, [early decades of 20th century].
Print on paper; pencil on paper, mounted on Bristol board.
1. Printed amulet, for protection against scorpions, snakes, and various other venomous creatures. [Probably Tripoli (according to NLI)]. The lengthy text invokes and conjures the earthly and heavenly authorities, and makes use of curses and incantations, citing biblical prophets and ancient Jewish sages, to ward off scorpions, venomous reptiles, and other mortally dangerous creatures. In the lower section of the sheet are three Greek-origin words (in Hebrew letters, arranged in descending triangular patterns); as they descend, the number of letters in each word diminishes until the word disappears: "epicurus," "ebilogama" [or "epilogamma"], and "apartita" [Aphrodite]. Interspersed between the triangles are two illustrations of scorpions. [1] f., 21.5 cm. Good condition.
2. Amulet, handwritten in pencil on ruled paper. [Probably Tunisia or Tripoli]. Titled in Hebrew "Segulah LilAkrab" ["charm (against) scorpion"]. Underneath this is the incantation. At the bottom are the descending listings of the Greek-origin words "epicurus," "apartita" [Aphrodite] and "ebilogama." As in the printed amulet above, the number of letters in each word diminishes until each disappears. And again, adjacent to these listings are two somewhat schematic illustrations of scorpions. [1] f., 20 cm. Poor condition. Numerous tears, some open. Stains.
Please refer also to item no. 37.
Print on paper; pencil on paper, mounted on Bristol board.
1. Printed amulet, for protection against scorpions, snakes, and various other venomous creatures. [Probably Tripoli (according to NLI)]. The lengthy text invokes and conjures the earthly and heavenly authorities, and makes use of curses and incantations, citing biblical prophets and ancient Jewish sages, to ward off scorpions, venomous reptiles, and other mortally dangerous creatures. In the lower section of the sheet are three Greek-origin words (in Hebrew letters, arranged in descending triangular patterns); as they descend, the number of letters in each word diminishes until the word disappears: "epicurus," "ebilogama" [or "epilogamma"], and "apartita" [Aphrodite]. Interspersed between the triangles are two illustrations of scorpions. [1] f., 21.5 cm. Good condition.
2. Amulet, handwritten in pencil on ruled paper. [Probably Tunisia or Tripoli]. Titled in Hebrew "Segulah LilAkrab" ["charm (against) scorpion"]. Underneath this is the incantation. At the bottom are the descending listings of the Greek-origin words "epicurus," "apartita" [Aphrodite] and "ebilogama." As in the printed amulet above, the number of letters in each word diminishes until each disappears. And again, adjacent to these listings are two somewhat schematic illustrations of scorpions. [1] f., 20 cm. Poor condition. Numerous tears, some open. Stains.
Please refer also to item no. 37.
Category
Tunisia, Libya, Algeria and Egypt
Catalogue
Auction 81 - The Wily Lindwer Collection
July 13, 2021
Opening: $200
Unsold
Amulet to protect the newborn at circumcision. [Probably Algeria: Rabbi Abraham Boukabza, early 20th century].
Lithograph.
This amulet belongs to a set of three amulets that were hung on the wall above a "Chair of Elijah" (a special chair designated for circumcision ceremonies), at the time of a child's circumcision. Illustrations of a set table, a Chair of Elijah, and a circumcisionist (?), in addition to two fish, a menorah, and the names of four archangels – Auriel, Raphael, Gabriel, and Michael – all appear as if enclosed within a triple-arched gateway. This gateway is framed by the words of one of the "Songs of Ascent" from the Biblical Book of Psalms (128), inscribed inside the axes of a vegetal border.
Rabbi Abraham Boukabza was a bookseller in Algiers.
Approx. 22X18 cm. Fair-poor condition. Numerous tears, including some open tears. Wear and stains. Partially mounted on old pieces of paper.
Reference: Jewish Magic through the Ages: Angels and Demons, pp. 78-79.
Lithograph.
This amulet belongs to a set of three amulets that were hung on the wall above a "Chair of Elijah" (a special chair designated for circumcision ceremonies), at the time of a child's circumcision. Illustrations of a set table, a Chair of Elijah, and a circumcisionist (?), in addition to two fish, a menorah, and the names of four archangels – Auriel, Raphael, Gabriel, and Michael – all appear as if enclosed within a triple-arched gateway. This gateway is framed by the words of one of the "Songs of Ascent" from the Biblical Book of Psalms (128), inscribed inside the axes of a vegetal border.
Rabbi Abraham Boukabza was a bookseller in Algiers.
Approx. 22X18 cm. Fair-poor condition. Numerous tears, including some open tears. Wear and stains. Partially mounted on old pieces of paper.
Reference: Jewish Magic through the Ages: Angels and Demons, pp. 78-79.
Category
Tunisia, Libya, Algeria and Egypt
Catalogue
Auction 81 - The Wily Lindwer Collection
July 13, 2021
Opening: $800
Unsold
Necklace with suspended chains consisting of hamsas and other types of pendants (Sharka Kabira / Charka Kbira Fodda). Tunisia, [first half of 20th century].
Silver, cast and engraved; chased; silver wire; granulation; glass.
Elegant necklace consisting of 45 pendants and links. Base of necklace composed of five rectangular links, decorated with silver wire and red glass beads. Links connected to each other with four pins, each with small hamsa pendant. Connected (by ring-links) to the rectangular links are five 5-point stars, two with green glass beads and three decorated with silver wire and granulation. Suspended from the stars are nine chains with hamsa pendants, and round pendants decorated with different forms of star-and-crescent patterns. Five of these chains bear large pendants, and the remaining four have slightly smaller ones.
Approx. 20X24 cm. One small ornament (made from silver wire and granulation) missing.
Reference: Le bijou traditionnel en Tunisie, p. 24.
Silver, cast and engraved; chased; silver wire; granulation; glass.
Elegant necklace consisting of 45 pendants and links. Base of necklace composed of five rectangular links, decorated with silver wire and red glass beads. Links connected to each other with four pins, each with small hamsa pendant. Connected (by ring-links) to the rectangular links are five 5-point stars, two with green glass beads and three decorated with silver wire and granulation. Suspended from the stars are nine chains with hamsa pendants, and round pendants decorated with different forms of star-and-crescent patterns. Five of these chains bear large pendants, and the remaining four have slightly smaller ones.
Approx. 20X24 cm. One small ornament (made from silver wire and granulation) missing.
Reference: Le bijou traditionnel en Tunisie, p. 24.
Category
Tunisia, Libya, Algeria and Egypt
Catalogue
Auction 81 - The Wily Lindwer Collection
July 13, 2021
Opening: $400
Unsold
Necklace with three large pendants. Djerba, Tunisia, [first half of 20th century].
Silver (parcel gilt); silver thread; cloisonné enamel; stone and plastic beads; coral beads; glass.
Chain with three large pendants suspended. Middle pendant triangular, with crescent-shaped decoration surmounting apex. Both sides of triangle decorated with green, blue, and yellow enamel in vegetal patterns, and with colored glass beads; one side of triangle with horseshoe arch, tapering at one end, and other side with hamsa. Eight chains suspended from bottom of triangle, with small pendants, either hamsa- or droplet-shaped, at their ends; five chains also with coral beads. The two large pendants flanking the middle one are not identical, but both are reminiscent of either droplets or small perfume bottles; both are six-sided, and decorated with vegetal and geometric patterns in silver thread and colored enamel; and both have suspended chains. One of these side pendants is eggplant-shaped, and its chains have reddish beads and small hamsa and crescent pendants at their ends; the other's suspended chains have white stone beads and small gilt hamsa pendants at their ends.
Approx. 54X15 cm. One glass bead missing. Loss to enamel. Warping and blemishes.
Reference: Le bijou traditionnel en Tunisie, p. 52.
Silver (parcel gilt); silver thread; cloisonné enamel; stone and plastic beads; coral beads; glass.
Chain with three large pendants suspended. Middle pendant triangular, with crescent-shaped decoration surmounting apex. Both sides of triangle decorated with green, blue, and yellow enamel in vegetal patterns, and with colored glass beads; one side of triangle with horseshoe arch, tapering at one end, and other side with hamsa. Eight chains suspended from bottom of triangle, with small pendants, either hamsa- or droplet-shaped, at their ends; five chains also with coral beads. The two large pendants flanking the middle one are not identical, but both are reminiscent of either droplets or small perfume bottles; both are six-sided, and decorated with vegetal and geometric patterns in silver thread and colored enamel; and both have suspended chains. One of these side pendants is eggplant-shaped, and its chains have reddish beads and small hamsa and crescent pendants at their ends; the other's suspended chains have white stone beads and small gilt hamsa pendants at their ends.
Approx. 54X15 cm. One glass bead missing. Loss to enamel. Warping and blemishes.
Reference: Le bijou traditionnel en Tunisie, p. 52.
Category
Tunisia, Libya, Algeria and Egypt
Catalogue
Auction 81 - The Wily Lindwer Collection
July 13, 2021
Opening: $800
Unsold
Sekhab beaded necklace worn by a woman after her wedding. Djerba, Tunisia, [first half of 20th century].
Mixture of spices, cast; silver, cast and pierced (gilt); silver thread; sheet brass; cloisonné enamel; plastic beads.
Necklace consisting of 54 beads, shaped like hearts or droplets, made from a special mixture of spices. The beads, painstakingly prepared by young women before their weddings, consist of a preserved mixture that may include gray amber powder (which was costlier than gold), nutmeg, saffron, cloves, rose petals, and eau de toilette. In contact with the body – or in contact with one another – the beads emit a potent fragrance that is meant to attract the husband, and at the same time ward off evil spirits. Separating the bunches of spice beads – with each bunch consisting of nine beads – are red plastic beads intended to look like coral, as well as pendants with star-and-crescent symbols, elongated silver links with engraved eye-shaped decorations, a pair of spherical silver beads with silver-thread decorations, and a pair of silver cubes similarly decorated with silver thread (one also decorated with colored enamel). At the end of the necklace is a large pendant composed of a pair of pentagonal cones decorated in silver thread. Suspended from the large pendant are five small hamsa pendants – two of them cast, two with enamel, and one made from silver thread.
Approx. 50X10 cm.
References: In All Their Finery: Jewels from the Jewish World, item no. 19; Le bijou traditionnel en Tunisie, pp. 26, 41.
Mixture of spices, cast; silver, cast and pierced (gilt); silver thread; sheet brass; cloisonné enamel; plastic beads.
Necklace consisting of 54 beads, shaped like hearts or droplets, made from a special mixture of spices. The beads, painstakingly prepared by young women before their weddings, consist of a preserved mixture that may include gray amber powder (which was costlier than gold), nutmeg, saffron, cloves, rose petals, and eau de toilette. In contact with the body – or in contact with one another – the beads emit a potent fragrance that is meant to attract the husband, and at the same time ward off evil spirits. Separating the bunches of spice beads – with each bunch consisting of nine beads – are red plastic beads intended to look like coral, as well as pendants with star-and-crescent symbols, elongated silver links with engraved eye-shaped decorations, a pair of spherical silver beads with silver-thread decorations, and a pair of silver cubes similarly decorated with silver thread (one also decorated with colored enamel). At the end of the necklace is a large pendant composed of a pair of pentagonal cones decorated in silver thread. Suspended from the large pendant are five small hamsa pendants – two of them cast, two with enamel, and one made from silver thread.
Approx. 50X10 cm.
References: In All Their Finery: Jewels from the Jewish World, item no. 19; Le bijou traditionnel en Tunisie, pp. 26, 41.
Category
Tunisia, Libya, Algeria and Egypt
Catalogue
Auction 81 - The Wily Lindwer Collection
July 13, 2021
Opening: $500
Unsold
Pair of "teklila" headdress ornaments, ornamental amulets to be suspended on either side of the head, over the temples. Gabès, Tunisia, [first half of 20th century].
Silver (gilt), soldered, cast, and engraved; silver thread and granulation; glass.
Unusually long head ornaments. Each ornament consists of an elliptical hoop onto which a half-moon-shaped plate has been soldered. Each scalloped plate is decorated with geometric patterns in silver thread and granulation and bears a red glass stone. Suspended from the bottom edges of each plate are five chains made of small flat round links (in the "Rihanna" style). At the ends of the chains are small pierced pendants; two of these are round, with crescent symbols, two are hamsa-shaped, and one bears the star-and-crescent symbol. The hoop itself is suspended from above by a thicker chain with a hook at the end which enables attachment to the head covering.
38X8 cm.
References: Le bijou traditionnel en Tunisie, p. 20; The Stieglitz Collection: Masterpieces of Jewish Art, item no. 276.
Silver (gilt), soldered, cast, and engraved; silver thread and granulation; glass.
Unusually long head ornaments. Each ornament consists of an elliptical hoop onto which a half-moon-shaped plate has been soldered. Each scalloped plate is decorated with geometric patterns in silver thread and granulation and bears a red glass stone. Suspended from the bottom edges of each plate are five chains made of small flat round links (in the "Rihanna" style). At the ends of the chains are small pierced pendants; two of these are round, with crescent symbols, two are hamsa-shaped, and one bears the star-and-crescent symbol. The hoop itself is suspended from above by a thicker chain with a hook at the end which enables attachment to the head covering.
38X8 cm.
References: Le bijou traditionnel en Tunisie, p. 20; The Stieglitz Collection: Masterpieces of Jewish Art, item no. 276.
Category
Tunisia, Libya, Algeria and Egypt
Catalogue
Auction 81 - The Wily Lindwer Collection
July 13, 2021
Opening: $250
Unsold
Pair of gilt bridal "gnadel" or "gandila" headdress ornaments to be suspended on either side of the head, over the temples. Djerba, Tunisia, [first half of 20th century].
Silver (gilt), cast and pierced; silver thread.
Pair of long head ornaments, each composed of five openwork pendants of varying size, gradually diminishing in size from top to bottom. Each pendant is prism-shaped, widening toward the bottom, with the narrow top surmounted by a crown-like ornament. The lower three pendants are five-sided prisms, while the upper two are six-sided. Decorated in silver thread with geometric patterns, and pierced with heart shapes and tiny circles and leaflets. Suspended from each of the prism-shaped pendants is a set of numerous tiny pendants that, when shaken, combine to produce a ringing, chime-like effect.
Approx. 30X4 cm. Good condition. Several small pendants broken or missing.
References: Le bijou traditionnel en Tunisie, p. 18; Later Islamic Jewellery, p. 55.
Silver (gilt), cast and pierced; silver thread.
Pair of long head ornaments, each composed of five openwork pendants of varying size, gradually diminishing in size from top to bottom. Each pendant is prism-shaped, widening toward the bottom, with the narrow top surmounted by a crown-like ornament. The lower three pendants are five-sided prisms, while the upper two are six-sided. Decorated in silver thread with geometric patterns, and pierced with heart shapes and tiny circles and leaflets. Suspended from each of the prism-shaped pendants is a set of numerous tiny pendants that, when shaken, combine to produce a ringing, chime-like effect.
Approx. 30X4 cm. Good condition. Several small pendants broken or missing.
References: Le bijou traditionnel en Tunisie, p. 18; Later Islamic Jewellery, p. 55.
Category
Tunisia, Libya, Algeria and Egypt
Catalogue
Auction 81 - The Wily Lindwer Collection
July 13, 2021
Opening: $500
Unsold
Three "shairia" (or "chiirya" / "sha'riyeh") necklaces. Djerba, Tunisia, [first half of 20th century].
Silver (marked; parcel gilt); sheet silver (parcel gilt), repoussé (by mold), silver thread and silver strips; filigree; glass; cotton.
Three necklaces sewn onto cotton bands, with numerous pendants. Such necklaces were worn around the neck and were donned by women in Tunisia and Libya.
1. Large necklace with seventeen short suspended chains with small pendants, and three long chains with large, crescent-shaped pendants, which, in turn, have large hamsa pendants suspended from them, each with a colored glass bead. Approx. 35X25 cm.
2. Medium-sized necklace with eighteen short suspended chains with small pendants, and three additional chains with large crescent-shaped pendants that have large hamsa-shaped pendants suspended from them. Approx. 20X20 cm.
3. Small necklace with sixteen short suspended chains with small pendants, and two additional chains with large crescent-shaped pendants that have large hamsa-shaped pendants suspended from them. Approx. 8X11 cm.
Reference: Le bijou traditionnel en Tunisie, p. 24. See also: Israel Museum Collection, item no. B92.0856.
Silver (marked; parcel gilt); sheet silver (parcel gilt), repoussé (by mold), silver thread and silver strips; filigree; glass; cotton.
Three necklaces sewn onto cotton bands, with numerous pendants. Such necklaces were worn around the neck and were donned by women in Tunisia and Libya.
1. Large necklace with seventeen short suspended chains with small pendants, and three long chains with large, crescent-shaped pendants, which, in turn, have large hamsa pendants suspended from them, each with a colored glass bead. Approx. 35X25 cm.
2. Medium-sized necklace with eighteen short suspended chains with small pendants, and three additional chains with large crescent-shaped pendants that have large hamsa-shaped pendants suspended from them. Approx. 20X20 cm.
3. Small necklace with sixteen short suspended chains with small pendants, and two additional chains with large crescent-shaped pendants that have large hamsa-shaped pendants suspended from them. Approx. 8X11 cm.
Reference: Le bijou traditionnel en Tunisie, p. 24. See also: Israel Museum Collection, item no. B92.0856.
Category
Tunisia, Libya, Algeria and Egypt
Catalogue
Auction 81 - The Wily Lindwer Collection
July 13, 2021
Opening: $200
Unsold
Two pierced silver necklaces, with hamsa pendants. Tunisia, [first half of 20th century].
Silver, cast, pierced, and engraved; silver thread; stones.
1. Necklace consisting of three pendants on a chain. Two pendants shaped like hamsas, pierced with a vegetal pattern and a star-and-crescent symbol. Central pendant round, pierced with a vegetal pattern and a circled star. Approx. 37X20 cm.
2. Chain with dome-shaped pendant, pierced with vegetal patterns, and surmounted by a star-and-crescent symbol flanked by a symmetrical pair of fish. Suspended from the bottom of the pendant are seven chains with small pendants at their ends, three hamsa-shaped and four crescent-shaped. Dome-shaped pendant and small pendants set with orange genstones, encircled by silver thread. 6.5X13 cm (pendant).
Reference: Le bijou traditionnel en Tunisie, pp. 26, 147.
Silver, cast, pierced, and engraved; silver thread; stones.
1. Necklace consisting of three pendants on a chain. Two pendants shaped like hamsas, pierced with a vegetal pattern and a star-and-crescent symbol. Central pendant round, pierced with a vegetal pattern and a circled star. Approx. 37X20 cm.
2. Chain with dome-shaped pendant, pierced with vegetal patterns, and surmounted by a star-and-crescent symbol flanked by a symmetrical pair of fish. Suspended from the bottom of the pendant are seven chains with small pendants at their ends, three hamsa-shaped and four crescent-shaped. Dome-shaped pendant and small pendants set with orange genstones, encircled by silver thread. 6.5X13 cm (pendant).
Reference: Le bijou traditionnel en Tunisie, pp. 26, 147.
Category
Tunisia, Libya, Algeria and Egypt
Catalogue
Auction 81 - The Wily Lindwer Collection
July 13, 2021
Opening: $400
Unsold
Five pierced silver pendants, serving as protective amulets (used either for necklaces or suspended from either side of a head ornament). Tunisia, [first half of 20th century].
Silver, pierced and engraved.
1-4. Four round pendants, three with scalloped edges. Hamsa inside Star of David in center of each. Leaf- or flower-like designs between points of each Star of David. Diameter: 6-8 cm. No suspension hooks.
5. Round pendant with pierced vegetal pattern, and, at bottom, flower inside star within a larger circle. Suspension loop. Diameter: 5.5 cm. Chain included.
Silver, pierced and engraved.
1-4. Four round pendants, three with scalloped edges. Hamsa inside Star of David in center of each. Leaf- or flower-like designs between points of each Star of David. Diameter: 6-8 cm. No suspension hooks.
5. Round pendant with pierced vegetal pattern, and, at bottom, flower inside star within a larger circle. Suspension loop. Diameter: 5.5 cm. Chain included.
Category
Tunisia, Libya, Algeria and Egypt
Catalogue