Auction 88 - Part I - Books, Manuscripts, Rabbinical Letters, Ceremonial Art
Pair of large, handsome silver candlesticks. Warsaw 1861.
Silver (marked, with assayer I. Biedgunowski’s mark, 84, town mark and maker’s mark and logo: Swinarski), repoussé and soldered.
Large candlesticks of baluster form, with reppousé vegetal and symmetrical decorative patterns. Square base. Matching removable bobeches.
Height: 29.5 cm. Good condition. Some bends.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Large ornate Torah shield, depicting lions, the Tablets of the Law and a Torah crown. Vienna, 1860s.
Silver (marked with town mark, and maker's mark: CS), repoussé; appliqué.
The Tablets of the Law at center, supported by two lions rampant regardant, langued; topped by a large Torah crown hung with three bells. An aperture at bottom, originally displaying interchangeable plaquettes announcing the appropriate holiday's name, now with a soldered plaque reading "Rosh Hashana"; the backside reads "Purim".
Height: 32 cm. Width: 30 cm. Good condition. Bends and fractures. Some damage. Displayed plaquette soldered onto shield.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Passover Seder plate. Germany, late 19th century. (Base engraved "1809").
Silver, engraved.
The lip of the plate is decorated with geometric motifs. The well of the plate is filled with passages from the Haggadah, written in circular form – Ma Nishtana, Avadim Hayinu and Kadesh URechatz.
According to the owner's testimony, the plate originates from the estate of Dr. Eliezer Lipman (Leo) HaKohen Kahn (1842-1936), one of the founding pillars of German Orthodox Jewry. He was the first to receive governmental permission to found an independent Orthodox community in Wiesbaden, where he served as rabbi for sixty-six years.
Diameter: 37 cm. Good condition. Some bends.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Gold-trimmed porcelain plate, inscribed "until one hundred years". Made by PRM Bavaria, Jaeger & Co, Bavaria, Germany, [third quarter of the 20th century].
Decorative plate, inscribed in gold "until one hundred years" (Hebrew), short for "May you live one hundred years".
Diameter: 29.5 cm. Loss to gilt elements. Chip to lip.
The common wish "[may you live] until one hundred and twenty years" is relatively new. Until the 19th century, a different version was more common, wishing "May you live until one hundred years". Rabbi Naphtali HaKohen Katz (1649-1718), in his will, prays that his wife "may live until the age of one hundred years and do good deeds…" (Will, Mukačevo, 1904, p. 24). In her memoir, Glikl of Hameln (1646-1727) uses the wish "may they live until one hundred years" (see Turniansky, Glikl: Memoirs 1691-1719, Waltham, Massachusetts: Brandeis University Press, 2019. Turniansky notes that this wish is rare in contemporary Yiddish texts but can be found in Hebrew ones). The Nancy community regulations of 1789 also include the expression "until one hundred years" (Schwartzfuchs, Kovetz Al Yad 27, p. 305). A famous anecdote relates that the Gaon of Vilna blessed a fellow Jew that he may live one hundred years (Landau, Hagaon Hechasid Mivilna, p. 255).
The common wish nowadays is "may you live until one hundred and twenty years". This expression has no equivalent in non-Jewish contexts, which leads to the conclusion it is a translated Yiddish greeting, originally "zolst lebn biz hundert un tsvantsig". Presumably, it draws upon the verse “his days shall be a hundred and twenty years” (Gen 6:3), which commentators explain limits the human life expectancy to one hundred and twenty years. The greeting has been adopted by Hebrew writers around the turn of the 20th century, and since can be found in rabbinical works and in Hebrew literature. Various Jewish communities used the expression in different versions, such as the Jewish-Afghani blessing to brides: "may the bride live until one hundred and twenty years, with one hundred and twenty aspects of beauty" (Pozailov, The Customs of the Jews of Afghanistan, in Vasertil (ed.), Yalkut Minhagim, p. 49).
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Hanukkah lamp gifted by Rebbetzin Yuta Avigdor to her husband, Rabbi Dr. Jacob Avigdor, chief rabbi of Mexico. Mexico, Hanukkah 1958.
Silver (marked), cast.
Handsome, unusually heavy lamp. Backplate depicting two lions supporting a shield, surmounted by a Star of David, which in turn is topped by the servant light. Oil fonts with removable covers. Yiddish dedicatory text engraved on shield: "To my dear husband / Rabbi Dr. Avigdor / a gift / Hanukkah 1958 / Rebbetzin Yuta Avigdor".
Rabbi Dr. Jacob Avigdor (1896-1967), Ph.D. in philosophy, Chief Rabbi of Drohobych and Boryslav, author and orator. His first wife and most of his children perished in the holocaust; he himself survived, becoming a prominent community and aid worker in DP camps. After immigrating to the US in 1946, he married Toybe Chava Shapiro, but divorced her several years later, whereupon he married Yuta. A member of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis, he accepted a pulpit in the Brooklyn Chovevei Torah synagogue, and several years later was appointed Chief Rabbi of Mexico, a position he held until his death.
Height: 20 cm. Width: 30.5 cm. Weight: 1118 gr. Good condition. Some bends.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Chanukah lamp. Algeria, [ca. 1920s].
Sheet brass, repoussé, engraved and punched; brass, cast.
Algerian Chanukah lamp; owner's name engraved on backplate: "Shlomo Boujo" (Hebrew). The backplate is decorated with a pair of hands raised for the priestly blessing, a Star of David (surrounding the servant lamp), foliate designs reminiscent of those found on Moroccan Chanukah lamps from Marrakesh, and a pair of pillars typical of Chanukah lamps from Tétouan. Oil basin and suspension loop attached with copper rivets. Suspension hook.
R. Shomo Boujo was a disciple of R. Yitzchak Deri, rabbi of Sétif, Algeria.
Height: 27 cm, width: 22.5 cm. Overall good condition. Row of (cast) oil fonts may be later.
Ceremonial Objects from the Collection of an Algerian Family
Algerian Jewry, one of the oldest and largest Jewish communities in Islamic countries, numbered at its peak some 130,000 Jews, most of whom left when Algeria gained its independence in 1962. The vast majority of Algerian Jews immigrated to France, while others moved to Israel.
Items 288-296 originate from the private collection of a rabbinic family in Western Algeria. Some of the items were found abandoned in Algerian synagogues following the mass exodus of its Jews, and were collected by the members of this family, whose descendants immigrated to France, and later to Israel.
Silver Hallmarks in French Algeria
Algeria, which was under French control from 1830 to 1962, became subject to French laws of silver crafting and silver hallmarks from 1838 (see: Tardy, pp. 29-30; 197-200).
Some of the silver items in the present collection bear French hallmarks, which for the most part appear to have been stamped by Algerian silversmiths or assayers in Algeria, already in the 19th century. Nonetheless, some items seem to have been produced in France, and stamped there before their import to Algeria.
The strong French connection along with the cultural diversity of Algerian Jewry (which comprises Jewish immigrants from Spain, Morocco, Italy and France), are well reflected in the present items, to the point that it is sometimes difficult to pinpoint whether, for instance, an item was produced in the workshop of a Jewish silversmith from Algeria, from Spanish Morocco, from the community of Tétouan Jews living in Oran (Algeria), from Libya or from France. Likewise, in some cases it is difficult to discern conclusively whether a specific item was marked before it was brought from France to Algeria during the 19th or early 20th century, after it was brought into Algeria, or perhaps decades later, when it was brought back to France during the 1960s.
We are grateful to Chaya Benjamin and Prof. Shalom Sabar for their assistance in cataloguing these items.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Chanukah lamp. Algeria, [ca. 1920s-1930s].
Sheet brass, repoussé, engraved and chased.
Algerian Chanukah lamp decorated with kabbalistic acronyms and verses which traditionally serve as protection for the home and family.
Backplate engraved with a seven-branch menorah, topped with the first verse of Psalm 67 – LaMenatze'ach, one of the holy names of G-d and various acronyms. The edges of the backplate, base and side panels are decorated with foliate designs. Scalloped edges. Hole for hanging.
The fonts in this lamp are unusually set on two symmetric staircases. The set of fonts (which appears to be original) is mounted into a slot in the backplate, similarly to the way the (removable) side panels and servant lamp are affixed.
Although there are Chanukah lamps in which the oil fonts are not arranged in a straight line, rather in circular or crescent formation (such as in lamps from India, Iraq, Turkey, Eretz Israel, Egypt and even North Africa), we did not find other examples of lamps with fonts set on steps, apart from one large Algerian wall Chanukah lamp, documented in the Center for Jewish Art, item 37399 (Bill Gross collection).
Height: 25 cm, width: 22.5 cm. Good condition.
Literature: Lights in the Atlas Mountains, Chaya Benjamin, p. 34.
Ceremonial Objects from the Collection of an Algerian Family
Algerian Jewry, one of the oldest and largest Jewish communities in Islamic countries, numbered at its peak some 130,000 Jews, most of whom left when Algeria gained its independence in 1962. The vast majority of Algerian Jews immigrated to France, while others moved to Israel.
Items 288-296 originate from the private collection of a rabbinic family in Western Algeria. Some of the items were found abandoned in Algerian synagogues following the mass exodus of its Jews, and were collected by the members of this family, whose descendants immigrated to France, and later to Israel.
Silver Hallmarks in French Algeria
Algeria, which was under French control from 1830 to 1962, became subject to French laws of silver crafting and silver hallmarks from 1838 (see: Tardy, pp. 29-30; 197-200).
Some of the silver items in the present collection bear French hallmarks, which for the most part appear to have been stamped by Algerian silversmiths or assayers in Algeria, already in the 19th century. Nonetheless, some items seem to have been produced in France, and stamped there before their import to Algeria.
The strong French connection along with the cultural diversity of Algerian Jewry (which comprises Jewish immigrants from Spain, Morocco, Italy and France), are well reflected in the present items, to the point that it is sometimes difficult to pinpoint whether, for instance, an item was produced in the workshop of a Jewish silversmith from Algeria, from Spanish Morocco, from the community of Tétouan Jews living in Oran (Algeria), from Libya or from France. Likewise, in some cases it is difficult to discern conclusively whether a specific item was marked before it was brought from France to Algeria during the 19th or early 20th century, after it was brought into Algeria, or perhaps decades later, when it was brought back to France during the 1960s.
We are grateful to Chaya Benjamin and Prof. Shalom Sabar for their assistance in cataloguing these items.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Shield for second Torah scroll. Presumably Oran, Algeria, [ca. 1918].
Silver, cast, pierced and engraved (marked with French hallmarks: tiny mark in form of flower or crab; initials JF within diamond – presumably maker's or assayer's mark).
Thick, rectangular silver plaque. Engraved dedicatory inscription in memory of the brothers Yaakov and Moshe sons of R. Avraham Kalfon, killed at war. The words "Sefer Sheni" (second Torah scroll) are pierced in the top third of the plate. Engraved on verso: "J. Fima" (presumably the silversmith who produced this shield). Long chain (original) for hanging on Torah case.
According to the WWI register of the French Ministry of Armed Forces, Jacob Kalfon (b. 1891) and Moïse Kalfon (b. 1893), both from Oran, Algeria, were killed during their service in the French army; Jacob at the age of 23 (in 1914), and Moïse, the younger brother, at the age of 25 (in 1918; see enclosed material).
Height: 11 cm, with chain: 63 cm, width: 12 cm. Good condition.
Ceremonial Objects from the Collection of an Algerian Family
Algerian Jewry, one of the oldest and largest Jewish communities in Islamic countries, numbered at its peak some 130,000 Jews, most of whom left when Algeria gained its independence in 1962. The vast majority of Algerian Jews immigrated to France, while others moved to Israel.
Items 288-296 originate from the private collection of a rabbinic family in Western Algeria. Some of the items were found abandoned in Algerian synagogues following the mass exodus of its Jews, and were collected by the members of this family, whose descendants immigrated to France, and later to Israel.
Silver Hallmarks in French Algeria
Algeria, which was under French control from 1830 to 1962, became subject to French laws of silver crafting and silver hallmarks from 1838 (see: Tardy, pp. 29-30; 197-200).
Some of the silver items in the present collection bear French hallmarks, which for the most part appear to have been stamped by Algerian silversmiths or assayers in Algeria, already in the 19th century. Nonetheless, some items seem to have been produced in France, and stamped there before their import to Algeria.
The strong French connection along with the cultural diversity of Algerian Jewry (which comprises Jewish immigrants from Spain, Morocco, Italy and France), are well reflected in the present items, to the point that it is sometimes difficult to pinpoint whether, for instance, an item was produced in the workshop of a Jewish silversmith from Algeria, from Spanish Morocco, from the community of Tétouan Jews living in Oran (Algeria), from Libya or from France. Likewise, in some cases it is difficult to discern conclusively whether a specific item was marked before it was brought from France to Algeria during the 19th or early 20th century, after it was brought into Algeria, or perhaps decades later, when it was brought back to France during the 1960s.
We are grateful to Chaya Benjamin and Prof. Shalom Sabar for their assistance in cataloguing these items.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Torah shield. [France, 19th century]. With a later dedication from Algeria.
Silver, cast and engraved (marked with French hallmarks: Minerva's head; initials JS within diamond – maker's or assayer's mark); partly gilded.
Impressive, particularly heavy and thick cartouche-shaped Torah shield, with rich foliate designs around the edges. A crown-shaped ornament tops the shield, while the bottom is adorned with a pair of marine creatures (dolphins?). Five bells are suspended from the bottom of shield (engraved, presumably non-original). Chain for hanging.
The quality of the shield seems to indicate that it was created in France in the 19th century. Presumably, the middle section was originally left blank, as is common in French shields from that period, and all the decorations and inscriptions were engraved in the mid-20th century, after the shield was brought to Algeria. Three similar shields, created by the famous Parisian silversmith Maurice Mayer (active between 1846-1870s), are held in the Consistoire collection in Paris (see below), and one can assume that they were known to the silversmith who produced the present shield.
Dedication (late) by R. Avraham son of Nissim Touboul, in memory of his parents, dated 1953. This may be Avraham Touboul of Oran, Algeria, born 1892, d. 1957; his father was named Nissim and his mother Yacots Benhaim (see enclosed material). Touboul presumably donated the present shield to the synagogue (together with a pair of finials – see following item), at which point the dedications were engraved on the items.
Height: 30 cm, with chain: 61 cm, width: 25 cm. Weight: 1.62 kg. Good condition.
Literature: Victor Klagsbald, Jewish Treasures from Paris, from the Collections of the Cluny Museum and the Consistoire (The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1982), items 30, 40, 43.
See similar French shields: Kestenbaum, auction 63 (2014), lot 387; Sotheby's, Important Judaica, 19 December 2018, lot 133; J. Greenstein, Spring 2021 auction, lot 79.
Ceremonial Objects from the Collection of an Algerian Family
Algerian Jewry, one of the oldest and largest Jewish communities in Islamic countries, numbered at its peak some 130,000 Jews, most of whom left when Algeria gained its independence in 1962. The vast majority of Algerian Jews immigrated to France, while others moved to Israel.
The following nine items (items 288-296) originate from the private collection of a rabbinic family in Western Algeria. Some of the items were found abandoned in Algerian synagogues following the mass exodus of its Jews, and were collected by the members of this family, whose descendants immigrated to France, and later to Israel.
Silver Hallmarks in French Algeria
Algeria, which was under French control from 1830 to 1962, became subject to French laws of silver crafting and silver hallmarks from 1838 (see: Tardy, pp. 29-30; 197-200).
Some of the silver items in the present collection bear French hallmarks, which for the most part appear to have been stamped by Algerian silversmiths or assayers in Algeria, already in the 19th century. Nonetheless, some items seem to have been produced in France, and stamped there before their import to Algeria.
The strong French connection along with the cultural diversity of Algerian Jewry (which comprises Jewish immigrants from Spain, Morocco, Italy and France), are well reflected in the present items, to the point that it is sometimes difficult to pinpoint whether, for instance, an item was produced in the workshop of a Jewish silversmith from Algeria, from Spanish Morocco, from the community of Tétouan Jews living in Oran (Algeria), from Libya or from France. Likewise, in some cases it is difficult to discern conclusively whether a specific item was marked before it was brought from France to Algeria during the 19th or early 20th century, after it was brought into Algeria, or perhaps decades later, when it was brought back to France during the 1960s.
We are grateful to Chaya Benjamin and Prof. Shalom Sabar for their assistance in cataloguing these items.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Torah crown. France (Alsace?), 19th century (after 1838).
Silver, cast and die-stamped (marked with French hallmarks: tiny mark in form of crab; unidentified initials within diamond); gilt; velvet.
The crown, reminiscent in form of Eastern-European Torah crowns, was presumably made for an Ashkenazi community in France (possibly Alsace; there is a somewhat similar crown in the Colmar synagogue in Alsace).
The circlet of the crown is decorated with foliate designs and round and oval knops, with clover-shaped ornaments pointing upwards. Ten half-arches connect the circlet and the finial, designed as a flattened globe topped with a flame-shaped ornament. Two oval openings at the upper part of the crown, and two thin silver shafts with rings inside – for the Torah rollers. Thick, brownish-red velvet inlay.
Diameter of circlet: 19.5-21 cm, maximum diameter: 27 cm, height: 27 cm. Fair-good condition. Minor bends and breaks. Finial bent and several half-arches broken or bent at joint with finial. Tears and wear to velvet inlay.
Ceremonial Objects from the Collection of an Algerian Family
Algerian Jewry, one of the oldest and largest Jewish communities in Islamic countries, numbered at its peak some 130,000 Jews, most of whom left when Algeria gained its independence in 1962. The vast majority of Algerian Jews immigrated to France, while others moved to Israel.
items 288-296 originate from the private collection of a rabbinic family in Western Algeria. Some of the items were found abandoned in Algerian synagogues following the mass exodus of its Jews, and were collected by the members of this family, whose descendants immigrated to France, and later to Israel.
Silver Hallmarks in French Algeria
Algeria, which was under French control from 1830 to 1962, became subject to French laws of silver crafting and silver hallmarks from 1838 (see: Tardy, pp. 29-30; 197-200).
Some of the silver items in the present collection bear French hallmarks, which for the most part appear to have been stamped by Algerian silversmiths or assayers in Algeria, already in the 19th century. Nonetheless, some items seem to have been produced in France, and stamped there before their import to Algeria.
The strong French connection along with the cultural diversity of Algerian Jewry (which comprises Jewish immigrants from Spain, Morocco, Italy and France), are well reflected in the present items, to the point that it is sometimes difficult to pinpoint whether, for instance, an item was produced in the workshop of a Jewish silversmith from Algeria, from Spanish Morocco, from the community of Tétouan Jews living in Oran (Algeria), from Libya or from France. Likewise, in some cases it is difficult to discern conclusively whether a specific item was marked before it was brought from France to Algeria during the 19th or early 20th century, after it was brought into Algeria, or perhaps decades later, when it was brought back to France during the 1960s.
We are grateful to Chaya Benjamin and Prof. Shalom Sabar for their assistance in cataloguing these items.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Pair of Torah finials. Algeria (possibly made in Morocco), [19th century].
Silver, cast, pierced and engraved (marked with French hallmarks: Minerva's head; initials JS within tiny diamond – maker's or assayer's mark); gilt; rhinestones.
Large, impressive pair of finials. Hexagonal, openwork body, in a foliate design, with bell-hung openings and red rhinestones. The upper part of the finials is shaped like a crown, topped with a Star of David. Tall, hexagonal staves. Each finial is hung with altogether 18 engraved and marked bells.
An identical dedication is engraved on both staves: "Avraham son of R. Nissim Touboul". This may be Avraham Touboul of Oran, Algeria (1892-1957), who donated an elaborate French shield to a synagogue (see previous item), along with these finials. The dedication appears to have been added at a later point.
This type of North African finials (similar finials usually originate from Spanish Morocco) was influenced by the design of Italian, tower-shaped finials (Livorno), and well reflects the close connection between the European communities – and Italy in particular – and Algerian Jewry. A similar pair of finials is kept in the Jewish Museum in New York, originating from the Etz Chaim synagogue in Gibraltar, and serves as an early sample (or perhaps even the first) of this type in North Africa (created in London, 1801/2). Other finials are documented in the catalog From the Remotest West, Ritual Articles from Synagogues in Spanish Morocco (see below).
Height: 42.5 cm. Overall very good condition. Lacking five bells. One bell replaced.
Literature:
1. Rafi Grafman, Crowning Glory, Silver, New York Torah Ornaments of the Jewish Museum (New York, 1996), item 364.
2. Rafi Grafman (ed.), 50 Rimonim: A Selection of Torah Finials from a European Family Collection. Exhibition Catalogue of the Tel Aviv University, (The Judaica Museum, The Cymbalista Synagogue and Jewish Heritage Center, 1998), item 23.
3. Nitza Behrouzi, From the Remotest West. Ritual Articles from Synagogues in Spanish Morocco (The Israel Museum, Tel Aviv, 1989), items 1a-1f.
Ceremonial Objects from the Collection of an Algerian Family
Algerian Jewry, one of the oldest and largest Jewish communities in Islamic countries, numbered at its peak some 130,000 Jews, most of whom left when Algeria gained its independence in 1962. The vast majority of Algerian Jews immigrated to France, while others moved to Israel.
Items 288-296 originate from the private collection of a rabbinic family in Western Algeria. Some of the items were found abandoned in Algerian synagogues following the mass exodus of its Jews, and were collected by the members of this family, whose descendants immigrated to France, and later to Israel.
Silver Hallmarks in French Algeria
Algeria, which was under French control from 1830 to 1962, became subject to French laws of silver crafting and silver hallmarks from 1838 (see: Tardy, pp. 29-30; 197-200).
Some of the silver items in the present collection bear French hallmarks, which for the most part appear to have been stamped by Algerian silversmiths or assayers in Algeria, already in the 19th century. Nonetheless, some items seem to have been produced in France, and stamped there before their import to Algeria.
The strong French connection along with the cultural diversity of Algerian Jewry (which comprises Jewish immigrants from Spain, Morocco, Italy and France), are well reflected in the present items, to the point that it is sometimes difficult to pinpoint whether, for instance, an item was produced in the workshop of a Jewish silversmith from Algeria, from Spanish Morocco, from the community of Tétouan Jews living in Oran (Algeria), from Libya or from France. Likewise, in some cases it is difficult to discern conclusively whether a specific item was marked before it was brought from France to Algeria during the 19th or early 20th century, after it was brought into Algeria, or perhaps decades later, when it was brought back to France during the 1960s.
We are grateful to Chaya Benjamin and Prof. Shalom Sabar for their assistance in cataloguing these items.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Pair of Torah finials. Algeria (or Morocco), [late 19th century], dedication dated 1891.
Silver, cast, pierced and engraved (body of finials apparently unmarked; tiny French hallmark on one bell); gilt.
Hexagonal, openwork body, in a foliate design, with bell-hung openings. The upper part of the finials is shaped like a crown, topped with a pineapple-shaped knop. Tall, hexagonal staves.
Identical dedication engraved on both staves, in memory of Abraham Abecasis, who passed away on Thursday, 25th Adar I 1891. The person in whose memory the finials were dedicated may have been a member of a Jewish family from Tétouan (Morocco), who lived in Oran (several hundred Jewish families from Tétouan fled to Oran following the outbreak of the Hispano-Moroccan war in 1859).
A similar pair of finials (with a dedication in similar typeface) from Tétouan, Morocco, is documented in the Center for Jewish Art, item 36930 (the Bill Gross collection). For additional information on this type of finials, see previous item.
Height: 42.5 cm. Fair condition. Some damage, breaks and bends, with unskilled soldering repairs. Lacking eight bells. Lacking two floral ornaments.
Ceremonial Objects from the Collection of an Algerian Family
Algerian Jewry, one of the oldest and largest Jewish communities in Islamic countries, numbered at its peak some 130,000 Jews, most of whom left when Algeria gained its independence in 1962. The vast majority of Algerian Jews immigrated to France, while others moved to Israel.
Items 288-296 originate from the private collection of a rabbinic family in Western Algeria. Some of the items were found abandoned in Algerian synagogues following the mass exodus of its Jews, and were collected by the members of this family, whose descendants immigrated to France, and later to Israel.
Silver Hallmarks in French Algeria
Algeria, which was under French control from 1830 to 1962, became subject to French laws of silver crafting and silver hallmarks from 1838 (see: Tardy, pp. 29-30; 197-200).
Some of the silver items in the present collection bear French hallmarks, which for the most part appear to have been stamped by Algerian silversmiths or assayers in Algeria, already in the 19th century. Nonetheless, some items seem to have been produced in France, and stamped there before their import to Algeria.
The strong French connection along with the cultural diversity of Algerian Jewry (which comprises Jewish immigrants from Spain, Morocco, Italy and France), are well reflected in the present items, to the point that it is sometimes difficult to pinpoint whether, for instance, an item was produced in the workshop of a Jewish silversmith from Algeria, from Spanish Morocco, from the community of Tétouan Jews living in Oran (Algeria), from Libya or from France. Likewise, in some cases it is difficult to discern conclusively whether a specific item was marked before it was brought from France to Algeria during the 19th or early 20th century, after it was brought into Algeria, or perhaps decades later, when it was brought back to France during the 1960s.
We are grateful to Chaya Benjamin and Prof. Shalom Sabar for their assistance in cataloguing these items.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.