Auction 94 Part 1 Important Items from the Gross Family Collection
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Work of embroidery depicting the Western Wall encircled by the Leviathan swallowing (or biting) its own tail. Jerusalem, 1928.
Colorful silk-thread embroidery on silk-satin fabric.
A most unusual high-quality work of embroidery from Jerusalem. A depiction of the Western Wall appears in the middle, with a row of trees and a bird behind it, the Dome of the Rock to its left, and the Al-Aksa Mosque to its right. Underneath is the embroidered (Hebrew) label "Western Wall". The entire illustration is encircled and framed by an embroidered depiction (with a corresponding embroidered Hebrew label) of the mythical creature known as the Leviathan, shown here biting or swallowing its own tail. The Leviathan’s scales are embroidered in silk thread, in varying shades of gray and beige that create a sense of movement and animation. The fins and tail have patches of reddish-maroon that further enrich the visual effect. The embroidered Hebrew inscription "Jerusalem" appears at the top of the cloth, flanked by images of small, yellow-breasted songbirds in flight. The Hebrew date "Year 5688" (1927-28) is embroidered on either side near the bottom.
The Leviathan is mentioned several times in the Bible and in Rabbinic literature. Jewish sources describe it as the "king of the fish" and the ruler of the sea. The figure of the Leviathan is a Jewish symbol for the end of the days, following the teaching of the Talmud that in the time to come, the righteous will partake in a feast and dine on the flesh of the Leviathan, and G-d will erect a sukkah made of the Leviathan's skin (Bava Batra 75a). This is the source of the prayer said when leaving the sukkah for the last time each year: "…just as I have fulfilled [the commandment] and dwelled in this sukkah, so may I merit next year to dwell in the sukkah made of the skin of the Leviathan".
Historically, this messianic tradition has never been particularly well-established as a theme in Jewish art, but graphic depictions of it do occasionally appear in illustrated manuscripts. In addition, it is sometimes featured on items of Judaica, such as a Sabbath tablecloth embroidered in Jerusalem in 1875-76 by Hannah Rivkah Hermann; in this case, it is used to frame a depiction of Hebron’s Cave of the Patriarchs (see reference below).
It is worth noting that the motif of a snake or dragon eating its own tail is actually quite ancient and cross-cultural; it has been referred to as "Ouroboros", meaning, in Greek, "tail-devouring".
46X52.5 cm. Overall good condition. Minor damage to embroidery and fabric.
Reference and exhibitions:
1. Arts and Crafts in the Land of Israel in the Nineteenth Century, edited by Yona Fischer. Jerusalem, the Israel Museum, 1979, (Hebrew), pp. 69-71, item no. 36.
2. Darkei Eretz. Ashdod, Monart Museum, 2006.
3. Jodendom: een boek vol verhalen, by Edward van Voolen. Amsterdam, Museumshop De Nieuwe Kerk, 2011, item no. 54.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 005.013.002.
This work is documented on the Center for Jewish Art (CJA) website, item no. 39233. A photograph of this item has also appeared in the Encyclopedia of Jewish Folklore and Traditions, edited by Rafael Patai and Haya Bar-Itzhak. New York, Armonk, 2013, p.460.
Work of folk art embroidery in the form of a wall plaque, combining the main elements of "Mizrach", "Shiviti", and "Yahrzeit" wall plaques, along with "musar" (ethical) passages. Krentz (prob. Krenitz = Krynica-Zdrój), Poland, 5686 [1926].
Colored cotton-thread embroidery on linen fabric.
Rectangular cloth sheet embroidered with a wide variety of texts, vegetal patterns, and images of animals, including a pair of songbirds, a two-headed eagle (or vulture), a pair of rampant lions supporting a seven-branched menorah, and a pair of roosters. Embroidered frame with recurrent geometric pattern.
Hebrew inscriptions typical of "Mizrach" and "Shiviti" wall plaques appear at the top of the sheet: "Know before Whom you stand…", "Mizrach" ["East"], "From this side [comes] the spirit of life", and the eponymous verse of "Shiviti" ["I have set…"]: "I have set the Lord always before me" (Psalms 16:8). In among these inscriptions we find the teaching (in Hebrew, with minor errors) from the Mishnaic "Pirkei Avot" ("Ethics of the Fathers"): "Be as bold as a leopard, as swift as a vulture, quick as a gazelle, and courageous as a lion" (Avot 5:20), divided up into three segments and interspersed among the other elements: The words "as swift as a vulture" are embroidered next to the two-headed eagle (or vulture); "Be as bold as a leopard and courageous as a lion" is inscribed next to the pair of lions; and "quick as a gazelle" appears adjacent to the rooster on the right.
In the middle of the sheet is a menorah, a seven-branched candelabrum, positioned on the rooftop of an architectonic structure with two colorful columns. Inscribed inside this structure are the (Hebrew) words of the old Jewish maxim: "One frets over one’s loss of fortune, and worries not over the loss of one’s days; the fortune will be of no assistance, nor shall the lost days ever return". Underneath this, the year and place when and where the sheet was embroidered are given: "Year 5686, Krentz" [1926, prob. Krenitz = Krynica-Zdrój, Poland].
To the right and left of the columns, an "in memoriam" inscription appears in Yiddish, marking the "yahrzeit" (death anniversary) dates of the parents of the embroiderer: "Yahrzeit of the father, Aharon Moshe, is the 10th day of Iyar"; and "Yahrzeit of the mother, Sorah, is the 15th day of Cheshvan".
The small Polish town of Krenitz (Krynica-Zdrój), located just north of the Slovakian border, was home to a Jewish community, most of whose members were murdered in the Holocaust. In 1921, the town’s 1,023 Jews accounted for roughly half of its total population.
61X44.5 cm. Good condition. Professionally restored and sewn onto a cotton fabric for exhibition and preservation.
Reference and exhibitions:
1. The 'Shiviti – Menorah', dissertation by Esther Juhasz. [Jerusalem], the Hebrew University, 2004, p. 291 (Hebrew).
2. Reise an kein Ende der Welt. Vienna, Jüdisches Museum Wien, 2001, pp. 60-61.
3. In the Light of the Menorah: Story of Symbol. Jerusalem, the Israel Museum, 2011.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 056.016.001.
This work of embroidery is documented on the Center for Jewish Art (CJA) website, item no. 39393.
Illuminated plaque with the Tenu Shirah piyyut for Purim. [Sanandaj, Iranian Kurdistan], 1864.
Ink and paint on paper.
Illuminated wall plaque, one of the earliest known illustrated leaves from Iranian Kurdistan. The plaque is replete with colorful foliate and geometric patterns; the ornamentation style and orange and green palette are typical of manuscripts produced in Western Iran, also characteristic of manuscripts produced in Iraq.
The text of the piyyut Tenu Shirah, customarily sung by Kurdish Jews on Purim before the Megillah reading, is inscribed in four frames designed as pointed arches (the piyyut forms an acrostic of the name of the author of the piyyut). Two Menorahs occupy the center of the plaque, each topped by the inscription "Shiviti Hashem LeNegdi Tamid": the upper menorah is a LaMenatze'ach Menorah (Psalm 67), while the lower one comprises the words of Ana BeKoach. The plaque is dated at the base of the lower Menorah, which is also flanked by a dedication.
For further information: The Jews of Kurdistan: Daily Life, Customs, Arts and Crafts. Jerusalem, the Israel Museum, 1981, pp. 232-236; Sinai, issue 98, 1986, pp. 74-75.
43X35 cm. Overall good condition. Folding marks, creases and marks. Minor tears to folds, slightly affecting text and illustrations. Framed.
Reference and exhibitions:
1. Et-Mol, vol. 208. Jerusalem, Yad Ben Zvi, 2009 (illustrated on cover) (Hebrew).
2. Light and Shadows, The Story of Iran and the Jews. Tel Aviv, Beit HaTfutsot, 2010, p. 48 (illustrated) (Hebrew and English).
3. Leaving, Never to Return!, curated by Dana Avrish. Tel Aviv, Eretz Israel Museum, 2019, p. 139 (Hebrew).
4. Light and Shadows, edited by David Yeroushalmi. Los Angeles, Fowler Museum of UCLA, 2012, p. 57.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 039.011.019.
The plaque is documented on the Center for Jewish Art (CJA) website, item no. 48988.
Embroidered tablecloth for the Sabbath and holidays. [Iranian Kurdistan, possibly Sakhiz], 5635 [1875].
Colored silk-thread embroidery on cotton; patterned cotton fabrics; sequins; fringes at edges.
Large, round tablecloth, of a type in use among the Jews of Kurdistan. Tablecloths of this sort were meant to cover either the table or the food platters laid down upon it, on the Sabbath, holidays, or ceremonial events. This tablecloth is densely embroidered with recurrent, symmetrical vegetal patterns in addition to fancy medallions and images of birds.
The embroidery also includes several circular inscriptions in Hebrew, bearing teachings and a dedication. The outer circle contains a teaching associated with the dining table (Avot 3:3; Ezekiel 41:22), ending with the date the tablecloth was embroidered: "Rabbi Shimon began and said: Three who ate at one table and spoke words of Torah, it is as if they have eaten at G?d's table, as is stated, 'And he said to me: This is the table that is before G?d'; 22nd [?] of Tammuz, Year 5635 [1875]". Embroidered on the four large medallions is an additional teaching from Avot (6:4; the inscription continues in installments from one circle to the next): "Bread with salt you shall eat, water in small measure you shall drink…". A dedicatory inscription appears in the middle circle: "I have written [this] for my beloved brother, R. Yeshaya son of my father R. [?] Avner".
A number of examples of tablecloths of this type are known to exist. Most are kept in museum collections. The present tablecloth is particularly special insofar as the embroidery actually gives the precise date it was made.
Diameter of embroidered cloth: approx. 74 cm. Diameter incl. encircling patterned cloth: 97-99 cm. Diameter incl. fringes: 115 cm. Overall good condition. Stains, some large. Missing sequins. Missing pieces of fringes.
Reference, equivalents and exhibitions:
1. The Jews of Kurdistan: Daily Life, Customs, Arts and Crafts, edited by Ora Shwartz-Be’eri and Efrat Carmon. Jerusalem, The Israel Museum, 1981, p. 176 (Hebrew and English).
2. Shabbat shalom, edited by Brach Yaniv and Zohar Hanegby. Ramat Gan, Bar Ilan, 1998, p. 33 and cover (Hebrew).
3. Iran, edited by Haim Saadoun. Jerusalem, Yad Ben Zvi, 2005, p. 190 (Hebrew).
4. Life cycle, by Shalom Sabar. Jerusalem, Yad Ben Zvi, 2006, p. 271 (Hebrew).
5. Et-Mol, vol. 208. Jerusalem, Yad Ben Zvi, 2009, p. 25 (Hebrew).
6. Here Comes the Bride. Dowry, Engagement and Wedding Gifts, by Yael Wiesel. Ashdod, 2016, p. 43 (Hebrew).
7. Jewish Ceremonial Art, by Stephen S. Kayser. Philadelphia, Jewish Publication Society of America, 1959, item no. 77.
8. Jewish Life in Art and Tradition, edited by Yehuda L. Bailer and Estelle Fink. Jerusalem, Hechal Shlomo, 1980, p. 126.
9. The Jewish Museum. New York, item nos. F4937 and F6033.
10. Textile of Union: On Festive Roundels Made and Used by the Jews of Irani Kurdistan, by Shifra Epstein, in: Jewish Folklore and Ethnology Review, vol. 9, no. 2. New York, 1987, pp. 1-5.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 034.015.002.
This tablecloth is documented on the Center for Jewish Art (CJA) website, item 39350.
Lot 53 Exceptionally Large Jewish-Persian Amuletic Cloth for Protection of Mother and Newborn – Iran
Jewish-Persian amuletic cloth for protection of mother and newborn. [Iran, early / first decades of 20th century].
Ink and paint on cotton.
Large cloth featuring illustrations, images, hashbaot, names and incantations; designed as protective amulet for the mother and newborn. The exact way in which the cloth was used is not known, but the neck opening at the top and the cut in the middle of the cloth are reminiscent of amuletic shirts and cloths common amongst non-Jews in the Persian region, traditionally placed on the birthing woman or hung on the wall of the room where the birth was taking place.
The cloth is comprised of two symmetric vertical strips, each divided into frames and congruent squares – six on each side – containing illustrations of human figures, plants and animals. Various texts are inscribed in black ink throughout the cloth, on and within the frames and even on the illustrations. The texts, in Hebrew, Judeo-Persian, Arabic and pseudo-script (undecipherable), are written in straight lines, oblique lines, circular form, magic squares and other forms.
The Hebrew words include the names of some of the sons of Haman, traditionally thought to absorb any harmful thoughts or actions directed at the cloth wearer. Several Hebrew words repeat themselves, such as angel, prophet, Abraham, Leah, Noach, love, scorpion, and more. Several Stars of David.
The painted inscriptions and the depictions are a mixture of many different magical traditions in Iran, both Jewish and non-Jewish: Jewish, Moslem and Zoroastrian. Such clothes were in use in the Persian region until the late 19th and early 20th centuries to cure, protect from illnesses and for various other magical purposes.
Similar cloths were used by adherents of the Sufi sect of Islam in Iran.
There is a similar Jewish-Persian amuletic cloth (Gross Family Collection, 027.015.001), also designed to protect the mother and infant, and for love.
Height: 161 cm; width: 81 cm; cloth sewn to fabric mounted on wooden frame for exhibition: 167.5X84.5 cm. Good condition. Minor defects. Stains and wear. Fading of ink and paint.
Reference and exhibitions:
1. Jewish-Muslim Encounter in Iran and its Magic Aspect, by Raya Shani, in: Between Judaism and Islam in the Mirror of Art. Jerusalem, HaAgudah le-omanut Yehudit, 1995, pp. 27-37 (Hebrew).
2. Light and Shadows: The Story of Iran and the Jews. Tel Aviv, Beit Hatfutsot, 2010, p. 162-163 (illustrated) (Hebrew).
3. Angels and demons: Jewish magic through the ages, edited by Filip Vukosavović. Jerusalem, Bible Lands Museum, 2010, p. 122 (illustrated) (Hebrew).
4. Lots of luck - Jewish amulets and ritual object, edited by Yael Wiesel and Sara Shahak. Ashdod, the Museum of Philistine Culture, 2013, p. 39 (Hebrew).
5. Bi-bli-o-logia: The Book as Body, edited by Drorit Gur Arie and Raphael Sigal. Petach Tikva, Petach Tikva Museum of Art, 2015, pp. 90-97. (Hebrew).
6. A Judeo-Persian Talismanic Textile, by Raya Shani, Irano-Judaica, IV. Jerusalem, Yad Ben Zvi, 1999, pp. 251-273.
7. Kabbalah, om Judisk Mysticism: Judiska Museet i Stockholm. Stockholm, 2002 (illustrated on exhibition catalogue).
8. Jodendom: een boek vol verhalen. Amsterdam, De Nieuwe Kerk, 2011-2012.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 027.015.002.
The item is documented on the Center for Jewish Art (CJA) website, item no. 39334.
Printed Passover cloth, with dedicatory inscription to Mazal Tov Ezra of Calcutta. Designed by: Yechezkel Yonah Tzalach Menashe. [Bombay, India, ca. 1890].
Printed in gold ink on silk-satin fabric.
Unique cloth, gifted to Mazal Tov Ezra (née Sassoon) – wife of Elias David Yosef Ezra, leader of the Jewish-Baghdadi community in Calcutta – possibly even designed and printed exclusively in her honor.
Rectangular cloth, intended for covering the Seder plate on Passover, in accordance with the custom of Jews from Iraq and the surroundings. The blessing "May you merit many years…" is printed at the top. The center of the cloth is occupied by a large illustration of a Seder plate; each item on the plate is captioned with its name and the kabbalistic sefirah related to it (according to the Arizal); above the illustration is the title "Seder HaKe'arah" with the remaining three sefirot, flanked by two fish (reminiscent of the fish seen on illustrated 19th century ketubot from Calcutta). Various texts surround the Seder plate: the Seder steps, blessings for Passover eve, Psalm 67 (framed), the counting of the Omer and other texts, both in Hebrew and Aramaic. Each text is set in a polygonal frame (deltoid or hexagon). Ha Lachma Anya and Ma Nishtana are printed with Iraqi Judeo-Arabic translation. The name of the cloth designer is printed in two frames under the Seder plate. Dedication in lower margin: "In honor of Sra. Mazal Tov Elia David Yosef Ezra".
The recipient of the cloth, Mazal Tov (Mozelle) Ezra (1853-1922) was the daughter of Sir Albert (Abdullah) David Sassoon (and granddaughter of the founder of the dynasty, David Sassoon). She was the wife of Elia (Elias) David Yosef Ezra, leader and prominent member of the Iraqi community in Calcutta (Kolkata); Elias Ezra was known as a philanthropist who donated significantly to Jewish educational institutions and in 1884, founded the Magen David synagogue in Calcutta in memory of his father. After her husband's passing in 1886, Mazal Tov founded the Ezra hospital in Calcutta (inaugurated in 1887), which is active until this day as part of the medical college in the city. The son of Mazal Tov and Elias was Sir Elias Ezra – also an important figure in the Jewish-Baghdadi community in Calcutta – who later married Rachel Sassoon (daughter of Solomon David and Flora Sassoon).
The designer of the present cloth, Yechezkel Yonah Tzalach Menashe, published and printed at least three books in Bombay in 1886-1887; likewise, his signature appears on a similar cloth printed in Bombay in 1890, with blessings and illustrations for Rosh Hashanah; the latter cloth was printed on light-colored fabric, and also features the blessing "May you merit many years…" at the top. Its texts are similarly set in polygonal frames. An inscription on that cloth reads: "This kerchief was designed by the scribe Yechezkel Yonah Tzalach Menashe, here in Bombay 1890" (see: Nehardea, Journal of the Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center, no. 31, 2010, p. 7).
64.5X54.5 cm. Overall good condition. Some tears and defects, slightly affecting text. Mounted on a sheet of fabric (new) for exhibition and preservation.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 001.013.003.
This item is documented on the Center for Jewish Art (CJA) website, item no. 37668.
Men’s pouch, for carrying documents. [Algeria-Morocco, early 20th century].
Cut leather, braided and sewn; thick silver-wire embroidery; cotton tassels.
A unique example – to the best of our knowledge, the only extant item of its kind – of a large, men’s leather pouch, apparently used for carrying documents. The pouch is shaped like a shield, and as such represents a style used for smaller cloth bags in Algeria and Morocco (for instance, for "tallit" and "tefillin" bags, or for pouches for women following childbirth). The pouch’s opening is covered and concealed by a decorative sheet of leather, embroidered with the Hebrew inscription "Avraham di Yihya Choukroun", surrounded by symmetrical vegetal patterns. Both the inscription and decorative patterns are embroidered in thick silver wire – apparently a product of something akin to folk art, in an uncommon technique (similar embroideries were typically made by winding thin silver wires on cardboard or cloth cutouts).
Seven large tassels made from thick leather and cotton thread adorn the front cover. A long shoulder strap is similarly made of braided leather thread, and the hem is embroidered in leather and cotton thread.
"Choukroun" is a common surname among North African Jews from both Algeria and Morocco, and the same is true of the name "Yihya". Rabbis with this family name presided over congregations in various Algerian cities as well as in the northeastern Moroccan city of Oujda, near the Algerian border.
Height: approx. 51 cm, Width: approx. 31 cm, Height incl. shoulder strap: approx. 125 cm. Fair-good condition. Signs of wear and abrasion. Leather elements coated with a wax cream for reinforcement and preservation.
Reference:
1. El Prezente: Studies in sephardic culture, edited by Tamar Alexander and Yaakov Bentolila. [Beer Sheva], Ben Gurion University, 2007, p. 208 (Hebrew).
2. Leaving, Never to Return!, curated by Dana Avrish. Tel Aviv, Eretz Israel Museum, 2019, p. 52 (Hebrew).
3. Palabra en su hora es oro: el refrán judeo-español del Norte de Marruecos, by Tamar Alexander-Frizer and Yaakov Bentolila. Jerusalem, Yad Ben Zvi, 2008, after p. 421.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 103.010.001.
This item is documented on the Center for Jewish Art (CJA) website, item no. 42020.
Elegant set comprising a "tallit" (prayer shawl) bag ("sakara di-tzitzit") and matching "tefillin" (phylacteries) bag ("sakara di- tefillin"), presented on the occasion of the bar mitzvah of the young man, Shlomo ben Yehudah Ouleil. [Northern Morocco, probably Tangier, early 20th century].
Velvet, cotton, and satin fabrics; metal-thread embroidery in a wide range of shades and styles of craftsmanship; sequins; cardboard cutout; beads sewn over with gilt metal thread and silver metal thread; coral beads.
Exquisitely elegant set comprising two rectangular bags: a large bag for the "tallit" (prayer shawl) and a smaller one for the "tefillin" (phylacteries). Both with opening at upper edge, tied shut with cord. Bags with matching inscriptions, embroidered in gilt metal thread just above the lower edges, giving the name of the young recipient: "Shlomo bar Yehudah ben Ouleil may his Rock and Redeemer protect him" on the tallit bag, and simply "Shlomo Ouleil" on the smaller tefillin bag.
Both bags are richly and intricately adorned with gilt arabesques over a dark green background. At their center, on the front surface, both bags bear a three-dimensional metal-thread ornament: a fancy dangling tassel on the tallit bag, and a small, button-like ornament on the tefillin bag. A pair of identical large, fancy tassels also dangles from the ends of the tying cords; these are made of gilt metal and silver metal thread, masterfully interwoven by means of a wide range of techniques and inlaid with decorative beads, some made of fabric and metal thread, and others consisting of pieces of coral.
Strings of coral can sometimes serve as ornaments on amulets; in this context, they are ascribed supernatural attributes and are believed to protect and safeguard against all manner of evil.
We have no knowledge of any similar sets of matching bags, originating from North Africa.
Large (tallit) bag: 32X25 cm; thickness: 1.5 cm; length of cords: 36 cm. Smaller (tefillin) bag: 18X14.5 cm; thickness: 1 cm; length of cords: approx. 33 cm. Good condition. Minor blemishes.
Reference:
1. Jewish Life in Morocco, edited by Aviva Müller-Lancet. Jerusalem, the Israel Museum, 1983, pp. 101-105 (Hebrew).
2. Shimmering Gold: the splendor of gold embroided textile, by Nitza Behroozi BarOz and Gania Dolev. Tel Aviv, the Eretz Israel Museum, 2007, p. 123 and p.130, items 71 and 72 (Hebrew).
3. Lots of luck: Jewish Amulets and Ritual Objects, edited by Yael Wiesel and Sara Shahak. Ashdod, the Museum of Philistine Culture, 2013, p. 60 (Hebrew).
4. Leaving, Never to Return!, curated by Dana Avrish. Tel Aviv, Eretz Israel Museum, 2019, p. 28 (Hebrew).
5. Jodendom: een boek vol verhalen. Amsterdam, De Nieuwe Kerk, 2011-2012.
Provenance:
1. Sotheby's, Tel Aviv, 17 April, 2001, lot no. 338.
2. The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 047.027.003, 018.047.005.
Women’s head covering (hood), worn during wedding ceremonies and on holidays – "gargush" / "karkush mizahhar" [Sana’a, Yemen, early 20th century].
Silk-brocade, cotton, and velvet fabrics; metal tread; chains of silver and gilt silver; gilt silver filigree pendants and plates; Maria Theresa thaler coins, some gilt; glass stones and beads.
The back of this head covering is adorned with dozens of 18th century Maria Theresa thaler coins, some of them gilt; the exposed side of the coin is usually the reverse ["tails"] side, the one displaying the Imperial double-headed eagle customarily appearing on Yemenite items of clothing from this period. The upper part of the hood is decorated with filigreed gilt silver plates, inlaid with glass stones. A total of six basket-shaped filigreed gilt ornaments ("zanabil"), on chains, suspended from bands also inlaid with glass stones, dangle from either side of the hood. An additional decorative band is sewn onto the border on the front of the hood, the part covering the forehead.
Height: approx. 60 cm (with chains: 97 cm), Width: approx. 23 cm. Overall good condition. Stains.
Reference, equivalents and exhibitions:
1. Embroidery Work: Attire and Jewelry in Yemenite Jewish Tradition, by Carmela Avdar. Rehobot, E'eleh BeTamar Association, 2008, (Hebrew).
2. The Jewish Wardrobe edited by Esther Juhasz and No’am Bar’am Ben-Yossef. Jerusalem, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, English-language edition, 2019 (pp. 108-109 in Hebrew-language edition, 2014).
3. Juifs d'Orient. Paris, Institut du Monde Arabe, 2021-2022.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 126.013.005.
Embroidered “Tallit Katan”. [Ottoman Empire, probably Turkey, ca. 1920].
Colored silk-thread and repoussé (gilt) metal-thread embroidery on linen fabric; cotton cord.
Rectangular cloth, with a long, narrow opening in the middle enabling insertion of the head of the wearer. Embroidered dedicatory inscription (Hebrew) encircling the opening, in colored silk thread: "This ’four corners’… the pleasant groom Yaakov ben Avraham…". Adjacent to the opposite ends of the opening is a pair of Stars of David, embroidered in repoussé metal thread (Tel), with letters of the Holy Names embroidered in silk thread in each, intended to provide supernatural protection to the wearer. A decorative border is embroidered along the edges of the garment in repoussé metal thread, serving as a base for an embroidered floral pattern in silk thread. Four decorative ornaments adorn the four corners of the garment, and the four knotted fringes ("tzitziyot") are inserted through holes in each corner.
The "tallit katan" – also known in Hebrew as the "arba kanfot" ("four corners") or the "tzitzit" ("fringes") – is a poncho-like garment to be worn throughout the day, in contrast to the regular "tallit" or "tallit gadol" which serves as a prayer shawl, to be worn, as the name suggests, only at times of prayer. Judging from the inscription and size of this particular “tallit katan”, it is not entirely sure whether it was made for a young groom on the occasion of his wedding, or maybe for a bar mitzvah boy (who nowadays is also called “chatan”).
Approx. 76X37 cm. Overall good condition.
For comparison see: Collection of The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, item no. B50.07.2894; and Esther Juhasz and No’am Bar’am Ben-Yossef (curators and eds.), "The Jewish Wardrobe: From the Collection of The Israel Museum, Jerusalem", exhibition catalogue, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, English-language edition, 2019 (p. 47 in Hebrew-language edition, 2014).
Reference and exhibitions:
1. Istanbul Haggadah, edited by David Arnon. Lod, Matan, 2009, pp. 96-97.
2. Jodendom: een boek vol verhalen, by Edward van Voolen. Amsterdam, De Nieuwe Kerk, 2011, item no. 42.
3. Alles hat seine Zeit / A Time for Everything, edited by Felicitas Heimann-Jelinek. Heidelberg, Kehrer, Jüdisches Museum München, 2013, pp. 60-61.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 047.015.012.
This item is documented on the Center for Jewish Art (CJA) website, item no. 39365.
Ornament bearing dedicatory plaques (known in Hebrew as "Shaddayot" or "takhshitim") for the "parokhet" of the Romaniote Kahal Kadosh Hadash Synagogue of Ioannina, Greece, 1849-1866.
Cut silver, repoussé and engraved; cotton and linen fabric; cloth band, machine-embroidered.
Arch-shaped cloth band bearing seven suspended dedicatory silver plaques –made to look like large, decorative silver pendants, with each pendant uniquely fashioned to differ slightly from all the others – donated to the Romaniote Kahal Kadosh Hadash Synagogue of Ioannina in the years 1849-1866 by members of the Ya’akov, Yasulah, Kopino, Shemuel, and HaLevy families.
The pendants are inscribed with memorial inscriptions for departed family members and well-wishes for living family members, in addition to get-well wishes and wishes of longevity (for details regarding the dedicatory inscriptions, see enclosed material).
In colloquial Hebrew, dedicatory plaques of this sort are termed "Shaddayot" (singular: "Shaddayah") or "takhshitim", owing to the standard wording of the dedicatory texts that appear on them, which customarily begin with "El Shaddai…" (one of the names of G-d) or "HaTakhshit HaZeh…" ("This piece of jewelry…"). "Shaddayot" are one of the peculiar trappings of the Romaniote Greek-Jewish communities; they were typically donated to synagogues in time for holidays or to mark significant lifecycle events.
"Shaddayot" would at times be sewn onto the "parokhet" (Torah ark curtain) as individual pendants, while at other times, they would be strung from a horizontal cloth band that would then be attached to the "parokhet", as in the case of the present item. Still other times, they would be sewn onto bands that would then be vertically hung on the synagogue walls; this was the case with regard to the "Shaddayah" in the collection of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, item no. B84.0913.
The Ioannina community was one of the oldest of Greek-Jewish communities, traditionally believed to have been established shortly after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple in 70 CE. This community – whose dominant language was Greek – persisted in clinging to the ancient Romaniote Jewish customs and style of prayer even after absorbing an influx of Ladino-speaking Sephardi-Spanish-Jewish exiles in the 15th century. The Kahal Kadosh Hadash Synagogue was built in 1841 outside Ioannina’s Old City walls. It served a community which at the time numbered some 2,400 Jews, and functioned alongside the Kahal Kadosh Yashan Synagogue, built in 1824 over the old synagogue, inside the Byzantine citadel. The Ioannina Jewish community was almost entirely wiped out in the Holocaust; of the roughly 2,000 Jews who made their home there on the eve of the Nazi occupation, only 164 individuals returned following the war. The Kahal Kadosh Hadash Synagogue did not survive the war.
Cloth band: approx. 97X8 cm. Minor blemishes, mostly on verso. Pendants: average 13X9 cm. Suspended from small rings sewn onto cloth band. One pendant missing.
Reference and exhibitions:
1. Jodendom: een boek vol verhalen. Amsterdam, De Nieuwe Kerk, 2011-2012.
2. Sacrificial Donations among the Romaniot Jews, by Ariella Amar, in: Jewish Art in Context: The Role and Meaning of Artifacts and Visual Images, Studia Rosenthaliana, Volume 45, 2014, pp. 91-114.
3. Seeking Protection: Shaddayot and Alephiot in the Romaniote World, by Zanet Battinou and Christina Meri, in: Windows on Jewish Worlds, Essays in Honor of William Gross Collector of Judaica. Zutphen, Walburg Pers. 2019, pp. 322-333 (illustrated).
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 049.001.009.
This ornament is documented on the Center for Jewish Art (CJA) website, item no. 36863.
Embroidered cloth ("parochet") for synagogue pulpit. Gözleve (Yevpatoria), Crimean Peninsula, Kislev 5584 [November 1823].
Gilt metal thread embroidery on silk fabric; cardboard cutout (underneath central ornament).
Rectangular "parochet" intended for synagogue pulpit. A detailed dedicatory inscription is embroidered onto the cloth. It reads as follows: "This parochet over the pulpit was dedicated by … Mordechai the Learned / may his Rock and Redeemer protect him … Eliyahu the Learned Elder of blessed memory to the synagogue / of the holy community of Gözleve to atone for the soul of his spouse Mme. / Rachel the modest woman, may her soul rest in the Garden / and to atone for the soul of his daughter Mme. / Eltin the young (pleasant) virgin, may her soul rest in the Garden, and to atone for the soul of his only son / Eliyahu, the friendly, pleasant young man, may his soul [rest] in the Garden of Eden, and may their cry [with an apparent misspelling here in the Hebrew] rise upward / in the year 5584 on the New Month of Kislev [November 1823]".
At the center of the cloth is a large, symmetrical ornament, embroidered widthwise over a cardboard cutout, similar in shape to palm trees; palms appear as a frequently recurring motif on sacred objects typically found in Egyptian synagogues.
"Gözleve", "Gozlov", or "Gozlevo" is the Hebrew name for the city of Yevpatoria, situated in the Crimean Peninsula on the shores of the Black Sea. The city’s Karaite synagogue complex serves as the spiritual center of the Crimean Karaite community. It includes two synagogues – one large, established in 1807, and one small, dating from 1815 – in addition to various religious facilities.
Karaism or Karaite Judaism rejects the validity of Rabbinic interpretations of the Torah – that is, the concept of an Oral Torah as promoted by Mishnaic, Talmudic, and other, later Rabbinic authorities – and adheres to a strict and literal understanding of the Bible, the so-called "Written Torah". Its origins as a religious movement can be traced back to the teachings of its founding father, Hakham Anan ben David, in the 8th century CE. One of oldest and most prominent centers of Karaite Judaism is in Egypt (which may explain the nature of the ornament in the center of the cloth). Apparently, the Karaite presence on the Crimean Peninsula dates back to the 12th century.
See also: items no. 12-13 in the present catalogue.
Karaite Items are uncommon, and are rarely offered in auctions; Karaite textile items are exceptionally rare.
41.5X50.5 cm. Overall good condition. Minor blemishes to embroidery and to cardboard cutout underpinning cloth. Cloth professionally sewn onto new sheet of fabric for purposes of exhibition and preservation.
Reference and exhibitions:
1. Karaite Jews in the East, in: Peamim, 90. Jerusalem, Yad Ben Zvi, 2002, p. 96 (Hebrew).
2. Shimmering Gold: the splendor of gold embroided textile, by Nitza Behroozi BarOz and Gania Dolev, Tel Aviv, the Eretz Israel Museum, 2007, p. 147 and p. 152, item no. 92 (Hebrew).
3. Reise an kein Ende der Welt. Vienna, Jüdisches Museum Wien, 2001, pp. 122-123.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 049.013.004.
This cloth is documented on the Center for Jewish Art (CJA) website, item no. 39386.