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Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $7,000
Estimate: $10,000 - $15,000
Sold for: $13,750
Including buyer's premium
Torah crown, created by silversmith Antoni Riedel (active 1878-1910). Warsaw, Poland, 1884.
Silver, repoussé, engraved and embossed; silver, cast; parcel gilt (maker's mark "A. Riedel", workshop mark (logo), Warsaw city marks, "84" quality mark, and assayer's mark with date "OC 1884" [Osip Sosnkovski]).
Large Torah crown, in a design typical of crowns from Poland and Eastern Europe. With a round base, decorated with dense leaf ornaments, featuring three gilded medallions engraved with a dedication inscription: "Moshe Zvi son of R. Simcha / Pinczowski, from Konin / Year 1884".
Six half-arches decorated with floral patterns extend from the base to the crown's top, which is also adorned with floral patterns and a wide ring with leaf ornaments. Six rampant lions are positioned between the crown's half-arches, and above them are six cast decorations in the shape of deer heads, with rings holding bells in their mouths. Above the large crown is a smaller crown, decorated with six eagles standing on globes with bells, topped by a gilded spherical ornament on which stands a swan with spread wings.
A Jewish community existed in the city of Konin from the 14th century, and for hundreds of years it was administratively subordinate to the Kalisz community. In the late 19th century, about 2,480 Jews lived in Konin.
Height: 34 cm, base diameter: 19.5 cm, maximum width: 30 cm. Good condition.
Only a few crowns made by Riedel are known. For comparison, see: Center for Jewish Art (CJA), item 31584 (collection of the National Museum of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia); J. Greenstein, March 12, 2014, Lot 178.
This crown was likely part of a set, along with the Torah pointer and breastplate sold at Kedem, Jerusalem, May 8, 2024, Lot 43 (these lots match in terms of design, silver marks, and the style of letters engraved on the interchangeable plates of the breastplate).
Category
Jewish Ceremonial Art
Catalogue
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $5,000
Estimate: $6,000 - $8,000
Sold for: $7,500
Including buyer's premium
Pair of cups: a Kiddush cup and Elijah's Cup. Russian Empire / Galicia, with a dedication inscription from 1876.
Silver, engraved; both goblets are marked on the base with the quality mark "84" and the initials "P. B.(?)" in cursive Cyrillic script (presumably the maker's mark).
Large and impressive cups, with a narrow base and a body that widens towards the rim. One cup is engraved with the inscription "This / Cup / for R. / Mordechai / Shachtman / 1876" and the second cup is engraved with the inscription
"This / Cup of / Elijah the Prophet… 1876".
Both cups are similarly decorated with intricate vines, a large bird of prey (eagle) with wings spread to the sides, and a pair of large, tongue-lolling lions supporting with their paws a rectangular frame with an arched top (within these frames, the aforementioned inscriptions are engraved). Elijah's Cup also features a double-headed eagle embellishment, engraved below the frame.
Height: 8.5 cm, base diameter: 4.7 cm, rim diameter: 8.2 cm. Overall good condition.
Category
Jewish Ceremonial Art
Catalogue
![Spice container. Tlemcen, Algeria, [ca. 1900-1930].
Silver sheet, repoussé, pierced and engraved; silver, cas](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/154_1.jpg "Silver Spice Container – Tlemcen, Algeria, Early 20th Century")
![Spice container. Tlemcen, Algeria, [ca. 1900-1930].
Silver sheet, repoussé, pierced and engraved; silver, cas](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/154_2.jpg "Silver Spice Container – Tlemcen, Algeria, Early 20th Century")
![Spice container. Tlemcen, Algeria, [ca. 1900-1930].
Silver sheet, repoussé, pierced and engraved; silver, cas](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/154_3.jpg "Silver Spice Container – Tlemcen, Algeria, Early 20th Century")
![Spice container. Tlemcen, Algeria, [ca. 1900-1930].
Silver sheet, repoussé, pierced and engraved; silver, cas](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/154_4.jpg "Silver Spice Container – Tlemcen, Algeria, Early 20th Century")
![Spice container. Tlemcen, Algeria, [ca. 1900-1930].
Silver sheet, repoussé, pierced and engraved; silver, cas](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/154_5.jpg "Silver Spice Container – Tlemcen, Algeria, Early 20th Century")
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $1,000
Estimate: $2,000 - $4,000
Sold for: $1,500
Including buyer's premium
Spice container. Tlemcen, Algeria, [ca. 1900-1930].
Silver sheet, repoussé, pierced and engraved; silver, cast (unmarked).
A container designed for storing spices for the Havdalah ceremony. Shaped as a hexagonal container with a pointed dome, topped by a flower-like ornament and an upper cast decoration in a symmetrical vegetal pattern characteristic of Islamic art.
The container stands on an additional decoration – matching the upper one at the top – soldered to the hexagonal base. One of the container's facets features a pierced arched opening closed by a hinged door with a locking mechanism (similar to European tower-shaped spice containers). The container and base are decorated with floral patterns and palm designs (hamsas). Two gilded bells hang on hooks fixed to the upper part of the container.
Two engraved inscriptions serve as indication to the container's origin and owner: on the upper margins,
"…Moshe / di / Yaakov / Levy…", and on the lower margins – "Handmade by / the craftsman Yehia / Faruz / and Makhluf ben / Hamu / Tlemcen".
This container – likely created as a private commission – beautifully reflects the typical silversmith work of North African Jews. It is reminiscent in its shape and decorations of Jewish ceremonial objects from Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia, especially Torah finials and crowns. However, it represents a unique and possibly singular example of an Algerian spice container, as in Middle Eastern countries, spices used for Havdalah were abundant, eliminating the need to preserve them for reuse in dedicated containers, as was customary in European countries.
The name of the silversmith Yaya Farouz of Tlemcen is mentioned in Paul Eudel's L'orfèvrerie Algérienne et Tunisienne (Alger, 1902, p. 430); According to online genealogical records Farouz passed away in 1936, a fact that helps dating this item to the very first decades of the 20th century.
The name of the silversmith Yaya Farouz of Tlemcen is mentioned in Paul Eudel's L'orfèvrerie Algérienne et Tunisienne (Alger, 1902, p. 430); According to online genealogical records Farouz passed away in 1936, a fact that helps dating this item to the very first decades of the 20th century.
Height: 31.5 cm, base width: 8.5 cm. Overall good condition.
Category
Jewish Ceremonial Art
Catalogue
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $40,000
Estimate: $50,000 - $60,000
Unsold
Year-round siddur following Ashkenazi rite, with Torah portions, Shir HaYichud, Yotzerot and Selichot, Hoshanot and Ma'aravot. Amsterdam: Herz Levi Rofe and his son-in-law Kosman, 1752.
Bound with: Book of Psalms arranged according to the days of the week, with German commentary and order of supplications. Amsterdam: Herz Levi Rofe and his son-in-law Kosman, [1760]. Includes Yiddish translation ("Taytsh"); with separate title pages for Psalms and for supplications. Bound in a magnificent silver binding, with dedicatory inscriptions.
Paper, cardboard and fabric; brass sheet; silver, repoussé, pierced and engraved (both clasps are stamped with the 18th century Halberstadt city mark; unidentified maker's mark: the letters F.S with a flower above and below within a shield-shaped frame [not documented in Scheffler], and a stamped letter H, apparently date letter for the year 1761).
It appears that this siddur was given as a "Sivlonot" – a present from the groom to his betrothed, after their engagement. It is bound in a magnificent silver binding on which the names of the couple appear: on the front cover –
"R. / Leib son of the Gaon … [A]kiva Eger / of blessed memory", and on the back cover – "Hendele / daughter of Itzek … 1761".
Both sides of the binding are symmetrically decorated, in identical floral patterns typical of the 18th century: a pair of rampant lions in the center, tongues extended, supporting a stylized cartouche and a large crown-shaped ornament. The spine and clasps are also decorated with matching patterns; a pair of silver ornaments soldered to the spine at the top and bottom (covering the thickness of the book).
In addition to the repoussé and engraved decorations, the silver binding also features tiny decorations pierced in patterns of leaves, stars, moons and flowers; a thin brass sheet located under the silver plates of the binding serves as a background and gives them a golden glow. Such pierced decorations are not common in bindings of this type, but are indeed found, for example, in German Torah pointers from the 18th century.
R. Yehuda Leib Yaakov Eger (1741-1814), son of Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi of Zülz and Pressburg ("Rabbi Akiva Eger the First"), served for forty years as rabbi in Halberstadt and was one of the leading Torah scholars of his generation. He was the uncle of the famous Rabbi Akiva Eger, Rabbi of Posen (1762-1837; author of Responsa Rabbi Akiva Eger and Derush VeChiddush, father-in-law of the Chatam Sofer). Together with his brother Rabbi Binyamin Wolf, he published his father's novellae in the book Mishnat D'Rabbi Akiva (Fürth, 1781). His sons were R. Peretz Sabel Eger and R. Avraham Eger of Mezhyrich.
Rebbetzin Chana Hinda Eger (Hendele) née Borchardt was born in Halberstadt in 1736 and died there in 1787. Her father's name was Yitzchak Baruch (see below: "Itzek") and he was called "Köslin" after his city of origin in Pomerania.
On the back endpaper appears a long and detailed genealogical inscription in the handwriting of R. Yehuda Leib's son –
R. Peretz Sabel Eger – which was apparently written after he inherited this volume from his father's estate, around 1814: "The young Sabel Eger residing here… Braunschweig son of…. Rabbi Leib Eger of blessed memory who was Rabbi of the holy community of Halberstadt for forty years, son of… Rabbi Akiva Eger… who was Rabbi and Rosh Metivta in… Zülz and Pressburg, author of the book Mishnat D'Rabbi Akiva son of the late… Rabbi Bunem Eger… son of… Rabbi Leib Eger… son of Rabbi Meir… The name of my mother and teacher the righteous Rebbetzin Mrs. Hendela… daughter of… Rabbi Itzek Köslin… son… Rabbi Baruch Köslin… of Pomerania / And my mother and teacher… mentioned above was born to a pious and famous generous woman Mrs. Schönchen of blessed memory".
R. Peretz Sabel Eger (1768-1842) was the cousin of the renowned Rabbi Akiva Eger. In 1809, he was appointed as Rabbi of Braunschweig. He corresponded on halachic matters with his cousin Rabbi Akiva Eger, and dozens of responsa in Rabbi Akiva Eger's responsa are addressed to him. He authored the books Ateret Paz on Tractate Beitzah and Rimon Peretz on Tractate Ketubot.
[2], 243; 85; 128, [1], 130-144 leaves. Misfoliation. 18.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains, including dampstains (many stains on first and last leaves due to dampness on the endpapers). Worming to some leaves, affecting text. Gilt edges. New cloth-covered cardboard binding, with original endpapers, partially restored and reconstructed. Two French bookplates, presumably from the 19th or early 20th century ("Bibliotheque du Chateau, de Livry, CB"; "Candide et Constanter, JWC"). Silver binding 19X13.5 cm, overall good condition.
The binding is documented in the Center for Jewish Art (CJA), item 3909.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 025.001.013.
Category
Jewish Ceremonial Art
Catalogue
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $10,000
Estimate: $15,000 - $20,000
Sold for: $13,750
Including buyer's premium
Passover Haggadah and Seder Sefirat HaOmer. Manuscript on parchment, work of scribe and illustrator Chaim Leib Beinhocker. Place and date not specified, [likely first half of the 20th century]. Bound in a magnificent silver binding, with the Fiorentini family crest. Rome, presumably 19th century (1815-1870).
Ink and paint on parchment; silk fabric; silver, repoussé and engraved (twice stamped with the emblem of Rome and a maker's mark – A70G (?) in a lozenge-shaped frame).
Manuscript on parchment. Miniature format. Written in black ink in Ashkenazi square script, without vocalization. All pages are framed in a rectangular border in pink ink. Accompanied by 87 color illustrations. Text: Leaves [1]-[55a] – Passover Haggadah; Leaves [55b]-[69a] – Seder Sefirat HaOmer.
The manuscript opens with an architectural title page featuring the figures of Moses and Aaron, where the names of the scribe and the patron for whom the manuscript was created appear: "Passover Haggadah / with fine illustrations / collected from / old Haggadot… I / the humble Chaim Leib / Beinhocker in honor of… Rabbi / Yekutiel Fischhof" (we were unable to identify these figures).
In addition to the illustration on the title page, 86 more color illustrations are integrated throughout the manuscript, depicting the Haggadah story as well as Lag BaOmer and Shavuot – most are miniatures (the smallest measures 4X2.5 cm, and the largest 8x5 cm) – as well as initial words adorned with gold, with tiny illustrations.
Although created during the 20th century, it appears that the creator of this manuscript was influenced by the tradition of 18th-century European illustrated manuscripts, especially those of the "Moravian School". However, while most 18th-century manuscripts base their illustrations on the "Amsterdam Haggadah" (Amsterdam, 1695), this manuscript's illustrations are based on the woodcuts of the "Venice Haggadah" first printed in Venice in 1609.
The silver binding is identically decorated on both sides with floral patterns centered around the Fiorentini family crest – a bent arm holding a wreath with three flowers – topped by a crown-shaped ornament. This family originated in Tuscany and has lived in Rome since the 16th century. Among its famous members are the poet Salomone Fiorentino, and several military figures who fought during the 19th and 20th centuries. For more information about this family, see: Elivo Giuditta, Araldica Ebraica in Italia. [Torino]: Società Italiana di Studi Araldici, 2007, p. 179.
For another binding by the same silversmith (dated ca. 1830), see: Sotheby's, December 20, 2017, Lot 80.
[69] leaves + [3] blank parchment leaves at the end of the volume. 9X6 cm. Overall good condition. Some stains. Creases in several leaves. Silver binding: 9.7 cm, with doublures covered in dark purple silk fabric (slightly frayed at the edges).
Provenance: Sotheby's, New York, December 19, 2012, Lot 125.
Category
Jewish Ceremonial Art
Catalogue
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $1,500
Estimate: $4,000 - $6,000
Sold for: $10,000
Including buyer's premium
Parchment manuscript, Tikun Lailah – bedtime reading of Shema, with the prayer of the Ramban for the night of intercourse, and order of reversing a bad dream, scribed by Eliezer Zusman of Mezeritch. Frankfurt am Main, [ca. first half of 19th century].
Ashkenazic square script, vocalized. Instructions and laws written in Rashi script. Title page surrounded by rectangular frame, containing details on the scribe and the location. Fine square decoration on last leaf, containing words declaring the work completed.
On leaves 2-9a appear the reading of Shema, including the first four Psalms, Adon Olam and a confession. Beginning on p. 9a: Prayer of the Ramban for the night of intercourse, and order of reversing a bad dream.
Ownership inscription on front endpaper: "Belongs to the G-d-fearing philanthropist Mr. Hertz Marcus Oppenheimer" (apparently Hertz Marcus Oppenheimer, 1785-1839, jeweler and watch dealer in Frankfurt).
[11] leaves (numbered in pencil in a later hand). 17.5 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains. Wear and signs of heavy use to some leaves. New leather binding (bound together with a pink paper wrapper, original).
For another manuscript written by the same scribe, see Kedem catalogue, Auction 58, Lot 4. Several other manuscripts written by this scribe are extant, some in the Braginsky collection, documented in the catalogue: Emile Schrijver and Falk Wiesemann (eds.), Schöne Seiten: Jüdische Schriftkultur aus der Braginsky Collection (Zürich: Scheidegger & Spiess, 2011), pp. 76-77 (no. 15), 80 (no. 16).
Provenance: Sotheby's, New York, November 2019, Lot 122.
Category
Illustrated manuscripts
Catalogue
![Manuscript, machzor for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, according to the Apam (Asti-Fossano-Moncalvo) rite. Asti, [1776].](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/158_1.jpg "Illuminated Manuscript – Machzor for High Holidays, Apam Rite – Asti,")
![Manuscript, machzor for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, according to the Apam (Asti-Fossano-Moncalvo) rite. Asti, [1776].](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/158_3.jpg "Illuminated Manuscript – Machzor for High Holidays, Apam Rite – Asti,")
![Manuscript, machzor for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, according to the Apam (Asti-Fossano-Moncalvo) rite. Asti, [1776].](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/158_4.jpg "Illuminated Manuscript – Machzor for High Holidays, Apam Rite – Asti,")
![Manuscript, machzor for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, according to the Apam (Asti-Fossano-Moncalvo) rite. Asti, [1776].](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/158_2.jpg "Illuminated Manuscript – Machzor for High Holidays, Apam Rite – Asti,")
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $1,500
Estimate: $2,500 - $3,500
Sold for: $3,750
Including buyer's premium
Manuscript, machzor for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, according to the Apam (Asti-Fossano-Moncalvo) rite. Asti, [1776].
Title page decorated with frame: "Order of prayers, piyyutim and krovetz for high holidays according to the rite of… our French rabbis…". The bottom part of the title page names the woman for whom the machzor was scribed, as well as the location and date of writing: "Written at the behest of the honorable and modest Mrs. Keila Chanah Treves, wife of R. Yehoshua Chai Montalcina… in Asti, [1776]". Below this is written (as customary in printed books): "Con Licenza del Divino Superiore".
Signature of owner on front endpaper: "My portion by lot, Adar 1828, Moshe son of R. Yehoshua Chai Montalcini".
[1], 94, [4] leaves. 26 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains, including dark stains. Wear and tears. Several leaves detached. Leather binding, with metal clasp. Tears and damage to binding.
A booklet is added (4 written pages) with the Kedushah prayer for Musaf, in another hand.
Provenance: Collection of Rabbi Prof. Eliyah Shmuel Hartom, Jerusalem.
The Apam Rite
"Apam" is an acronym for the communities of Asti, Fossano, and Moncalvo. All three communities were established by Jewish exiles from France who settled in the Piedmont region of Italy after being expelled from France in the 14th century. Once in Italy, most Jewish émigrés from France adopted the customs and traditions of the communities that absorbed them, and only these three communities clung to the French traditions they arrived with, thus preserving the ancient French rite. The French rite resembles the Ashkenazic rite, but differs from it both in its own particular versions of some of the prayers, and in the distinctive piyyutim that are peculiar to it. Siddurim associated with the Apam rite were never printed, and they survive only in manuscript form (on the Apam rite see: Zunz, Rites of Synagogue Liturgy, Breuer-Fraenkel Hebrew translation, Jerusalem 2016, pp. 64-65; Goldschmidt, Leket Shichchah UPeah LeMachzor Apam, Kiryat Sefer XXX, Jerusalem 1955, pp. 118-136).
The present machzor preserves the piyyutim and distinctive liturgy of the Apam rite, including a unique version of Kol Nidrei, the piyyut Eten Tehilah introducing the Avodah prayer, and more.
Category
Illustrated manuscripts
Catalogue
![Manuscript, Hoshanot and piyyutim for Simchat Torah, according to the Apam (Asti-Fossano-Moncalvo) rite. Asti, [1801].](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/159_1.jpg "Decorated Manuscript, Hoshanot and Piyyutim for Simchat Torah – Apam R")
![Manuscript, Hoshanot and piyyutim for Simchat Torah, according to the Apam (Asti-Fossano-Moncalvo) rite. Asti, [1801].](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/159_2.jpg "Decorated Manuscript, Hoshanot and Piyyutim for Simchat Torah – Apam R")
![Manuscript, Hoshanot and piyyutim for Simchat Torah, according to the Apam (Asti-Fossano-Moncalvo) rite. Asti, [1801].](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/159_3.jpg "Decorated Manuscript, Hoshanot and Piyyutim for Simchat Torah – Apam R")
![Manuscript, Hoshanot and piyyutim for Simchat Torah, according to the Apam (Asti-Fossano-Moncalvo) rite. Asti, [1801].](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/159_4.jpg "Decorated Manuscript, Hoshanot and Piyyutim for Simchat Torah – Apam R")
![Manuscript, Hoshanot and piyyutim for Simchat Torah, according to the Apam (Asti-Fossano-Moncalvo) rite. Asti, [1801].](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/159_5.jpg "Decorated Manuscript, Hoshanot and Piyyutim for Simchat Torah – Apam R")
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $1,000
Estimate: $2,000 - $2,500
Sold for: $1,375
Including buyer's premium
Manuscript, Hoshanot and piyyutim for Simchat Torah, according to the Apam (Asti-Fossano-Moncalvo) rite. Asti, [1801].
Square script, vocalized. Commentaries and instructions in smaller script, unvocalized. Fine decorations throughout the manuscript.
Colophon of scribe at end of Hoshanot (p. 14b): "I the scribe, dust and ashes, Yaakov Yehoshua son of Zerach Uri Katzigin of Asti, 1801".
Piyyutim for Simchat Torah begin on p. 16b. Written in large letters, in frames, without a commentary.
The commentary on the Hoshanot is copied from the Shaar Bat Rabim machzor, Part II, Venice 1715, leaves 333-337. The commentary begins: "The proofreaders say, we ardently desire to know and make known why the commentator did not comment on the Hoshanot piyyutim… But we found an excellent and sufficient commentary in the Italian rite machzor…".
Leaf 15 was bound at a later time, with verses to recite after the conclusion of Hoshanot (with an Italian caption stating that the prayer should be recited "while the chazan is saying the names"). On the margins of the leaf: "Asti, 25th Tishrei 1884".
Inside the board is an ownership inscription: "Brothers Hartom son of Refael Binyamin".
[22] leaves. 27 cm. Good condition. Stains, including dark stains. Marginal tear to one leaf. Cardboard binding, with light damage.
Provenance: Collection of Rabbi Prof. Eliyah Shmuel Hartom, Jerusalem.
The Apam Rite
"Apam" is an acronym for the communities of Asti, Fossano, and Moncalvo. All three communities were established by Jewish exiles from France who settled in the Piedmont region of Italy after being expelled from France in the 14th century. Once in Italy, most Jewish émigrés from France adopted the customs and traditions of the communities that absorbed them, and only these three communities clung to the French traditions they arrived with, thus preserving the ancient French rite. The French rite resembles the Ashkenazic rite, but differs from it both in its own particular versions of some of the prayers, and in the distinctive piyyutim that are peculiar to it. Siddurim associated with the Apam rite were never printed, and they survive only in manuscript form (on the Apam rite see: Zunz, Rites of Synagogue Liturgy, Breuer-Fraenkel Hebrew translation, Jerusalem 2016, pp. 64-65; Goldschmidt, Leket Shichchah UPeah LeMachzor Apam, Kiryat Sefer XXX, Jerusalem 1955, pp. 118-136).
Category
Illustrated manuscripts
Catalogue
![Manuscript, Reshit Chochmah by R. Eliyahu de Vidas (a disciple of R. Moshe Cordovero). [Balkans region, 18th century].](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/160_1.jpg "Illustrated Manuscript – Reshit Chochmah – Balkans Region, 18th Centur")
![Manuscript, Reshit Chochmah by R. Eliyahu de Vidas (a disciple of R. Moshe Cordovero). [Balkans region, 18th century].](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/160_2.jpg "Illustrated Manuscript – Reshit Chochmah – Balkans Region, 18th Centur")
![Manuscript, Reshit Chochmah by R. Eliyahu de Vidas (a disciple of R. Moshe Cordovero). [Balkans region, 18th century].](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/160_3.jpg "Illustrated Manuscript – Reshit Chochmah – Balkans Region, 18th Centur")
![Manuscript, Reshit Chochmah by R. Eliyahu de Vidas (a disciple of R. Moshe Cordovero). [Balkans region, 18th century].](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/160_4.jpg "Illustrated Manuscript – Reshit Chochmah – Balkans Region, 18th Centur")
![Manuscript, Reshit Chochmah by R. Eliyahu de Vidas (a disciple of R. Moshe Cordovero). [Balkans region, 18th century].](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/160_5.jpg "Illustrated Manuscript – Reshit Chochmah – Balkans Region, 18th Centur")
![Manuscript, Reshit Chochmah by R. Eliyahu de Vidas (a disciple of R. Moshe Cordovero). [Balkans region, 18th century].](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale99/160_6.jpg "Illustrated Manuscript – Reshit Chochmah – Balkans Region, 18th Centur")
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $2,500
Estimate: $3,000 - $5,000
Sold for: $3,250
Including buyer's premium
Manuscript, Reshit Chochmah by R. Eliyahu de Vidas (a disciple of R. Moshe Cordovero). [Balkans region, 18th century].
Copying in Oriental semi-cursive script (some words verge on cursive script); with decorations and fine illustrations in color and gilt ink, in Islamic style characteristic of the Ottoman empire – illustrations of cypresses and flowers, decorated initial panels, decorated circles (one with a star in center, and a Star of David in the center of the other), and other decorations. The circle at the end of the manuscript incorporates a colophon with the name of the scribe: "Yosef son of Shmuel Chazan", with an inscription on the completion of writing: "This book was finished on the 18th of Tishrei…"; the rest of the inscription is confused and we were unable to determine the exact year (changes may have been made to it). The name of the scribe is also incorporated in the decorated circle in the Derech Eretz chapter.
The manuscript is lacking its first half. The present item constitutes the later parts of the work, from Shaar HaKedushah chapter 16 until the end of Shaar HaAnavah (lacking approximately one page from the end of the chapter, due to a detached leaf); followed by five chapters appended by the author from Menorat HaMaor by R. Yisrael Alnaqua (Perek HaMitzvot, Perek Gidul Banim, Perek Masa UMatan, Perek HaDinim and Perek Derech Eretz).
The first half of this manuscript is JTS Ms. 2049. The scribe's name is mentioned in a decorated circle at the beginning of the manuscript (as well as further in the manuscript); on the page opposite the circle appears a death inscription, apparently also by the scribe: "My father passed away on Sunday, 26th Tamuz [1771]".
The manuscript is in a cardboard wrapper, upon which is written: "Manuscript Reshit Chochmah – I received it from Dr. Tzemach Rabiner, preacher in Sofia, as a gift". Enclosed is a photocopy of a letter from Dr. Tzemach Rabiner, Chief Rabbi of Sofia and "Chief Preacher" of Bulgarian Jewry, regarding this manuscript.
[103] leaves. Lacking beginning; one leaf torn and lacking in middle (at end of Shaar HaAnavah). Approx. 21 cm. Fair condition. Stains, including dampstains and dark stains, with ink fading, affecting text. Wear and light tears. Loose gatherings. Without binding.
Category
Illustrated manuscripts
Catalogue
Lot 161 Roman-Rite Machzor – Special Copy Printed on Blue Paper, Unique Exemplar – Mantua, 1556-1560
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $7,000
Estimate: $10,000 - $15,000
Sold for: $16,250
Including buyer's premium
Roman-rite machzor, Part I – with weekday, Shabbat and Rosh Chodesh prayers, and prayers and selichot from Chanukah until Shabbat Nachamu, Passover Haggadah, Shemonah Perakim by the Rambam and Tractate Avot with commentaries of Rashi and the Rambam; and Part II – with prayers for Elul and Tishrei festivals, selichot for public fast days and other prayers. Mantua: Meir son of Efraim of Padua and Venturin Ruffinelli, 1556-1560. Two parts in one volume (second part begins on leaf 117, without divisional title page).
This edition was printed based on the first edition of the machzor, Soncino-Casalmaggiore 1486, with corrections and some additions (such as Megillat Antiochus, added to Part I; and the confession for the deathbed added to Part II).
Special copy, printed on blue paper. As far as we know, this is a unique exemplar – the only one in the world.
Blue paper was introduced into Italian Hebrew printing early in the 16th century. Like vellum, it was used for preparing deluxe editions of books, which were printed in a limited number of copies for wealthy individuals (see: Brad Sabin Hill, Hebrew Printing on Blue and Other Coloured Papers, in: Otzrot Yaakov, Treasures of the Valmadonna Trust Library, London and New York 2011, pp. 84 ff).
On title page: "The labor was begun in Chanukah 1557". Colophon: "It was completed on Rosh Chodesh Sivan, 1560, here in Mantua…".
On last leaf, signature of censor "Domenico Gerosolimitano", dated 1597.
Stamps of Schocken library in Jerusalem.
Birth inscription on last leaf, in Italian script, dated 1668.
210 leaves. 26.5 cm. Varying condition of leaves. First leaves and additional leaves in fair condition, many leaves in good-fair condition. Stains, including wax stains. Tears and open tears, including large open tears to several leaves (mainly to first leaves), affecting illustrated title frame and text, repaired with paper, with photocopy text replacements to some leaves. Text affected in many places on first three leaves across length of margins, particularly on leaf 3; both sides of title page and recto of leaf 2 coated with paper. Worming, affecting text. Close trimming, affecting headers and text in several places. New leather binding. Slipcased.
Tractate Avot was also printed separately, in 1560. Rashi's commentary to Avot printed here appears in a unique version. The commentary on chapter 6, attributed to Rashi, is very similar to the commentary printed in Machzor Vitri, attributed to R. Yaakov son of R. Shimshon. See: M. A. Z. Kinstlicher, preface to Rashi's commentary on Avot, in: Tractate Avot with Commentary of Rashi, Bnei Brak 1992, pp. 11-15.
See further: A. Piattelli, Bibliography of Roman-Rite Machzorim and Siddurim, no. 19 (Hebrew).
Provenance:
1. Valmadonna Trust Library collection.
2. Schocken Collection, Sotheby's, London, December 1993.
Category
Siddurim and Prayer Books
Catalogue
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $1,500
Estimate: $2,500 - $3,500
Sold for: $5,250
Including buyer's premium
Seder Meah Berachot – blessings, prayers and piyyutim, including the Passover Haggadah, with Spanish translation. Amsterdam: Albertus Magnus, 1687. Approbations by R. Yitzchak Aboab, R. Yaakov Sasportas and R. Shlomo de Oliveira.
Prayers for various occasions, such as circumcision of converts and slaves, blessing upon the purchase of a slave, redemption of a vineyard, prayer for Marranos burnt at stake in Spain and Portugal, flogging, and more. Also includes laws of shechitah in rhyme, tables for calculating tekufot and festivals, and chronological list of events in the history of the Jewish people until the 1648-1649 Chmielnicki massacres (in Spanish).
Hebrew text and Spanish translation on facing pages (with corresponding pagination).
The editor of the book, Binyamin Senior Godines, writes in his introduction that he found the manuscript of the book in the library of R. Yitzchak son of Matityahu Aboab (mentioned in the Spanish preface as the translator of the book).
Two title pages, the first copper-engraved with illustrations of the blessings over the moon, incense (for Havdalah), Birkat HaMazon, blessings on the shofar and circumcision.
Additional engraved title page, depicting various blessings.
[11] leaves, [1], 303, 304; 54, [11], 7, [20] pages. Approx. 12 cm. Colored edges. Overall good condition; some leaves in good-fair condition. Stains. Worming to title page and many other leaves, affecting text and illustrated title frame, repaired with paper filling (small part of illustrated title frame replaced by hand). Marginal open tear to illustrated title page, repaired with paper. New parchment binding.
According to Fuks, the printer Albertus Magnus did not have his own press (although his name is mentioned on the title page of this book and several others), and the book was likely printed at the press of David de Castro Tartas, due to his experience printing bilingual books. See further: L. Fuks and R.G. Fuks-Mansfeld, Hebrew Typography in the Northern Netherlands, Leiden 1987, Nos. 606-607.
Category
Siddurim and Prayer Books
Catalogue
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $18,000
Estimate: $20,000 - $25,000
Sold for: $22,500
Including buyer's premium
Shaar HaShamayim siddur – prayers for weekdays, Shabbat and festivals, Yotzrot, Passover Haggadah, Tractate Avot, Tehillim and Maamadot. With Shaar HaShamayim – a kabbalistic commentary on the prayers, by R. Yeshayah HaLevi Horowitz – the Shlah. Includes an anthology of laws and customs, by the editor and publisher R. Avraham Segal Horowitz of Posen, great-grandson of the author. Amsterdam, [1717]. First edition. Two volumes, with siddur in one volume and Tehillim and Maamadot in a second volume.
Incomplete copy – both volumes lack leaves in several places (including approx. the first 20 leaves of the siddur, including the title page and approbations, as well as the last 139 leaves of the siddur, comprising the Torah readings, Shir HaYichud and Selichot for Monday and Thursday).
Most of the prayers in this siddur follow the Ashkenazi rite, apart from some prayers which were printed in both Ashkenazi and Sephardi rite side by side, as the author requested in his will (however, the editor and publisher did not in fact make all the changes to the text of the siddur requested by the author).
Praying from this siddur has the special segulah that the prayer will be accepted, as the Bach writes in his approbation to this siddur: "We have no doubt that when it is disseminated throughout the Jewish people, whoever prays from it will not have his prayer go unanswered". The kabbalist R. Naftali Katz, author of Semichat Chachamim, attributes this segulah to the author himself, the Shlah: "He was especially fond of this siddur, and he instructed his descendants to publish it in order to bring merit to the public by praying in this order with those kavanot. And there is a promise on his part that those who follow this order before Him Who hears prayer with all their strength and with those kavanot will not return emptyhanded…". This segulah is repeated by Rebbe Avraham Yaakov of Sadigura in his approbation to the third edition of the siddur (Warsaw 1882) and others including R. Yaakov Rabbi of Lublin and R. Yom Tov Lipmann Heller, the Tosafot Yom Tov.
The Baal HaTanya reputedly followed the kavanot of the Shlah in this siddur for his prayer service during his youth (Beit Rebbe, Berditchev 1902, p. 2, chapter 1).
The Tehillim volume belonged to R. Shmuel Salant, Rabbi of Jerusalem. His stamps appear on the title pages (two different stamps: one in square type and the other in the form of his signature). R. Shmuel Salant (1816-1909), known as a genius from his childhood. At the young age of seven, he travelled to study in the Torah centers of Lithuania. He studied in his youth in Salant together with R. Yisrael Salanter (founder of the Musar movement). At the age of 14, he was forwarded a letter discussing a complicated question pertaining to a divorce by his teacher R. Abele Poswoller head of the Vilna Beit Din, demonstrating the high regard leading rabbis had for his opinion already then. After his marriage with the daughter of R. Yosef Zundel of Salant, he immigrated to Eretz Israel in 1841 to serve as posek and rabbi of the Perushim community of disciples of the Vilna Gaon in Jerusalem. In his capacity as rabbi of Jerusalem, a position he held for close to seventy years, he founded the educational and charitable institutions in the city, established the Beit Din and strengthened the Ashkenazi community. He was renowned for his brilliance and his pragmatic approach to running all communal matters in Jerusalem and worldwide.
Stamps on leaves 34-35 of Tehillim: "Shmuel Kimchi".
Two volumes. Incomplete copies. Volume I (Siddur): 21-48, 50-335 leaves. Lacking 22 leaves at beginning (including title pages, approbations and introductions), leaf 49 (supplied by hand), and 139 last leaves with Torah readings, Shir HaYichud and Selichot for Monday and Thursday. Volume II (Tehillim and Maamadot): 2, 7-38, 43-46, 39-42, 47-109, 111-130; [1], 48 leaves. Lacking 9 leaves: leaves 3-6, 110 of Tehillim (with photocopy replacements), and last 4 leaves (49-52) of Maamadot. Leaves 39-42 of Tehillim bound out of sequence, after leaf 46. 21-21.5 cm. Varying condition of volumes. First volume in overall fair condition, some leaves in fair-good condition. Second volume in fair-poor condition. Many stains, including dark stains and wax stains. Traces of past dampness with mold in second volume. Heavy wear and many signs of heavy use to some leaves (mainly to first volume). Tears and open tears, affecting text of some leaves, partially repaired with tape. Large open tears to title page of Tehillim and other leaves, affecting title frame and text in many places, mostly repaired with paper filling (photocopy replacement for frame of Tehillim title page). Extensive worming to second volume, heavily affecting text, repaired with paper filling. New bindings.
Category
Siddurim and Prayer Books
Catalogue