Sample Sources
The sources below are those contained in our three curated collections—covering themes of Passover, Gender Roles, and Holocaust Resistance. They represent a fraction of the thousands of sources that will be available when the full site launches in 2024.
Torah Finials (Amsterdam)
These silver and filigree Torah finials used by Amsterdam’s Ashkenazic community are shaped like four-tiered towers. They have gilt bells in their arches and gilt urns on their corners and are topped…
Amulet with Coat of Arms
Silver amulet typical of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Italian Jewish homes. This example from Venice is unusual in that it contains an unidentified family coat of arms whose main feature is a…
Amulet (Italy)
This cast and gilded bronze amulet from Italy includes a pair of dolphins as a design element. It is inscribed in Hebrew: “May no evil grieve you.”
Amulet for Rudolf II
This amulet was presented by members of the Jewish community of Prague to the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II. At its center sits a seven-branched menorah surrounded by a prayer on Rudolf’s behalf…
Birth Amulet (Ukraine)
This impressive cut-paper birth amulet is in the form of the double eagle, the symbol of the Habsburg Monarchy (and pre-partition Poland) and thus a popular motif in Galician Jewish folk art. It is…
Birth Amulet (Tunis)
This is a printed amulet from Tunis, containing texts and symbols commonly used on such talismans printed in North Africa. However, this example is somewhat unusual, as it combines two traditional…
Amulet for the Protection of Women and Newborn Children
Amulets were crafted to protect pregnant women and newborn children from the powers of the evil Lilith, Adam’s mythical first wife. Mystical texts surround this image, written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and…
Amulet with Priestly Blessing (Morocco)
This unusual heart-shaped amulet from Morocco is inscribed with the words “God Almighty,” followed by the priestly blessing (Numbers 6:24–26) and an individualized text: “May God give him life and…
Torah Pointer (Yemen)
This silver Torah pointer from Yemen is inscribed in Hebrew: “[The teaching of the Lord is perfect, renewing life; the decrees of the Lord are enduring, making the simple wise;] the precepts of the…
Torah Pointer (Poland)
This silver Torah pointer from Poland is inscribed in Hebrew: “The hand [i.e., pointer] of Joseph Halevi, crowned with success, donated in the name of his son Abraham on the eve of R[osh] H[ashanah]…
Kiddush Cup of Judah Loew (Prague)
This silver kiddush cup is believed to have belonged to Judah Loew. Known as the Maharal of Prague, Judah Loew ben Bezalel spent twenty years as rabbi in Moravia, moving in 1573 to the Bohemian…
Kiddush Cup (Nuremberg)
Kiddush cups are used for the ritual blessing over wine. This one, partially made of gold, was crafted in Nuremberg, Germany, and was used in a synagogue in Lublin, Poland. The engraved plant and…