Gravestone of Mordecai Hezekiah Namias de Crasto (replica)
1716
Image
In reference to the deceased’s name, the central verse fragment on this monument reads “And Mordechai came before the king . . .” (Esther 8:1), and the top panel contains a low relief of a richly clad Mordechai riding through the streets of Shushan. Three putti (cherubs) overlook a draped epitaph in Portuguese honoring the role of Mordecai Hezekiah Namias de Crasto as a treasurer and patron of the Mikve Israel-Emanuel Synagogue. The gravestone’s lower section features a number of objects representing mortality and the passage of time, such as a wilted flower, a skull, a winged hourglass, and a sun.
Credits
Photo by Kent Coupe. Courtesy of the Jewish Atlantic World Database.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.
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