Spice Container
Artist Unknown
ca. 1550
Image
This ritual spice container is thought to have been made in Frankfurt am Main. It is decorated to represent a four-story tower with brick walls. At its top, two short spires flank a central, taller spire etched with delicate patterns and adorned with small windows. A balcony sits below with an ornately decorated railing. On its second level, a large central window is decorated as a floral petal. The third story is further embellished with a grid of windows followed by a heavy-set door at its base. Tower shapes became the most popular style for spice boxes in Europe beginning in the sixteenth century.
Credits
Spice Container. Jewish Cultural Reconstruction / The Jewish Museum, New York.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.
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