Showing Results 21 - 30 of 33
This silver Hanukkah lamp is an example of a new type for home use that became popular in the late seventeenth century in Frankfurt am Main. Designed to resemble an ancient menorah, it has a central…
This wedding riddle from Italy is written in Hebrew and Judeo-Italian. Wedding songs, sometimes performed by professional jesters, were traditional at Jewish weddings. Some had lyrics in the form of…
This Torah crown from Suriname was made originally in Amsterdam by Evert van Heerdan (active 1644–1683). It is a fine repoussé piece exemplifying the mastery of Dutch silverwork. Inscribed on the…
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…
This is an early printed amulet from Tunis, containing texts and symbols commonly used on such talismans printed in North Africa. However, this example is somewhat unusual, as the Shir le-ma‘alot psal…
This mizraḥ (an ornamental wall plaque used to indicate the direction of Jerusalem) includes a map of the Land of Israel surrounded by sacred sites and vistas. These elaborate mizraḥ sheets were often…
This Torah ark curtain from Gördes, Turkey, features an archway flanked on either side with double columns and a hanging lamp, a motif common to both Islamic prayer rugs and mats and Ottoman Torah ark…
This Torah binder, made for boys at birth and later brought by young men as a symbol of participation in the synagogue, illustrates the fixed nature of traditional gender expectations.
This Torah curtain was made in Ankara, Turkey. The motifs of a central menorah and hands making the priestly blessing were common in other Ottoman Jewish ritual folk art. Embroidered verses from the…
This remarkable illustration is at the same time a shiviti—traditionally, a decorative plaque bearing the verse: “I am ever mindful of the Lord’s presence”—and a topographic map of the land of Israel…
