India: Jews of Cochin (and Judaica)

India: Jews of Cochin (and Judaica)

Many of my readers may also be interested in following the blog Jews of Cochin maintained by Bala Menon. Bala's most recent posting is about the Judaica of Cochin Jews which is increasing turning up in notably collections, and also at Judaica auctions.

Meanwhile, the government in Kerala (India) is nearing completion on the careful restoration of the former synagogue in Parur. ISJM's Jay Waronker has been advising on this work for well over a year with support from the Koret Foundation. Jay will supply a report on the project's progress soon.

Here is a Bala's post...

Museums and collectors worldwide have been quietly acquiring valuable belongings of the Cochin Jews over the past couple of decades. Articles of interest include clothing, religious pieces, life-cycle related materials, historical and literary items etc., which all come under the general definition of Cochin Judaica. Some of the pieces are valued at several thousands of dollars.

Many of these wonderful pieces are now appearing on auction sites like eBay, while some have become part of treasured collections at institutions like the fabled Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life at the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, the Skirball Cultural Centre in Los Angeles, the Jewish Studies collections at Columbia University Libraries, University of Cambridge and the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

One of the prized exhibits at Skirball's At Home series is a Hanukkah lamp from Cochin. This exquisitely designed work of utilitarian art, made of hammered brass was donated to the centre in 2005 by Dr. David Hallegua (California) and his sister Fiona (New York) of Mattancherry in memory of their grandparents Satto and Gladys Koder. The lamp was used in the Koder home in Cochin during Hanukkah celebrations for over 90 years. (Koder House today is a boutique hotel.)

Read the entire essay and see photos here.

Also see:

ISJM Receives Koret Foundation Funding for Indian Synagogue

India: ISJM's Jay Waronker Furthers Kerala Preservation Projects

Kestenbaum & Company Auction Feb 24th

Kestenbaum & Company is presenting their 50th Judaica auction since 1996 - and it features a wealth and variety of books, manuscripts, artworks and ritual objects. Browse the catalog...Buy something for your favorite Jewish Museum of University Library!

Click here for a summary of the various collection offered.

Click Here to View the Entire Auction Catalogue

Pre-Auction Exhibition:

Sunday, 20th February - 12:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Monday, 21st February - 10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Tuesday, 22nd February - 10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Wednesday 23rd February - 10:00 am - 6:00 pm

No viewing on day of sale

Kestenbaum and Company
242 West 30th Street, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10001
Tel: (212) 366-1197
Fax: (212) 366-1368
E-mail: Kestenbook@aol.com
www.Kestenbaum.net

USA: Fine Judaica Auction October 27th

Fine Judaica: Hebrew Printed Books, Manuscripts, Autograph Letters and Graphic Art To Be Offered At Auction On Wednesday, October 27th

(CHAGALL, MARC). Chaliastra. [Yiddish Language Art Periodical]. No. 1. Avant-garde illustrations, including Chagall’s designs to David Hofstein’s poems (pp. 10 and 48). pp. 71, (1). Lightly browned. Original color-illustrated wrappers bound into modern boards, front cover tape-repaired, back cover detached. Sm. folio.

Kestenbaum & Company’s Fall auction of Fine Judaica will take place on Wednesday, October 27th at 1pm at the firm’s Manhattan gallery located at 242 West 30th Street. Viewing beforehand will be held from Sunday, October 24th through Tuesday, October 26th.

The extensive sale of Hebrew Printed Books, Manuscripts, Autograph Letters and Graphic Art will include American-Judaica and Rare Books from the Library of Gratz College, Elkins Park (Part II); German, Haskallah and Related Books from the Library of the Late Philosopher, Prof. Steven Schwarzschild and Exceptional Rabbinic Autograph Letters from a Private Collector.

Click here to view the entire October 27th, 2010 Catalogue

Kestenbaum & Company provides the following information about the sale:

Hebrew Incunabula are particularly coveted by discerning book collectors and this auction offers a number of them for sale. Most compelling are several leaves from the first publication of the Talmudic Tractate Kidushin, Guadalajara, circa 1480, at an estimate of $35,000-50,000. This early Spanish fragment is of the utmost rarity (lot 279). Two other incunabula of note include a 1484 copy of Yedai’ah Bedersi’s Bechinath Olam, estimate $10,000-15,000 (lot 53) and a scarce second edition (incomplete) of the Soncino Roman Machzor, 1486, at an estimate of $10,000-12,000 (lot 210A).

Additional important early Hebrew Printed Books include two works by Samson ben Isaac of Chinon -- Sepher Kerithoth, estimate $6,000-8,000 (lot 261) and Peirush HaGet, estimate $3,000-5,000 (lot 262) both were printed in Constantinople in 1515. Good examples of Early Bibles in the sale include the first Polyglot Bible, Genoa, 1516, estimate $4,000-6,000 (lot 55) and Estienne’s splendidly printed pocket Hebrew Bible, bound in 14 volumes, Paris, 1543-46, at an estimate of $4,000-6,000 (lot 56). A later Bible of significance is a Hebrew Pentateuch from Vienna, 1815, government-authorized to be used in the Courts of Law in Prague to administer the Oath to Jewish witnesses, estimate $2,500-3,500 (lot 64).

Highlights among the Passover Hagadoth in the sale include a copy of the second Amsterdam Hagadah with a large folding map of the Holy Land, 1712, estimate $4,000-6,000 (lot 141), a most unusual Hagadah printed in English by the London Times newspaper on August 17th, 1840 in relation to the Blood Libel raised against the Jews during the “Damascus Affair”, estimate $5,000-7,000 (lot 143) and the Toulouse Hagadah, produced from memory by Jews imprisoned in French internment camps during the Second World War, estimate $5,000-7,000 (lot 154).

Other notable volumes include two Chassidic Books related to the Chabad movement, both written by Shneur Zalman of Liadi- - Likutei Amarim (second edition), Zolkiew, 1799, estimate $8,000-10,000 (lot 80) and Likutei Torah (first edition), Zhitomir, 1848 and 1851, estimate $3,000-5,000 (lot 83); a Machzor according to the custom of Catalonia, Salonika, 1526, estimate $2,000-3,000 (lot 211) and a Machzor, Amschel Mayer Rothschild’s personal copy, Roedelheim, 1800, at an estimate of $2,000-3,000 (lot 258).

Early medical and scientific books are represented by first editions of Tobias Cohn’s Ma’aseh Tuvia from Venice 1707, estimate $2,500-3,500 (lot 88) and Joseph Solomon Delmedigo’s Sepher Ma’ayan Ganim, Amsterdam, 1629, at an estimate of $2,000-3,000 (lot 98).

Among books relating to Germany and the early Haskallah movement, of particular interest is Johann Jakob Schudt’s Jüdischer Merckwürdigkeiten which chronicles the life of the Jews of Frankfurt, 1714, estimate $1,500-2,500 (lot 126) and the first German edition of the Mishnah, 1760-63, at an estimate of $700-1,000 (lot 236).

The American Judaica section of the sale features unique selections such as a handwritten Hebrew Marriage Certificate dated July 1861 from Peoria, Illinois, estimate $12,000-18,000 (lot 21). Also prominent within the Americana section are a number of “firsts”: Isaac Leeser’sHebrew-English Pentateuch, the Yuly copy bound in five volumes, Philadelphia, 1845-6, the first such translation published in America, estimate $7,000-9,000 (lot 12); Judah Monis’ Grammar of the Hebrew Tongue, the first Hebrew Grammar published in the New World, Boston, 1735, estimate $10,000-15,000 (lot 7), a volume of The Jew, edited by Solomon Henry Jackson, distinguished for being the first Jewish Periodical in America, New York, 1823-4, estimate $5,000-7,000 (lot 11); and The American Magazine for June 1758, containing a Rabbinic sermon in English, the very first such text published in America, estimate $5,000-7,000 (lot 8).

Books relating to Israel and Zionism include two significant editions of Theodor Herzl’s important manifesto, Der Judenstaat; The first Hebrew edition, Warsaw, 1896, estimate $2,000-3,000 (lot 285) and the first edition to be printed in America, New York, 1904, at an estimate of $2,000-3,000 (lot 286). Further offerings include an early and fascinating Palestine Telephone Directory from 1938, estimate $1,000-1,500 (lot 188) and the first edition of Charles Forster’s study of Hebrew inscriptions found in the Sinai Desert and published with albumen photographs, London, 1862, at an estimate of $800-1,200 (lot 186).

Other books of interest include the first edition of Baruch de Spinoza’s highly influential philosophical work Opera Posthuma, Amsterdam, 1677, estimate $6,000-9,000 (lot 278), Bernard Picart’s illustrated Histoire Générale des Cérémonies, Moeurs, et Coutumes Religieuses de tous les Peuples du Monde, complete in seven volumes, Paris, 1741, estimate $3,000-5,000 (lot 306) and a Hebrew translation of William Shakespeare’s Othello, which was the first appearance of any of Shakespeare’s plays in the Hebrew language, Vienna, 1874, at an estimate of $600-900 (lot 267).

Prominent among the modern Art and Literary Books is a rare complete set of the short-lived journal Albatros, which had enormous impact upon the modernist Yiddish literary scene in Poland, estimate $1,500-2,500 (lot 139) and Marc Chagall’s illustrations for the Yiddish language art journal Chaliastra, Paris, 1924 at an estimate of $800-1,200 (lot 295). Many illustrated books are featured in the auction including: Meir Gur-Arye, E. M. Lilien, Moritz Oppenheimer, Ze’ev Raban, Reuven Rubin, Issachar ber Ryback, Raphael Soyer, Joeseph Tchaikov, Anna Ticho and Wilhelm Wachtel.

Leading the offerings in the Manuscripts Section of the sale is a large Prayerbook according to the meditations of Rabbi Isaac Luria, 1732-38, at an estimate of $20,000-25,000 (lot 352). The auction catalogue cover lot, a striking Family Tree from Vilna, begun in 1901, is extraordinary for its elaborate and most original artistry. The pre-sale estimate is $15,000-20,000 (lot 349). Additional highlights are Moreh Tzedek an extensive manuscript penned in the 18th century by the Sha’agath Aryeh’s first cousin, estimate $10,000-12,000 (lot 362), a collection of Hebrew medieval manuscript fragments, estimate $5,000-7,000 (lot 357) and a Pinkas from the legendary Churvah Synagogue, Jerusalem, 1889-96, at an estimate of $5,000-7,000 (lot 351).

The Autograph Letters section of the sale is particularly impressive and is sure to garner buyers’ attention. Consigned from a single Private Collection, on offer are written communications by some of the most important and influential Rabbinic authorities of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Included are letters penned by Israel Abu-Hatze’ira (the Babi Sali), Abraham Mordechai Alter (the Grand Rabbi of Gur), Moshe Yitzchak Gewirtzman (Reb Itzikel), Shlomo Goldman (Reb Shloimkeh Zeviller), Samson Raphael Hirsch, Abraham Isaiah Karelitz (the Chazon Ish), Moses Sofer (the Chatham Sofer) and Yoel Teitelbaum (the Satmar Rebbe) among others. Of special note are letters by Yisrael Meir Kagan of Radin (the Chofetz Chaim), estimate $15,000-20,000 (lot 332), Menachem Mendel of Shklov, estimate $25,000-35,000 (lot 337) and Reb Chaim Soloveitchik, estimate $12,000-18,000 (lot 342), a most surprising letter written to Chief Rabbi Kook.

A petite section of Graphic Art rounds out the sale. It includes a particularly striking gouache from the Book of Esther by Saul Raskin, estimate $3,000-4,000 (lot 363).

For further information relating to bidding or any other queries, please contact Jackie Insel at 212-366-1197.

Auction: Kestenbaum & Company Fine Judaica on June 25th

Auction: Kestenbaum & Company Fine Judaica on June 25th

The following text is provided by Kestenbaum & Company:

Kestenbaum & Company will conduct an auction of Fine Judaica on Thursday, June 25th at 3:00 pm. The sale will take place at the firm’s gallery in New York City and will feature the Library of the Late Dr. Max Kimche of Zurich. Besides Dr. Kimche’s collection of Important Hebrew Printed Books, the sale will also offer a fine selection of Manuscripts, Autograph Letters, Ceremonial and Graphic Art.

Dr. Max Kimche (1907-1987), a lawyer and financier, was a highly respected member of Zurich’s legal and banking communities as well as a prominent member of Zurich’s Jewish community. His dedication to his faith and commitment to Jewish social-needs was manifested by his work on behalf of Holocaust survivors and his substantial support for Jewish Statehood. A direct descendent of Rabbi David Kimche (1160-1235), his devotion to scholarly Jewish learning is evident in the supreme collection of books he acquired over the course of three decades and now offered here for auction sale.

The Kimche Library features singular Incunabula such as Moses of Coucy’s Sepher Mitzvoth Gadol, Soncino, 1488, at an estimate of $40,000-60,000 (lot 208), David Kimche’s Sepher HaShorashim, Naples, 1490, estimate $20,000-30,000 (lot 169), Joseph Albo’s Sepher Ha’Ikarim, Soncino, 1485, estimate $20,000-30,000 (lot 12), and Yedai’ah Bederso’s Bechinat Olam, Soncino, 1484, estimated at $20,000-25,000 (lot 51).

Rare 16th century Hebrew Books comprise the heart of the Kimche Library. The cities of origin of these texts were some of the most notable locations for early Hebrew printing. Fine examples include Genoa: the first Polyglot Bible, 1516, estimate $10,000-15,000 (lot 59); Venice: a complete edition of the Mishnah with commentary by Maimonides, 1546-7, estimate $15,000-20,000 (lot 200); Augsburg: Jacob Ben Asher’s Arba’ah Turim, 1540, estimate $15,000-20,000 (lot 151); Riva di Trento: A deluxe copy printed entirely on blue paper of Jacob Ben Asher’s Arba’ah Turim, 1560, estimate $10,000-15,000 (lot 152); Pesaro: Midrash Chamesh Megiloth, 1519, estimate $12,000-15,000 (lot 194), Don Isaac Abrabanel’s Perush Nevi’im Rishonim, 1511, estimate $7,000-9,000 (lot 2) and Abrabanel’s Perush Nevi’im Achronim, 1520, estimate $7,000-9,000 (lot 3); Constantinople: Abraham Ben Nathan of Lunel’s Sepher Hamanhig, 1519, estimate $7,000-9,000 (lot 6); Rimini: Bachiah Ben Asher’s Biur al HaTorah, 1524-26, estimate $6,000-9,000 (lot 47) and Fano: Jonah Gerondi’s Sha’arei Teshuvah, 1505, estimate $20,000-25,000 (lot 124) and Judah Halevi’s Sepher HaKuzari, 1506, at an estimate of $20,000-25,000 (lot 131).

Hebrew Books published by the renowned Venetian printer Daniel Bomberg include Isaac Ben Jacob Alfasi’s Sepher Halachoth Rav Alfas, 1521-22, estimate $20,000-30,000 (lot 13); a selection of Babylonian Talmud Tractates such as Masecheth Yevamoth, 1522, estimated at $30,000-40,000 (lot 247) and the first two Biblia Rabbinica: The first from 1516-17, estimate $20,000-30,000 (lot 62) and the second 1524-25, at an estimate of $10,000-15,000 (lot 60).

Also featured in the Kimche Collection are Kabbalistic works such as Shimon bar Yochai’s Sepher HaZohar, Mantua, 1558-60, estimate $10,000-15,000 (lot 232) and Sepher Yetzirah, Mantua, 1562, estimated at $7,000-9,000 (lot 165). Both of these mystical texts are first editions. Other books of note include Johannes Reuchlin’s De Arte Cabalistica, Hagenau, 1517, estimate $5,000-7,000 (lot 224); Johann Caspar Ulrich’s chronicle of Jewish life in Switzerland from the 13th century until the 18th century, Basle, 1768, estimate $3,000-4,000 (lot 243) and Theodor Herzl’s Medinat HaYehudim, the first Hebrew edition of “Der Judenstaat”, Warsaw, 1896, at an estimate of $2,000-3,000 (lot 259).

In addition to the Kimche Collection there are many good items of Americana, Illustrated Books, Manuscripts, Zionist and Holocaust-related material. Within the American Judaica section are two Parlimentary Acts relating to civil rights for the Jewish communities of Jamaica and Barbados in the year 1832 (lots 15 and 16). Among the Illustrated Books, highlights include Bernard Picart’s three volume visual Description of the Religious Duties, Manners and Customs of all the Nations of the World, Amsterdam, 1727-38, estimate $4,000-6,000 (lot 270); Max Liebermann’s Der Rabbi von Bacherach, Berlin, 1923, estimate $1,200-1,800 (lot 269); Joseph Budko’s Der Rabbi von Bacherach, Berlin, 1921, estimate $700-1,000 (lot 263) and Abel Pann’s illustrated Five Books of Moses inscribed to Maestro Leonard Bernstein from the Palestine (Eretz-Israel) Philharmonic Orchestra, May, 1947, estimate $200-300 (lot 261).

Interesting selections among the Manuscripts include an illuminated micrographic Sephirath Ha’Omer Chart by David Cohen, Portland, Oregon, 1883, estimate $10,000-15,000 (lot 283); a religious Hebrew guide to funeral rites for the Jews of Jamaica, Kingston, 1868, estimate $5,000-7,000 (lot 282) and a Brazilian Ketubah (Marriage Contract), Bahia, 1844, uniting Grazia Levi and Isaac Amzalak, a Portuguese Jew who played a pivotal role in the Brazilian Jewish Community, estimate $4,000-6,000 (lot 284).

Autograph Letters of note include correspondence by David Ben-Gurion, Moshe Dayan and Yitzhak Rabin. Also noteworthy is a framed photographic portrait of Albert Einstein, signed and inscribed by him, Los Angeles, 1932, estimate $6,000-7,000 (lot 299) and a German Administrative Order to enforce punitive labor in the Plaszow Concentration Camp, October, 1943 at an estimate of $2,000-3,000 (lot 301).

The Graphic Art section features Sol Nodel’s Book of Grace with 12 illuminated panels of the Hebrew Birchat Hamazon, circa 1968, estimate $7,000-9,000 (lot 322); Janssonius’ exceptionally large Map of the Holy Land, 1658, estimate $5,000-7,000 (lot 319) and a group of drawings and etchings by Issachar Baer Ryback and Hermann Struck. The sale concludes with a small selection of Antique Ceremonial Art.

For further information relating to bidding or any other queries, please contact Jackie Insel at 212-366-1197.


The entire catalog can be viewed online here.


Kestenbaum and Company
12 West 27th Street, 13th Floor
New York, NY 10001
Tel: (212) 366-1197
Fax: (212) 366-1368
E-mail: Kestenbook@aol.com
www.Kestenbaum.net

top illustration: Cohen, David. Sephirath Ha'Omer [Chart for Counting of the Omer]. Multicolor Micrography. Red, blue and brown sepia inks on paper. At top Tetragrammaton; below ornate crown borne aloft by two eagles; below Decalogue flanked by lions; below seven-branched Menorah, flanked by two harts; flower motif surrounds entire chart. All amidst dense Hebrew inscriptions.

At the base of the Menorah reads in Hebrew: "This Holy Work was Completed on the 23rd of the Month of Adar Sheini in the Year 1883, Here in Portland, by David Cohen." Chipped, lacking portions from top and right margin, fragile. 22 x 28 inches. [Israel Museum Catalogue: Micrography as Art (1981), pl. 89; Jewish Museum Catalogue, Jewish Heritage in American Folk Art (1984) pp. 79-80, nos. 60-62].

Portland, (Oregon), 23rd Adar Sheini: 1883. $10,000-15,000

Judaica: Kestenbaum and Company Judaica Auction

Judaica: Kestenbaum & Company Judaica Auction in NYC December 18th.

Kestenbaum & Company will conduct a sale of Fine Judaica on Thursday, December 18th at 3:00 pm. at the company's headquarters at 12 West 27th Street in New York City. Among the numerous books on offer in the 360 lot sale are Selections from the Rare Book-Room of a College Library (Part II), Bibles, Chassidic & Kabbalistic Books, Passover Hagadahs, Liturgical Books and Books relating to the Holocaust. A novel section of rare Jewish Cookbooks is sure to garner interest. Also featured in the auction are Illustrated Books by Ze'ev Raban, Issachar Ber Ryback, Hermann Struck, Arthur Szyk and other 20th century Jewish artists.

The read more about the items at auction and to view the well illustrated and annotated catalogue:

Click here for full details of the Catalogue

The catalogue can also be ordered. A form is available on the website. The Kestenbaum catalogues are very useful reference tools for information on Jewish printed books and documents, ephemera, and graphic arts.

For further information relating to bidding or any other queries, please contact:
Daniel Kestenbaum
212-366-1197
Kestenbook@aol.com

Judaic Auction: Greenstein & Co. Offers Judaica in New York Nov 10, 2008

Judaic Auction: Greenstein & Co. Offers Judaica Auction in New York November 10, 2008
By Samuel D. Gruber

(ISJM) On Monday, November 10th, J. Greenstein & Co.’s auction house will host an extensive auction devoted to Judaica at New York’s Radisson Martinique Hotel at 5:30pm. The auction features more than 100 ceremonial objects, mostly from Europe, including menorahs, Kiddush cups, silver torah ornaments, spice boxes, paintings and much more. For those unable to attend the auction, pre-sale bidding and phone bidding will be offered. All items are illustrated in small photos in the on-line catalog.

When I see an array of beautiful and rare Judaica objects such as those assembled for this auction, I cannot help but wonder about the provenance of these pieces, and their rich and diverse histories. How many hands have they passed through over the centuries? What Jewish individuals, households, synagogues, cities and societies did they adorn? That this auction should come on the heels of the Kristallnacht anniversary only adds poignancy to this event. Still, that anything of beauty and value survived the wreckage of European Jewish society 70 years ago is miraculous. The remarkable task of re-assembling the beauty and holiness of Jewish history and culture is one of the great achievements of Judaism in our time. And the tradition of Judaica collections is an old one, as the history of collectors donating valuable pieces for public use [I'm thinking, for example, of the case of Alexander David of Braunschweig (1687-1765), as described by Ralf Busch in V. Mann & R. Cohen, eds, From Court Jews to the Rothschilds (Prestel, 1996)]

The auction also features many fine objects from North Africa and the Middle East , as well as Bezalel School pieces and several American Arts and Crafts works.

According to Jonathan Greenstein, who has organized the auction, highlights include an important silver Torah shield made in Brunn in 1814 (est. $30,000-50,000); a rare silver and large silver filigree spice holder from 18th century Lemberg (Est. $22,000 – 30,000) and a magnificent set of three silver Kiddush cups made by J. Rimonim in Fuerth, Germany, c. 1760. Also included is one of the most exceptional silver menorahs to appear at auction in years, the famed 18th century silver Jewish Maker menorah (photo above), featured in Jay Weinstein’s book. Other items include various handmade silver Kiddush cups (starting at $3,500), Sabbath Candlesticks and Candelabras (starting at $3,000), sterling silver menorahs (starting at $3,000), Works featured in the auction date back to the 18th century and have been gathered from various long time collectors in New York, London, Chicago and Belgium.

The selections should excite the large and active community of Judaica collectors and will also attract the attention of the many Jewish museums in America and abroad that have proliferated in recent years – often with buildings more impressive than their collections. With the weak US dollar I suspect that many of these pieces will be repatriated to their countries of origin. Unfortunately, when many of these items are purchased they will disappear from public view for many years. So, this is a chance to see some fine pieces, mostly little known. Fortunately, Greenstein & Co. has published a well illustrated catalogue.

J. Greenstein & Co., www.jgreenstein.com, auction house was founded by Jonathan Greenstein in 2004. The Company’s biannual auctions feature rare Jewish ritual objects, works of art, books and manuscripts. The auction is not limited only to those in attendance; it is open for phone bidding and purchase beforehand. For more information check the website.