Object of the month
2013
Important Hebrew books printed by the Elsenwanger press
Abraham Farisol, Iggeret Orhot Olam [Epistle on the Ways of the World], Prague, Elsenwanger Press, 1793, illustrated by Anton Balzer Israel Landau, Hok le-Yisra’el [Law of Israel], Prague, Elsenwanger Press, 1798, illustrated by Johann...
2013
Hanukkah Menorah
This lamp retains the traditional shape of the Menorah’s curved branches. It is mainly of interest to the viewer, however, on account of its material – forged iron, which is very rare for such an item. In synagogues, iron tends to be used...
2012
Selihot. (Penitential Prayers).
A fragment of a previously unknown edition which was bound with a few quires remaining of the 1529 and 1534 Prague mahzorim (prayer books for festivals). Penitential prayers are such an important part of Jewish liturgy, especially during...
2012
Bell with a depiction of the entrance to the Old-New Synagogue
In terms of shape, this is a regular cow bell. It is made out of wrought and riveted sheet iron. What makes it unique is its painted decoration – the front of the bell depicts the entrance to the nave of the Old-New Synagogue in Prague...
2012
Jiří Kolář (Protivín, Sept. 9, 1914 – Prague, August 11, 2002) Shoah, 1952
The Hebrew word Shoah means catastrophe, and it has a rather specific meaning in the context in which it is used today: the genocide of European Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during the period 1933-1945. The writer Elie...
September 2012
Synagogue curtain with the motif of a lion blowing the shofar
This year we will be celebrating Rosh Ha-Shanah (literally "head of the year" in Hebrew) – the Jewish New Year – on the 17th of September. In the Torah this festival is also referred to as zikhron tru'a ("the commemoration of a [shofar]...
2012
A bag containing soil from the Mount of Olives
This slim, cylindrical bag is filled with earth from the Mount of Olives, as is mentioned in Hebrew and English on the outside of the bag. The Mount of Olives in Jerusalem is of great significance in Jewish eschatology, as it is...
2012
Max (Maximilian) Horb (1982-1907), Portrait of a Boy, 1900
Provenance:
1. After 1900: July 20, 1942, Klára Schönbergerová, Prague (1)
2. July 20, 1942 – July 8, 1944, Prague Treuhandstelle
3. July 8, 1944 – May 8, 1945, Central Jewish Museum in Prague
4. After May...
2012
Pot Coaster from the Terzín Ghetto
This heart-shaped coaster is decorated with ink-drawn floral motifs, figures and objects relating to life in the Terezín ghetto. It was made for Jolana Richterová (1907-1979) as a present for her daughter Věra. As she was in a mixed...
2012
Mizrah with figure of Moses
The mizrah (Hebrew for “east”) a decorative plaque placed on the eastern wall of a home or synagogue to orient the direction of one’s prayer towards the city of Jerusalem. It is usually a manuscript or printed plaque with a Hebrew text...