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Img. ID: 24798

© Center for Jewish Art, Photographer: Radovan, Zev, 1984

The following description was prepared by William Gross:

In Jewish tradition the end of the Sabbath and other Jewish Holidays is marked by the ceremony of Havdalah (Separation) that differentiates between the Holy nature of the holdiay and the profane nature of the following day. This ritual is accomplished by lighting a special candle with several wicks, drinking wine from a cup and the inhalation of the sweet smell of spices. In the Ashkenazi world these spices were usually held in a container which was often shaped in varying forms.

This tower is one of the largest examples of a type of tower produced by a particularly prolific master in Brno, beginning in the 1860's and continuing for decades. The shape is very familiar to that of a series of towers produced by Johann Rada, an earlier master from Brno who worked from the 1840's to the 1860's. It is probable that this master, whose initials are "EE", apprenticed with Rada, learning the same forms. Almost every collection has a tower by "EE" and almost every auction has one or more towers by the master. It would seem that his production used some techniques of serial production to achieve greater quantity. There are probably more filigree spice towers existing from his hand than from any other silversmith.The general form of the tower seems to owe more to Galician types than to central European forms. In the gross family collection there is another type of spice container in the form of a railway engine, 015.001.011.

Name/Title
Spice container | Unknown
Object Detail
Hallmark
Settings
Unknown
Date
circa 1880
Synagogue active dates
Reconstruction dates
Historical Origin
Unknown
Community type
Congregation
Location
Unknown |
Site
Unknown
School/Style
Unknown|
Period Detail
Collection
Documentation / Research project
Unknown
Material / Technique
Silver, Filigree
Material Stucture
Material Decoration
Material Bonding
Material Inscription
Material Additions
Material Cloth
Material Lining
Tesserae Arrangement
Density
Colors
Construction material
Measurements
Height: 33 cm, Width: 8.5 cm Weight: 320 g
Height
Length
Width
Depth
Circumference
Thickness
Diameter
Weight
Axis
Panel Measurements
Subject
Unknown |
Condition
Extant
Documented by CJA
Surveyed by CJA
Present Usage
Present Usage Details
Condition of Building Fabric
Architectural Significance type
Historical significance: Event/Period
Historical significance: Collective Memory/Folklore
Historical significance: Person
Architectural Significance: Style
Architectural Significance: Artistic Decoration
Urban significance
Significance Rating
Textual Content
Unknown |
Languages of inscription
Unknown
Shape / Form
Unknown
0
Ornamentation
Custom
Contents
Codicology
Scribes
Script
Number of Lines
Ruling
Pricking
Quires
Catchwords
Hebrew Numeration
Blank Leaves
Direction/Location
Façade (main)
Endivances
Location of Torah Ark
Location of Apse
Location of Niche
Location of Reader's Desk
Location of Platform
Temp: Architecture Axis
Arrangement of Seats
Location of Women's Section
Direction Prayer
Direction Toward Jerusalem
Coin
Coin Series
Coin Ruler
Coin Year
Denomination
Signature
Colophon
Scribal Notes
Watermark
Hallmark
City - Reitz #P26; Control - Reitz #P13; City - Diana Head with A6 - Brno (Rohr p.210)
Group
Group
Group
Group
Group
Trade Mark
Binding
Decoration Program
Summary and Remarks
Remarks
Suggested Reconsdivuction
History/Provenance
Main Surveys & Excavations
Bibliography
Short Name
Full Name
Volume
Page
Type
Documenter
|
Author of description
|
Architectural Drawings
|
Computer Reconstruction
|
Section Head
|
Language Editor
|
Donor
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Negative/Photo. No.