Obj. ID: 35930  Tefillin case, Memel, 1818

The following description was prepared by William Gross:

These two objects are a large, heavy, and finely crafted pair of boxes for the Tefilin. Such objects were made to protect the relatively fragile Tefilin. But it is highly unusual to find such a pair made outside of Galicia, the origin of almost all such recorded boxes. Such objects are particularly rare in such a place as Memel in East Prussia. Most probably these were ordered by an immigrant who came to Memel from Galicia and gave to the local silversmith another pair as a model. The only other place where such boxes are found, albeit rarely, is Vienna, an area which saw substantial immigration of Galician Jews in the 19th century, who brought with them their own customs and special objects.