Obj. ID: 35654  Besomim, Ukraine, circa 1825

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.

Using the traditional shape of towers in Galicia, this spice container is made not of the more common filigree technique, but from sheet silver. This metal is then pierced and engraved, presenting a lion and a unicorn, both common symbols on Galician Judaica, on two sides of the body of the tower. There exists one other recorded example of a very similar container.