Obj. ID: 35687  Kiddush cup, Minsk, 1879

The following description was prepared by William Gross:

The sanctification of the Shabbat and Holidays is connected with a blessing recited over wine or grape juice. While the wine can be drunk from any vessel, often special cups are created for the purpose.

There are very few Kiddush cups that seeming were born and produced for Jewish use. Most are regular cups, typical of the typed used in the area of their creation. which were later inscribed with Jewish iconograph and Hebrew inscriptions. Sometimes the inscribed decoration was already present and only the Hebrew inscription was added, converting the piece to a Jewish ritual item.

This example appears to have been inscribed for Jewish use both in the decoration figures and the Hebrew letters identifying the owner, Kisel bar Yitzhak. The lion standing next to a table with a fruit basket is know from Hassidic items as well and may indicated that the owner belonged to this group. The cup was made in Minsk in 1879 by an unidentified silversmith with the Cyrillic initials IG. The assayers initials I.Ch are also unidentified.

Inscription: Kissel bar Yitzhak