On December 17, 2025, Sotheby’s auction house in New York City held a sale of Judaica belonging to various owners, with 84 distinct lots of objects, paintings, and books. Here are the highlights:
By far, the highest estimated piece in the sale was a Hebrew Bible hailing from Spain, dating to about the year 1300, during the “Golden Age of Spain” – when the Jewish community flourished and thrived in all aspects of Spanish society, but which all came to an end after horrific persecutions, including forced conversions under penalty of death, burning Jewish “non-believers” alive in autos-da-fé, eventually culminating in the total expulsion of every Jew from Spain in 1492. The Hebrew Bible offered was written in a distinct Sephardic-style calligraphy, and the manner in which the manuscript was constructed is an identical match to other Hebrew Bibles, now in museums, that were made by scribes working in the city of Toledo around the year 1300. Given an estimate of $1,500,000-$2,500,000, the Bible sold for $1,514,000.
The next highest sales result was a stunning painting by the legendary artist Isidor Kaufmann (1853-1921). I always enjoy getting up close to a Kaufmann painting because the depth of detail in his works is so realistic and lifelike. Kaufmann was known for his portraits of religious Jews. The painting offered at Sotheby’s, entitled The Lesson, reflects the pride and admiration he felt for the religious life and heritage of his Jewish faith. Shown is a teacher with his hands clasped in front of him, exuding a sense of calm and patience, while his young student is focused on the page of text before him and his brow furrowed in absorbed concentration. This unusually large painting (compared to others known by Kaufmann) was estimated at $600,000-$800,000; it sold for $899,000.
Switching gears to ceremonial art, seen here in the photo is a tik, which is a wooden case mounted in silver to hold a Torah scroll, an item which is used in Sephardic synagogues. They are not rare, and frequently appear in the marketplace, where the price is dictated by the quality of the silver decoration, the age – which tends to be from the late 19th or early 20th centuries – and the country of origin. The tik displayed at Sotheby’s bore a rather high estimate of $40,000-$80,000; the norm for auction estimates for tiks, usually hailing from Iraq, Iran, or India, tends to be in the range of $5,000-$10,000.
But once I read that this example was made in China, I then thought that I understood the aggressive estimate, as Chinese-made Judaica is highly desirable and has been hot in the auction marketplace during the last few years. And when I saw the tik up close in person, it literally took my breath away, and I realized that its hailing from China was only part of the reason for the unusual estimate. Over the last 30 years, I have seen quite a few antique tiks in person, but I had never seen an example where the silver decoration displayed such a serious level of craftsmanship.
The outside of the tik, from top to bottom, had exquisitely chased sheets of silver consisting of flowers and foliage; Sotheby’s identified the flowers as peonies. The flowers and workmanship were indeed very Asian in appearance; even if I had no idea that this Torah case was a Jewish object, the style of decoration announces to the viewer that this was made in a distinct Chinese style. For the interior, where there is a lengthy Hebrew dedication at top, the craftsmanship was, again, breathtaking, as the Hebrew lettering was in raised relief, made of silver and washed in gold, with an undulating border comprised of silver flowers against a striking blue-colored background of enamel.
I thought to myself that even at an estimate of $40,000-$80,000, this might be a “steal” to a buyer with a keen eye, as the incredible quality of this tik combined with the Chinese origin makes this a true Judaic rarity and, I daresay, a treasure. Well, it appears that I was not alone in these private thoughts, as this magnificent tik sold for $317,500!
Another silver object that caught my eye at the preview was a very handsome and large Torah crown from the Ukraine, dating to the mid-19th century. Sotheby’s gave a reasonable estimate of $15,000-$20,000 for this beautiful crown. What stood out to me when viewing it in person were a number of three-dimensional figures of lions that were stationed at the middle tier of the crown, “supporting” the small, finial crown. These types of silver figural lions were familiar to me, but I had previously seen them only on much smaller Torah crowns, dating to the late 18th or very early 19th centuries – never on a Torah crown of this later period, and never on such a large-sized one.
However, once I read the Hebrew dedication engraved on the crown, these unusual factors began to make sense, as the crown was likely specially commissioned for this Rabbi.The inscription (translated) stated: “Admor and preacher of righteousness, the revered rabbi and teacher, Rebbe Yaakov Itshak of Makarov, shelita (may he live a good life, amen), Zeev bar Binyamin, Pesach bar Moshe, Ephraim Fischel bar Aharon.” Many of you reading this likely know from this dedication what I had then realized, from seeing the word “Admor.” Admor is an acronym for the Hebrew phrase Adoneinu, Moreinu ve’Rabbeinu, which translates to “Our Master, our Teacher, and our Rabbi.” While the term is Hebrew in origin, it is widely used within Yiddish-speaking chasidic communities to refer to a rebbe or spiritual leader. It serves as an honorific title, often placed before a leader’s name or the name of their associated community, such as the “Admor of Satmar.” Any Jewish object associated with any chasidic rebbe will sell well at auction, as there is a robust chasidic buying audience for this type of material.
The Sotheby’s catalog stated: “Rebbe Yaakov Itshak (1828-1892, also known as R’ Yakov Tizchock Twersky) was a grandson of the Seer of Lublin and a member of the Chernobyl (later the Twersky) Hasidic Dynasty, one of the leading Hasidic communities in nineteenth-century Ukraine. His father, son of the Rabbi of Chernobyl, moved in 1837 to Makarov, about 60 km / 37 miles due west of Kiev, and established a Hasidic court there; on his death in 1852, Yaakov Itshak succeeded as rabbi, and it may be this accession that is commemorated by this crown.”
As I sat in the audience at Sotheby’s showrooms in Manhattan during the auction, seated directly in front of me were two chasidim who began bidding furiously when this Torah crown came up for sale, but eventually dropped out after being consistently outbid by someone on the telephone with a Sotheby’s representative. The crown sold to whoever that phone bidder was for $76,200.
Do you have an old kiddush cup, spice box, Chanukah menorah, or any old Jewish object that you want to know the age and value of? Send me photos of your piece and a brief note telling me about it, and I’ll answer you in a future Jewish Press column. No books or paintings please. My email is tsadik613@gmail.com.
Happy Purim!