Dear Tsadik,
This Torah breastplate was dedicated to a Holocaust family. Can you shed some light on its background? The town was Krosno, Poland, my father’s birthplace.
Ron Nagel
Los Angeles, California
Dear Ron,
I have been involved in the field of antique Judaica for close to thirty years, and I have to say that your piece is one the most moving items I have ever appraised. What you own is a large silver Torah shield, quite beautiful in its decoration and overall design, with bold “Lions of Judah” flanking a representation of the Ten Commandments.
I can clearly make out the silver hallmark for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which is a woman’s head in profile in a clover-shaped shield; it is located between the feet of the lion seen on the right. That hallmark is known as the Dianakopf (“Diana head”), and was in use between 1867 and 1922. There is another hallmark that I cannot make out that is located between the feet of the lion seen on the left; that is most likely the mark of the silversmith who made this Torah shield. Your shield and other similarly styled shields were usually made in the city of Vienna, between about 1880 and 1900.
There are a great deal of expertly engraved Hebrew statements and dedications that start in the Ten Commandments motif and continue throughout the entire bottom third of the shield, one of which reads “In memory of the holy and pure people who were lost in the Shoah from the city of Krosno.” It lists names of people who were murdered during the war. The form of the Hebrew letters that are engraved, to me, appear to be in the shape of Hebrew characters that were typically done during the 1960s in the United States and Israel.
Unfortunately, your shield has been severely, purposefully damaged beyond repair. That v-shaped dip you see on the shield at the top is the result of someone taking a knife and cutting off the large crown decoration that was originally there as part of the shield. Who would do this? Why?
I can offer a possible scenario…
Someone who survived the Holocaust went to visit Krosno, Poland during the 1960s for obvious personal reasons. While he was there, he came across an antiques store or junk shop that had this shield for sale. Whoever had originally found this “abandoned” (stolen) Torah shield in Poland sometime after 1939 had perhaps held onto it for a while, and decided to cut off the decorative crown element at top and keep it because it was “pretty,” and subsequently sold the deformed Torah shield to a junk or antique dealer for the melt price of silver, known as scrap. The Holocaust survivor visiting Krosno, who found this shield in the store, upon returning home wanted to express his grief, and either hired an engraver who was fluent in Hebrew to transcribe what the survivor wrote out to be engraved on the shield, or quite possibly, the survivor himself engraved the lengthy Hebrew memorialization.
As to the monetary value of your Torah shield, while it makes me uncomfortable to give a dollar amount for such a sensitive piece, it still should be done for your knowledge. As a piece of antique Judaica, this shield has been affected in two ways. The first is the aforementioned physical damage – a substantial loss – to the shield itself. The second is the much later-engraved Hebrew inscriptions. While the engraving is poignant and historically interesting, to the purist collector, because the engraving was added many decades after the Torah shield was manufactured, it is not “period to the piece,” and this can be construed as a type of damage.
From this viewpoint, the shield is worth about $300-$500. If your Torah shield were in perfect original condition, i.e., the crown element was still attached and there was no later Hebrew engraving, the shield would have a value of $2,000-$2,500. However, if your shield appeared in an auction setting which described it in an appropriate manner, even with an estimate of $300-$500, it might sell for significantly more than that figure. Specifically, if one or two institutions that display Holocaust-related material would be made aware of the auction beforehand, they may be inclined to bid until they win it, because it would appeal to a museum curator to put the shield on display with a corresponding panel likely detailing what I just briefly did, but more eloquently.
Best,
Tsadik
Dear Tsadik,
I am responding to your ad in The Jewish Press with a photo of my family heirloom. I would like to know the value of this menorah. I believe it dates back to the 1700s. Please keep me apprised.
J.S.
Brooklyn, New York
Dear JS,
Your family heirloom is a Dutch brass Chanukah menorah; it was made around the year 1850. Cast brass chanukiot from the Netherlands date all the way back to 1630, with elements of the original form changing over the decades and centuries, right up until about 1920. The earliest types known have a similar shape to yours, with no birds on the sides holding up servant lights, and the rectangular-shaped cartouche in the center bearing the Hebrew verse “For the commandment is a lamp, the teaching is a light.” (Proverbs 6:23). Beginning in the mid-19th century, this Hebrew verse was replaced with one word: “Chanukah,” which is seen on your example.
If you will look closely at your piece, you will see two holes – the first, a circular one, and the second, a rectangular one. The circular one is there because there was a tradition in Jewish households of Western and Central Europe to hang their family chanukiot on the wall during the year when they were not in use. The rectangular hole is there because on the 17th– and 18th-century examples, a large servant light was affixed there.
Your mid-19th-century example was shrunken in size compared to older examples, and birds were added to the sides holding servant lights. But because the general backplate design, with its tulip-form motifs flanking the cartouche bearing the Hebrew word “Chanukah,” was taken from older examples, that rectangular hole was mistakenly included; it is a remnant from the 17th– and 18th-century chanukiot that were made with a sole servant light.
Unfortunately, your example has suffered some loss – originally there was a large brass Star of David affixed at the top. The original star is not there; a very crude replacement was made for it. Still, even with that loss, you have a desirable example of a Dutch cast brass Chanukah menorah from the mid-19th century. Value: $800-$1,200.
Best,
Tsadik
Dear Tsadik,
I read about you in The Jewish Press. I am sending you a picture of my mother’s, z”l, menorah to view. Please let me know your opinion on its value. Of course, it means a lot to me. Thank you for your time and all the best!
Mrs. Sutton
Brooklyn, New York
Dear Mrs. Sutton,
You have a lovely example of a brass Chanukah menorah from Israel that was made sometime between the late 1960s and early 1980s. Value: $30-$40.
Best,
Tsadik
