Prayer Book

Prayer Book
Probably Amsterdam, 18th century
Cut out hammered silver; brass, cloth, h. 3.375 x w. 2.5 in.
B’nai B’rith Klutznick National Jewish Museum Collection, 2015.17.360

Enclosed in his cover is an Ashkenazi Prayer Book (Polish Rite). The term Ashkenazi refers to Jews of central and eastern European ancestry. The prayer book was printed in Amsterdam in 1766 by the Proops Brothers, sons of Solomon Proops. The cover consists of openwork applied to a brass background. In its symmetrical composition of leaves and flowers, this binding recalls decorations on Dutch silver objects dating from the first half of the eighteenth century, especially the 1720s. This stylistic affinity, coupled with the fact that it covers a book printed in Amsterdam, suggests a Dutch provenance. The front page of the prayer book indicates that it is a “prayerbook for the whole year as is the custom for Polish Ashkenazim.”

Publications:
In the Spirit of Tradition: The B’nai B’rith Klutznick Museum, ed. Linda Altshuler, 1988, p. 75, no. 63, ill. p. 34.