Shofar Ram’s horn Central Europe, 19th century Gift of Joseph B. and Olyn Horwitz B’nai B’rith Klutznick Collection of Skirball Museum The shofar is an ancient musical horn that is blown in synagogue services on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and at the very end of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Like [...]
Spice Container Cast, cut-out, engraved and stippled silver Minden, Germany, 19th century Marks: Minden city mark; 13; two illegible marks Gift of Joseph B. and Olyn Horwitz B’nai B’rith Klutznick Collection of Skirball Museum Spice containers in the shape of towers have been popular in Europe since medieval times, with the earliest known example [...]
Hanukkah Lamp Cast and engraved brass Prague, Czechoslovakia, 1927 B’nai B’rith Klutznick Collection of the Skirball Museum, gift of Louise Oestreicher, 1969, 2018.5.1 This lamp is one of a group of Hanukkah lamps made in 1927 to commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the Prague B’nai B’rith Lodge in April of 1902. [...]
Torah Crown Ori Resheff (b. 1955) Israel, 1996 Silver and patinaed copper Purchased 1997 B’nai B’rith Klutznick Collection at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion The Torah, the five books of Moses, is considered to be at the center of Jewish life. The scroll on which the Torah is written becomes a beautifully hand-crafted [...]
Esther Scroll Carved ivory, watercolor, gold paint, ink, and gouache on vellum Venice, Italy, 1700 Gift of Joseph B. and Olyn Horwitz B’nai B’rith Klutznick Collection of the Skirball Museum The festival of Purim, which takes place in March this year, celebrates the continual resilience of the Jewish people. Purim commemorates the story of [...]
Stamp for Marking Kosher Meat Wood and brass Italy, 19th century Gift of Joseph B. and Olyn Horwitz B'nai B'rith Klutznick Collection of the Skirball Museum This rare stamp was used to indicate that meat was judged Kosher. A blue or purple food-safe dye would have been used to stamp this mark directly onto [...]
Absalom Gerald Wartofsky (b. 1935) Oil on canvas United States, 1993 B’nai B’rith Klutznick Collection of the Skirball Museum Gerald Wartofsky studied in Washington, DC and in New York, pursuing a method to assimilate the dualistic nature of classical and expressionistic approaches to his artmaking. He finds inspiration in literature, music and dance. His [...]
Menorah Samuel Bak (b. 1933) Serigraph United States, ca. 1997 Gift of Mike and Toby Chernin B’nai B’rith Klutznick Collection of the Skirball Museum Samuel Bak survived the destruction of the Vilna ghetto and immigrated with his mother to Jerusalem in 1948, where he studied at the Bezalel School of Art and Design. After [...]
Seder Plate Richard Fishman (b. 1941) Providence, Rhode Island, USA, 1977 Cast silver, onyx B’nai B’rith Klutznick Collection, Gift of Joseph H. and Olga Hirshhorn Used during the celebration of Pesach, or Passover, a Seder plate displays the foods used to tell the story of Passover. Foods traditionally included on the Seder plate are [...]
Etrog Container France or Germany, 19th century Silver, carved coconut shell B’nai B’rith Klutznick Collection of the Skirball Museum The Festival of Sukkot, a seven-day Thanksgiving festival, takes place four days after Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Sukkot is one of Judaism’s harvest festivals and is often celebrated with various ceremonies, such as Consecration, [...]
