Burning Synagogue 1—Lutsk, Poland Greta Schreyer (Vienna, Austria 1917-2005 New York City) Oil on canvas, h. 24 x w. 30 in. USA, 1999 Cincinnati Skirball Museum, gift of Linda Schreyer, 2016.1.1 Greta Schreyer was born in Vienna, Austria, the daughter of a master goldsmith. She too became a master goldsmith and studied art in Vienna [...]
Oil Lamp Judaean, probably 1st century CE, found at HUC Jerusalem campus, 1961 Clay, l. 8.2 x h. 3.6 in. Cincinnati Skirball Museum, gift of Dr. Helen Glueck, A/776 The Skirball Museum’s permanent collection includes an important group of archeological materials from biblical and later historical periods that illuminate and contextualize early Jewish life. Among [...]
Oil Lamp Canaanite from Sinijil, Middle Bronze Age 1, 2400-2000 BCE Clay Cincinnati Skirball Museum, HUC 5902 The Skirball Museum’s permanent collection includes an important group of archeological materials from biblical and later historical periods that illuminate and contextualize early Jewish life. Among these are a group of oil lamps that reflect a variety of [...]
Mandaic Bowl Southern Mesopotamia, 5th—6th century CE Clay Cincinnati Skirball Museum, museum purchase with funds provided by Dr. Helen Iglauer Glueck, A/1331 This bowl carries script used by the Mandaeans, a strongly anti-Jewish gnostic, or mystical, sect of southern Mesopotamia. Along with Diaspora Jews, the pagan Mandaeans were inhabitants of Persian Babylonia. Similar bowls were found from [...]
Hanukkah Lamp Robert Lipnick (b. 1951) USA, 1992 Glazed earthenware, h. 17 in. B’nai B’rith Klutznick National Jewish Museum, TAP 0060 Hanukkah is a postbiblical festival that recalls the deliverance of the Jews from the tyranny of the Syrian-Greek government in 165 B.C.E. This triumph is the first time in recorded history that a people [...]
Dreidel (Top) Peter Ehrenthal (1920-2022) USA, 1960 Cast silver, 4 5/32 x 1 25/64 x 1 25/64” B’nai B’rith Klutznick National Jewish Museum Collection, gift of Joseph and Olyn Horwitz, 1980, 2015.17.427 The Jewish festival of Hanukkah commemorates the miraculous military victory in 165 BCE of a small number of Jews, led by Judah Maccabee, [...]
Miriam Cup Ann Sperry (NY 1950-2008 NY) USA, 1997 Welded and painted steel, h. 11 x w. 6 x d 7 in. Cincinnati Skirball Museum, museum purchase with funds provided by Skirball Museum docents, 18.75 The spring festival of Passover commemorates the Jewish exodus from Egypt. During Passover, Jews are reminded of the struggles they [...]
Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990) Marika Somogyi (b. Budapest, Hungary 1933) USA, 1993 Bronze, h. 1 ¾ x w. 1 ¾ in. Cincinnati Skirball Museum, Jewish-American Hall of Fame Collection, gift of Mel and Esther Wacks, Debra Wacks, and Shari Wacks, 2019.7.49 Born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, Bernstein began learning piano as a young boy when the [...]
Manischewitz Matzo Box Cincinnati, Ohio, 1904 Wood Cincinnati Skirball Museum For most of Jewish history, matzo, the unleavened bread that is eaten during the festival of Passover, was round, made by hand, and produced locally, often in the synagogue or in a communal oven set aside for this purpose. This was also true in American during the [...]
Matzo Comb Germany, late 18th century Iron, h. 3 ½ x w. 6 ¾ in. Cincinnati Skirball Museum, 35.6 A major spring festival, Passover commemorates the Jewish exodus from Egypt. During Passover we are reminded of the struggles endured by the Jewish slaves in Egypt. Many of the foods prepared for Passover are rich in meaning and [...]
