Seder Keriath Shema

AUCTION 41 | Thursday, September 18th, 2008 at 1:00

Fine Judaica: Printed Books, Manuscripts, & Graphic Art

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Lot 337

(LITURGY).

Seder Keriath Shema

Hebrew in square Aschkenazic characters; instructions in Judeo-German in Wayber-taytsch letters. Title surrounded by artistry in red and mauve, flanked by garlanded architectural columns, at top two lions facing off, at bottom cartouches of a gentleman-scholar holding spectacles aloft (in illustration of Keri'ath Shema) and of a pair of travellers (in illustration of Tephilath ha-Derech). Use of colored inks (red or blue) for initial words. On f.4v. a cherub peeks over the Hebrew word "Ha-Mal'ach" [The Angel]. At conclusion (f.13v.), two fish swimming in opposite directions illustrate the Tashlich ritual, recited on New Year by a body of water containing fish. On front flyleaf in Judeo-German: "Zum andenkt von meiner Tante Hindche, wohnend in Mafed (?) bei Roermond in Königreich Belgen, Zusmann bar khr"r Avraham Rodinsen [In memory of my Aunt Hindche, living in Mafed by Roermond in the Kingdom of Belgium, Sussmann son of Abraham Rodinsen] ff. 13. Sepia ink on vellum. Stains, some words smudged. Edges gilt, marbled endpapers. Contemporary blind-tooled calf, rubbed; portion of spine removed. 3 x 3 3/4 inches

Roermond, Netherlands : 18th-Century

Est: $4,000 - $6,000

PRICE REALIZED $8,500

Illuminated Miniature Compendium of Prayers on vellum Includes Recitation of Shema before Retiring; Prayer for Travelers and Seafarers; Sanctification of the New Moon; Prayer after the Readings of the Princes in the Month of Nisan; Eiruv Tavshilin; Tashlich, etc. The prayers in our small collection are heavily influenced by the Kabbalah and include several instances of angelology no longer in vogue. For example, the Traveler's Prayer (f.8v.) contains an invocation of "Sandalphon, Sar ha-Ya'ar" (Sandalphon, Prince of the Forest). Roermond, in the southern province of Holland known as Limburg, straddles Belgium in the West and Germany in the East. When the Netherlands and Belgium separated in 1830, there was support for the idea of adding Limburg to Belgium, but in 1839, the province was divided between the two entities, the eastern part of Limburg going to the Netherlands and the western part to Belgium. From the inscription on the flyleaf, one gleans that the previous owner dwelled in the vicinity of Roermond, but far enough west to be within the "Kingdom of Belgium." See M.H. Gans, Memorbook (1977), pp. 544-45