Half length portrait of the Sephardic rabbi holding a pen in right hand, set in oval. Six doors on a medallion of (canting arms) below. Engraved by P(ieter) van Gunst.

AUCTION 63 | Thursday, November 13th, 2014 at 1:00
Fine Judaica: Books, Manuscripts, Autograph Letters, Graphic and Ceremonial Art

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Lot 358
SASPORTAS, JACOB.

Half length portrait of the Sephardic rabbi holding a pen in right hand, set in oval. Six doors on a medallion of (canting arms) below. Engraved by P(ieter) van Gunst.

Hebrew and Spanish. 13.5 x 10 inches.

c. 1700:

Est: $3,000 - $5,000
PRICE REALIZED $6,500
Fine engraving of Rabbi Jacob ben Aaron Sasportas memorializing his death on Tuesday, 4th Iyar, 1698. Born in Oran, Algeria in 1610, Sasportas was the rabbi of several North African cities, he eventually settled in Amsterdam and successfully served as leader of the Jewish Community - especially after recanting his earlier Sabbathian beliefs. The text below the portrait summarizes his rabbinical career and references other cities in which Sasportas served, including London, Hamburg and Livorno. The canting arms of six doors alludes to his surname with many theories behind its origins.