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.

SASPORTAS, JACOB.

c. 1700

Hebrew and Spanish.

Rubens 2212.

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.