162 345 OFFICIAL SEAL OF NAPOLEON’S SANHEDRIN. Wood-handled bronze seal of Napoleon’s Assembly of Jewish Notables. Seal inscribed in Hebrew: “I am the Lord your God / You shall love your neighbor as yourself” within Decalogue-shaped cartouche surmounted by a crowned eagle atop thunderbolts and with further Hebrew inscription “God and King.” The rim inscribed in French: “ Assemble des Francais et Italiens Professants la Loi de Moyse.” Seal: 2.5 x 1.5 inches (5.2 x 4.4 cm); overall length: 4 inches (10.6 cm). French, early 19th-century. $10,000-15,000 346 CONTINENTAL SILVER SCRIBAL SET. Three parts: Bulbous upper portion with screw-off portion for ink, lower portion opens to reveal place for nibs. Below, signet stamp with Hebrew name: Breindel, daughter of Yonah surrounding Scales of Justice. Length: 3 inches (7.6 cm). 19th century. $2000-3000 ❧ Most unusual to bear the name of a woman. For another similar example see Cologne State Museum Catalogue, Monumenta Judaica (1964) no. 126. 343 CONTINENTAL NIELLO SILVER SNUFF BOX. Rectangular form, hinged lid engraved with Biblical scene of Eliezer and Rebecca at the Well, geometric design on reverse. 2 x 3.5 inches (5.1 x 8.9 cm). Early 20th century. $1000-1500 344 CONTINENTAL SILVER SNUFF BOX. Of book form, hinged lid engraved with scene of Jerusalem’s Western Wall. 1.2 x 1.7 inches (3.1 x 4.3 cm). Early 20th century. $600-900 Lot 346 Lot 343 Lot 344 ❧ A SIGNIFICANT AND RARE ARTIFACT FROM A UNIQUE SOCIO- POLITICAL EXPERIMENT. This seal was used to endorse official documents issued by the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high court convened in Europe by Napoleon I to give legal sanction to the principles expressed by the Assembly of Notables in answer to the twelve questions submitted to it by the government. See L. Marcou, Napoleon Face aux Juifs (Paris, 2006) pp. 94-6; B. Blumenkranz & A. Soboul, Le Grand Sanhedrin de Napoleon (Toulouse, 1979) pp. 132-48; Diaspora Museum Catalogue, The Jews of France During the Revolution and the Napoleonic Era (1981). One other Sanhedrin seal has sold at auction, see Sotheby’s Tel Aviv, 12th October 1995, Lot 209. Lot 345