Objects

Besamim box

Weekly Jewish holiday – Shabbat – concludes on Saturday evening with the Havdalah ceremony, which means "separation" in Hebrew. One of the ritual acts accompanying the ceremony is the smelling of fragrant roots, herbs, or crushed rose petals. They are placed in a decorative spice tower over which a blessing is recited (M. Goldstein, K. Dresdner, Kultura i sztuka ludu żydowskiego na ziemiach polskich, Lwów 1935, pp. 40–41). The scent of the herbs is symbolically meant to invigorate the body that has been left by the additional Shabbat soul (Hebrew: neshamah yeteirah). It is also believed to help the faithful cope with the hardships of the coming week. The forms of spice towers have changed over different periods but with the preservation of traditional designs - – they usually had the shape of towers, buildings or boxes.

The besamim box from the collection of the Vistula Museum in Kazimierz Dolny is in the shape of a tower. Its base is in the form of a square frame, set on four hemispherical legs. The stem is made of four rods fastened together in the middle with a spherical connector, separating under the herb container. The two-storey body was made using the Schiffli embroidery technique. The lower part is in the form of a cube with four flagpoles placed in the corners, with only two rotating flags preserved. The base of the container is decorated with a cut-out strip with engraved acanthus leaves. The upper part is in the form of a slightly smaller cube with a bell inside and three similar flagpoles preserved. The pyramidal, filigree roof is topped with a spire without a flag.

The item was purchased for the collection of the Museum of Goldsmithing Art (a branch of the Vistula Museum in Kazimierz Dolny) in 1984.

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Information about the object
Author / creator
unknown
Object type
handicrafts
Place of creation
Ukraine (Europe)
Technique
forging
filigree
Material
silver
Keywords
Copyright status
the object is not protected by copyright law
Owner
Goldsmithing Art Museum. Branch of Nadwiślańskie Museum in Kazimierz Dolny
Identification number
MSZK/450