Jewish ritual and ceremonial attributes – Bernard Picart, 1724

Jewish ritual and ceremonial attributes, copper engraving made by Bernard Picart in 1724 for Cérémonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde. Coloured by a later hand. Size (plate mark): 32 × 21 cm.

We see ritual items used throughout the Jewish year and in daily religious life. At the top is a Sabbath lamp, symbolising the sanctification of the Sabbath within the home. On the right is a prayer shawl (tallit), recognizable by the four corners with tzitzit, the ritual fringes referring to the commandments in Deuteronomy and Book of Numbers.

At the lower left is a bundle containing the lulav, hadassim and aravot (palm, myrtle and willow), together with the etrog, the citron that together form the Four Species used during the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot). They were waved towards the four cardinal directions during processions or prayers.

Below are different forms of unleavened bread, including the round matzot eaten at Passover (Pesach). They symbolize the bread of the “hasty exodus.”

At the lower right is the shofar, the ram’s horn blown on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Next to it the mezuzah, the small cylinder containing the parchment scroll with the Shema texts, affixed to the right doorpost according to halachic prescriptions.

Price: Euro 175,-