Showing Results 1 - 10 of 13
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This Torah binder, made for boys at birth and later brought by young men as a symbol of participation in the synagogue, illustrates the fixed nature of traditional gender expectations.
Contributor:
Koppel ben Moses Heller
Places:
Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria (Munich, Germany)
Date:
1814
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Circumcision in an Egyptian relief, Sakkara, Egypt, Sixth Dynasty (ca. 2350–2170 BCE). Priests perform circumcision on boys. The hieroglyphic legend reads “circumcision.” The hands of the boy on the…
Places:
Sakkara, Egypt
Date:
Old Kingdom (Egypt), 23rd–22nd Century BCE
Subjects:
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This decorated manuscript of the prayers for a circumcision ceremony was owned by one Joseph ben Samuel. On its title page (not shown) is an unidentified coat of arms decorated with the Order of the…
Contributor:
Uri Fayvesh Segal
Places:
Altona, Kingdom of Denmark (Altona, Germany)
Date:
1750
Subjects:
Public Access
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The wealthy Sephardic family of Curiel d’Acosta is believed to have commissioned the artist Romeyn de Hooghe to make this large pen-and-ink drawing to commemorate the circumcision, in Amsterdam, of a…
Contributor:
Romeyn de Hooghe
Places:
Amsterdam, Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Date:
1665–8
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Public Access
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This silk cushion cover, embroidered with metallic thread and metallic braid, is thought to have been made in Istanbul. Divided into two horizontal planes, with a narrow border running on three of its…
Contributor:
Artist Unknown
Places:
Constantinople, Ottoman Empire (Istanbul, Turkey)
Date:
Late 17th or Early 18th Century
Subjects:
Categories:
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This silver circumcision set was crafted in Salonika in the Ottoman Empire. The cylindrical silver casket holds a circumcision knife; its handle is made from agate. A similarly shaped powder box and…
Contributor:
Artist Unknown
Places:
Salonika, Ottoman Empire (Thessaloniki, Greece)
Date:
18th Century
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In Ashkenazic communities, circumcision benches with two seats were sometimes used from the nineteenth century on, one for the sandek, the godfather on whose lap the baby boy is circumcised, and one…
Contributor:
Artist Unknown
Places:
Eidlitz, Holy Roman Empire (Údlice, Czech Republic)
Date:
ca. 1805
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Paper cuts have been a tradition of Jewish folk art, with the earliest record of one dating to the fourteenth century. Given the widespread availability of paper in Europe by the mid-nineteenth…
Contributor:
Nachman ha-Kohen Bialsker
Places:
Bielsk, Russian Empire (Bielsk Podlaski, Poland)
Date:
1862
Subjects:
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Public Access
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This printed amulet, from Germany, was made for infant boys. The amulet has a companion, for a girl child (see “Amulet for a Newborn Girl”). The text in the center of the amulet is surrounded by a…
Contributor:
Artist Unknown
Places:
Date:
ca. 1750
Subjects:
Categories:
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Traditionally, the prophet Elijah is believed to be present at all Jewish circumcision ceremonies, and a chair is reserved for him. It serves as the seat of the godfather, who holds the baby boy…
Contributor:
Ze’ev Raban
Places:
Jerusalem, Mandate Palestine (Jerusalem, Israel)
Date:
1925