Auction 109 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Megillot and Jewish Ceremonial Art
Machzor in Elaborate Silver Binding with Ascarelli Family Coat of Arms – Rome, 18th Century
Opening: $5,000
Sold for: $10,000
Including buyer's premium
Machzor in elaborate silver binding. Rome, Italy, 18th century.
Silver, repoussé (bearing hallmarks from Rome, late 18th century, and another unidentified mark, probably that of the maker or workshop); print on paper.
Elaborate binding decorated identically on both sides, in varied vegetal patterns, with a central cartouche topped by a crown above and a shell-like decoration below. Both cartouches feature a coat of arms – a lion leaning on a tower with another lion ascending from its top – the coat of arms of the Ascarelli family of Rome. The family coat of arms plays on the meaning of the Ascarelli name, apparently from the Hebrew words Az KaAri – "fierce as a lion".
The book: Sephardic-rite festival siddur. Venice: Bragadin, [1736]. Part II only: Sukkot, Hoshana Rabba, Shmini Atzeret, Simchat Torah, Pesach and Shir HaShirim with Spanish explanation, Shavuot.
228 leaves. 15.5 cm. Overall good condition. Somewhat close trimming. Stains. First title page almost entirely detached. Endpapers more recent, with later handwritten inscriptions. Gilt edges.
Height of binding: 16 cm. Width: 11.5 cm. Thickness: 3 cm. Good condition. Minor warping of edges and minor defects.
Provenance:
• Collection of Guido Zevi (1883-1975), Rome.
• Daughter of Guido Zevi, Adriana (1913-1982), wife of Dr. Attilio Milano (b. 1907, Rome; immigrated to Palestine in 1939; d. 1969, Hod HaSharon).
Decorative Bindings
Decorative Bindings