UNMARKED, POSSIBLY NUREMBURG, 17TH CENTURY, WITH LATER FRENCH GUARANTEE MARKS

This spice tower would have been used during the Havdalah ceremony, which marks the end of Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest. Havdalah, which literally translated means separation, takes place after the sun has set on the Saturday evening and when three stars have appeared in the night sky. It symbolises the break between work and rest. During the ceremony blessings are said over wine, a plaited candle is lit and the assembled company inhale the scent of fragrant spices stored in a spice tower or bessamim. These rituals symbolise the giving thanks to God for the gift of taste, sight and smell. A late 16th century depiction of the Havdalah ceremony was published by the south German born, Venice based printer, Simon Levi Ginzburg in his illustrated Custumal or Minhagim-Book of 1593. The woodcut depicting the Havdalah ceremony is illustrated on the verso of folio 3 and shows a father holding the wine cup with a wine flagon on the floor behind him. He faces his two sons, one of whom holds the candlestick and the other the spice tower.

The spices placed in the tower would have included cinnamon, nutmeg and clove and would have been stored in the drawer fitted in the base of the main section. These drawers were traditionally divided into four compartments as found here and as shown by another German example, marked for Nuremberg, illustrated in R. D. Barnett, Catalogue of The Jewish Museum, London, 1974, no. 408, p. 77, pl. cxxvii. Another German example, in pewter, dating from the late 17th or early 18th century is similarly illustrated in Barnet, op. cit., no. 411, p. 78, pl. cxxiii.

The six figures on the angles of the spice compartment are clad in long robes and wearing a beret or barrette and a ruff, the traditional Jewish costume worn by the German Jews throughout the 17th century. The various attributes relate to the ceremony of Havdalah. One figure holds a spice tower, another a plaited candle. Others hold a wine cup, a prayer book and one plays a pipe.

Other filigree spice towers also feature cast figures as part of their ornament. A large spice tower, also unmarked but attributed to Nuremburg, second half 17th century was sold Christie's, Amsterdam, 10 December 2001, lot 196. It had a more elaborate outline and more intricate filigree work than the present example, however, the main tier of the tower is embellished with cast silver-gilt figures, two being soldiers and four musicians. The finial is surmounted by a trumpeter. The collection of the Jewish Museum, Amsterdam, includes a related spice tower, but lacks a figure finial. A spice tower from the Dr W. L. Hildburgh Bequest in the Victoria and Albert Museum is also ornamented with cast silver-gilt figures, three identified as musicians, three more with instruments or attributes lacking. Plainer examples are also know, such as the late 17th century example in the collection of the Jewish Museum, London, illustrated in R. Burman, J. Marin and L. Steadman ed., Treasures of Jewish Heritage, London, 2006, p. 38 (JM410).