An Elaborate painted Shiviti [Amsterdam?: 19th Century]

(10 ¼  x 8 in.: 260 x 205 mm). Manuscript; ink and gouache on paper, hinged and matted. Paper Strengthened, particularly at edges, loses, infrequently affecting text and image, some flaking of pigment, minor stains, expertly restored..

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it became common practice to hang a decorative plaque known as a shiviti in synagogues and private homes to serve as a visual and textual reminder of the constant presence of God. Usually hung on the Eastern wall or in front of the cantor's lectern, these artworks often included the image of a stylized Menorah, the seven-branched candelabrum, and other implements used in the Temple in Jerusalem. This colorful example is based on the artwork featured in a group of six micrographic plaques created in Amsterdam between 1800-1823. This shiviti incorporates the images of the Table of the Shewbread (at left) the image of the Altar (below center) and the Menorah, inscribed with Psalm 67 along with its attendant implements (the tongs and snuffdishes). The document is framed with biblical and mystical verses associated with the Temple and the Menorah. A nearly identical Shiviti is held in the collection of the Beinecke Library at Yale University (Hebrew +93:14).

Sotheby's is extremely grateful to Dr. Shalom Sabar for providing information which aided in the cataloging of this lot.