Rimon Auctions
Auction 9 10 Feb 2021
Pre-sale bidding closed
► Sale information
Find similar lots
Judaica - Old Medal / Amulet, Valued from the 17th-18th Century - Extremely Rare - Museum Item
A unique large and early medal, bearing a magnificent Ashkenazi Hebrew inscription in manual sculpture.
Face: All around, in a hand-carved sculpture, verse from Psalms Chapter VIII verse 8: "They are a truth you desire for sure and just plain wisdom let me know" (Psalm 51: 6).
Back: Two rectangles in one of which appears the name of the explicit name and in two a Greek inscription (?).
On either side of the medal are two tiny holes that were used to carry a wire or chain for hanging. Since the inscription that appears on the entire medal is manually sculpted (by some sharp object, such as a nail file with a hammer), a little of the inscription of the medal can be discerned on each side on the other side (in the form of a negative). The Hebrew-Ashkenazi inscription probably indicates a European origin. The accuracy of the verse, which appears without spelling errors, indicates an early knowledge of the Hebrew language and hence the Jewish origin of the medal. Since the explicit name appears on the medal, it is likely that this medal was used as an amulet, since the use of the explicit name is common on Jewish amulets, but not on Jewish medals, for the most part.
It is evident that the medal was made with meticulous and invested work that required a lot of time, knowledge and experience. Every letter and word on the medal was disqualified manually. A quality and important medal at a museum level that we have not found like it, very rare!
bronze
Diameter: 51 mm
A unique large and early medal, bearing a magnificent Ashkenazi Hebrew inscription in manual sculpture.
Face: All around, in a hand-carved sculpture, verse from Psalms Chapter VIII verse 8: "They are a truth you desire for sure and just plain wisdom let me know" (Psalm 51: 6).
Back: Two rectangles in one of which appears the name of the explicit name and in two a Greek inscription (?).
On either side of the medal are two tiny holes that were used to carry a wire or chain for hanging. Since the inscription that appears on the entire medal is manually sculpted (by some sharp object, such as a nail file with a hammer), a little of the inscription of the medal can be discerned on each side on the other side (in the form of a negative). The Hebrew-Ashkenazi inscription probably indicates a European origin. The accuracy of the verse, which appears without spelling errors, indicates an early knowledge of the Hebrew language and hence the Jewish origin of the medal. Since the explicit name appears on the medal, it is likely that this medal was used as an amulet, since the use of the explicit name is common on Jewish amulets, but not on Jewish medals, for the most part.
It is evident that the medal was made with meticulous and invested work that required a lot of time, knowledge and experience. Every letter and word on the medal was disqualified manually. A quality and important medal at a museum level that we have not found like it, very rare!
bronze
Diameter: 51 mm