Jewish Consumption and Material Culture in the Early Modern Period

Material Possessions and Religious Boundaries in Early Modern Poland

Magda Teter — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 10:00:00 PDT

The 1719 trial of two Jews from Brest (Brześć) accused of breaking into a Bernardine church and robbing a tomb of a prominent noble woman, raises questions of material possessions and religious boundaries. Among things stolen were clothes and textiles used in wrapping the coffin of the deceased woman. They were also one of the reasons that the robbery was discovered and the Jews were caught: some months following the robbery the daughters of the two Jewish robbers were spotted wearing dresses made of the stolen textiles. This case is certainly most notorious but it is not the only example of Jewish use of objects and textiles stolen from churches. Neither is Jewish use of "Christian" objects an example of one-directional transgression on religious boundaries and norms. Criminal records also show Christians stealing and wearing clothes that had been owned by Jews. This presentation is based predominantly on the Decree from the Lithuanian Tribunal but will be supplemented with excerpts from other trials as well.

This presentation is for the following text(s):

A Decree of the Lithuanian Tribunal concerning Jews in Brest (1719)
Responsum 86 Masa'at Binyamin and the Ordinances of the Council of Lithuania
Two criminal cases in the court of the city of Lublin (17th century)

Symbolic Clothes Marginality and otherness of Jews and New Christians as Reflected by Their Dress in Two Christian texts

Nadia Zeldes — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 09:00:00 PDT

Clothes in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period denoted legal status and social standing. Jews (and other minority and marginal groups) were distinguished by clothing regulations, sometimes supplemented by the wearing of a special badge. However, beyond custom and law, there were subtle cues that signaled marginality such as the wearing of certain fabrics and colours etc. In Mediterranean Europe, that is in Italy, Sicily and the Iberian kingdoms, Jews wore more or less the same fashions as the surrounding society though there were restrictions and distinguishing marks imposed by either the ruler and the Church or the Jews themselves. A text from fifteenth century Sicily describes the clothes worn by Jews during a festive procession; but beyond the explicit information it provides, the text’s language and the subtext hint at the marginality and restrictions imposed on the Jews. Converting to Christianity meant, according to Church doctrine as well as missionary propaganda, total status change and no restrictions on dress, exercising various professions etc. However, a sixteenth century text - also from Sicily - raises intriguing question as to the perceptions of the New Christians by the Old Christian population, especially regarding dress. Both texts are compared with each other and other sources from the same period.

This presentation is for the following text(s):

A History of Sicily in Twenty (parts) (1560)
On the Origins and History of Palermo (1471)

An Inventory of an Inquisitorial Prisoner's Possessions

Miriam Bodian — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 15:00:00 PDT

The presentation will describe how an inventory of an inquisitorial prisoner's possessions, routinely drawn up at the time of a prisoner's arrest, throws light on the material circumstances and consumption patterns of the prisoner and his/her family, as well as on the material milieu he/she inhabited. The inventory is that of Francisco Maldonado de Silva, a physician in the Viceroyalty of Peru, drawn up at the time of his arrest for judaizing in 1627.

This presentation is for the following text(s):

Inventory of the possessions of the licentiate Francisco Maldonado de Silva (1627)

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The Possessions of Two Italian Jews at the end of the 16th Century

Flora Cassen — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 14:00:00 PDT

The brothers Lazaro and Angelo Nantua were moneylenders in Gavi, a town under Genoese dominion, during the second half of the sixteenth century. In 1592, Angelo got into a violent argument with the chancellor of the town. This incident started a series of legal proceedings against the brothers that went on for years. The two documents I choose are (1) an inventory of all their posessions made in 1592 by order of the doge in Genoa (2)a letter written by the local podesta in which he complaints that they do not wear the yellow hat and gives a detailed description of their outfit.

This presentation is for the following text(s):

Inventory of the belongings of Lazaro Nantua (1592)
Letter by Podesta of Gavi (1595)

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The Estates of a Jewish Merchant and of a Rabbi in Seventeenth Century Venice

Bernard D. Cooperman et al. — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 15:00:00 PDT

As is well known, the Archivio di Stato di Venezia (ASV; Venetian State Archives) is among the largest in Europe, and contains much material dealing with the Jews of Venice. This includes inventories of the estates of Jews compiled for the purposes of implementing the will of the deceased, and very fortunately two inventories of the estates of arguably the two most prominent Jews of the first half of the sixteenth century, representing two completely different types of Jews, both of whom have been the subject of considerable scholarly attention, have been located and published in the original Italian. One of these is that of the great commercial entrepreneur Daniel Rodriga (d. 1603), who was the key figure in obtaining the first charter which enabled Levantine and Ponentine Jewish merchants to settle in Venice with unique commercial privileges, while the second individual is Rabbi Leon Modena (1571-1648), arguably the most prolific author of his times, concerning whom much information has been preserved. My intention is to examine these two inventories in the contexts of the lives and professional activities of Rodriga and Modena, the situation of the Jews of Venice, and the Venetian material culture of the times to see whether any tentative conclusions can be drawn that shed new light on the condition of the Jews of Venice. I realize that two serious questions immediately arise: first, how typical were Rodriga and Modena, and second, certain items - presumably of economic value - could have been removed from the estate before the inventory was compiled. Nevertheless, it is to be hoped that the proposed investigation will be of some value and most importantly, lead to further research along these lines.

This presentation is for the following text(s):

Inventory of the Property of Leon Modena (1648)
Inventory of the Property of the Late Daniel Rodrigha (1603)

The Zaks Parokhet from Prague (1602): Sacred Object, Local Liturgy, and Familial Memory

Rachel Greenblatt — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 12:00:00 PDT

The Zaks parokhet, donated to Prague’s Altneuschul by Nathan, known as Karpel Zaks and his wife Hadasi in 1602, provides a framework through which to view the intersection of liturgy, memory and material culture in one early modern Jewish community. The parokhet’s role as a memorial to its donor is not apparent, however, by examining the object in isolation. In seeking to understand this Torah curtain’s meaning for its donor and the worshippers who used it, I consider its graphic and material design, contemporaneous texts and additional ceremonial objects from Prague and its environs, with particular concern to the memorial functions of each. While little evidence exists to inform of us of how the Zaks parokhet may have differed in these regards from its medieval predecessors, inscriptions from objects dating from later periods attest to changes that occurred as early as the latter part of the seventeenth century and continued into later modern times.

This presentation is for the following text(s):

Compendium of Memorial Prayers from Prague
Memorial Prayers from the Pinkas Synagogue, Prague
Examples of Torah Mantles from Prague

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Jewish Display Silver After the Age of Exploration

Vivian Mann — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 11:00:00 PDT

Although there is literature on the impact of the discovery of the Americas on the European silver supply and the production works in silver, no one has examined its impact on the commissioning of silver by hevrot, particularly the Hevrah Kaddisha, both for their own use and as donations to the synagogue. This paper will examine in what ways Jewish patronage was similar to those of guilds and Christian confraternities and it what ways they differed.

This presentation is for the following object(s):

Beaker of the Burial Society of Worms. Johann Conrad Weiss (active 1699-1751), Jewish Museum in New York, ART305839
Torah Crown, Berlin, 1802/03 (date of inscription), Jewish Museum in New York, ART65334

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The Phoenix, the Exodus and the Temple

Limor Mintz-Manor — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 10:00:00 PDT

This presentation investigates the symbols of the Sephardic congregation in Amsterdam, mainly the Phoenix and the Pelican that symbolize the resurrection of Jesus in catholic Christianity, alongside the unique exegesis by several congregants of the Exodus narrative. The analysis of the symbols, images and the architecture of the congregation's synagogue, shows that they had played a major role in the construction of the "new" identity of the congregation. By utilizing them the congregation established the "resurrection" narrative of the Sephardic Jewry and its new beginning in Amsterdam. The rich cultural background of these symbols and images, both in the Iberian world and in the Netherlands, enabled the community's members to interweave their Iberian-Christian past with their Jewish present and to integrate into the Dutch society of the Early Modern period.

This presentation is for the following text(s):

Praises Which Zealous [Men] Dedicated to the Wonderful Memory of Abraham Nunez Bernal, Who was Burned Alive Sanctifying the Name of his Creator in Cordova on May 3rd 5415 [=1655]
Sermons Which were Delivered by the Talented Gentlemen of the Kahal Kadosh [=holy congregation] Talmud Torah, in this city of Amsterdam, in the happy opening, and public celebration of the building that was dedicated to God, as a house of prayer, for which festivities commenced on Sabath Nahamu. . Year 5435 [=1675].

The Image of the Jewish Wedding in the Works of Eighteenth Century German Hebraists

Shalom Sabar — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 09:00:00 PDT

A relatively considerable number of images pertaining to the Jewish wedding survived from medieval to early modern Germany. These are to be found in Hebrew illuminated manuscripts, illustrated books of customs (Minhagim-Bücher), decorated Torah binders (Wimpeln), and selected wedding artifacts. However, the most captivating and curious visual evidence on the various stages and customs of the Jewish wedding in Germany is not found in Jewish sources but in the work of eighteenth century Christian Hebraists. Despite the clear anti-Semitic overtones in their work, the images inserted in their books provide rare and significant insights into Jewish practices, folk beliefs and traditions, interior views and intimate moments, and other rare glimpses into Jewish life in contemporary Germany.

This presentation is for the following text(s):

Images of the Jewish Wedding

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Keynote Address: Possessions: The Material Culture of Early Modern Italy

Paula Findlen — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 17:00:00 PDT