Bidspirit auction | Tower-Shaped Spicebox in High-Quality Filigree

Tower-Shaped Spicebox in High-Quality Filigree – Eastern Europe (Galicia), Late 18th or Early 19th Century - Silver (unmarked); filigree, granulation. Multi-tiered tower-shaped havdalah spicebox (”Hadas”), made of high-quality filigree, with symmetrical vegetal patterns. With tall steeple surmounted by flag. Each of the four corners at the base of the steeple is marked with a floral ornament. The belfry underneath the steeple has four pairs of arched windows exposing the bell inside, and a decorated spherical ornament at each of the four corners of its base. The spice compartment under the belfry has a hinged, arched door with a locking mechanism (without a key). The lowest tier is surrounded by balconies throughout, and adorned with floral ornaments at the corners. Height: 35.5 cm. Uppermost gilt flag, and gilt sphere surmounting it, not original. Key missing. Exhibitions: 1. Presumably, London, Exhibition of Jewish Art and Antiquities, Whitechapel Art Gallery, 1906, item no. 1127. 2. Basel, Jewish Museum of Switzerland, JMS 1042. Provenance: 1. Collection of Solomon David Schloss (1815-1911). 2. Lewis Raphael Castle (1858-1932), son of the above. 3. Peter Castle (1922-2011), grandson of the above. 4. Heirs of the above. This item appears in the inventory list of the Schloss Collection, dated 1923 (see appendix, pp. 146-148), and is documented in a 1931 collection photograph (see p. 11).