2000 Years of Jewish Culture: Jewish Wedding Rings

LES ENLUMINURES

JEWISH WEDDING RINGS The present collection of eight Jewish wedding rings presents a range of types and origins of these remarkable objects from the early fifteenth century to the nineteenth century. The Jewish custom of giving a wedding ring seems to have been known as early as the seventh and eighth century in Babylonia and then spread to other parts of the Diaspora. Possibly to date the first mention of a ring actually being given during a Jewish wedding ceremony, rather than as a symbol of betrothal, goes back to Rabbi Jakob hal Lewi Mölln in the Rhineland, about 1400 and is mentioned in the Maharil (Par. 5). The earliest surviving examples of Jewish wedding rings were found in the Colmar and Erfurt Treasures dating to the first half of the fourteenth century, and during this same period illustrations of the ceremony begin to appear in manuscripts. According to the rituals such rings were not allowed to include gemstones; color is introduced in some elaborate examples (nos. 2 and 6) through the use of enamel. Most Jewish wedding rings bear an inscription with good luck wishes “Mazal Tov” in Hebrew. Surely they were ritual objects, special ceremonial pieces, not worn by the bride but instead returned to the community and passed down through generations. In one instance (no. 3), the ring was transformed into a pendant for later wearing, a phenomenon also known from a painting. Due to the continuous exodus of the Jews through history the attributions of where a ring is made remains complicated, especially as some designs are influenced by the goldsmiths of the regions they settled in. Recent scholarship confirms the Transylvanian origin of certain Ashkenazi examples (e.g., nos. 3, 4, 6, and 7), although the Italian origin of one early Sephardic ring (no. 1) is especially noteworthy, in the absence of so little concrete data about provenance.

1. GOTHIC JEWISH BETROTHAL RING Europe, early 15th century (?) Gilt base metal (bronze?) Exceedingly rare for its early date and massive form, this ring compares to only a few known examples, including a 14th-century architectural ring at the Jewish Museum of Art in Minnesota. Provenance: Ettinghansen Collection, Oxford; Michael and Judy Steinhardt Collection, New York. Literature: The Collector's Room: Selections from the Michael and Judy Steinhardt Collection, New York, 1993, no. 28, ill. (as silver gilt, but testing has determined there is no silver content). Weight: 16.1g; circumference: 67.2mm; size: US12, UK X ½ $50,000

2. JEWISH WEDDING RING WITH CONTAINER AND PENDANT Central or Eastern Europe, 18th century; container and pendant 19th century (before 1824) Gold sheet metal and enamel An interesting and unusually ornate example of this type, this ring and its embellishments show the transformation of the Jewish wedding ring into reliquary-like pendants worn as jewelry. The pendant type appears in nineteenth-century portrait paintings. Provenance: Benjamin Zucker, New York; purchased Sotheby's, New York, early to mid-1980s; on deposit in The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, since the late 1980s. Exhibited: The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Literature: Fishof, From the Secular to the Sacred [exhibition cat.], Jerusalem, 1985, 60-61, no. 36; Scarisbrick, Rings: Jewelry of Power, Love and Loyalty, London, 2007 [repr. 2013], figs. 197-98; Hindman, et al., Cycles of Life, 2014, cat. no. 14. Height overall 80.03 mm; height of ring 47.61 mm; height of pendant 30.89 mm; exterior diam. of ring 47.61 x 42.13 x 33.59 mm; exterior diam. of pendant 30.89 x 13.91 x 12.65 mm $85,000

3. JEWISH WEDDING RING Central or Eastern Europe, 18th century Gold sheet metal This rare type with triple band is composed of three rings soldered together. Its high quality and weight suggest it was originally owned by a wealthy synagogue. Provenance: Melvin Gutman (1886-1967), Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, May 15, 1970, Part V, lot 112 (as "Venetian...about 1600"); Benjamin Zucker, New York; on deposit, Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, 1985-2013. Literature: Scarisbrick, Rings: Jewelry of Power, Love and Loyalty, London, 2007 [repr. 2013], no. 160; Hindman, et al., Cycles of Life, 2014, cat. no. 13. Height 31.7 mm; exterior diam. of hoop 23.02 mm Weight 16.8 grams U.S. size 9; U.K. size R ½ $50,000

4. JEWISH WEDDING RING Central or Eastern Europe, 18th century Gold sheet metal The beautiful high filigree bosses on this ring are found in most rings of this type, separated by pairs of globules. The inscription "mazel tov" suggests it was worn at an Ashkenazim wedding ceremony. Provenance: Melvin Gutman (1886-1967), Sotheby Parke Burnet, New York, May 15, 1970, Part V, lot 114 (as "Venetian...late 16th century"); Benjamin Zucker, New York; on deposit, Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, 1985-2013. Exhibited: Baltimore Museum of Art, 1962-1968; Yeshiva University Museum, New York, 1977. Literature: Pappenheim, The Jewish Wedding [exhibition cat.], New York, 1977, no. 149; Hindman, et al., Cycles of Life, 2014, cat. no. 14. Height 31.25 mm; exterior diam. of hoop 24.3 mm Weight 7.10 grams; U.S. size 10.25; U.K. size U $30,000

5. JEWISH WEDDING RING Central or Eastern Europe, 18th century Gold Six openwork filigree bosses decorate the friezelike exterior of this ring, also inscribed "mazel tov," as in other examples, but here on a rectangular-shaped plaque. Provenance: Michael and Judy Steinhardt Collection, New York Literature: The Collector's Room: Selections from the Michael and Judy Steinhardt Collection, New York, 1993, no. 29, ill. Weight 6.8 gr.; circumference 64.2 mm.; US size 10.75; UK size V ½ $28,000

6. JEWISH WEDDING RING Central or Eastern Europe (Hungary?), 19th Century Gold and enamel The wonderfully ornate filigree and colored enamel decoration of this ring is attributed to Transylvanian goldsmiths. Underneath the hinged gabled roof a thin tablet is also inscribed "mazel tov." Provenance: Michael and Judy Steinhardt Collection, New York Literature: The Collector's Room: Selections from the Michael and Judy Steinhardt Collection, New York, 1993, no. 29. Weight: 21.2g; circumference: 64.6mm; size: US 11, UK V ½ $45,000

7. JEWISH WEDDING RING Central or Eastern Europe (Hungary?), 19th century Gold The wide band and delicate filigree is also the work of Transylvanian goldsmiths, this example made for a person or synagogue who preferred a plainer version without colored enamel. Provenance: Michael and Judy Steinhardt Collection, New York Literature: The Collector's Room: Selections from the Michael and Judy Steinhardt Collection, New York, 1993, no. 27. Weight 19.2 gr.; circumference 72.5 mm.; US size 15; UK size Z+3 $20,000

8. JEWISH WEDDING RING Western Europe, 2nd half 19th century Gold Rare and unusual, the lion's heads and cut-out hearts decorating this ring are tradition symbols of love and happiness. The inscription "mazel tov" is made into the form of an open book. Provenance: Zucker Family Collection, New York Weight 9.9 gr.; circumference 58.7 mm.; US size 8.75; UK size R ¼ $30,000