Figure-Stemmed Havdalah Candleholder – Rare Item Created by Silversmith Rötger...

Figure-Stemmed Havdalah Candleholder – Rare Item Created by Silversmith Rötger (Rüdiger) Herfurth – Frankfurt am Main, Ca. 1750

Silver, cast, repoussé, pierced, engraved, and soldered.
Hallmarks: · Municipal mark of the city of Frankfurt am Main (an eagle) from the mid-18th century; · Maker's mark, the initials "RH" in a rectangular frame – Rötger [Rüdiger] Herfurth (1722-1776), certified silversmith, 1748.

Fine havdalah candleholder (with no spicebox), composed of two parts (both marked). The lower part consists of a round base surmounted by a short leg in turn surmounted by a miniature human figure. The upper part – fastened by a screw to the head of the human figure in the lower part – includes a square base enclosed within a fancy, serrated fence; soldered onto this are four tall cylindrical rods. The four rods are threaded through four designated holes in an upper base, matching the base underneath it, but with a cylindrical candleholder in the middle; the base bearing the candleholder can be adjusted up and down the rods, and thus raised and lowered. Soldered onto the end of each of the four thin rods is a miniature ornament in the form of a human face, gazing outward.
The miniature human figure at the top of the base – standing seven centimeters tall – is expertly sculpted. The statuette is of a bearded gentleman, donning a cape, with a long, partly buttoned overcoat underneath. The costume also includes a fancy ruff collar around the neck, and a round hat on the head. In its hands, the figure holds two havdalah vessels, a tall, tower-shaped spicebox in the right hand and a wine cup in the left.

This candleholder is a rare, exquisite item, created by an eminent silversmith; it is one of only a handful of similar 18th century havdalah vessels, likewise supported atop statuettes. Among the few items in this small group in private hands, this may well be the finest. Some nine similar havdalah vessels of various levels of quality are known to be extant, and most of these belong to museum collections.

The Disappearance and Reappearance of the Candleholder

Early in 1887, the candleholder presented here was in the possession of Solomon David Schloss. That same year, the collector submitted it on loan to the Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition – staged at the time at London’s Royal Albert Hall – to be put on display. A photograph of the object was published in the Deluxe edition of the exhibition catalogue (see p. 8). Thanks to the outstanding craftsmanship that distinguished the item, and its immeasurable significance, the photo was republished several times over the years in a number of notable publications dealing with Judaica. At some point in time, the candleholder was separated from the rest of the Schloss Collection.

But finally, in 1985, it was located and identified by Michael Keen at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; it had initially been listed in the museum records as "NN" – "not numbered", i.e., as an item with no serial number. It is unknown just how the item managed to become part of the Victoria and Albert Collection; there is no documentation regarding the object’s whereabouts during the intervening 98 years – from the time it was exhibited at the Royal Albert Hall until its mysterious reappearance in the V&A, where no records could be found attesting to its acquisition by the museum through either purchase or donation. It is quite possible that the elderly Solomon Schloss entrusted the item to the V&A for repair, and simply forgot about it. In 2009, the candleholder was returned to Schloss’s heirs.

Height: 30 cm. Diameter of base: 10 cm. Good condition.

For comparison see: The Jewish Museum, New York, item no. JM 36-52 (also created by Rötger Herfurth); Collection of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, item nos. B86.0084 (a-b), 124/396 and 124/535; collection of the Jewish Museum, Amsterdam, item no. MB00155; Skirball Museum, Hebrew Union College, Los Angeles, item no. 28.5 (not intact).

For further information, see: Michele Klein, "The Havdalah Candle-holder", Ars Judaica, 2012, pp. 31-54, illustrated on p. 31.

Reference:
1. Catalogue of the Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition, Publications of the Exhibition Committee IV, Royal Albert Hall, London, 1st ed., 1887; Deluxe ed., 1888, no. 1677, p. 105, depicted in the photographic plate facing p. 101.
2. Adolph Kohut, Geschichte der Deutschen Juden, Berlin, ca. 1900. Page 341 features a detail of the 1888 photograph depicting, among other pieces, the present Herfurth candleholder.
3. Rudolf Hallo, Notizblatt der Gesellschaft zur Erforschung Jüdischer Kunstdenkmaeler, 1929, item no. 24, mentioned on p. 168.
4. Michael E. Keen, Jewish Ritual Art in the V&A Museum, London, HMSO, 1991, item no. 55, with image, descriptive text, and a note: "This would appear to be the candlestick illustrated in the deluxe (1888) edition of the Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition catalogue; at that time it belonged to Solomon Schloss".
5. Louise Hofman, "Silver for Holy Days", Apollo Magazine, vol. 163, March, 2006, pp. 72-79, item no. 529.
6. Michele Klein, "Art of Havdalah", Jewish Renaissance, vol. 6, no. 1, Oct. 2006, p. 12.
7. Michele Klein, "The Havdalah Candle-holder", Ars Judaica, vol. 8, 2012, pp. 31-54.
8. Fritz Backhaus, Raphael Gross, Sabine Kossling, and Mirjam Wenzel (eds.), "The Judengasse in Frankfurt", Munich, 2016, p. 90.
9. Michele Klein, "Wild Oats", Shemot, Journal of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain, vol. 28, no. 2, Aug. 2020, Cover and p. 2.
10. Michele Klein, "Preserving Jewish heritage: Solomon Schloss's collection of Jewish ritual art", Journal of the History of Collections, vol. 34, no. 3, 2022, pp. 441-54.
Exhibitions:
1. London, Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition, Royal Albert Hall, 1887, item no. 1677.
2. London, Sacred Silver Gallery, Victoria & Albert Museum, 2005 until February 11, 2009.
3. Frankfurt, The Jewish Museum Frankfurt / Judengasse Museum.
Provenance:
1. Collection of Solomon David Schloss (1815-1911).
2. Heirs of the above.