Snuff box, cherubs - .800 silver - Germany - Late 19th century

A magnificent German silver snuff box with cherubs angels motives Hand crafted in Germany by an artist - circa 1890 Signed 800 with maker mark ( see photos) Cherub This article is about a type of supernatural being in the Bible. For the winged infant figure in art, see putto. For other uses, see Cherub (disambiguation) . A tetramorph cherub, in Eastern Orthodox iconography Depiction of the "cherubim of glory shadowing the mercy seat" (χερουβιμ δόξης κατασκιάζοντα τὸ ἱλαστήριον) of Hebrews 9: 5 (Julius Bate, 1773) A cherub (/ˈtʃɛrəb/; [1] plural cherubim; Hebrew: כְּרוּב kərūv, pl. כְּרוּבִים kərūvîm) is one of the unearthly beings who directly attend to God, according to Abrahamic religions. The numerous depictions of cherubim assign to them many different roles, such as protecting the entrance of the Garden of Eden. [2] In Jewish angelic hierarchy, cherubim have the ninth (second-lowest) rank in Maimonides' Mishneh Torah (12th century) , and the third rank in Kabbalistic works such as Berit Menuchah (14th century) . De Coelesti Hierarchia places them in the highest rank alongside Seraphim and Thrones. [3] In the Book of Ezekiel and (at least some) Christian icons, the cherub is depicted as having two pairs of wings, and four faces: that of a lion (representative of all wild animals) , an ox (domestic animals) , a human (humanity) , and an eagle (birds) . [4] Their legs were straight, the soles of their feet like the hooves of a bull, gleaming like polished brass. Later tradition ascribes to them a variety of physical appearances. [4] Some early midrashic literature conceives of them as non-corporeal. In Western Christian tradition, cherubim have become associated with the putto (derived from classical Cupid/Eros) , resulting in depictions of cherubim as small, plump, winged boys. [5] In Islam, the cherubim are the angels closest to God. Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall noted Rūḥ as one of the most noble among the cherubim. Others are the Bearers of the Throne or the archangels. [6] In Ismailism, there are seven cherubim, comparable to the Seven Archangels. [7] Origins and etymology Cherub on a Neo-Assyrian seal, c. 1000–612 BC Mythological hybrids are common in the art of the Ancient Near East. One example is the Babylonian lamassu or shedu, a protective spirit with a sphinx-like form, possessing the wings of an eagle, the body of a lion, and the head of a king. This was adopted largely in Phoenicia. The wings, because of their artistic beauty, soon became the most prominent part, and animals of various kinds were adorned with wings; consequently, wings were bestowed also upon man,[2] thus forming the stereotypical image of an angel. [8] Albright (1938) argued that "the winged lion with human head" found in Phoenicia and Canaan from the Late Bronze Age is "much more common than any other winged creature, so much so that its identification with the cherub is certain". [4] A possibly related source is the human-bodied Hittite griffin, which, unlike other griffins, appear almost always not as a fierce bird of prey, but seated in calm dignity, like an irresistible guardian of holy things; [2] [8] some have proposed that the word griffin (γρύψ) may be cognate with cherubim. [9] [10] The traditional Hebrew conception of cherubim as guardians of the Garden of Eden is backed by the Semitic belief of beings of superhuman power and devoid of human feelings, whose duty it was to represent the gods, and as guardians of their sanctuaries to repel intruders; these conceptions in turn are similar to an account found on Tablet 9 of the inscriptions found at Nimrud. [2] It has been suggested[by whom?] that the image of cherubim as storm winds explains why they are described as being the chariot of Yahweh[clarification needed] in Ezekiel's visions, the Books of Samuel,[11] the parallel passages in the later Books of Chronicles,[12] and passages in the early[2] Psalms: for example "and he rode upon a cherub and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind. "[13] [14] In particular, in a scene reminiscent of Ezekiel's dream, the Megiddo Ivories depict an unknown king being carried on his throne by hybrid winged-creatures. [8] [verification needed] Delitzch (Assyrisches Handwörterbuch) connects the name it with Assyrian kirubu (a name of the shedu) and karabu ("great, mighty") . Karppe (1897) glosses Babylonian karâbu as "propitious" rather than "mighty". [2] [15] Dhorme (1926) connected the Hebrew name to Assyrian kāribu (diminutive kurību) , a term used to refer to intercessory beings (and statues of such beings) that plead with the gods on behalf of humanity. [16] [16] The folk etymological connection to a Hebrew word for "youthful" is due to Abbahu (3rd century) . [5] Hebrew Bible Further information: Tetramorph, Living creatures (Bible) , Mercy seat, Ezekiel's cherub in Eden, and Uriel Ezekiel's "chariot vision" with the tetramorph (living creatures) , engraving after an illustration by Matthäus Merian, Icones Biblicae (c. 1625–1630) Moses and Joshua bowing before the Ark by James Tissot (c. 1900) The cherubim are the most frequently occurring heavenly creature in the Hebrew Bible, with the Hebrew word appearing 91 times. [4] The first occurrence is in the Book of Genesis 3: 24. Despite these many references, the role of the cherubim is never explicitly elucidated. [5] While Hebrew tradition must have conceived of the cherubim as guardians of the Garden of Eden[2] (in which they guard the way to the Tree of life) ,[17] they are often depicted as performing other roles; for example in the Book of Ezekiel, they transport Yahweh's throne. The cherub who appears in the "Song of David", a poem which occurs twice in the Hebrew Bible, in 2 Samuel 22 and Psalm 18, participates in Yahweh's theophany and is imagined as a vehicle upon which the deity descends to earth from heaven in order to rescue the speaker (see 2 Samuel 22: 11, Psalm 18: 10) . [18] In Exodus 25: 18–22, God tells Moses to make multiple images of cherubim at specific points around the Ark of the Covenant. [4] Many appearances of the words cherub and cherubim in the Bible refer to the gold cherubim images on the mercy seat of the Ark, as well as images on the curtains of the Tabernacle and in Solomon's Temple, including two measuring ten cubits high. [19] In Isaiah 37: 16, Hezekiah prays, addressing God as "enthroned above the cherubim" (referring to the mercy seat) . In regard's to Solomon's Temple as described in 1 Kings, Eichler renders the phrase yoshev ha-keruvim as “who dwells among the cherubim”. This phrase is the same in 1 Kings and Isaiah. Eichler's interpretation in contrast to common translations for many years that rendered it as “who sits upon the cherubim”. This has implications for the understanding of whether the ark of the covenant in the Temple was literally YHWH's throne or simply an indicator of YHWH's immanence. [20] Cherubim feature at some length in the Book of Ezekiel. While they first appear in chapter one, in which they are transporting the throne of God by the river Chebar, they are not called cherubim until chapter 10. [21] In Ezekiel 1: 5–11 they are described as having the likeness of a man, and having four faces: that of a man, a lion (on the right side) , and ox (on the left side) , and an eagle. The four faces represent the four domains of God's rule: the man represents humanity; the lion, wild animals; the ox, domestic animals; and the eagle, birds. [22] These faces peer out from the center of an array of four wings; these wings are joined to each other, two of these are stretched upward, and the other two cover their bodies. Under their wings are human hands; their legs are described as straight, and their feet like those of a calf, shining like polished brass. Between the creatures glowing coals that moved between them could be seen, their fire "went up and down", and lightning burst forth from it. The cherubs also moved like flashes of lightning. In Ezekiel chapter 10, another full description of the cherubim appears with slight differences in details. Three of the four faces are the same – man, lion and eagle – but where chapter one has the face of an ox, Ezekiel 10: 14 says "face of a cherub". Ezekiel equates the cherubim of chapter ten with the living creatures of chapter one: "They were the same creatures (חיה) I had seen by the river Chebar" (Ezekiel 10: 15) and "These were the living creatures I had seen under the God of Israel on the banks of the river Chebar" (Ezekiel 10: 20) . In Ezekiel 41: 18–20, they are portrayed as having two faces, although this is probably because they are depicted in profile. [4] In Judaism The figures painted on the walls of the Herodian reconstruction of the Temple are called "cherubim" in the Babylonian Talmud. [23] Many forms of Judaism include a belief in the existence of angels, including cherubim within the Jewish angelic hierarchy. The existence of angels is generally accepted within traditional rabbinic Judaism. There is, however, a wide range of beliefs within Judaism about what angels actually are and how literally one should interpret biblical passages associated with them. In Kabbalah there has long been a strong belief in cherubim, with the cherubim and other angels regarded as having mystical roles. The Zohar, a highly significant collection of books in Jewish mysticism, states that the cherubim were led by one of their number named Kerubiel. [2] On the other end of the philosophical spectrum is Maimonides, who had a neo-Aristotelian interpretation of the Bible. Maimonides writes that to the wise man, one sees that what the Bible and Talmud refer to as "angels" are actually allusions to the various laws of nature; they are the principles by which the physical universe operates. For all forces are angels! How blind, how perniciously blind are the naive? ! If you told someone who purports to be a sage of Israel that the Deity sends an angel who enters a woman's womb and there...