Object numberM2007/076:002
DescriptionHavdallah Spice Tower, Austrian, hallmark Augustus Rex, circa 1870-1890, European filigree work, 80 per cent pure silver, provincial design.
Havdalah (Hebrew for ‘separation’) is a Jewish religious ceremony that marks the symbolic end of Shabbat and ushers in the new week, symbolically separating the holy day from the mundane period that follows. The ritual involves lighting a special havdalah candle with several wicks, blessing a cup of wine and smelling sweet spices. Shabbat (the Sabbath) ends on Saturday night after the appearance of three stars in the sky.
The item was brought in the container to Australia when the Ulmer family escaped Vienna in June 1939. Part of a collection of prayer books, kiddush cups, certificates, identity and repatriation documents related to the donor’s husband, Joseph Katz, who was liberated in Mauthausen in 1945.
Alice Katz (nee Ulmer) was born 9 March 1924 in Vienna to Theodore and Emma Ulmer. She had an older brother, Alfred, born 22 October 1919. The family immigrated to Australia when she was 14, arriving in 1939. She finished schooling in Austria, and went straight to work in Australia as a dress maker. She married Joseph Katz, the only survivor of his family, on 8 September 1949; he was 11 years older than her, and had come to Australia in 1947.
Havdalah (Hebrew for ‘separation’) is a Jewish religious ceremony that marks the symbolic end of Shabbat and ushers in the new week, symbolically separating the holy day from the mundane period that follows. The ritual involves lighting a special havdalah candle with several wicks, blessing a cup of wine and smelling sweet spices. Shabbat (the Sabbath) ends on Saturday night after the appearance of three stars in the sky.
The item was brought in the container to Australia when the Ulmer family escaped Vienna in June 1939. Part of a collection of prayer books, kiddush cups, certificates, identity and repatriation documents related to the donor’s husband, Joseph Katz, who was liberated in Mauthausen in 1945.
Alice Katz (nee Ulmer) was born 9 March 1924 in Vienna to Theodore and Emma Ulmer. She had an older brother, Alfred, born 22 October 1919. The family immigrated to Australia when she was 14, arriving in 1939. She finished schooling in Austria, and went straight to work in Australia as a dress maker. She married Joseph Katz, the only survivor of his family, on 8 September 1949; he was 11 years older than her, and had come to Australia in 1947.
Production date 1870 - 1890
SubjectJudaica, Shabbat, immigration, besamim
Object namespice boxes
Materialsilver
Dimensions
- base diameter: 58.00 mm
height: 170.00 mm
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Mrs Alice Katz