Images(5)

Circumcision Knife and Shield with Case

Artist Alessandro Doria Italian, Rome, 1680–1767, active in Rome 1736–1767

DateKnife: 1751–1761, per mark; Shield: probably last half of 18th century

MediumKnife: silver: repoussé, embossed, engraved; steel Shield: silver: engraved Case: wood structure; leather tooled and gilded; paper, metal hardware; velvet textile (modern)

Dimensionsheight, width, and depth (Knife [open]): 6 5/8 × 3 1/4 × 1/2 in. (16.8 × 8.3 × 1.3 cm)
height, width, and depth (Knife [closed]): 4 × 3 5/8 × 1/2 in. (10.2 × 9.2 × 1.3 cm)
height, width, and depth (Shield): 2 7/8 × 1 7/8 × 1/16 in. (7.3 × 4.8 × 0.2 cm)
height, width, and depth (Case): 2 1/8 × 11 1/8 × 7 1/4 in. (5.4 × 28.3 × 18.4 cm)

ClassificationsMetal

Credit LineGift of Lisa and Steven Feierstein in honor of their grandsons Ethan and Theodore, and all future grandchildren and generations

Object number2021.8/1-3

On View

On view

Label TextCircumcision is commanded as a sign of the covenant (brit or bris) between God and the descendants of Abraham (Genesis 17:9–14). Ritual circumcision is traditionally performed on the eighth day of an infant’s life by a trained mohel.

Most circumcision knives are practical and undecorated. This knife—bearing a Modigliani family crest—is beautifully crafted by a highly artistic, skilled silversmith. Extensive Hebrew texts on both sides of the knife and shield cite biblical verses and liturgy with multiple references to the prophet Elijah, traditionally believed to attend circumcision ceremonies and to be a symbol of the upcoming dawn of the messianic era.
ProvenanceCreated Italy, 1751–1761 (knife) and last half of 18th century (shield); unidentified individual; Rabbi Avraham ben Eliezer Modigliani, (per inscription); probably by descent in Modigliani family, Livorno, Italy; a mohel of the Ventura family, Livorno; Prof. Augusto Cassouto, Rome; Pacifici family, Jerusalem; [art market, Israel]; [Antichità Alberto di Castro, Rome, ca. 2020]; sold to NCMA, 2021.Published ReferencesAnna Bulgari Calissoni, Maestri Argentieri Gemmari e Orafi di Roma (Rome: Fratelli Palombi Editori, 1987).Exhibition HistoryMaastricht, The Netherlands, “TEFAF Online,” October 30-November 4, 2020.

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