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Circumcision Knife and Shield with Case
Circumcision Knife and Shield with Case

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
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.

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," October 7, 2022–present.
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