Abstract
The object in question is a gold medallion, roughly circular in shape, and measuring 65 mm. in diameter. A beaded border runs round the edge, within which are embossed some Jewish symbols, described below, with an inscription in Greek above. A hole is pierced at the top.
The subject of this note is a gold medallion currently in the Jewish Museum, London. This unusual object has not received the attention it deserves, and its origin and purpose raise a number of questions, which will be explored in what follows.
I should like to record here my gratitude to the staff of the Museum, and in particular to the Director, Rickie Burman, and to Alisa Jaffa. I am also grateful to my Cambridge colleague Joyce Reynolds for advice on some technical questions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
There is a brief description and illustration in Barnett’s Catalogue of the Permanent and Loan Collection of the Jewish Museum London, London 1974, 4 and plate I. There is a colour illustration in E. Kedourie, ed., The Jewish World: History and Culture of the Jewish People, London 1979, 136.
W. Horbury and D. Noy, eds, Jewish Inscriptions of Graeco-Roman Egypt, Cambridge 1992, zz5f., n. 143 (with bibliography).
D. Noy, Jewish Inscriptions of Western Europe II: The City of Rome, Cambridge 1995, 46, n. 50 (3rd-4th century [?l)•
D. Noy, Jewish Inscriptions of Western Europe I: Italy (Excluding the City of Rome), Spain and Gaul, Cambridge 1993, 67, n. 48 (early 5th century).
Barnett says that ‘the date of the plaque seems to be after the fifth century’; he does not explain his grounds. LSJ Supplement, possibly following his lead, says 6th century. In the catalogue, Barnett revises the date to ‘about eighth century’. This would make it far later than any dated Jewish inscription in Greek.
This is the translation given by Lifshitz: ‘Ex voto of Jacob…’. A picture postcard sold at the Museum calls it a ‘gold votive plaque’.
a gold disk with a hole for a necklace’, L. Yarden, The Tree of Light, London 1971, 31.
Of uncertain use, possibly for ornamenting a scroll of the Law’, Barnett, Catalogue.
Little if anything has been published on these objects. For a photograph of one, dedicated in the New Synagogue in Ana in 185o, see B. Rivlin, ed., Pinkas Hakehillot, Encyclopaedia of Jewish Communities from their Foundation till after the Holocaust. Greece, Jerusalem 1998, 138. See also ibid., 13o, for an undated plaque dedicated in Trikkala.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2002 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
de Lange, N. (2002). A Gold Votive Medallion in the Jewish Museum, London. In: Berger, S., Brocke, M., Zwiep, I. (eds) Zutot 2001. Zutot: Perspectives on Jewish Culture, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3730-2_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3730-2_7
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-017-3732-6
Online ISBN: 978-94-017-3730-2
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive