Silver Spice Container – Tlemcen, Algeria, Early 20th Century

Silver Spice Container – Tlemcen, Algeria, Early 20th Century

Spice container. Tlemcen, Algeria, [ca. 1900-1930].

Silver sheet, repoussé, pierced and engraved; silver, cast (unmarked).

A container designed for storing spices for the Havdalah ceremony. Shaped as a hexagonal container with a pointed dome, topped by a flower-like ornament and an upper cast decoration in a symmetrical vegetal pattern characteristic of Islamic art.

The container stands on an additional decoration – matching the upper one at the top – soldered to the hexagonal base. One of the container's facets features a pierced arched opening closed by a hinged door with a locking mechanism (similar to European tower-shaped spice containers). The container and base are decorated with floral patterns and palm designs (hamsas). Two gilded bells hang on hooks fixed to the upper part of the container.

Two engraved inscriptions serve as indication to the container's origin and owner: on the upper margins, "…Moshe / di / Yaakov / Levy…", and on the lower margins – "Handmade by / the craftsman Yehia / Faruz / and Makhluf ben / Hamu / Tlemcen".

This container – likely created as a private commission – beautifully reflects the typical silversmith work of North African Jews. It is reminiscent in its shape and decorations of Jewish ceremonial objects from Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia, especially Torah finials and crowns. However, it represents a unique and possibly singular example of an Algerian spice container, as in Middle Eastern countries, spices used for Havdalah were abundant, eliminating the need to preserve them for reuse in dedicated containers, as was customary in European countries.
The name of the silversmith Yaya Farouz of Tlemcen is mentioned in Paul Eudel's L'orfèvrerie Algérienne et Tunisienne (Alger, 1902, p. 430); According to online genealogical records Farouz passed away in 1936, a fact that helps dating this item to the very first decades of the 20th century. 

Height: 31.5 cm, base width: 8.5 cm. Overall good condition.