Collect: Palm Beach

Provenance:

Acquired by the consignor from Yossi Swed Masters Workshop, Jerusalem, Israel, mid-1990s.

About the artist:

Yossi Swed is the third generation of a Jerusalem family of craftsmen. The Swed Masters Workshop specializes in precious Judaic works of art built according to Swed’s precise engineering standards, for example, the tiny, beautifully designed mechanisms of the present lot. Production for each item is strictly limited to 65 examples which are offered to a select group of patrons and available only by commission.

When creating the Marrano Secret Synagogue Collection, Swed was inspired by the painful history of the Spanish Inquisition. During this time, the Jews of Spain were forced to convert or become “secret” Jews who went underground and practiced their religion in secret. At risk of death, those who chose to continue practicing their religion were often forced to disguise their ritual objects as everyday utensils. These Jews were referred to by the derogatory term “Marranos.” According to Swed’s workshop, “the history of the Marranos gave us the freedom to design hidden Judaica pieces in any shape we wished.” 

As we see in the present lot, hidden in the intricate design of each piece of Secret Marrano Furniture is a special Jewish ritual object. Examples from this collection are held by distinguished Jewish families and institutions including the Goodman Family Judaic and Archival Museum at Temple Israel, West Bloomfield, Michigan, and the Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma.