Siddur, Pentateuch, and Calendar in Spanish – Amsterdam, 1691-92 – Splendid Silver-Ornamented Binding

Siddur, Pentateuch, and Calendar in Spanish – Amsterdam, 1691-92 – Splendid Silver-Ornamented Binding

Two volumes bound together: Orden de las Oraciones [Siddur for all year round, for holidays and special Jewish occasions], ending with a calendar for the years 1692-1701. Amsterdam, David Tartas, [1692]. Bound together with: Chamishah Chumshei Torah / Cinco libros de la ley divina con las Aphtarot de todo el año [Pentateuch, including the "haftarah" portions for all year round], with separate title page for the section with the "haftarah" portions. Amsterdam: David Tartas, [1691]. Spanish.
"Siddur" (prayer book) and Pentateuch with decorated title pages, both printed in Spanish only, and intended for Marranos, conversos, and members of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish communities of Amsterdam.
Both volumes are bound together in an elegant binding, including four silver corner ornaments and a pair of silver, column-shaped buckles. Additional silver ornaments serve as hinges, connecting the front and back covers to the spine of the book. The silver ornaments bear images of angels and small flowers. Gilt edges, with floral patterns along with images of birds stamped onto edges of book block.
This style of binding is of a type rather typical of bindings for 17th and 18th century European bibles and prayer books, especially from the Netherlands. However, this particular style is actually not commonly seen in Jewish sacred books from that period, and insofar as it does appear in a Jewish context, it is primarily in books belonging to Amsterdam’s Jewish communities of Spanish and Portuguese origin.

[2]. 1-2, 9-504 pages, [16] pages (calendar); [1], 436, [3], 128 pages. Three leaves missing at beginning. New endpapers. Bookplate.

Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, NHB.102.