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Sotheby’s to unveil earliest known Kiddush cup in existence
The medieval artefact, which is inscribed with both Hebrew and Arabic, will be on display for a limited time before heading to auction
April 4, 2025 09:38
The medieval artefact, which is inscribed with both Hebrew and Arabic, will be on display for a limited time before heading to auction
April 4, 2025 09:38Later this month, Londoners will be able to gaze upon the oldest known Jewish artefact in existence thanks to the upcoming unveiling of an exceptionally rare Kiddush cup dating back to the 11th or 12th century.
Sotheby’s announced on Thursday that this medieval piece of Judaica, of which there are less than two dozen known pieces in the world, will be on public display for the very first time at the London gallery before being taken to auction in New York in October.
Adorned with inscriptions in both Hebrew and Arabic, the Kiddush cup offers an extraordinary glimpse into the lives of the medieval Persian Jewish community as well as the interconnected histories of Islamic art and Jewish tradition.
“This cup is an extraordinarily rare record of the existence and importance of Jewish communities in Central Asia in the Middle Ages, and of their cultural and artistic exchanges with the surrounding Islamic world,” said Sharon Liberman Mintz, Sotheby’s International Senior Judaica Specialist, Books & Manuscripts.
“Bearing inscriptions in both Hebrew and Arabic, the cup was not only used to sanctify Jewish ritual, but also embodied a shared artistic language across faiths, and its survival for nearly a millennium is truly remarkable. No other medieval Judaica artefact of this early date is known to exist.”
The cup's survival is especially remarkable given how few objects of Judaica from the medieval era remain, with many having been buried or hidden during times of unrest or conquest. Innumerable pieces of Judaica were also lost due to the practice of melting down outdated silver and reforming the substance into coinage or new objects.
According to research by the art historian and curator William Greenwood, the Kiddush cup likely came from a workshop in the region of Khorasan, an area encompassing parts of modern-day Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia, and was in use during the late 11th or early 12th century.
Believed to be a treasure of the Silk Road, the cup bears designs and inscriptions unique to Central Asian silversmithing of the era, including the use of a vine leaf as a backdrop to an inscription.
The artefact is also prominently etched with the name of its early Jewish owner, “Simcha son of Salman”, which appears alongside blessings in Arabic. Invocations of “good fortune", “happiness” and “glory, prosperity and wealth” are accompanied by two repeated blessings of “joy” (“surur” in Arabic); according to Sotheby’s, the master silversmith probably duplicated the word intentionally to mirror the name of the early owner - Simcha - which also translates to “joy” in Hebrew.
As a result, the artefact has been dubbed the “Cup of Joy”.
After being hidden for many centuries, the Cup of Joy emerged in a private family collection around 1956, where it has remained until now. It will be on public view for the very first time from 25-29 April at Sotheby’s London as part of the auction house’s Islamic, Orientalist & Middle Eastern Art Week, and will then be offered in a dedicated single-lot sale in New York for an estimated value of $3-5 million.
Liberman Mintz said that the unveiling of the medieval Kiddish cup, which remains the most widely used domestic item in Judaica for blessings over Shabbat and other Jewish holidays, comes at an apt time.
“We’re particularly excited to be announcing this cup on the eve of Passover,” she said. “The Kiddush cup plays such a central role - the vessel for the wine that is blessed and consumed at the Seder.”