The World's Finest Collection of Judaica comes to Auction

Leading the sale is a rare and valuable Torah shield, crafted in modern-day Ukraine by Elimelekh Tzoref of Stanislav in 1782. The elaborate silver-gilt designs overflow with images of flora and fauna surrounding a framed engraving of the Blessing of Isaac.
Estimate: $600-900,000

Due to the fact that Jews in Western Europe were largely not allowed to join the craft guilds, Judaica from this era, like the work of Elimelekh Tzoref of Stanislav, is especially rare and valuable. This Torah shield shows a birds-eye view of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
Estimate: $500-800,000

This diminutive Torah from the nineteenth century showcases remarkable craftsmanship. Made of silver-gilt with silk, it is meant to be easily stored and portable, while still being of the highest quality.
Estimate $80-120,000

This ketubbah (a traditional Jewish marriage contract) was used at the wedding of Reuben David Sassoon and Catherine Ezekiel. Wed in Bombay in 1853, their union brought together two of the greatest Baghdadi merchant families in India.
Estimate: $10-20,000

Sent by the Ben Ish Hai to Flora Sassoon at the end of the nineteenth century, this rare set of a Chinese Torah scroll and Haftarah scroll is housed in ornate parcel-gilt silver cases adorned with traditional Chinese birds and foliage. 
Estimate: $50-80,000

Tefillin (or Phylacteries) is a set of small leather boxes worn during weekday morning prayers. They contain small scrolls inscribed with verses from the Torah. These belonged to Rabbi Joseph Hayyim of Baghdad and were acquired by David Solomon following the rabbi’s death in 1909.
Estimate: $150-250,000

David Solomon Sassoon was a bibliophile and collector of Judaica who gathered an important collection of texts. This rare copy of Rabbi Moses Maimonides’ original Judeo-Arabic commentary on Seder mo‘ed (the order of festivals) from fourteenth-century Yemen, is one of only ten known copies of this important text.
Estimate: $25-35,000