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Joan Rivers

J. Greenstein & Co. auction June 13 to include Joan Rivers’ seder plate

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
Joan Rivers
Joan Rivers’ Spode seder plate. Estimate $3,500-$5,500. J. Greenstein & Co. image

 

CEDARHURST, N.Y. – J. Greenstein and Company, experts in antique Judaica, will hold an auction on June 13 that will include a portion of a $2 million collection of seder plates. The sale catalog includes items formerly owned by Joan Rivers and the passport issued to the founder of revisionist Zionism, Ze’ev Jabotinsky. Absentee and Internet live bidding is available through LiveAuctioneers.

The Joan Rivers seder plate (above) is a modern piece, made by Spode in England. The 11-inch plate has a blue transfer with a gilt border. It is estimated at $3,500-$5,500. The lot includes a matzo cover and receipts from the entertainer’s estate auction.

An important and unique item in the auction is a 1938 French identification card/passport of Ze’ev Jabotinsky, which has his photograph and signature (below). It indicates his profession as “journalist.” Born in Odessa in 1880, Jabotinsky was mostly known for founding the Jewish Self Defense Organization to safeguard the Jewish communities of Russia as well as starting Zionist Revisionism. In the 1930s he became deeply concerned with anti-Semitism in Eastern Europe and prepared an evacuation plan for Jews to immigrate to Palestine. He died in New York City in 1940. The document carries a $20,000-$30,000 estimate.

 

Joan Rivers
Ze’ev Jabotinsky’s 1937 French travel passport. Estimate: $20,000-$30,000. J. Greenstein & Co. image

 

An early silver Yom Kippur belt, engraved with sacrificial lamb and bible quotes related to the Yom Kippur holiday, is another major item in the auction. Originating from Lemberg, Ukraine, it retains the original belt (est. $9,000-$12,000).

 

Joan Rivers
Silver Yom Kippur belt, circa 1865, 2.6in x 1.7in. Estimate: $9,000-$12,000. J. Greenstein & Co. image

 

Also from Lemberg is an 1854 sunflower-form spice container on a triangular base. The stem is covered with realistic leaves. The main section is chased, gilded and cut (est. $35,000-$38,000).

 

Joan Rivers
Sunflower-form spice container, Lemberg, 1854. Estimate $35,000-$38,000. J. Greenstein & Co. image

 

An important silver charity container (belo0w), 7.3 inches long, in the shape of a tombstone and grave. It is engraved on the front in Hebrew, “Charity Saves from Death,” and “1837, this belongs to the burial society here in Yarmonig.” This rare piece of Judaica is estimated at $80,000-$95,000.

 

Joan Rivers
Silver charity container, dated 1837, in the shape of a grave, 7.3in long. Estimate: $80,000-$95,000. J. Greenstein & Co. image

 

Founded in 2004, J. Greenstein & Company Inc., is a boutique auction house that sells only antique Jewish ritual objects also known as Judaica as well as Jewish themed art.
 Jonathan Greenstein is the founder, expert and president.

 

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Joan Rivers