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Goblet
for Adolphe Crémieux, 1842
Silver and
bronze, parcel-gilt
Private collection
from the Exhibition
Moritz Daniel Oppenheim: Jewish Identity in Nineteenth Century Art,
YU
Museum, Jan. 31 - August 31, 2001.
This
goblet was commissioned by Charlotte
von Rothschild for Adolphe Cremieux as a token of thanks for interceding
on behalf
of the Frankfurt Jewish community, which had been falsely accused of
ritual murder during the so-called Damascus Affair in 1840.
Charlotte de Rothschild and Betty de Rothschild presented the thank
you gifts to Adolphe Cr?mieux and Sir Moses Montefiore. The two prominent
Jewish personalities, along with another —
James de Rothschild — had mobilized
international opinion on behalf of the Jews of Damascus through the
press, and had succeeded in having
the charges dropped.
The goblet,
paid for by donations from the Frankfurt Jewish community, was part of
a complete centerpiece, accompanied by a bowl. The goblet's stem portrays
a knight slaying a dragon. Together with the bowl, it presents an allegory
of divine reason triumphing over violence.[1]
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