Wedding Sofa
Danzig Sofa
North Germany, possibly Danzig (Gdansk, Poland), 1838
- Birch veneer over pine; linden wood: painted, gilt, and upholstered
- 38 3/16 x 63 x 27 15/16 in. (97 x 160 x 71 cm)
- The Jewish Museum, New York
- Gift of the Danzig Jewish Community, D 280
On view
Wedding Sofa
Danzig Sofa
Danzig Sofa
Listen
- What do you notice about this piece?
- What do you think it might have been used for? What clues are there about its use?
- What designs or decoration do you see on this piece? How would you interpret these details?
- What do you think its original setting looked like?
FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION:
After giving students ample opportunity to examine the wedding sofa, lead them in a discussion of related topics and themes:
- Share the story of this sofa with your students. Why do you think it was so important for the Danzig Jewish community to save some of their treasured things?
- What, if anything, does this object tell you about the Jewish community of Danzig?
- If it were up to you to determine where the sofa would go today, what would you decide? Would you keep it in the museum? Give it to a synagogue in the United States? Send it back to Poland?
- What objects do you want to have preserved when you are no longer around? Why? What do these objects say about you, your family, or your community?
RESEARCH TOPICS / CONTENT CONNECTIONS:
- Jewish Life in Europe before World War II
- Nazi Rise to Power
- Community
- Jewish Tradition and Practice