A Tale of Two Spice Towers

Abstract

This article examines two spice towers in the collection of London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. The first of these (Inv. number 2090-1855) has been published as the earliest surviving example and the only one extant from Sepharad – an attribution that will be questioned. The second (Inv. number M.40&:1-1951) is now exhibited as an Italian fifteenth-century spice tower which was later converted into a reliquary. This study will present the pair’s shifting identities as a cautionary tale for those seeking an accurate picture of Jewish material culture, in particular the Sephardi legacy.