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Jewish possessions damaged in an anti-Jewish riot in Vilna, 1635
Jewish craftsmen known to have worked as embroiderers in Europe, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
This list is derived from parokhot, gravestones (all in the Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague), and official documents. It is in chronological order of the dates of the sources; thus, where the names of embroiderers are taken from the gravestones of their descendants, they appear lower down the list. These are, of course, the names of only some embroiderers; most remain anonymous. Where an occupation appears in the source in Hebrew script, it is transliterated below within square brackets.
1. Zalman, perl hefter (1573?). His occupation was given on the gravestone of his son Pinhas (d. 1623; no. 5). Zalman is possibly the šnurkař Žalman Žid (‘Zalman the Jewish twiner’) mentioned in a document dated 1573.
2. Solomon son of Abraham, perlen shtiker. His name is embroidered with that of his son Pinhas (no. 3) on a parokhet from Prague dated 1590/2 (plate g8).
3. Pinhas son of Solomon, perl shtiker. His name is embroidered with that of his father, Solomon son of Abraham (no. 2), on a parokhet from Prague dated 1590–2 (plate g8).
4. David, perlshtiker. His name appears on his gravestone, dated 1594. He was possibly the grandfather of David (d. 1680; no. 17).
5. Pinhas son of Zalman, perl hefter. His name appears on his gravestone, dated 1623; he died when he was ‘more than 70 years old’. He was the son of Zalman (no. 1) and probably the grandfather of Pinhas (d. 1674; no. 15).
6. Mother of Gluckel of Hameln, an embroiderer in gold and silver. Writing after 1621, Gluckel mentions her mother, who made a living from gold embroidery in Hamburg, and includes information on how the workshop was organized and the products sold.
7. Isaac, perl hefter. His name appears on the gravestone of his daughter Gitl (d. 1634/5)
8. Mordecai, perl hefter. His name appears on his gravestone, dated 1657, which states that he was from Vienna.
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