The Silver dedicatory pendant discovered in the Krasiński Garden in Warsaw in 2021 — an interpretation attempt

Abstract

The article concerns a silver dedicatory pendant found during excavations in the Krasiński Garden in 2021. According to the Hebrew inscription engraved on the pendant, it was dedicated to Nachum Morgensztern who died in 1880. This is the first such finding discovered during excavation works in Warsaw. Pendants of this type were
usually placed at the bottom of the Torah shield. They had an informative (containing details of the object’s founders), commemorative (commemoration could involve both
the dead and the living), or a supplicatory function (expressing requests for a general blessing or for a specific grace, such as being healed). Analogous artefacts can be found in many museums around the world; in the text, three examples from the Jewish Museum in Prague are discussed in more detail.